And State Papers 493 



occasional; and with a nation as with a man, the 

 worthiness of life depends upon the way in which 

 the everyday duties are done. The home duties are 

 the vital duties. The nation is nothing but the 

 aggregate of the families within its border; and if 

 the average man is not hard-working, just, and 

 fearless in his dealings with those about him, then 

 our average of public life will in the end be low; 

 for the stream can rise no higher than its source. 

 But in addition we need to remember that a pecu- 

 liar responsibility rests upon the man in public life. 

 We meet in the capital of the Nation, in the city 

 which owes its existence to the fact that it is the 

 seat of the National Government. It is well for us 

 in this place, and at this time, to remember that 

 exactly as there are certain homely qualities the lack 

 of which will prevent the most brilliant man alive 

 from being a useful soldier to his country, so there 

 are certain homely qualities for the lack of which 

 in the public servant no shrewdness or ability can 

 atone. The greatest leaders, whether in war or in 

 peace, must of course show a peculiar quality of 

 genius; but the most redoubtable armies that have 

 ever existed have been redoubtable because the aver- 

 age soldier, the average officer, possessed to a high 

 degree such comparatively simple qualities as loy- 

 alty, courage, and hardihood. And so the most 

 successful governments are those in which the aver- 

 age public servant possesses that variant of loyalty 

 which we call patriotism, together with common 

 sense and honesty. We can as little afford to tol- 





