very first
thing, then, the word itself,--_states-man_, a man who gives his life to
the service of the State. And do you not recognize the fact that, when
one says--a man who gives his life to the service of the State, it is
but another way of saying--a man who gives his life to the service of
his fellow-men; for what, after all, is any country, any State, in the
true sense of the term, but the aggregate, the great body of its
individual citizenship. And he who lives for and unto himself, who puts
the interests of his own small self before the interests of the
thousands, can never become a states-man; for a statesman must be a
larger man than this.

Call to your mind the greatest of the world, among those living and
among the so-called dead, and you will quickly see that the life of each
and every one has been built upon this great principle, and that all
have been great and are held as such in just the degree in which it has
been. Two of the greatest among Americans, both passed away, would
to-day and even more as time goes on, be counted still greater, had they
been a little larger in one aspect of their natures,--large enough to
have recognized to its fullest extent the eternal truth and importance
of this great principle, and had they given the time to the service of
their fellow-men that was spent in desiring the Presidency and in all
too plainly making it known. Having gained it could have made them no
greater, and having so plainly shown their eager and childish desire for
it has made them less great. Of the many thousands of men who have been
in our American Congress since its beginning, and of the very, very
small number comparatively that you are able to call to mind, possibly
not over fifty, which would be about one out of every six hundred or
more, you will find that you are able to call to mind each one of this
very small number on account of his standing for some measure or
principle that would to the highest degree increase the human welfare,
thus truly fulfilling the great office of a _statesman_.

The one great trouble with our country to-day is that we have but few
statesmen. We have a great swarm, a great hoard of politicians; but it
is only now and then that we find a man who is large enough truly to
deserve the name--statesman. The large majority in public life to-day
are there not for the purpose of serving the best interests of those
whom they are supposed to represent, but they are there purely