Washington's grounds

I can truly say I had rather be at Mount Vernon with a friend or two about me, than to be attended at the Seat of Government by the Officers of State and the Representatives of every Power in Europe.

-George Washington, letter to David Stuart, June 15, 1790

Remember that it is the actions, and not the commission, that make the officer, and that there is more expected from him, than the title.

-George Washington, Address to the Officers of the Virginia Regiment, Jan. 8, 1756

Rise early, that by habit it may become familiar, agreeable, healthy, and profitable. It may, for a while, be irksome to do this, but that will wear off; and the practice will produce a rich harvest forever thereafter; whether in public or private walks of life.

-George Washington, letter to George Washington Parke Custis, Jan. 7, 1798

Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.

-George Washington, attributed, Frank J. Wilstach's A Dictionary of Similes

If to please the people, we offer what we ourselves disapprove, how can we afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can repair. The event is in the hand of God.
-George Washington, remarks at the first Continental Congress, May 14, 1787

The determinations of Providence are always wise, often inscrutable; and, though its decrees appear to bear hard upon us at times, is nevertheless meant for gracious purposes.
-George Washington, letter to Bryan Fairfax, March 1, 1778