For more than two centuries, writers and historians have sought the most laudatory words and phrases to capture and project the greatness of the qualities of George Washington, The Father of The United States of America.
Whether Americans by birth or choice, we are beneficiaries of his leadership, spirit and service. The richness of his character is the ultimate role model for free people and enhances the blessings of liberty we inherit. Greatly esteemed in his own day, he should be in ours.
One of the most eloquent and venerable Divines in England, the Reverend William Jay (1769-1853), offered the following, rarely published, tribute to the preeminent American leader:
There dwelt the Man, the flower of human kind, whose visage, mild, bespoke his nobler mind:
There dwelt the Soldier, who his sword ne’er drew but in a righteous cause, to freedom true:
There dwelt the Hero, who ne’er killed for fame, yet gained more glory than a Caesar’s name:
There dwelt the Statesman, who, devoid of art, gave soundest counsels from an upright heart:
And, O Columbia, by thy sons caressed, there dwelt the Father of the realms he blessed;
Who no wish felt to make his mighty praise, like other chiefs the means himself to raise;
But there, retiring, breathed in pure renown, and felt a grandeur that disdained a Crown.
© 2000 Patriotic Education Incorporated