" What it was right that he should do,
he would do, in the face of danger and in defiance of storms.
As might be expected of the great Washington, the chief motive
power in his life was the spirit of duty. It was the regal and
commanding element in his character which gave it unity,
compactness, and vigour. When he clearly saw his duty before him,
he did it at all hazards, and with inflexible integrity. He did
not do it for effect; nor did he think of glory, or of fame and
its rewards; but of the right thing to be done, and the best
way of doing it.
Yet Washington had a most modest opinion of himself; and when
offered the chief command of the American patriot army, he
hesitated to accept it until it was pressed upon him. When
acknowledging in Congress the honour which had been done him in
selecting him to so important a trust, on the execution of which
the future of his country in a great measure depended, Washington
said: "I beg it may be remembered, lest some unlucky event should
happen unfavourable to my reputation, that I this day declare,
with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the
command I am honoured with."
And in his letter to his wife, communicating to her his
appointment as Commander-in-Chief, he said: "I have used every
endeavour in my power to avoid it, not only from my unwillingness
to part with you and the family, but from a consciousness of its
being a trust too great for my capacity; and that I should enjoy
more real happiness in one month with you at home, than I have the
most distant prospect of finding abroad, if my stay were to be
seven times seven years.
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