And in the case of Washington, as in so many other great leaders of men, his greatness did not so much consist in his intellect, his skill, and his genius, as in his honour, his integrity, his truthfulness, his high and controlling sense of duty--in a word, in his genuine nobility of character.
Men such as these are the true lifeblood of the country to which they belong.

They elevate and uphold it, fortify and ennoble it, and shed a glory over it by the example of life and character which they have bequeathed.

"The names and memories of great men," says an able writer, "are the dowry of a nation.

Widowhood, overthrow, desertion, even slavery, cannot take away from her this sacred inheritance....

Whenever national life begins to quicken....