Top 70 Patrick Henry Quotes (2024 Update)

1. “United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs.”

— Patrick Henry

2. “Give me liberty or give me death.”

— Patrick Henry

3. “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

— Patrick Henry

4. “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government – lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.”

— Patrick Henry

Featured in: Patriotic Quotes

5. “Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.”

— Patrick Henry

Featured in: Country Quotes

6. “It can not be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

— Patrick Henry

7. “We have not yet begun to fight.”

— Patrick Henry

8. “I know not what others may choose but, as for me, give me liberty or give me death.”

— Patrick Henry

9. “It is when a people forget God, that tyrants forge their chains.”

— Patrick Henry

10. “Fear is the passion of slaves.”

— Patrick Henry

11. “Adversity toughens manhood, and the characteristic of the good or the great man is not that he has been exempt from the evils of life, but that he has surmounted them.”

— Patrick Henry

12. “My most cherished possession I wish I could leave you is my faith in Jesus Christ, for with Him and nothing else you can be happy, but without Him and with all else you’ll never be happy.”

— Patrick Henry

13. “The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.”

— Patrick Henry

Featured in: Veteran's Day Quotes

14. “If this be treason, make the most of it!”

— Patrick Henry

15. “This is all the inheritance I give to my dear family. The religion of Christ will give them one which will make them rich indeed.”

— Patrick Henry

16. “I am not a Virginian, I am an American.”

— Patrick Henry

17. “The battle is not to the strong alone. It is to the vigilant, the active, and the brave. A small, disciplined militia can not only hold out against a larger force, but drive it back, because what they’re fighting for rightfully belongs to them.”

— Patrick Henry

Featured in: Strong Quotes

18. “We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists.”

— Patrick Henry

19. “The eternal difference between right and wrong does not fluctuate, it is immutable.”

— Patrick Henry

20. “The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more. I Am Not A Virginian, But An American!”

— Patrick Henry

21. “Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace! – but there is no peace.”

— Patrick Henry

22. “The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.”

— Patrick Henry

23. “Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.”

— Patrick Henry

24. “Perfect freedom is as necessary to the health and vigor of commerce as it is to the health and vigor of citizenship.”

— Patrick Henry

25. “Give me liberty, or give me death! While we’re at it, I would also like a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie.”

— Patrick Henry

26. “Were my soul trembling on the wing of eternity, were this hand freezing to death, were my voice choking with the last struggle, I would still, with the last gasp of that voice, implore you to remember the truth: God has given America to be free.”

— Patrick Henry

27. “There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.”

— Patrick Henry

28. “Be of good courage, my son, and remember that the best men always make themselves.”

— Patrick Henry

29. “This house protected by an armed citizen. There is absolutely nothing here worth dying for.”

— Patrick Henry

30. “It is natural to man to indulge in the illusion of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, till she transforms us into beasts.”

— Patrick Henry

31. “Hospitality invites to prayer before it checks credentials, welcomes to the table before administering the entrance exam.”

— Patrick Henry

32. “The Bible is worth all the other books which have ever been printed.”

— Patrick Henry

33. “When the American spirit was in its youth, the language of America was different: Liberty, sir, was the primary object.”

— Patrick Henry

34. “Show me that age and country where the rights and liberties of the people were placed on the sole chance of their rulers being good men, without a consequent loss of liberty?”

— Patrick Henry

Featured in: Country Quotes

35. “If you have given up your militia, and Congress shall refuse to arm them, you have lost every thing. Your existence will be precarious, because you depend on others, whose interests are not affected by your infelicity.”

— Patrick Henry

36. “Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?”

— Patrick Henry

37. “Righteousness alone can exalt America as a nation. Whoever thou art, remember this; and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself, and encourage it in others.”

— Patrick Henry

38. “Bad men cannot make good citizens. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience are incompatible with freedom.”

— Patrick Henry

39. “Implements of war and subjugation are the last arguments to which kings resort.”

— Patrick Henry

40. “I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience.”

— Patrick Henry

41. “Human nature will never part with power. Look for an example of a voluntary relinquishment of power from one end of the globe to another – you will find none.”

— Patrick Henry

42. “Jealousy is the only vice that gives no pleasure.”

— Patrick Henry

43. “For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and provide for it.”

— Patrick Henry

44. “Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings – give us that precious jewel and you may take everything else!”

— Patrick Henry

45. “My great objection to this government is, that it does not leave us the means of defending our rights, or of waging war against tyrants.”

— Patrick Henry

46. “I have now disposed of all my property to my family. There is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian religion.”

— Patrick Henry

47. “I believe a time will come when an opportunity will be offered to abolish this lamentable evil. Everything we do is to improve it, if it happens in our day; if not, let us transmit to our descendants, together with our slaves, a pity for their unhappy lot and an abhorrence of slavery.”

— Patrick Henry

48. “Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction?”

— Patrick Henry

49. “You are not to inquire how your trade may be increased, nor how you are to become a great and powerful people, but how your liberties can be secured; for liberty ought to be the direct end of your government.”

— Patrick Henry

50. “Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense?”

— Patrick Henry