“Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity!” is a well-known quote said by Horace Mann.

In his day, Horace Mann was a bold thinker who spent time speculating about how mankind could advance without leaving anybody behind. He accepted the presidency of Antioch College in Ohio in his latter years. The young people were encouraged by him to consider ways they may benefit mankind. He was even charged with converting the students to Unitarianism. He put everything he had into the causes he supported.

He said the quote above during one of the graduations, and it has since become the institution's slogan. This is arguably Horace Mann's most well-known quotation, and it amply demonstrates how committed he was to the just cause of ensuring secondary education was available and inexpensive to every man, woman, and child in the United States.

These powerful words are inscribed on Horace Mann's memorial in the yard of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and have been adopted as the school's guiding principle. Horace Mann served as Antioch College's first president, which is understandable.