an occasion
so solemn and momentous, and so new to me. But as that voice is pure--as
it has never flattered any species of tyranny--it has never been
rendered unworthy of celebrating heroism and virtue."

"Nevertheless, these funeral and military honors will speak to all
hearts. It needs not the aid of speech, to raise strong and
indescribable emotions. The mourning which the First Consul orders for
WASHINGTON, declares to France that Washington's example is not lost. It
is less for the illustrious general, than for the benefactor and friend
of a great people, that the crape of mourning now covers our banners and
the uniform of our warriors. Neither do we prepare that unmeaning pomp,
so contrary to policy and humanity, in which insult is offered to
misfortune, contempt to venerable ruins, and calumny to the tomb. Every
exalted idea, every useful truth, is seen in this assembly. I speak,
before warriors, the honorable praise of a warrior, firm in adversity,
modest in victory, and magnanimous in every stage of fortune.

"Before the ministers of the French republic I speak the praises of a
man whom ambition never swayed and whose every care tended to the
welfare of his country; a man who, unlike others that have changed
empires, lived in peace in his native land; and in that land which he
had freed, and in which he had held the highest rank, died as a simple
individual.

"General WASHINGTON offers examples not less worthy of imitation. Amid
all the disorders of camps, amid all the excesses inseparable from a
civil war, humanity took refuge in his tent, and was never repulsed. In
triumph and in defeat, he was always as tranquil as wisdom, as simple as
virtue. The finer feelings of the heart never abandoned him, even in
those moments when his own interest would seem to justify a recurrence
to the laws of vengeance....

"It is these extraordinary men, who appear at intervals on this vast
scene, with characters commanding and illustrious. An unknown and
superior cause sends them when it is fit, to lay the foundations of new
or to build up the ruins of old empires. It is in vain that these men
step aside or mingle with the crowd. Destiny leads them on; they are
carried from obstacle to obstacle, from triumph to triumph, until they
arrive at the summit of power. Something supernatural animates all their
thoughts. An irresistible movement is given to all their enterprises.
The multitude still seek them among themselves, and f