Ted Kennedy Quotes: In His Own Words

Aug. 26, 2009— -- Sen. Ted Kennedy, who died of brain cancer at the age of 77 Tuesday night in his Massachusetts home, had a storied 46-year Senate career and was credited for landmark legislations. He was also known for his fiery speeches and ability to rile up supporters.

Here are some of Kennedy's most memorable quotes from his legendary career:

"Since I was a boy, I have known the joy of sailing the waters off Cape Cod. And for all my years in public life, I have believed that America must sail toward the shores of liberty and justice for all. There is no end to that journey, only the next great voyage. We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us will live on in the future we make."

-- December 2008, on receiving an honorary degree from Harvard University

Visit ABC News' special section on Ted Kennedy.

"My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it. Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us, and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world. As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him: 'Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.'"

-- June 1968, eulogizing his brother, Robert

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."

"The great adventures which our opponents offer is a voyage into the past. Progress is our heritage, not theirs."

-- August 1980, Democratic National Convention

"The more our feelings diverge, the more deeply felt they are, the greater is our obligation to grant the sincerity and essential decency of our fellow citizens on the other side.

"In short, I hope for an America where neither 'fundamentalist' nor 'humanist' will be a dirty word, but a fair description of the different ways in which people of good will look at life and into their own souls."

"I hope for an America where no president, no public official, no individual will ever be deemed a greater or lesser American because of religious doubt, or religious belief.

"I hope for an America where the power of faith will always burn brightly, but where no modern inquisition of any kind will ever light the fires of fear, coercion, or angry division.

"I hope for an America where we can all contend freely and vigorously, but where we will treasure and guard those standards of civility which alone make this nation safe for both democracy and diversity."

-- October 1983, Lynchburg, Va.

"Frankly, I don't mind not being president. I just mind that someone else is."

-- March 1986, Gridiron Club, Washington D.C.

Visit ABC News' special section on Sen. Ted Kennedy.

Watch video of historic Kennedy moments.

See photos of Sen. Ted Kennedy's life.

See photos of the Kennedy family's history of privilege and loss.

Sen. Ted Kennedy Quotes Through the Years

"I believe that each of us as individuals must not only struggle to make a better world, but to make ourselves better, too."

-- October 1991, apologizing for his shortcomings to voters at Harvard University

Key Moments in the Life of Ted Kennedy

"Sailing on Mya with Vicki at my side and my dogs, Splash and Sunny, at my feet. And, of course, a Democrat in the White House and regaining our majority in the Senate."

-- May 2006, on his idea of perfect happiness, in an interview with Vanity Fair magazine.

"The 'Reliable Source' in The Washington Post printed a mock cover of 'George' showing not Cindy Crawford, but me dressed as George Washington, with my belly button exposed. I suggested to John that perhaps I should have been the model for the first cover of his magazine. Without missing a beat, John told me that he stood by his original editorial decision."

-- July 1963, eulogizing his nephew, John

"Yes, we are all Americans. This is what we do. We reach the moon. We scale the heights. I know it. I've seen it. I've lived it. And we can do it again. There is a new wave of change all around us, and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination, not merely victory for our party but renewal for our nation.

"For me this is a season of hope, new hope for a justice and fair prosperity for the many, and not just for the few -- new hope. And this is the cause of my life -- new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American -- North, South, East, West, young, old -- will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege.

"But we have never lost our belief that we are all called to a better country and a newer world."

-- August 2008, Democratic National Convention