Chapter 16

[Copied by Washington at the age of fourteen from an old translation of a French book of 1595. "Washington was entirely aware," writes Owen Wister, "of the great influence for good exerted upon his own character by the Rules of Civility. It is a misfortune for all American boys in all our schools to-day, that they should be told the untrue and foolish story of the hatchet and the cherry tree, and denied the immense benefit of instruction from George Washington's authentic copy-book."]

Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another, though he were your enemy.

When you see a crime punished you may be inwardly pleased; but always show pity to the suffering offender.

Superfluous compliments and all affectation of ceremony are to be avoided, yet, where due, they are not to be neglected.

Do not express joy before one sick or in pain, for that contrary passion will aggravate his misery.

When a man does all he can, though it succeed not well, blame not him that did it.

Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the disparagement of any.

In your apparel be modest, and endeavor to accommodate Nature, rather than to procure admiration; keep to the fashion of your equals.

Associate yourself with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company.

Speak not injurious words neither in jest nor in earnest; scoff at none, although they give occasion.

Gaze not at the marks or blemishes of others, and ask not how they came. What you may speak in secret to your friend, deliver not before others.

Nothing but harmony, honest industry, and frugality are necessary to make us a great people. First impressions are generally the most lasting. It is therefore absolutely necessary, if you mean to make any figure upon the stage, that you should take the first steps right.

There is a destiny which has the control of our actions not to be resisted by the strongest efforts of Human Nature.

Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distresses of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse; remembering always the widow's mite, but that it is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all, however, are worthy the inquiry, or the deserving may suffer.

I consider storms and victory under the direction of a wise Providence who no doubt directs them for the best purposes, and to bring round the greatest degree of happiness to the greatest number.

Happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a person's mind, than on the externals in the world.

The thinking part of mankind do not form their judgments from events, and that chief equity will ever attach equal glory to those actions which deserve success, as to those which have been crowned with it.

To see plants rise from the earth and flourish by the superior skill and bounty of the laborer, fills a contemplative mind with ideas which are more easy to be conceived than expressed.

To constitute a dispute there must be two parties. To understand it well, both parties and all the circumstances must be fully heard; and to accommodate differences, temper and mutual forbearance are requisite.

Idleness is disreputable under any circumstances; productive of no good, even when unaccompanied by vicious habits.

It is not uncommon in prosperous gales to forget that adverse winds blow.

Economy in all things is as commendable in the manager, as it is beneficial and desirable to the employer.

It is unfortunate when men cannot or will not see danger at a distance; or seeing it, are undetermined in the means which are necessary to avert or keep it afar off.

Every man who is in the vigor of life ought to serve his country in whatever line it requires, and he is fit for.

Rise early, that by habit it may become familiar, agreeable, healthy, and profitable. It may, for a while, be irksome to do this, but that will wear off; and the practice will produce a rich harvest forever thereafter, whether in public or in private walks of life.

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SAID BY WASHINGTON

To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.

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There is a rank due to the United States among nations which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness.

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The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.

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The very idea of the power and right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government.

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If there was the same propensity in mankind for investigating the motives, as there is for censuring the conduct, of public characters, it would be found that the censure so freely bestowed is oftentimes unmerited and uncharitable.

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Where is the man to be found who wishes to remain indebted for the defense of his own person and property to the exertions, the bravery, and the blood of others, without making one generous effort to repay the debt of honor and gratitude?

There is no truth more thoroughly established than that there exists in the economy and course of nature an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness, between duty and advantage, between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity.

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Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake.

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It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.

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The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is to have with them as little political connection as possible.

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There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation.

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Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor? or caprice?

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The name American must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism.

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To the efficacy and permanency of your union a government for the whole is indispensable.

Every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest should be indignantly frowned upon.

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Let us impart all the blessings we possess, or ask for ourselves, to the whole family of mankind.

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Let us erect a standard to which the wise and honest may repair.

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'Tis substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.

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It is incumbent upon every person of every description to contribute to his country's welfare.

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It would be repugnant to the vital principles of our government virtually to exclude from public trusts, talents and virtue, unless accompanied by wealth.

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Give such encouragements to our own navigation as will render our commerce less dependent on foreign bottoms.

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I have never made an appointment from a desire to serve a friend or relative.

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Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, conscience.

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WASHINGTON BEFORE THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND, AUGUST, 1776

The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human effort will deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of a brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or to die.

Our own, our country's honor, calls upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion; and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us, then, rely on the goodness of our cause and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble actions. The eyes of all our countrymen are now upon us; and we shall have their blessings and praises if, happily, we are the instruments of saving them from the tyranny meditated against them. Let us, therefore, animate and encourage each other, and show the whole world that a freeman contending for liberty on his own ground is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth.

Liberty, property, life, and honor are all at stake. Upon your courage and conduct rest the hopes of our bleeding and insulted country. Our wives, children, and parents expect safety from us only; and they have every reason to believe that Heaven will crown with success so just a cause. The enemy will endeavor to intimidate by show and appearance; but remember they have been repulsed on various occasions by a few brave Americans. Their cause is bad,--their men are conscious of it; and, if opposed with firmness and coolness on their first onset, with our advantage of works and knowledge of the ground, the victory is most assuredly ours. Every good soldier will be silent and attentive, wait for orders, and reserve his fire until he is sure of doing execution.

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FROM VARIOUS LETTERS, SPEECHES, AND ADDRESSES

_To the Captains of Several Independent Companies in Virginia. Philadelphia, June, 1775_

"Gentlemen,

"I am now about to bid adieu to the companies under your respective commands, at least for a time. I have launched into a wide and extensive field, too boundless for my abilities, and far, very far, beyond my experience. I am called by the unanimous voice of the Colonies to the command of the Continental army; an honor I did not aspire to, an honor I was solicitous to avoid, upon a full conviction of my inadequacy to the importance of the service. I have only to beg of you, therefore, before I go, by no means to relax in the discipline of your respective companies.

"I cannot doubt but the asserters of freedom and the right of the Constitution are possessed of your most favorable regards and wishes for success. As descendants of freedom, and heirs with us of the same glorious inheritance, we flatter ourselves that, though divided by our situation, we are firmly united in sentiment. The cause of virtue and liberty is confined to no continent or climate. It comprehends within its capacious limits the wise and good, however dispersed and separated in space and distance."

_To the Inhabitants of the Island of Bermuda_

"While we are contending for our own liberty, we should be very cautious not to violate the rights of conscience in others, ever considering that God alone is the judge of the hearts of men, and to Him only they are answerable."

_To Colonel Benedict Arnold, 1775_

"The man who means to commit no wrong will never be guilty of enormities; consequently he can never be unwilling to learn what is ascribed to him as foibles. If they are really such, the knowledge of them in a well-disposed mind will go half way towards a reform. If they are not errors he can explain and justify the motives of his actions."

_To Patrick Henry, Valley Forge, 27th March, 1778_

"I have ever been happy in supposing that I had a place in your esteem, and the proof you have afforded makes me peculiarly so. The favorable light in which you hold me is truly flattering; but I should feel much regret, if I thought the happiness of America so intimately connected with my personal welfare as you so obligingly seem to consider it. All I can say is, that she has ever had, and I trust she ever will have, my honest exertions to promote her interest. I cannot hope that my services have been the best; but my heart tells me they have been the best that I could render.

"However it may be the practice of the world and those who see objects but partially or through a false medium, to consider _that_ only as meritorious which is attended with success, I have accustomed myself to judge human actions very differently, and to appreciate them by the manner in which they are conducted more than by the event; which it is not in the power of human foresight and prudence to command.

"My political creed is, to be wise in the choice of delegates, support them like gentlemen while they are our representatives, give them complete powers for all federal purposes, support them in the due exercise thereof, and lastly, to compel them to close attendance in Congress during their delegation.

"We ought not to look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience. To enveigh against things that are past and irremediable is unpleasing; but to steer clear of the shelves and rocks we have struck upon is the part of wisdom, equally as incumbent on political as other men who have their own little bark or that of others to navigate through the intricate paths of life, or the trackless ocean, to the haven of security or rest."

_Extracts from a Circular Letter Addressed to the Governors of All the States on Disbanding the Army, Newburgh, 8 June, 1783_

"Sir:--The great object for which I had the honor to hold an appointment in the service of my country, being accomplished, I am now preparing to resign it into the hands of Congress, and to return to that domestic retirement which it is well known I left with the greatest reluctance; a retirement for which I have never ceased to sigh, through a long and painful absence, and in which I meditate to pass the remainder of life, in a state of undisturbed repose. But before I carry this resolution into effect, I think it a duty incumbent on me to make this, my last official communication; to congratulate you on the glorious events which Heaven has been pleased to produce in our favor; to offer my sentiments respecting some important subjects which appear to me to be intimately connected with the tranquillity of the United States, to take my leave of your excellency as a public character, and to give my final blessing to that country in whose service I have spent the prime of my life, for whose sake I have consumed so many anxious days and watchful nights, and whose happiness, being so extremely dear to me, will always constitute no inconsiderable part of my own."

From the same circular letter:

"The foundation of our empire was not laid in the gloomy age of ignorance and superstition, but at an epoch when the rights of mankind were better understood and more clearly defined than at any former period. The researches of the human mind after social happiness have been carried to a great extent; the treasures of knowledge, acquired by the labors of philosophers, sages, and legislators through a long succession of years, are laid open for our use, and their collected wisdom may be happily applied in the establishment of our forms of government."

From the same:

"The free cultivation of letters, the unbounded extension of commerce, the progressive refinement of manners, the growing liberality of sentiment, and, above all, the power and benign light of revelation, have had a meliorating influence on mankind, and increased the blessings of society. An indissoluble union of the states under one federal head--a sacred regard to public justice--the adoption of a proper peace establishment, and the prevalence of that pacific and friendly disposition among the people of the United States which will induce them to forget their local prejudices and politics; to make those mutual concessions which are requisite to the general prosperity, and in some instances to sacrifice their individual advantages to the interest of the community--these are the pillars on which the glorious fabric of our independence and national character must be supported. Liberty is the basis, and whoever would dare to sap the foundation or overturn the structure, under whatever specious pretext he may attempt it, will merit the bitterest execration, and the severest punishment which can be inflicted by his injured country."

From the same:

"I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you and the State over which you preside in His holy protection, that He would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to the government; to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow-citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the field, and finally that He would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation."

_Washington on Slavery_

"There is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery; but there is only one proper and effectual mode by which it can be accomplished, and that is by legislative authority, and this as far as my suffrage will go shall never be wanting."

_In a Letter to Lafayette, Washington Expresses His Views on Commerce_

"Although I pretend to no peculiar information respecting commercial affairs, nor any foresight into the scenes of futurity, yet, as a member of an infant empire, as a philanthropist by character, and if I may be allowed the expression, as a citizen of the great republic of humanity at large, I cannot help turning my attention sometimes to this subject. I would be understood to mean I cannot avoid reflecting with pleasure on the probable influence that commerce may hereafter have on human manners and society in general. On these occasions I consider how mankind may be connected like this one great family of fraternal ties. I indulge a fond, perhaps an enthusiastic idea, that as the world is evidently much less barbarous than it has been, its melioration must still be progressive; that nations are becoming more humanized in their policy, that the subjects of ambition and causes for hostility are daily diminishing, and in fine, that the period is not very remote when the benefits of a liberal and free commerce will pretty generally succeed to the devastations and horrors of war.

"Men's minds are as varied as their faces, and where the motives to their actions are pure, the operation of the former is no more to be imputed to them as a crime than the appearance of the latter; for both being the work of nature, are equally unavoidable. Liberality and charity, instead of clamor and misrepresentation, which latter only serve to foment the passions without enlightening the understanding, ought to govern in all disputes about matters of importance."

_From a Letter, 1793_

"If it can be esteemed a happiness to live in an age productive of great and interesting events, we of the present age are very highly favored. The rapidity of national revolutions appears no less astonishing than their magnitude. In what they will terminate is known only to the Great Ruler of events; and confiding in His wisdom and goodness, we may safely trust the issue to Him, without perplexing ourselves to seek for that which is beyond human ken, only taking care to perform the parts assigned to us in a way that reason and our own conscience approve."

_From a Speech to Both Houses of Congress, 1790_

"To administer justice to and receive it from every power with whom they are connected will, I hope, be always found the prominent feature in the administration of this country; and I flatter myself that nothing short of imperious necessity can occasion a breach with any of them.

"Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness. In one of which the measures of government receive their impression so immediately from the sense of the community as in ours, it is proportionably essential. To the security of a free constitution it contributes in various ways; by convincing those who are entrusted with the public administration that every valuable end of government is best answered by the enlightened confidence of the people, and by teaching the people themselves to know and to value their own rights; to discern and to provide against invasions of them; to distinguish between oppression and the necessary exercise of lawful authority; to discriminate the spirit of liberty from that of licentiousness, cherishing the first, avoiding the latter, and uniting a speedy but temperate vigilance against encroachment with an inviolable respect to the laws."

_From a Speech to Both Houses of Congress, 1794_

"Let praise be given to every description of citizens. Let them persevere in their affectionate vigilance over that precious depository of American happiness, the Constitution of the United States. Let them cherish it, too, for the sake of those, from every clime, daily seeking a dwelling in our land.

"Let us unite, therefore, in imploring the Supreme Ruler of nations to spread His holy protection over these United States; to enable us at all times to root out internal seditions and put invasion to flight; to perpetuate to our country that prosperity which His goodness has already conferred; and to verify the anticipations of this government being a safeguard to human rights."

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WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL TO THE ARMY

_Dated at Rocky Hill, near Princeton, New Jersey, November 2, 1783_

It is universally acknowledged that the enlarged prospects of happiness, opened by the confirmation of our independence and sovereignty, almost exceed the power of description. And shall not the brave men who have contributed so essentially to these inestimable acquisitions, retiring from the field of war to the field of agriculture, participate in all the blessings which have been obtained? In such a republic, who will exclude them from the rights of citizens and the fruits of their labors?

To those hardy soldiers who are actuated by the spirit of adventure, the fisheries will afford ample and profitable employment, and the extensive and fertile regions of the West will yield a most happy asylum to those who, fond of domestic employment, are seeking personal independence.

Little is now wanting to enable the soldier to change the military character into that of a citizen but that steady and decent behavior which has distinguished not only the army under this immediate command, but the different detachments and separate armies through the course of the war. To the various branches of the army the general takes this last and solemn opportunity of professing his inviolable attachment and friendship. He can only again offer in their behalf his recommendations to their grateful country and his prayers to the God of armies. May ample justice be done them here, and may favors, both here and hereafter, attend those who, under the divine auspices, have secured innumerable blessings for others!

With these wishes and this benediction the commander-in-chief is about to retire from service. The curtain of separation will soon be drawn, and the military scene to him will be closed forever!

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