George Washington: Zitate auf Englisch (seite 4)
George Washington war erster Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika. Zitate auf Englisch.
Letter to Alexander Hamilton (28 August 1788) http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-06-02-0432
1780s
Kontext: I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain (what I consider the most enviable of all titles) the character of an honest man, as well as prove (what I desire to be considered in reality) that I am, with great sincerity & esteem, Dear Sir Your friend and Most obedient Hble Ser⟨vt⟩
“Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.”
Quelle: Rules of Civility And Other Writings & Speeches
General Orders, Headquarters, New York (2 July 1776)
1770s
“Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.”
Letter to Major-General Robert Howe (17 August 1779), published in "The Writings of George Washington": 1778-1779, edited by Worthington Chauncey Ford (1890)
Paraphrased variants:
Few men have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder.
Few men have virtue enough to withstand the highest bidder
1770s
This is from a set of maxims which Washington copied out in his own hand as a school-boy: "Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/the-rules-of-civility/" Rule # 56 written out by Washington ca. 1744:
: These maxims originated in the late sixteenth century in France and were popularly circulated during Washington's time. Washington wrote out a copy of the 110 Rules in his school book when he was about sixteen-years old... During the days before mere hero worship had given place to understanding and comprehension of the fineness of Washington's character, of his powerful influence among men, and of the epoch-making nature of the issues he so largely shaped, it was assumed that Washington himself composed the maxims, or at least that he compiled them. It is a satisfaction to find that his consideration for others, his respect for and deference to those deserving such treatment, his care of his own body and tongue, and even his reverence for his Maker, all were early inculcated in him by precepts which were the common practice in decent society the world over. These very maxims had been in use in France for a century and a half, and in England for a century, before they were set as a task for the schoolboy Washington.
:* Charles Moore in his Introduction to George Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation (1926) http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/civility/index.html, edited by Charles Moore, xi-xv
Misattributed
Fifth annual Message http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washs05.asp (3 December 1793)
1790s
Quelle: The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799 Volume 39 (General Index O-Z List of Letters) - Leather Bound
Letter to Jabez Bowen https://founders.archives.gov/GEWN-04-04-02-0428 (9 January 1787)
1780s
“Be courteous to all, but intimate with few,”
Letter to Bushrod Washington http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushrod_Washington (15 January 1783)
1780s
Kontext: Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence; true friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.