Quotations from the speeches and other works of Theodore Roosevelt

Big Stick:

"Speak softly and ca rry a big stick; you w ill go far"

During TR's term as Governor of NY State he fought with the party bosses, particularly Boss Tom Platt regarding a political appointment. Roosevelt held out, although the boss threatene d, to "ruin" him. In th e end the boss g ave in. According to Natha n Mill er in his b ook "Th eodore Roosev elt, A Li fe", pag e 337, "Looking back upon his handling of the incident, Roosevelt thought he 'never saw a bluff carried more resolutely through to the final limit.' And writing to a friend a few days later, he observed: 'I have always been fond of the West African proverb:

"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far

."

' " The proverb and the policy followed him into numerous instances in his career, including his poli cies abroad duri ng his presidenc y.

Man in the Arena

One of the top three most requested quotes is that regarding the "man in the arena" or "not the critic"

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

"Citizenship in a Republic," Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910 Below are additio nal quotatio ns related to the more famo us and later quote. These quotes t aken from a cdrom -

The Works of Th eodore Roosev elt - National Edition

, A PRODUCT OF H-BAR ENTERPRISES COPYRIGHT 1997

"...the man who really counts in the world is the doer, not the mere critic-the man who actually does the wor k, even if roughly and imp erfectly, not the ma n who only talks or writes about how it ought to be done."

(1891)

"Criticism is necessary and useful; it is often indispensable; but it can never take the place of a ction, o r be eve n a poor substitu te for it . The fu nction of the m ere critic is of very subordinate usefulness. It is the doer of deeds who actually counts in the battle for life, and not the man who looks on and says how the fight ought to be fought, without himself sharing the stress and the danger."