Suggestive programs for special day exercises/Washington and Lowell Day/Epitaph on Washington
AN EPITAPH ON WASHINGTON.
The defender of his country,—the founder of liberty,
The friend of man.
History and tradition are explored in vain
For a parallel to his character.
In the annals of modern greatness
He stands alone.
And the noblest names of Antiquity
Lose their luster in his presence.
Born the benefactor of mankind,
He united all the greatness necessary
To an illustrious career.
Nature made him great,
He made himself virtuous.
Called by his Country to the defense of her Liberties,
He triumphantly vindicated the rights of humanity.
And, on the pillars of National Independence,
Laid the foundation of a great Republic.
Twice invested with Supreme Magistracy
By the unanimous vote of a free people.
He surpassed, in the Cabinet,
The glories of the field.
And, voluntarily resigning the scepter and the sword.
Retired to the shades of private life;
A spectacle so new, and so sublime.
Was contemplated with profoundest admiration;
And the name of Washington,
Adding new luster to humanity.
Resounded to the remotest regions of the earth.
Magnanimous in youth.
Glorious through life,
Great in death;
His highest ambition,—the happiness of mankind,
His noblest victory,—the conquest of himself.
Bequeathing to posterity the inheritance of his fame.
And building his monument in the hearts of his countrymen,
He lived— the ornament of the Eighteenth Century;
He died, regretted by a mourning world.