A Forgotten Maxim 271 



England's history is rich in splendid names and 

 splendid deeds. Her literature is even greater than 

 that of Greece. In commerce she has stood in the 

 modern world as more than ever Carthage was when 

 civilization clustered in a fringe around the Medi- 

 terranean. But she has risen far higher than ever 

 Greece or Carthage rose, because she possesses also 

 the great, masterful qualities which were possessed 

 by the Romans who overthrew them both. Eng- 

 land has been fertile in soldiers and administrators ; 

 in men who triumphed by sea and by land; in ad- 

 venturers and explorers who won for her the world's 

 waste spaces ; and it is because of this that the En- 

 glish-speaking race now shares with the Slav the 

 fate of the coming years. 



We of the United States have passed most of our 

 few years of national life in peace. We honor the 

 architects of our wonderful material prosperity; we 

 appreciate the necessity of thrift, energy, and busi- 

 ness enterprise, and we know that even these are of 

 no avail without the civic and social virtues. But we 

 feel, after all, that the men who have dared greatly 

 in war, or the work which is akin to war, are those 

 who deserve best of the country. The men of 

 Bunker Hill and Trenton, Saratoga and Yorktown, 

 the men of New Orleans and Mobile Bay, Gettys- 

 burg and Appomattox are those to whom we owe 

 most. None of our heroes of peace, save a few 

 great constructive statesmen, can rank with our he- 

 roes of war. The Americans who stand highest on 

 the list of the world's worthies are Washington, who 



