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Stedman and Hutchinson, comps. A Library of American Literature:
An Anthology in Eleven Volumes. 1891.
Vols. IX–XI: Literature of the Republic, Part IV., 1861–1889

By Noted Sayings, Part III

[Continued from Vol. VII.]

  • I can tell thee where that saying was born.
  • Twelfth Night, I., 5.

  • Many other sayings, of equal or greater note, are scattered through our former selections from the works of their authors, and therefore are not reprinted here. A few of those which follow are of transatlantic origin, but have gained a new vogue through their American application.


  • Upon Leaving England, in 1629.

    Farewell, dear England! farewell, the Church of God in England, and all the Christian friends there!—We go to practise the positive part of church reformation, and propagate the gospel in America.
    Francis Higginson. 1587–1630.

    A Plantation of Religion, Not of Trade.

    My Fathers and Brethren, this is never to be forgotten, that New-England is originally a plantation of Religion, not a plantation of Trade. Let Merchants and such as are increasing Cent per Cent remember this. Let others that have come over since at several times understand this, that worldly gain was not the end and design of the people of New-England, but Religion. And if any amongst us make Religion as twelve, and the world as thirteen, let such an one know he hath neither the spirit of a true New-England man, nor yet of a sincere Christian.—From an Election Sermon, “The Cause of God and his People in New-England.” Cambridge, Mass., 27 May, 1663.
    John Higginson. 1616–1708.

    “United We Stand, Divided We Fall.”
    From “The Liberty Song”: first published in the Boston “Gazette,” 18 July, 1768.

  • Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all,—
  • By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall!
  • John Dickinson. 1732–1808.
    Arthur Lee. 1740–92.

    To Gov. Hutchinson, Demanding the Withdrawal of the British Troops from Boston, after the Massacre of 5 March, 1770.

    Both Regiments, or None!
    Samuel Adams [for the Boston Town Meeting], 1722–1803.

    In the Continental Congress, 5 September, 1774.

    I am not a Virginian, but an American.
    Patrick Henry. 1736–99.

    At the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, 4 July, 1776.

    We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.
    Benjamin Franklin. 1706–90.

    His Last Words, New York, 22 September, 1776.

    I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my Country.
    Nathan Hale. 1755–76.

    “Brother Jonathan.”

    We must consult Brother Jonathan.—Meaning his secretary and aide, Colonel Jonathan Trumbull of Connecticut.

    Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum.

    To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.—From a Speech to Congress, 8 January, 1790.
    George Washington. 1732–99.

    Noted Application of Mathew Henry’s Phrase, 1788.

    I consider biennial elections as a security that the sober, second thought of the people shall be law.
    Fisher Ames. 1758–1808.

    Of Candidature for Office.

    That honor ought neither to be solicited nor refused.

    “Few Die, and None Resign.”

    If a due participation of office is a matter of right, how are vacancies to be obtained? Those by Death are few: by resignation, none.—To a Committee of the Merchants of New Haven, Conn., 1801.

    “Declaration of Principles.”

    Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.—First Inaugural Address, 4 March, 1801.

    From the Same Inaugural Address.

    Error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.

    A Word to the New Englanders.

    But I am in hopes of the Eastern people;… that they will find their interest in acquiescing in the liberty and science of their country, and that the Christian religion, when divested of the rags in which they have enveloped it, and brought to the original purity and simplicity of its benevolent institutor, is a religion of all others most friendly to liberty, science, and the freest expansion of the human mind.—Written in 1801.

    The Discourses of Christ.

    Such are the fragments remaining to us to show a master-workman, and that his system of morality was the most benevolent and sublime probably that has ever been taught, and consequently more perfect than those of any of the ancient philosophy.—Written in 1804.
    Thomas Jefferson. 1743–1826.

    When Asked to Sit near His “Father.”

    The sun is my father, and the earth is my mother; and on her bosom I will repose.—At the conference with General W. H. Harrison, Vincennes, Ind., August, 1810.
    Tecumseh. 1768–1813.

    A Hero’s Last Order.

    Don’t give up the Ship!—Engagement between the Shannon and the Chesapeake, 1 June, 1813.
    Capt. James Lawrence. 1781–1813.

    Of Monroe’s Administration, 1817–25.

    The Era of Good Feeling.—Title of an Article in the Boston “Centinel,” 12 July, 1817.

    The “Monroe Doctrine.”

    In the wars of the European Powers, in matters relating to themselves, we have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy so to do. It is only when our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent injuries or make preparations for our defence. With the movements in this hemisphere we are, of necessity, more immediately connected, and by causes which must be obvious to all enlightened and impartial observers. The political system of the Allied Powers is essentially different in this respect from that of America. This difference proceeds from that which exists in their respective Governments; and to the defence of our own, which has been achieved by the loss of so much blood and treasure, and matured by the wisdom of their most enlightened citizens, and under which we have enjoyed unexampled felicity, this whole nation is devoted.

    We owe it, therefore, to candor, and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers, to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere, as dangerous to our peace and safety.

    With the existing Colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered, and shall not interfere. But with the governments who have declared their independence and maintained it, and whose independence we have, on great consideration and on just principles, acknowledged, we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling, in any other manner their destiny, by any European power, in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States.—From the President’s Message, 2 December, 1823.

    James Monroe. 1758–1831.

    An Advocate’s Opinion.

    Law is whatever is boldly asserted and plausibly maintained.

    The American Chesterfield.

    The rule of my life is to make business a pleasure, and pleasure my business.
    Aaron Burr. 1756–1836.

    A Border Knight’s Motto—War of 1812.

    Be sure you are right—then go ahead.
    David Crockett. 1786–1836.

    From the Bunker Hill Oration—17 June, 1825.

    Let our object be, our country, our whole country, and nothing but our country.
    Daniel Webster. 1782–1852.

    Bunker Hill.

  • Now deeper roll the maddening drums,
  • The mingling host like Ocean heaves,
  • While from the midst a horrid wailing comes,
  • And high above the fight the lonely bugle grieves.
  • Grenville Mellen. 1799–1841.

    In Denunciation of the Administration of Adams and Clay. 1826.

    I was defeated—by the coalition of Blifil and Black George,—by the combination, unheard of till then, of the Puritan with the blackleg.
    John Randolph of Roanoke. 1773–1833.

    “A Good Enough Morgan until after the Election.”

    That is a good enough Morgan for us until you bring back the one you carried off.—Reply to the Counsel for the Kidnappers of Morgan, with reference to the body of one Timothy Monroe. 1827.
    Thurlow Weed. 1797–1882.

    “Free Trade and Seaman’s Rights.”

    If we fail, let us fail like men, lash ourselves to our gallant tars, and expire together in one common struggle, fighting for Free Trade and Seaman’s Rights.—Speech in the U. S. H. of R., 19 January, 1813.

    Remark to Senator W. C. Preston of South Carolina. 1839.

    Sir, I had rather be right than be President!

    “No South, No North, No East, No West.”

    I have heard something said about allegiance to the South. I know no South, no North, no East, no West, to which I owe any allegiance.—In the U. S. Senate, 1848.
    Henry Clay. 1777–1852.

    Man to Man.

    I am a man, and you are another.—To President Jackson, at their first interview, April, 1833.
    Black Hawk. 1767–1838.

    “The Footsteps of My Illustrious Predecessor.”

    I shall, if honored with the choice of the American people, endeavor to tread generally in the footsteps of President Jackson.—Letter accepting the Nomination for the Presidency, 29 May, 1835.

    I tread in the footsteps of illustrious men…. In receiving from the people the sacred trust twice confided to my illustrious predecessor, and which he has discharged so faithfully and well, I know that I cannot expect to perform the arduous task with equal ability and success.—Inaugural Address, 4 March, 1837.

    Martin Van Buren. 1782–1862.

    “The Cohesive Power of Public Plunder.”

    A power has risen up in the government greater than the people themselves, consisting of many and various and powerful interests, combined in one mass, and held together by the cohesive power of the vast surplus in the banks.—Speech in the U. S. Senate, 27 May, 1836.
    John Caldwell Calhoun. 1782–1850.

    “Contemporaneous Posterity.”

    Byron’s European fame is the best earnest of his immortality, for a foreign nation is a kind of contemporaneous posterity.—From the Novel “Stanley; or, The Recollections of a Man of the World.” Phila., 1838.
    Horace Binney Wallace. 1817–52.

    “This New Departure.”

    This new page opened in the book of our public expenditures, and this new departure taken, which leads into the bottomless gulf of civil pensions and family gratuities.—In the U. S. Senate, against the grant of $25,000 to President Harrison’s widow, April, 1841.
    Thomas Hart Benton. 1782–1858.

    On the Old Constitution of the United States.

    RESOLVED: That the compact which exists between the North and the South is a Covenant with death and an agreement with hell, involving both parties in atrocious criminality, and should be immediately annulled.—Adopted by the Mass. Anti-Slavery Society, Faneuil Hall, 27 January, 1843.
    William Lloyd Garrison. 1805–79.

    The Ballot.

  • A weapon that comes down as still
  • As snowflakes fall upon the sod;
  • But executes a freeman’s will,
  • As lightning does the will of God.
  • John Pierpont. 1785–1866.

    Oregon Boundary Question. U. S. Senate, 1844.

    Fifty-four forty, or fight! (54° 40′ N.).
    William Allen. 1803–79.

    At Buena Vista, 23 February, 1847.

    A little more grape, Captain Bragg!
    Zachary Taylor. 1784–1850.

    A Watchword in the Presidential Campaign of 1848.

    General Taylor never surrenders.—Reply to General Santa Anna, Buena Vista, 22 February, 1847.
    Thomas Leonidas Crittenden. 1819–93.

    Party Cry, from the Platform of the Free-Soil National Convention. 1848.

    No more slave States: no slave Territories.
    Salmon Portland Chase. 1808–73.

    The Sturdy Godfather of the C. S. A.

    I never use the word “Nation” in speaking of the United States; I always use the word “Union,” or Confederacy. We are not a nation, but a Union, a confederacy of equal and sovereign States. England is a nation, Austria is a nation, Russia is a nation, but the United States are not a nation.—Remark to Oliver Dyer, 1 January. 1849.
    John Caldwell Calhoun. 1782–1850.

    “The Cradle of American Liberty.”

    I shall defer my visit to Faneuil Hall, the cradle of American Liberty, until its doors shall fly open on golden hinges to lovers of Union as well as of Liberty.—Upon being refused the use of Faneuil Hall, March, 1850.
    Daniel Webster. 1782–1852.

    We Sell “Our Goods, and Not Our Principles.”
    A Card, when attacked for refusing to sign the call for a “Union Saving” Meeting held in Castle Garden, October, 1850.

    A CARD.—The public, including the New York “Journal of Commerce,” are informed that we are silk merchants, and keep an extensive and well assorted stock of goods, which we offer to responsible buyers on reasonable terms. As individuals we entertain our own views on the various religious, moral and political questions of the day, which we are neither afraid nor ashamed to declare on all proper occasions. But we wish it distinctly understood that our goods, and not our principles are on the market. The attempt to punish us as merchants for the exercise of our liberty as citizens we leave to the judgment of the community.—Bowen & McNamee.—[From the “Journal of Commerce,” 28 October, 1850.]
    Henry Chandler Bowen. 1813–1896.
    Theodore McNamee. 1803–71.

    Republican War-Cry in the Presidential Campaign of 1856.

    “Give ’em Jessie!”
    Frémont’s Supporters.

    The First Republican Legend.

    Free soil, free men, free speech, Frémont!
    Party Rallying Cry. 1856.

    From the Opinion in the Dred Scott Case, U. S. Supreme Court, 1857.

    —So far inferior, that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.
    Roger Brooke Taney. 1777–1864.

    An Old Proverb, Memorably Used.

    Blood is thicker than water!—Justifying assistance to the British fleet in the Pei-ho. Despatch to the U. S. Secretary of the Navy, June, 1859.
    Josiah Tattnall. 1795–1871.

    “The Twin Relics of Barbarism.”

    With you I hate, deplore, and denounce the Barbarism of Slavery…. But I do not agree that the National Government has power under the Constitution to touch Slavery in the States, any more than it has power to touch the twin Barbarism of Polygamy in the States, while fully endowed to arrest and suppress both in all the Territories.—Letter to A. P. Brooks, 9 September, 1860.—See also his speech on the Barbarism of Slavery, U. S. Senate, 4 June, 1860.
    Charles Sumner. 1811–74.

    When Asked for Guidance to the Charleston, S. C., Insane Asylum, 1860.

    My dear Sir, take any road; you can’t go amiss; the whole State is one vast insane asylum!
    James Lewis Petigru. 1789–1863.

    “Let Us Alone.”

    All we ask is to be let alone.—First Message to the Confederate Congress, March, 1861.
    Jefferson Davis. 1808–89.

    From a Letter to The Hon. William H. Seward, 3 March, 1861.

    Say to the seceded States—Wayward sisters, depart in peace!
    Winfield Scott. 1786–1866.

    A Notable Head-Line in the “New-York Tribune,” June–July, 1861.

    ON TO RICHMOND!
  • Adopted by Mr. Dana before the McDowell campaign, as a “standing head,” the phrase having been used by a special contributor.
  • Fitz-Henry Warren. 1816–78.

    “Treason against Mankind.”

    Whether right or wrong in its domestic or its foreign policy, judged by whatever standard, whether of expediency or of principle, the American citizen can recognize no social duty intervening between himself and his country. He may urge reform; but he has no right to destroy. Intrusted with the precious inheritance of Liberty, endowed with the gift of participation in a Popular Government, the Constitution makes him at once the beneficiary and the defender of interests and institutions he cannot innocently endanger; and when he becomes a traitor to his country, he commits equal treason against mankind.—Address to the Mass. Legislature, 3 January, 1862.
    John Albion Andrew. 1818–67.

    A Remark to Gen. Averell, November, 1862.

    Well, General, we have not had many dead cavalrymen lying about lately! [Often misquoted in the phrase “Who ever saw a dead cavalryman?”]
    Joseph Hooker. 1814–79.

    An Effectual Reminder.
    Despatch to Earl Russell, against permitting the Confederate Ironclads, then building at Laird’s Shipyards, at Birkenhead, to depart from Liverpool, 5 September, 1863.

    It would be superfluous in me to point out to your Lordship that this is war.

    Charles Francis Adams, Sr. 1807–86.

    Signalled to Gen. Corse in Altoona, from the Top of Kenesaw, 5 October, 1864.

    Hold the fort. I am coming.
    William Tecumseh Sherman. 1820–91.

    Title of an Essay in the “Atlantic Monthly,” September, 1864.

    The Total Depravity of Inanimate Things.
    Katharine Kent Child Walker. 1833–1916.

    A National Debt a National Blessing.
    From a Letter to Robert Morris, 30 April, 1781.

    A National debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing.
    Alexander Hamilton. 1757–1804.

    “Our National Debt a National Blessing.”

    Title of a Broadside issued by Jay Cooke, June, 1865, to promote the sale of Government Bonds. It was qualified, at the suggestion of Harris Charles Fahnestock (upon the cover of a pamphlet containing the banker’s argument), in this wise: “How our National Debt may be a National Blessing.” The originator of the title was
    Samuel Wilkeson. 1817–89.

    Of the Presidential “Reconstruction” Tour, August, 1866.

    We are swinging around the Circle.
    Andrew Johnson. 1808–75.

    Telegram to Secretary Stanton, Then Holding the War Department in Defiance of His Illegal Suspension by President Johnson—Senate Chamber, 21 February, 1868.

    Stick.
    Ever sincerely yours,
    Charles Sumner. 1811–74.

    In the Presidential Canvass of 1868.

    Repudiate the Repudiators.
    William Pitt Fessenden. 1806–69.

    Rule of the “Harry Wadsworth Club”—From “Ten Times One Is Ten.” 1870.

  • To look up and not down,
  • To look forward and not back,
  • To look out and not in,—
  • and
  • To lend a hand.
  • Edward Everett Hale. 1822–1909.

    The Ballot in 1871.

    As long as I count the votes, what are you going to do about it? Say!
    William Marcy Tweed. 1823–78.

    “Let No Guilty Man Escape.”

    Let no guilty man escape, if it can be avoided. No personal consideration should stand in the way of performing a public duty.—Indorsement of a Letter Relating to the Prosecution of the Western “Whiskey Ring,” 29 July, 1875.
    Ulysses Simpson Grant. 1822–85.

    Political Introduction of the “Mugwump.”

    Listen! John A. Logan is the Head Centre, the Hub, the King Pin, the Main Spring, Mogul, and Mugwump of the final plot by which partisanship was installed in the Commission.—Editorial entitled “Impeach Logan,” in the N. Y. “Tribune,” 16 February, 1877.
    Isaac Hill Bromley. 1833–98.

    Head-Line in the “New York Sun,” 23 March, 1884.

    “Mugwump D. O. Bradley.”
    The word was applied by the same newspaper, 15 June, 1884, to the “Independents” of the Blaine-Cleveland campaign.
    The New York Sun.

    A Bon-Mot in the Cleveland-Blaine Campaign of 1884.

    A Mugwump is a person educated beyond his intellect.
    Horace Porter. 1837–1921.

    From the President’s Inaugural Address, 5 March, 1877.

    The President … should strive to be always mindful of the fact that he serves his party best who serves the country best.
    Rutherford Birchard Hayes. 1822–93.

    Asked at the Republican National Convention, Chicago, 1880.

    What are we here for?
    Webster Flanaghan. b. 1832.

    From The President’s Inaugural Speech, 4 March, 1881.

    It has been said that unsettled questions have no pity for the repose of nations. It should be said that this question of the suffrage will never give repose to the States or to the Nation until each, within its own jurisdiction, makes and keeps the ballot free and pure by the strong sanction of the law.

    Written When Asked for an Autograph, July, 1881.


    “James A. Garfield. Strangulatus pro republica.”
    James Abram Garfield. 1831–81.

    “Limited Cosmopolitanism.”

    The truth is, that Mr. James’s cosmopolitanism is, after all, limited: to be really cosmopolitan, a man must be at home even in his own country.—Short Studies of American Authors. 1879.
    Thomas Wentworth Higginson. 1823–1911.

    “Worse Than Provincial,—Parochial.”

    Whatever question there may be of his talent, there can be none, I think, of his genius. It was a slim and crooked one, but it was eminently personal. He was imperfect, unfinished, inartistic; he was worse than provincial—he was parochial; it is only at his best that he is readable.—Of Thoreau, in a Critical Life of Hawthorne. 1879.
    Henry James. 1843–1916.

    “A Finer Art in Our Day.”

    The art of fiction has, in fact, become a finer art in our day than it was with Dickens and Thackeray. We could not suffer the confidential attitude of the latter now, nor the mannerism of the former, any more than we could endure the prolixity of Richardson or the coarseness of Fielding.—Sketch of Henry James, Jr., in the “Century Magazine,” November, 1882.
    William Dean Howells. 1837–1920.

    Faith and Reason.

    Reason is the triumph of the intellect, faith of the heart; and whether the one or the other shall best illumine the dark mysteries of our being, they only are to be despaired of who care not to explore.—History of the United States under the Constitution, Vol. II. 1882.
    James Schouler. 1839–1920.

    “Public Office Is a Public Trust.”
    From a Speech at Ashland, Ky., March, 1829.

    Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.
    Henry Clay. 1777–1852.

    From a Speech in the U. S. Senate, 31 May, 1872.

    The appointing power of the pope is treated as a public trust and not as a personal perquisite.
    Charles Sumner. 1811–74.

    From the Opening Address of the President of the Mass. Republican State Convention, 1881.

    The public offices are a public trust, to be held and administered with the same exact justice and the same conscientious regard for the responsibilities involved as are required in the execution of private trusts.
    William Wallace Crapo. 1830–1926.

    From an Article on Civil Service Reform, in Lalor’s Cyclopædia of Political Science, 1881.

    Public office is a public trust, created only for the common benefit.
    Dorman Bridgman Eaton. 1823–1899.

    From a Letter Accepting the Nomination for Mayor, Buffalo, 1881.

    Public officials are the trustees of the people.

    From a Letter of Acceptance as Candidate for Governor, 7 October, 1882.

    Public officers are the servants and agents of the people to execute laws which the people have made, and within the limits of a constitution which they have established.
    Grover Cleveland. 1837–1908.

    From the Address upon the Opening of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge, 24 May, 1883.

    But what man is fit to hold office? Only he who regards political office as a public trust, and not as a private perquisite to be used for the pecuniary advantage of himself or his family, or even his party.
    Abram Stevens Hewitt. 1822–1903.

    Motto of a widely circulated Campaign Pamphlet. 1884.

    Public office is a public trust.
    Daniel Scott Lamont. 1851–1905.

    From an Article entitled “The Liability of Public Officers to Private Actions for Neglect of Duty.” Contributed to the Southern Law Review. 1877.

    A public office is a public trust. The incumbent has a property right in it, but the office is conferred, not for his benefit, but for the benefit of the political society.

    From The Law of Torts. 1878.

    Offices are public trusts. Although the incumbent of a public office has a property right in it, yet the office itself is a public trust and is conferred, not for his benefit, but the for benefit of the political society.
    Thomas McIntyre Cooley. 1824–1898.

    From the President’s Inaugural Address, 4 March, 1885.

    Your every voter, as surely as your Chief Magistrate, under the same high sanction, though in a different sphere, exercises a public trust.
    Grover Cleveland. 1837–1908.

    Other Sayings by the Same President.

    “Honor Lies in Honest Toil.”

    A true American sentiment recognizes the dignity of labor and the fact that honor lies in honest toil.—Letter accepting the nomination for President, 18 August, 1884.

    “Offensive Partisans.”

    They have proved themselves offensive partisans, and unscrupulous manipulators of local party management.—Letter to George William Curtis, 25 December, 1884.

    “Labor Is the Capital of Our Workingmen.”

    We should also deal with the subject in such manner as to protect the interests of American labor, which is the capital of our workingmen.—First Annual Message, December, 1885.

    “Innocuous Desuetude.”

    After an existence of nearly twenty years of almost innocuous desuetude these laws are brought forth.—Message, 1 March, 1886.

    “The Government Should Not Support the People.”

    Though the people support the Government, the Government should not support the people.—Veto of Texas Seed-Bill, 16 February, 1887.

    “A Condition—Not a Theory.”

    It is a condition which confronts us—not a theory.—Annual Message, 1887.

    “A Roll of Honor.”

    I cannot believe that the vast peaceful army of Union soldiers who, having contentedly resumed their places in the ordinary avocations of life, cherish as sacred the memory of patriotic service, or who, having been disabled by the casualties of war, justly regard the present pension roll, on which appear their names as a roll of honor, desire at this time and in the present exigency to be confounded with those who, through such a bill as this, are willing to be objects of charity and to gain a place upon the pension roll through alleged dependence.—Veto of Dependent Pension Bill, 11 February, 1887.

    I have considered the pension list of the Republic a roll of honor.—Veto of Mary Ann Dougherty’s Pension, 5 July, 1888.

    “The Communism of Capital.”

    Communism is a hateful thing and a menace to peace and organized government. But the communism of combined wealth and capital, the outgrowth of overweening cupidity and selfishness which assiduously undermines the justice and integrity of free institutions, is not less dangerous than the communism of oppressed poverty and toil, which, exasperated by injustice and discontent, attacks with wild disorder the citadel of misrule.—Annual Message, 1888.

    Party Honesty.

    Party honesty is party expediency.—Interview in the N. Y. “Commercial Advertiser,” 19 September, 1889.
    Grover Cleveland. 1837–1908.

    “We Love Him for the Enemies He Has Made.”

    They love him, gentlemen, and they respect him, not only for himself, for his character, for his integrity and judgment and iron will, but they love him most for the enemies he has made.—Of Mr. Cleveland, by the Chairman of the National Convention, Chicago, 1884.
    Edward Stuyvesant Bragg. 1827–1912.

    From the Democratic Platform of 1884.

    Unnecessary taxation is unjust taxation.
    Abram Stevens Hewitt. 1822–1903.

    By One of the Deputation of Clergy Visiting Mr. Blaine, at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York City, 29 October, 1884.

    We are Republicans, and don’t propose to leave our party and identify ourselves with the party whose antecedents have been Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion!
    Samuel Dickinson Burchard. 1812–1891.

    Motto of the American Copyright League. Written 20 November, 1885.

  • In vain we call old notions fudge,
  • And bend our conscience to our dealing;
  • The Ten Commandments will not budge,
  • And stealing will continue stealing.
  • Before the U. S. Senate Committee on Patents, 29 January, 1886.

    If I were asked what book is better than a cheap book, I should answer that there is one book better than a cheap book, and that is a book honestly come by.
    James Russell Lowell. 1819–91.

    Name Conferred upon the Republican Stump-Speakers, for Holding Their Audiences “Spell-Bound.” Presidential Campaign of 1888.

    Here comes another of the Spell-binders!
    William Cassius Goodloe. 1841–89.

    Experto Crede.

    To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old.—On the seventieth Birthday of Julia Ward Howe, 27 May, 1889.
    Oliver Wendell Holmes. 1809–1894.

    “Practical Politics.”
    From the Bishop’s Address at the Washington Centennial Service in St. Paul’s Chapel, New York City, 30 April, 1889.

    The conception of the National Government as a huge machine, existing mainly for the purpose of rewarding partisan service—this was a conception so alien to the character and conduct of Washington and his associates that it seems grotesque even to speak of it. It would be interesting to imagine the first President of the United States confronted with some one who had ventured to approach him upon the basis of what is now commonly called “practical politics.”

    “Jacksonian Vulgarity.”

    We have exchanged the Washingtonian dignity for the Jeffersonian simplicity, which was, in truth, only another name for the Jacksonian vulgarity.—Same Address.

    The Royalty of Virtue.

    If there be no nobility of descent, all the more indispensable is it that there should be nobility of ascent—a character in them that bear rule, so fine and high and pure, that as men come within the circle of its influence they involuntarily pay homage to that which is the one preëminent distinction, the Royalty of Virtue.—From the Same.
    Henry Codman Potter. 1834–1908.

    From a Speech at the Washington Centennial Celebration: Sub-Treasury, Wall St., New York City, 30 April, 1889.

    Self-seeking has no public observance or anniversary. The captain who gives to the sea his cargo of rags, that he may give safety and deliverance to his imperilled fellow-men, has fame; he who lands the cargo has only wages.

    At the Woodstock, Conn., Celebration, 4 July, 1889.

    It is not in the power of any people upon earth much to harm us, except our own people.
    Benjamin Harrison. 1833–1901.

    By a Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court, When Advised to Arm Himself. California, 1889.

    When the Judges shall be obliged to go armed, it will be time for the Courts to be closed.
    Stephen Johnson Field. 1816–1899.

    “Measures, Not Men, Have Always Been My Mark.”—Goldsmith.

    It used to be an applauded political maxim, which was expressed in the words, “Measures, not men.” I venture to deny the soundness of this maxim, and to propose in its place its converse, “Men, not measures.” I think the first need of good government, like the first need of a large business corporation, is the right men to administer it. Right in character, in ability, in patriotism, in disinterestedness…. Better a hundred times an honest and capable administration of an erroneous policy than a corrupt and incapable administration of a good one.—At the Dinner of the N. Y. Chamber of Commerce, 19 November, 1889.
    Edward John Phelps. 1822–1900.

    Popular Epithets Given to Certain Americans.

    Adams, John—“Colossus of Independence.” Adams, John Quincy—“Old Man Eloquent.” Adams, Samuel—“American Cato.” Arnold, Benedict—“The Traitor.” Benton, Thomas—“Old Bullion.” Blaine, James Gillespie—“Plumed Knight.” Bradstreet, Anne—“The Tenth Muse.” Brown, John—“Osawatomie Brown.” Buchanan, James—“Bachelor President,” “Old Public Functionary,” “Sage of Wheatland.” Burritt, Elihu—“The Learned Blacksmith.” Clay, Henry—“Harry of the West,” “Mill-Boy of the Slashes.” Corwin, Thomas—“Wagoner-Boy.” Cox, Samuel Sullivan—“Sunset Cox.” Dana, Charles Anderson—“Nestor of the Press.” Douglas, Stephen Arnold—“Little Giant.” Early, Jubal—“Bad Old Man.” Eliot, John—“Apostle of the Indians.” Ewing, Thomas—“The Salt-Boiler.” Frémont, John Charles—“Pathfinder.” Garfield, James Abram—“Canal-Boy.” Grant, Ulysses S.—“The Tanner,” “Uncle Sam,” “Unconditional Surrender.” Halleck, Henry Wager—“Old Brains.” Halstead, Murat—“Field-Marshal.” Hancock, Winfield Scott—“The Superb.” Harrison, Benjamin—“Little Ben.” Harrison, William Henry—“Cincinnatus of the West,” “Tippecanoe.” Holmes, Oliver Wendell—“The Autocrat.” Hooker, Joseph—“Fighting Joe.” Jackson, Andrew—“Old Hickory.” Jackson, Thomas Jonathan—“Stonewall.” Jefferson, Thomas—“Sage of Monticello.” Kelley, William Darrah—“Father of the House,” “Pig-Iron Kelley.” Lee, Henry (1756)—“Light-Horse Harry.” Lincoln, Abraham—“Father Abraham,” “Honest Old Abe,” “The Railsplitter,” “The Martyr President.” Logan, John Alexander—“Black Eagle,” “Blackjack.” Loring, William Wing—“Old Blizzard.” Marion, Francis—“Swamp-Fox.” Marshall, John—“Expounder of the Constitution.” McClellan, George Brinton—“Little Mac.” Medary, Samuel—“War-Horse of Democracy.” Mitchel, Ormsby MacKnight—“Old Stars.” Polk, James Knox—“Young Hickory.” Phillips, Wendell—“Silver-tongued.” Putnam, Israel—“Old Put.” Riley, James Whitcomb—“Hoosier Poet.” Scott, Winfield—“Hero of Chapultepec,” “Old Fuss and Feathers.” Seward, William Henry—“Sage of Auburn.” Sheridan, Philip—“Little Phil.” Sherman, William Tecumseh—“Old Tecumseh.” Smith, William Farrar—“Baldy Smith.” Spinner, Francis Elias—“Watch-Dog of the Treasury.” Steedman, James Barrett—“Old Chickamauga.” Stevens, Thaddeus—“Great Commoner.” Taylor, Zachary—“Old Rough and Ready,” “Old Zach.” Thomas, Charles—“Old Reliable,” “Pop Thomas.” Thoreau, Henry David—“Poet Naturalist.” Thurman, Allen Granbery—“Old Bandanna,” “Old Roman.” Tilden, Samuel Jones—“Sage of Greystone.” Van Buren, Martin—“Little Magician,” “Little Van,” “Northern Man with Southern Principles.” Washington, George—“American Fabius,” “Father of his Country.” Wayne, Anthony—“Mad Anthony.” Webster, Daniel—“Black Dan,” “Expounder of the Constitution.” Webster, Noah—“Schoolmaster of the Republic.” Whitman, Walt—“The Good Grey Poet.” Whittier, John Greenleaf—“Bard of Amesbury,” “Quaker Poet.” Wilson, Henry—“Natick Cobbler.”

    END OF VOL. XI.