From Farm House to the White House - 912 Freedom Library

Farm House to the White House, by William M. Thayer 199
"I receive my friend with a cordial welcome," answered Washington. "He is welcome to my house and
welcome to my heart; but, with all his good qualities, he is not a man of business. His opponent is, with all his
political hostility to me, a man of business. My private feelings have nothing to do with this case. I am not
George Washington, but President of the United States; as George Washington, I would do this man any
kindness in my power; but as President of the United States, I can do nothing."
In 1793 Washington was deeply affected by the news of Lafayette's exile and incarceration in Germany. He
took measures at once to secure his release, if possible, and sent him a thousand guineas. Lafayette's son, who
was named after the American general, George Washington Lafayette, came to this country, accompanied by
his tutor, when his father was driven into exile. After the close of Washington's public life, young Lafayette
became a member of his family at Mount Vernon. His father was not liberated until 1797.
The following maxims, gleaned from his prolific writings, disclose the principles which governed his actions
in public life, and at the same time they magnify his ability as a writer. When we reflect that his schooldays
embraced instruction only in reading, writing, and arithmetic, to which he added surveying later, the clearness
and elegance of his style become a matter of surprise. His epistolary correspondence is a model to all who
would attain excellence in the art; and his grasp of thought and practical view of government and science, are
unsurpassed by any statesman. Of the large number of notable extracts we might collect from his writings, we
have space for a few only, as follows:
"Our political system may be compared to the mechanism of a clock, and we should derive a lesson from it;
for it answers no good purpose to keep the smaller wheels in order if the greater one, which is the support and
prime mover of the whole, is neglected."
"Common danger brought the States into confederacy; and on their union our safety and importance depend."
"Remember that actions, and not the commission, make the officer. More is expected from him than the title."
"Knowledge is, in every country, the surest basis of public happiness."
"True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is
entitled to the appellation."
"To share the common lot, and participate in conveniences which the army, from the peculiarity of our
circumstances, are obliged to undergo, has with me, been a fundamental principle."
"The value of liberty is enhanced by the difficulty of its attainment, and the worth of character appreciated by
the trial of adversity."
"It is our duty to make the best of our misfortunes, and not suffer passion to interfere with our interest and the
public good."
"In my estimation, more permanent and genuine happiness is to be found in the sequestered walks of
connubial life than in the giddy rounds of promiscuous pleasure, or the more tumultuous and imposing scenes
of successful ambition."
"Without virtue and without integrity, the finest talents and the most brilliant accomplishments can never gain
the respect and conciliate the esteem of the truly valuable part of mankind."
"Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder."
"A good moral character is the first essential in a man. It is, therefore, highly important to endeavor not only