George S. Patton Quotes (42 Quotes)


    If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows no fear, I have never seen a brave man. All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened.


    Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood.


    Nobody ever defended anything successfully, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.




    Accept the challenges, so you may feel the exhilaration of victory.

    Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack.

    Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable.

    You need to overcome the tug of people against you as you reach for high goals.

    It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.

    Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. not tired. When you were younger the mind could make you dance all night, and the body was never tired. . . .

    One does not plan and then try to make circumstances fit the plans. One tries to make plans fit the circumstances.

    Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

    I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.

    There is a time to take counsel of your fears, and there is a time to never listen to any fear.

    We herd sheep, we drive cattle, we lead people. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.


    Untutored courage is useless in the face of educated bullets.

    Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.

    Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle.

    No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.

    The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.

    A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.


    Americans play to win at all times. I wouldn't give a hoot and hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor ever lose a war.

    Take calculated risks. This is quite different from being rash.

    I do not fear failure. I only fear the ''slowing up'' of the engine inside of me which is pounding, saying, ''Keep going, someone must be on top, why not you''

    If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.

    All very successful commanders are prima donnas and must be so treated.



    The time to take counsel of your fears is before you make an important battle decision. That's the time to listen to every fear you can imagine! When you have collected all the facts and fears and made your decision, turn off all your fears and go ahead!


    Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.

    If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you'll be amazed at the results.

    Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.

    A piece of spaghetti or a military unit can only be led from the front end.



    Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.


    More George S. Patton Quotations (Based on Topics)


    War & Peace - Man - Success - Perfection - Time - People - Courage - Fear - Danger & Risk - Goals - Facts - Duty - Quality - Countries - Mind - Imagination & Visualization - Failure - Education - Decision Making - View All George S. Patton Quotations

    Related Authors


    Xenophon - Themistocles - Robert Jenkins - Quintus Tullius Cicero - Paul von Hindenburg - Lord Edward Cecil - Karl Von Clausewitz - David Petraeus - Chiang Kai-shek - Bernard Law Montgomery


Authors (by First Name)

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M
N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Other Inspiring Sections