Great Quotes From Benjamin Rush

1. Dr. Benjamin Rush was a great American hero and role model. At the time of his death in 1813, he was heralded as one of America’s three most notable men, along with George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. And no wonder! He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, served under three Presidents, helped found five universities and colleges, is titled “The Father of American Medicine,” led both the abolition and prison reform movements, and founded American Sunday Schools and the nation’s first Bible Society. Amazingly, two hundred years ago, Dr. Benjamin Rush offered insights still applicable today. For example:
2. On music: “We can discover the virtues and the vices of a nation by its music as much as by its laws.”
3. On welfare: “Idleness is the parent of every vice. Make men work and you will make them honest.”
4. On party affiliation: “I am neither an Aristocrat nor a Democrat. I am a Christ-ocrat.”
5. On the press: “The licentiousness of the press is a fruitful source of the corruption of moral.”
6. On patriotism: “Patriotism is both a moral and religious duty. It includes not only the love of our neighbors but of the present and of future generations.”
7. On the Bible in schools: “The Bible, when not read in schools, is seldom read in any subsequent period of life.”