Hoyt & Roberts, comps. Hoyt’s New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations. 1922.
Washington
The defender of his country—the founder of liberty,
The friend of man,
History and tradition are explored in vain
For a parallel to his character.
In the annals of modern greatness
He stands alone;
And the noblest names of antiquity
Lose their lustre in his presence.
Born the benefactor of mankind,
He united all the greatness necessary
To an illustrious career.
Nature made him great,
He made himself virtuous.
Part of an Epitaph found on the back of a portrait of Washington, sent to the family from England. See Werner’s Readings. No. 49. P. 77.
Simple and brave, his faith awoke
Ploughmen to struggle with their fate;
Armies won battles when he spoke,
And out of Chaos sprang the state.
Robert Bridges—Washington.
While Washington’s a watchword, such as ne’er
Shall sink while there’s an echo left to air.
Byron—Age of Bronze. St. 5.
Where may the wearied eye 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 Washington
To make man blush; there was but one.
Byron—Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte. Referring to Washington.
There’s a star in the West that shall nerer go down
Till the records of Valour decay,
We must worship its light though it is not our own,
For liberty burst in its ray.
Shall the name of a Washington ever be heard
By a freeman, and thrill not his breast?
Is there one out of bondage that hails not the word,
As a Bethlehem Star of the West?
Eliza Cook—There’s a Star in the West.
The character, the counsels, and example of our Washington***they will guide us through the doubts and difficulties that beset us; they will guide our children and our children’s children in the paths of prosperity and peace, while America shall hold her place in the family of nations.
Ed. Everett—Speech. Washington Abroad and at Home. July 5, 1858.
Here you would know, and enjoy, what posterity will say of Washington. For a thousand leagues have nearly the same effect with a thousand years.
Benj. Franklin—Letter to Washington. March 5, 1780.
O Washington! thrice glorious name,
What due rewards can man decree—
Empires are far below thy aim,
And scepters have no charms for thee;
Virtue alone has your regards,
And she must be your great reward.
Philip Freneau—Washington’s Arrival in Philadelphia.
Since ancient Time began,
Ever on some great soul God laid an infinite burden—
The weight of all this world, the hopes of man,
Conflict and pain, and fame immortal are his guerdon.
R. W. Gilder—Washington. Speech at Trenton. Oct. 19, 1893.
Were an energetic and judicious system to be proposed with your signature it would be a circumstance highly honorable to your fame … and doubly entitle you to the glorious republican epithet,
The Father of your Country.
Henry Knox—Letter to Washington. March 19, 1787, urging that Washington attend the Philadelphia Convention. See Ford—Washington’s Writings. Vol. XI. P. 123.
A nobleness to try for,
A name to live and die for.
George Parsons Lathrop—Name of Washington.
First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen.
Gen. Henry Lee—Funeral Oration on Washington.
First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his fellow citizens.
Resolution on Washington’s Death. Prepared by General Henry Lee and offered in the House of Representatives by John Marshall.
This is the one hundred and tenth anniversary of the birthday of Washington. We are met to celebrate this day. Washington is the mightiest name on earth—long since mightiest in the cause of civil liberty; still mightiest in moral reformation. On that name an eulogy is expected. It can not be. To add brightness to the sun or glory to the name of Washington is alike impossible. Let none attempt it. In solemn awe pronounce the name and in its naked, deathless splendor leave it shining on.
Lincoln—Speech. Feb. 22, 1842. Closing words. See Sangamon Journal, pub. at Springfield, Ill., Feb. 25, 1842. Entire speech was pub. in the Sangamon Journal, March 26, 1842. Copies on file in the Congressional Library.
The purely Great
Whose soul no siren passion could unsphere,
Thou nameless, now a power and mixed with fate.
Lowell—Under the old Elm. The elm near Cambridge with the inscription “Under this tree, Washington first took command of the American Army, July 3, 1775.”
Oh, Washington! thou hero, patriot sage,
Friend of all climes, and pride of every age!
Thomas Paine.
Every countenance seeked to say, “Long live George Washington, the Father of the People.”
Pennsylvania Packet, April 21, 1789. After the election of Washington.
Our common Father and Deliverer, to whose prudence, wisdom and valour we owe our Peace, Liberty and Safety, now leads and directs in the great councils of the nation … and now we celebrate an independent Government—an original Constitution! an independent Legislature, at the head of which we this day celebrate The Father of his Country—We celebrate Washington! We celebrate an Independent Empire!
Pennsylvania Packet. July 9, 1789. P. 284. See Albert Matthews’ article in Colonial Society of Mass. Publications. Transactions. 1902–4. Vol. 8. P. 275–287. pub. 1906. In America the term was already familiar. George II was so-called by Governor Belcher, Dec. 2, 1731. George III also, in a petition drawn up by the Mass. House of Representatives, June, 30, 1768. Winthrop was styled thus by Governor Hutchinson. (1764). See History of Mass. I. 151.
His work well done, the leader stepped aside
Spurning a crown with more than kingly pride.
Content to wear the higher crown of worth,
While time endures, “First citizen of earth.”
James J. Roche—Washington.
’Twas his ambition, generous and great
A life to life’s great end to consecrate.
Shelley—Washington.
While Washington hath left
His awful memory,
A light for after times.
Southey—Ode written during the War with America. (1814).
Washington—a fixed star in the firmament of great names, shining without twinkling or obscuration, with clear, beneficent light.
Daniel Webster.
That name was a power to rally a nation in the hour of thick-thronging public disasters and calamities; that name shone amid the storm of war, a beacon light to cheer and guide the country’s friends; it flamed too like a meteor to repel her foes.
Daniel Webster—Speech at a public dinner. Feb. 22, 1832.
That name descending with all time, spreading over the whole earth, and uttered in all the languages belonging to all tribes and races of men, will forever be pronounced with affectionate gratitude by everyone in whose breast there shall arise an aspiration for human rights and liberty.
Daniel Webster—Speech at the Centennial Anniversary of Washington. Feb. 22, 1832.
America has furnished to the world the character of Washington! And if our American institutions had done nothing else, that alone would have entitled them to the respect of mankind.
Daniel Webster—Completion of Bunker Hill Monument. June 17, 1843. Vol. I. P. 105.