Top 100 Robert E. Lee Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “A land without memories is a people without liberty.”

— Robert E. Lee

2. “Wisdom is nothing more than healed pain.”

— Robert E. Lee

3. “A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday does not know where it is today.”

— Robert E. Lee

4. “I was too weak to defend, so I attacked.”

— Robert E. Lee

5. “Duty, then is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more; you should never wish to do less.”

— Robert E. Lee

6. “I would rather die a thousand deaths than surrender.”

— Robert E. Lee

7. “All I ever wanted was a Virginia farm, no end of cream and fresh butter and fried chicken – not one fried chicken, or two, but unlimited fried chicken.”

— Robert E. Lee

8. “You must be careful how you walk and where you go, for there are those following you who will set their feet where yours are set.”

— Robert E. Lee

9. “The dominant party cannot reign forever, and truth and justice will prevail at last.”

— Robert E. Lee

10. “All this has been my fault.”

— Robert E. Lee

11. “I can only say that I am nothing but a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone for salvation.”

— Robert E. Lee

12. “The enemy never sees the backs of my Texans!”

— Robert E. Lee

13. “We have only one rule here – to act like a gentleman at all times.”

— Robert E. Lee

14. “Private and public life are subject to the same rules-truth and manliness are two qualities that will carry you through this world much better than policy or tact of expediency or other words that were devised to conceal a deviation from a straight line.”

— Robert E. Lee

15. “You must study to be frank with the world: frankness is the child of honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do on every occasion, and take it for granted that you mean to do right.”

— Robert E. Lee

16. “Get correct views of life, and learn to see the world in its true light. It will enable you to live pleasantly, to do good, and, when summoned away, to leave without regret.”

— Robert E. Lee

17. “In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light and strength.”

— Robert E. Lee

18. “The consolidation of the states into one vast empire, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of ruin which has overwhelmed all that preceded it.”

— Robert E. Lee

19. “The education of a man is never completed until he dies.”

— Robert E. Lee

20. “Never do a wrong thing to make a friend – or to keep one.”

— Robert E. Lee

21. “I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.”

— Robert E. Lee

22. “What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world.”

— Robert E. Lee

23. “What a beautiful world God, in His loving kindness to His creatures, has given us! What a shame that men endowed with reason and knowledge of right should mar His gifts...”

— Robert E. Lee

24. “Every student must be a gentleman.”

— Robert E. Lee

25. “Remember, we are all one country now. Dismiss from your mind all sectional feeling, and bring them up to be Americans.”

— Robert E. Lee

26. “Teach him to deny himself.”

— Robert E. Lee

27. “All that the South has ever desired was that the Union, as established by our forefathers, should be preserved, and that the government as originally organized should be administered in purity and truth.”

— Robert E. Lee

28. “I like whiskey. I always did, and that is why I never drink it.”

— Robert E. Lee

29. “The enemy is here, and if we do not whip him, he will whip us.”

— Robert E. Lee

30. “There are few, I believe, in this enlightened age, who will not acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil.”

— Robert E. Lee

31. “There are things in the Old Book which I may not be able to explain, but I fully accept it as the infallible Word of God, and receive its teachings as inspired by the Holy Spirit.”

— Robert E. Lee

32. “My chief concern is to try to be an humble, earnest Christian.”

— Robert E. Lee

33. “We have but one rule here, and that is that every student must be a gentleman.”

— Robert E. Lee

34. “It is history that teaches us to hope.”

— Robert E. Lee

35. “My heart bleeds at the death of every one of our gallant men.”

— Robert E. Lee

36. “It is well that war is so terrible. We should grow too fond of it.”

— Robert E. Lee

37. “I did only what my duty demanded. I could have taken no other course without dishonor.”

— Robert E. Lee

38. “You cannot be a true man until you learn to obey.”

— Robert E. Lee

39. “My experience through life has convinced me that, while moderation and temperance in all things are commendable and beneficial, abstinence from spirituous liquors is the best safeguard of morals and health.”

— Robert E. Lee

40. “All military history records the triumphs of discipline and courage far more frequently than numbers and resources.”

— Robert E. Lee

41. “There is no more dangerous experiment than that of undertaking to be one thing before a man’s face and another behind his back.”

— Robert E. Lee

42. “The biggest mistake of my life was taking a military education.”

— Robert E. Lee

43. “There is a true glory and a true honor: the glory of duty done – the honor of the integrity of principle.”

— Robert E. Lee

44. “To be a good soldier, you must love the army. To be a good commander, you must be willing to order the death of the thing you love.”

— Robert E. Lee

45. “Death, in its silent sure march is fast gathering those whom I have longest loved, so that when he shall knock at my door, I will more willingly follow.”

— Robert E. Lee

46. “I am now considered such a monster, that I hesitate to darken with my shadow, the doors of those I love, lest I should bring upon them misfortune.”

— Robert E. Lee

47. “We cannot afford to be idle, and though weaker than our opponents in men and military equipments, must endeavor to harass, if we cannot destroy them.”

— Robert E. Lee

48. “Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character.”

— Robert E. Lee

49. “Sir, if you ever presume again to speak disrespectfully of General Grant in my presence, either you or I will sever his connection with this university.”

— Robert E. Lee

50. “It is glorious to see such courage in one so young.”

— Robert E. Lee