Dean Acheson

Washington is like a self-sealing tank on a military aircraft. When a bullet passes through, it closes up. ”

The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time. ”

The great corrupter of public man is the ego. Looking at the mirror distracts one's attention from the problem. ”

No people in history have ever survived who thought they could protect their freedom by making themselves inoffensive to their enemies. ”

If we learn the art of yielding what must be yielded to the changing present, we can save the best of the past. ”

A memorandum is written not to inform the reader but to protect the writer. ”

The most important aspect of the relationship between the president and the secretary of state is that they both understand who is president. ”

I learned from the example of my father that the manner in which one endures what must be endured is more important than the thing that must be endured. ”

We have actively sought and are actively seeking to make the United Nations an effective instrument of international cooperation. ”

I will undoubtedly have to seek what is happily known as gainful employment, which I am glad to say does not describe holding public office. ”