Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. I.djvu/46

28 full of golden maxims and consummate wisdom. "The great object," he began, "for which I had the honor to hold an appointment in the service of my country being accomplished, I am now preparing 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, remote from the noise and trouble of the world, I meditate to pass the remainder of my life in a state of undisturbed repose." Then, after remarking that "this is the favorable moment for giving such a tone to the Federal government as will enable it to answer the ends of its institution," he proceeded to set forth and enlarge upon the four things that he conceived to be essential to the wellbeing, or even the existence, of the United States as an independent power: "First, an indissoluble union of the states under one federal head; second, a sacred regard to public justice; third, the adoption of a proper peace establishment; and, fourth, the prevalence of that pacific and friendly disposition among the people of the United States which will induce them to forget their local prejudices and policies, to make those mutual concessions which are requisite to the general prosperity, and, in some instances, to sacrifice their individual advantages to the interest of the community. These are the pillars," said Washington, "on which the glori-