I am something of a stoic, both by nature and by inheritance. And 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.
Quotations by:
Acheson, Dean
You can’t argue with a river, it is going to flow. You can dam it up, you can put it to useful purposes, you can deflect it, but you can’t argue with it.
No people in history have preserved their freedom who thought that by not being strong enough to protect themselves they might prove inoffensive to their enemies.
Dean Acheson (1893-1971) American statesman
National Security Council Report 68 (NSC-68), Sec. 7 “Present Risks” (14 Apr 1950) [with Paul Nitze]
(Source)
Usually paraphrased as "No people in history have ever survived who thought they could protect their freedom by making themselves inoffensive to their enemies."