Washington's Birthday Part 11

From Green's "_History of the English People_":

No n.o.bler figure ever stood in the forefront of a nation's life.

Was.h.i.+ngton was grave and courteous in address; his manners were simple and unpretending; his silence and the serene calmness of his temper spoke of a perfect self-mastery; but little there was in his outer bearing to reveal the grandeur of soul which lifts his figure with all the simple majesty of an ancient statue, out of the smaller pa.s.sions, the meaner impulses of the world around him.

It was only as the weary fight went on that the colonists learned, little by little, the greatness of their leader--his clear judgment, his calmness in the hour of danger or defeat; the patience with which he waited, the quickness and hardness with which he struck, the lofty and serene sense of duty that never swerved from its task through resentment or jealousy, that never, through war or peace, felt the touch of a meaner ambition; that knew no aim save that of guarding the freedom of his fellow-countrymen; and no personal longing save that of returning to his own fireside when their freedom was secured.

It was almost unconsciously that men learned to cling to Was.h.i.+ngton with a trust and faith such as few other men have won, and to regard him with reverence which still hushes us in presence of his memory.

Was.h.i.+ngton's is the mightiest name of earth--long since mightiest in the cause of civil liberty; still mightiest in moral reformation. On that name no eulogy is expected. It cannot be. To add brightness to the sun, or glory to the name of Was.h.i.+ngton, is alike impossible. Let none attempt it. In solemn awe p.r.o.nounce the name, and in its naked deathless splendor leave it s.h.i.+ning on.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

Was.h.i.+ngton cannot be stripped of any part of his credit for patriotism, wisdom, and courage; for the union of enterprise with prudence; for integrity and truthfulness; for simply dignity of character; for tact and forbearance in dealing with men; above all for serene fort.i.tude in the darkest hour of his cause, and under trials from the perversity, insubordination, jealousy, and perfidy of those around him, severer than any defeat.

GOLDWIN SMITH.

The life of our Was.h.i.+ngton cannot suffer by a comparison with those of other countries who have been most celebrated and exalted by fame. The attributes and decorations of royalty could have only served to eclipse the majesty of those virtues which made him, from being a modest citizen, a more resplendent luminary.

Malice could never blast his honor, and envy made him a single exception to her universal rule. For himself he had lived enough to life and to glory. For his fellow-citizens, if their prayers could have been answered, he would have been immortal. His example is complete, and it will teach wisdom and virtue to magistrates, citizens, and men, not only in the present age, but in future generations, as long as our history shall be read.

JOHN ADAMS.

His character, though regular and uniform, possessed none of the littleness which may sometimes belong to these descriptions of men. It formed a majestic pile, the effect of which was not inspired, but improved, by order and symmetry. There was nothing in it to dazzle by wildness, and surprise by eccentricity. It was of a higher species of moral beauty. It contained everything great and elevated, but it had no false or trivial ornament. It was not the model cried up by fas.h.i.+on and circ.u.mstance: its excellence was adapted to the true and just moral taste, incapable of change from the varying accidents of manners, of opinions, and times. General Was.h.i.+ngton is not the idol of a day, but the hero of ages.

ANONYMOUS.

Was.h.i.+ngton stands alone and unapproachable like a snow peak rising above its fellows into the clear air of morning, with a dignity, constancy, and purity which have made him the ideal type of civic virtue to succeeding generations.

JAMES BRYCE.

Pale is the February sky, And brief the midday's sunny hours; The wind-swept forest seems to sigh For the sweet time of leaves and flowers.

Yet has no month a prouder day, Not even when the Summer broods O'er meadows in their fresh array, Or Autumn tints the glowing woods.

For this chill season now again Brings, in its annual round, the morn When, greatest of the sons of men, Our glorious Was.h.i.+ngton was born!

Amid the wreck of thrones shall live Unmarred, undimmed, our hero's fame, And years succeeding years shall give Increase of honors to his name.

WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.

Was.h.i.+ngton, the warrior and legislator! In war contending, by the wager of battle, for the independence of his country, and for the freedom of the human race; ever manifesting amidst its horrors, by precept and example, his reverence for the laws of peace and the tenderest sympathies of humanity: in peace soothing the ferocious spirit of discord among his countrymen into harmony and union; and giving to that very sword, now presented to his country, a charm more potent than that attributed in ancient times to the lyre of Orpheus.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

George Was.h.i.+ngton may justly be p.r.o.nounced one of the greatest men whom the world has produced. Greater soldiers, more intellectual statesmen, and profounder sages have doubtlessly existed in the history of the English race--perhaps in our own country--but no one who to great excellence in each of these fields has added such exalted integrity, such unaffected piety, such unsullied purity of soul, and such wondrous control of his own spirit. That one grand rounded life, full-orbed with intellectual and moral glory, is worth, as the product of Christianity, more than all the dogmas of all the teachers. He was a blessing to the whole human race, no less than to his own countrymen--to the many millions who celebrate the day of his birth.

ZEBULON B. VANCE.

First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of private life; pious, just, humane, temperate, and sincere, uniform, dignified, and commanding, his example was as edifying to all around him, as were the effects of that example lasting.

HENRY LEE.

Happy was it for America, happy for the world, that a great name, a guardian genius, presided over her destinies in war. The hero of America was the conqueror only of his country's foes, and the hearts of his countrymen. To the one he was a terror, and in the other he gained an ascendency, supreme, unrivaled, the triumph of admiring grat.i.tude, the reward of a nation's love.

JARED SPARKS.

The sword of Was.h.i.+ngton! The staff of Franklin! Oh sir, what a.s.sociations are linked in adamant with these names! Was.h.i.+ngton, whose sword, as my friend has said, was never drawn but in the cause of his country, and never sheathed when wielded in his country's cause.

Franklin, the philosopher of the thunderbolt, the printing-press, and the plowshare.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

Others of our great men have been appreciated,--many admired by all. But him we love. Him we all love. About and around him we call up no dissentient and discordant and dissatisfied elements, no sectional prejudice nor bias, no party, no creed, no dogma of politics. None of these shall a.s.sail him. When the storm of battle blows darkest and rages highest, the memory of Was.h.i.+ngton shall nerve every American arm and cheer every American heart. It shall relume that Promethean fire, that sublime flame of patriotism, that devoted love of country, which his words have commended, which his example has consecrated.

RUFUS CHOATE.

Where may the wearied eyes repose When gazing on the great, Where neither guilty glory glows Nor despicable state?

Yes,--one, the first, the last, the best, The Cincinnatus of the West, Whom envy dared not hate, Bequeathed the name of Was.h.i.+ngton To make men blush there was but one.

LORD BYRON.