25 Benjamin Rush Quotes From One of the Founding Fathers of the United States

By Stephanie Kirby | Published June 12, 2023

History buffs will enjoy these Benjamin Rush quotes from one of the Founding Fathers.

Benjamin Rush was born in what was then the Province of Pennsylvania in 1746, and he died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1813 at the age of 67.

Rush was not only a Founding Father of the United States but also an American revolutionary, physician, politician, educator, and signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Although Rush was involved in some controversy, specifically criticizing George Washington in writing multiple times, he was an important part of the American Revolution.

He not only served as the surgeon general of the Continental Army, but he was a leader in Pennsylvania’s ratification of the U.S. Constitution and a supporter of the American Revolution.

Take a few minutes to learn more about Benjamin Rush through these Benjamin Rush quotes.

Political Benjamin Rush Quotes

Enjoy these Benjamin Rush quotes about politics.

1. “Liberty without virtue would be no blessing to us.” — Benjamin Rush

2. “The American war is over, but this is far from being the case with the American Revolution.” — Benjamin Rush

3. “Freedom can exist only in the society of knowledge. Without learning, men are incapable of knowing their rights.” — Benjamin Rush

4. “If we were to remove the Bible from public schools, we would be wasting so much time punishing crimes and taking so little pains to prevent them.” — Benjamin Rush

5. “Patriotism is as much a virtue as justice, and is as necessary for the support of societies as natural affection is for the support of families.” — Benjamin Rush

6. “As the War Office of the United States was established in a time of peace, it is equally reasonable that a Peace Office should be established in a time of War.” — Benjamin Rush

7. “[W]here there is no law, there is no liberty, and nothing deserves the name of law but that which is certain and universal in its operation upon all the members of the community.” — Benjamin Rush

8. “The Bible, when not read in schools, is seldom read in any subsequent period of life…The Bible…should be read in our schools in preference to all other books because it contains the greatest portion of that kind of knowledge which is calculated to produce private and public happiness.” — Benjamin Rush

9. “Unless we put medical freedom into the Constitution, the time will come when medicine will organize into an undercover dictatorship to restrict the art of healing to one class of Men and deny equal privileges to others; the Constitution of the Republic should make a Special privilege for medical freedoms as well as religious freedom.” — Benjamin Rush

10. “We profess to be republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government; that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by means of the Bible; for this divine book, above all others, favors that equality among mankind, that respect for just laws, and all those sober and frugal virtues which constitute the soul of republicanism.” — Benjamin Rush

Benjamin Rush Quotes About Christianity

Check out these Benjamin Rush quotes about Christianity.

11. “Christianity is the only true and perfect religion.” — Benjamin Rush

12. “I have always considered Christianity as the strong ground of republicanism.” — Benjamin Rush

13. “Without religion, I believe that learning does real mischief to the morals and principles of mankind.” — Benjamin Rush

14. “The gospel of Jesus Christ prescribes the wisest rules for just conduct in every situation in life. Happy they who are enabled to obey them in all situations!” — Benjamin Rush

15. “Now if the study of the Scriptures be necessary to our happiness at any time in our life, the sooner we begin to read them, the more we shall be attached to them.” — Benjamin Rush

16. “By renouncing the Bible, philosophers swing from their moorings upon all moral subjects..It is the only correct map of the human heart that ever has been published.” — Benjamin Rush

17. “A belief in God’s universal love to all his creatures, and that he will finally restore all of them that are miserable to happiness, is a polar truth. . . It establishes the equality of [humanity]. . .” — Benjamin Rush

Benjamin Rush Quotes About Life and Society

These Benjamin Rush quotes about life and society are sure to inspire you.

18. “’Tis done. We have become a nation” — Benjamin Rush

19. “We have not only multiplied diseases, but we have made them more fatal.” — Benjamin Rush

20. “The Bible contains more knowledge necessary to man in his present state than any other book in the world.” — Benjamin Rush

21. “Let the children…be carefully instructed in the principles and obligations of the Christian religion. This is the most essential part of education.” — Benjamin Rush

22. “It remains yet to establish and perfect our new forms of government, and to prepare the principles, morals, and manners of our citizens for these forms of government after they are established and brought to perfection.” — Benjamin Rush

23. “Let us show the world that a difference of opinion upon medical subjects is not incompatible with medical friendships; and in so doing, let us throw the whole odium of the hostility of physicians to each other upon their competition for business and money.” — Benjamin Rush

24. “There is but one method of rendering a republican form of government durable, and that is by disseminating the seeds of virtue and knowledge through every part of the state by means of proper places and modes of education, and this can be done effectively only by the aid of the legislature.” — Benjamin Rush

25. “I shall be better satisfied if the same can be said of me as was said of the prophet of old, “That I walked in the fear of the Lord, and begat sons and daughters” [Genesis 5:22], than if it were inscribed on my tombstone that I governed the councils or commanded the arms of the whole continent of America.” — Benjamin Rush