captain of the Bonhomme Richard, reply to the British ship Serapis, September 23, 1779.The exact wording of his reply is uncertain, and several accounts exist. The standard version above is from an account of the engagement by one of Joness officers, First Lieutenant Richard Dale.John Henry Sherburne, The Life and Character of John Paul Jones, - See more at: http://quotationsbook.com/quote/15057/#sthash.BTF7xA74.dpuf