past and irremediable is
unpleasing; but to steer clear of the shelves and rocks we have struck
upon is the part of wisdom, equally as incumbent on political as other
men who have their own little bark or that of others to navigate through
the intricate paths of life, or the trackless ocean, to the haven of
security or rest."

_Extracts from a Circular Letter Addressed to the Governors of All the
States on Disbanding the Army, Newburgh, 8 June, 1783_

"Sir:--The great object for which I had the honor to hold an appointment
in the service of my country, being accomplished, I am now preparing to
resign it into the hands of Congress, and to return to that domestic
retirement which it is well known I left with the greatest reluctance; a
retirement for which I have never ceased to sigh, through a long and
painful absence, and in which I meditate to pass the remainder of life,
in a state of undisturbed repose. But before I carry this resolution
into effect, I think it a duty incumbent on me to make this, my last
official communication; to congratulate you on the glorious events which
Heaven has been pleased to produce in our favor; to offer my sentiments
respecting some important subjects which appear to me to be intimately
connected with the tranquillity of the United States, to take my leave
of your excellency as a public character, and to give my final blessing
to that country in whose service I have spent the prime of my life, for
whose sake I have consumed so many anxious days and watchful nights, and
whose happiness, being so extremely dear to me, will always constitute
no inconsiderable part of my own."

From the same circular letter:

"The foundation of our empire was not laid in the gloomy age of
ignorance and superstition, but at an epoch when the rights of mankind
were better understood and more clearly defined than at any former
period. The researches of the human mind after social happiness have
been carried to a great extent; the treasures of knowledge, acquired by
the labors of philosophers, sages, and legislators through a long
succession of years, are laid open for our use, and their collected
wisdom may be happily applied in the establishment of our forms of
government."

From the same:

"The free cultivation of letters, the unbounded extension of commerce,
the progressive refinement of manners, the growing liberality of
sentiment, and, above all, the power and benign light of revelation,
have had a