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Show George Washington :: First President of the United States :: ! I 1 1 3 pliiimaljlllj imm j) Nature ri and (K&fM Never Made , H Better Man if si) I 4 I . ' if Thomas J. Werlenbakef OXK of the recent biographers of Washington has given us so Just and true a picture of the man as that drawn by Jefferson more than a century cen-tury ago. "I think I knew General Washington Intimately and thoroughly," he said. "His mind was great and powerful, without being of the very first order; his penetration strong, though not so acute as that of a Newton, Bacon or Locke, and, as far as he saw, no Judgment was ever sounder. It was slow in operation, being little aided by Invention or Imagination, Im-agination, but sure In conclusion. Hence the common remark of his officers, offi-cers, of the advantage he derived from councils of war, where hearing all suggestions, he selected whatever was best. . . . "He was Incapable of fear, meeting personal dangers with the calmest unconcern. Perhaps the strongest feature fea-ture In his character was prudence, never acting until every circumstance, every r"nsr''-pHon, was maturely Hearing All Suggestions, He Selected Whatever Was Best. weighed; refraining If he saw a doubt but, when once decided, going through with his purpose, whatever obstacles opposed. . . . "He was. Indeed, In every sense of the words, a wise, a good and a great man. His temper was naturally Irritable Irri-table and high-toned, but reflection and resolution had obtained a firm and habitual ascendency over It. "His heart was not warm In Its affections, af-fections, but he exactly calculated every ev-ery man's value and gave him a solid esteem proportioned to It. . . . It may truly be said that never did nature na-ture and fortune combine more perfectly per-fectly to make a great man and to place him In the same constellation with whatever worthies have merited from man everlasting remembrance." After all has been said, It was Washington's character which was supremely su-premely great, which was responsible for the greatness of his achievements. In the Revolution It was the trust In Washington which held together a faltering and discouraged people, which tided the country over the darkest dark-est hours, which was responsible for k the eventful victory. After peace had been won It was this trust In Washington which made It possible for a disunited people to attain enduring strength and unity. There have been greater generals than Washington, greater statesmen; there has been no greater character. When the writings of his detractors have passed Into obscurity his memory will remain, what It has always been, a sacred legacy to the American people. |