The Washington union., 1858-02-23


human Affairs OF who seer TO improve their charao
tiers by lessons drawn the great example of Others
for it has we'll been said OF Washington by Guizot that
all the great men, be the most virtuous and the
fortunate" He might have said further, that Of all
the great public men, his is the character most worthy OF
imitation by those who TO succeed him Is this not
the highest praise which be conferred upon manis
it not above all Greek Roman fame to be thus held up
the character which, Of all others most worthy to
perpetuated in the future actions of menf Here IL is
TO be remembered that he not only attempted great
things but performed them whilst his alone the glory
OF passing through many trials with an escutcheon
spotted by crime and undnmed by the breath Of
suspicion.
But men are great not only for their individual quail
ties and faculties but representatives of mighty
mepts ia human society with which their indis
soubly associated because they have initiated direct
ed them. Such characters indeed IN human his
tory. There have been men enough who have founded
dynasties and conquered kingdoms, but to initiate
ents which mpat onward progress to the whole col
of human society IL the achievement OF ages
Such fame perhaps Aexanders, because he carried
the lights Of Grccian civilization fan Asia and Az
RIGA TO have given general movement probably to
human society Such undoubtedly the fame of Cesar.
for he who founded the Roman empire and its institutions
made the deepest and most sensible impression upon
human society of all the whose names have yet
been known. But such not the fame of Hannibal
Frederick the great of Napoleon The last it is
true destroyed much but he created nothing permanent
in the way of social organization. He indeed the
great conocast of old SYSTEMS but whether the field upon
which he operated when cleared of its ruins s to be
sowed with seeds from the East the West remains yet
to be seen.
The greatest representative in the history Of pub
lie men, other than religious rcforme with the excep
ton, perhaps Of Julius Cesar, is that of Washington
Second he is to him in the order of time and in the per
manent effects, far of his system but not second
to him If may trust hopes in regard TO the mgn
tudo of the movement which he conducted IL the first
has been the most permanent in its consequences, it s
perhaps because there has been time for its deve
opment but the last has effected the greater moral
luton Of the two IL has enlarged the capacities of pop
ular form of government for extensive empire beyond
anything that known before; il has opened up
for the pursuit of happiness and II has infused
fresh and mighty hope into the human heart whose
qnckenng impulse Is destined to be felt by ALL for 1t il
to pass along the entire line OF march, and apar uni
versal progress to civilized To have conducted and
organized beyond all other human agencies this great for
ward movement is the singular and unparalleled glory of
Washington That there long of providen
tal preparation for this great movement in which be
made the chief instrument is to be gathered from the
whole history of American discovery colonization, and
independence.
II If he had been warned Of God In dream that
Columbus embarked full of faith and hope upon that
most wonderful and adventurous Of human enterprises
With chart his own imagination, with no guide
but his mighty hope with support but faith SO
divine to have impaired to him an almost super
human strength, he spread his sails in pursuit of the
course Of empire which westward takes its way with
the noble determination to follow it until he should dis
the unknown retreats in which lay cradled
hidden Businesses of human power through which his
to procpate themselves vast and untricd fields
of experiment in which should become the
wonder and delight of all who feel interest in the pro-
grcs of humanity. Throughout long succession of
dreary days the mornings opened the same monoto-
expase, and the evenings closed n the horizon
continued to set its broad circle IN the mingled and shad
owy confines of and sky, AS If to ntcrpose scru
table barrier between the human gaze and that great mys
terry into which 1t profcy sought to intre The hopes
of all others fell the days continued to close under the
increasing shadows of repeated dsappointments ard
uncertainties gathered in with the night 70 darken with
their gloom the soul of He alone, firm in his pur
pose and true to his destiny still held his course west
ward westward he steered his way until the fires Of
San Salvador gave token of the approach to shore
and shed the soft lights of human habation and Of homo
to relieve the gloom of souls which sddencd and
longing for the sympathy of their kind Thus closed the
nobest effort of perseverance, and the mghties evidence
of the power of achievement which lies in human faith
that the world as yet has The emblem Of the
in which it closed light 1t mission of
light. mighty secret Of human empire secms to have
been wrested 1t were, from the reluctant grasp of Ma
ture The genius Of humanity paused to contemplate the
mighty field before it it erected the affairs of It's civ
zation and the temples of its worship organized the
institutions of its discipline and proclaimed the order Of
its future march. What but Providence could have in
spired the thought quckened the faith which led
to such an achievement? new field to be opened
TO human enterprise and form TO be given to hu
man development Hitherto mans progress had been
mostly confined TO the social side of his being Govern
ments had directed their efforts mainly to social strength
and Improvement Society the whole which the in
divdual part Ii he had rights and power it
society had given them. Such eminenty {
genius of Tie organization of the Roman empire aud of
Roman law, whose impress il still 30 deep the instit-
ops of the Old World and to which social progress owes
its most forward STEP far human agency sconcerned
But Providence opened here theatre and reversed
the order of the march of human Improvement, Man
thrown into situation entirely and all the cir
cnmstancss of his position adapted to the develop
ment of his individual nature. Unsphcred as were
from organized society, thrown into the wilder
with the wants the arts and the strength of cvi
zation and yet exposed to most of the rude
ties of state of nature For his government he was
mainly directed by his WILL for his support and pro-
lection he chiefly dependent his own resources
and his communion for the most part with himself
Self reliance intense love ofndependencc of thought
and action, and opinions of human nature and Of hui
man rights, formed from the study of indvid
ua rather than creature of society must have been
the result Of such culture.
II is not surprising that form of organization
should have arisen out Of It, In which the individual
the unit and society but the multiple and In which
cety derived its rights from the grant of individuals
who reserved what not given instead of conriDg
upon the individual whatever he possessed With such
views the individual would be likely deal out his
powers to government with sparng hand He would
be apt too, to demand that the powers thus granted
should lie exercised by those only who likely be
governed by the interests and feelings With himself
and that he himself should participate equally IN this
ercisc Out of this would naturally grow division of
the powers of government amongst different social organ
izations whose bond that common interests and
feelings The communities thus organized would poba
bly, become the social units of government upon
the of n interest whose mowers vera to bc