I can never join with my voice in the toast which I see in the papers attributed to one of our gallant naval heroes. I cannot ask of heaven success, even for my country, in a cause where she should be in the wrong. Fiat justitia, pereat coelum. My toast would be, may our country always be successful, but whether successful or otherwise, always right.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- A country should always be right, even if it risks success, because justice matters more than victory.
- In plain terms
- May our country always be right, whether successful or not.
- What can you take from it?
- Prioritize being right over being successful.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is it better to be right or successful?
- What defines a nation's success?
Another view
Being right does not guarantee a country's survival or prosperity.
More from John Quincy Adams
Think of your forefathers! Think of your posterity!
Permalink to quote #1 Individual liberty is individual power, and as the power of a community is a mass compounded of individual powers, the nation which enjoys the most freedom mus…
Permalink to quote #3 This house will bear witness to his piety; this town, his birthplace, to his munificence; history to his patriotism; posterity to the depth and compass of his …
Permalink to quote #4
Related quotes
Monsters remain human beings. In fact, to reduce them to a subhuman level is to exonerate them of their acts of terrorism and mass murder - just as animals are…
Andrew SullivanAndrew Sullivan quote #1 Aggression unopposed becomes a contagious disease.
Jimmy CarterJimmy Carter quote #2 Opinions alter, manners change, creeds rise and fall, but the moral law is written on the tablets of eternity. For every false word or unrighteous deed, for cr…
James Anthony FroudeJames Anthony Froude quote #3