John Taliaferro

“He had no desire to grandstand for his country or himself.”

“Behind those thick glasses (of TR's) was a man who did not blink.”

“The Admiral so regrets failure, he cannot THINK of success.”

“John Hay indicates that dealing with people directly as a holder of political office "requires a stronger heart and a more obedient nervous system than I possess.”

“John Hay points to our our history of getting lost in suffering when, "so close together were pain and antidote.”

“John Hay on Lincoln: "He always worked with things as they were, while never relinquishing the desire to make them better.”

“Good luck belongs to those who know how and are not afraid." John Hay to President Theodore Roosevelt”

“I like to introduce myself, because THEN I can get in all the facts." The usually self-deprecating John Hay on the ironic formality of signing his own commission as Secretary of State.”

“If he could be hard on kings and cabinets, he was invariably kind to his colleagues.”