132 Presidential Addresses 



a generation by the thoughtless and vicious. He 

 preaches the doctrine of the superiority of the 

 moral to the material. He does not undervalue the 

 material, but he insists, as we of this nation should 

 always insist, upon the infinite superiority of the 

 moral, and the sordid destruction which comes upon 

 either the nation or the individual if it or he be 

 comes absorbed only in the desire to get wealth. 

 The true line of cleavage lies between good citizen 

 and bad citizen; and the line of cleavage may, and 

 often does, run at right angles to that which divides 

 the rich and the poor. The sinews of virtue lie in 

 man's capacity to care for what is outside himself. 

 The man who gives himself up to the service of his 

 appetites, the man who the more goods he has the 

 more wants, has surrendered himself to destruc 

 tion. It makes little difference whether he achieves 

 his purpose or not. If his point of view is all wrong, 

 he is a bad citizen whether he be rich or poor. It 

 is a small matter to the community whether in ar 

 rogance and insolence he has misused great wealth, 

 or whether, though poor, he is possessed by the 

 mean and fierce desire to seize a morsel, the biggest 

 possible, of that prey which the fortunate of earth 

 consume. The man who lives simply, and justly, 

 and honorably, whether rich or poor, is a good citi 

 zen. Those who dream only of idleness and pleas 

 ure, who hate others, and fail to recognize the duty 

 of each man to his brother, these, be they rich or 

 poor, are the enemies of the State. The misuse of 

 property is one manifestation of the same evil spirit 



