"Lafayette discovered no new principle of politics or of morals. He
invented nothing in science. He disclosed no new phenomenon in the laws
of nature. Born and educated in the highest order of feudal nobility,
under the most absolute monarchy of Europe; in possession of an
affluent fortune, and master of himself and of all his capabilities, at
the moment of attaining manhood the principle of republican justice and
of social equality took possession of his heart and mind, as if by
inspiration from above.

"He devoted himself, his life, his fortune, his hereditary honors, his
towering ambition, his splendid hopes, all to the cause of Liberty. He
came to another hemisphere to defend her. He became one of the most
effective champions of our independence; but, that once achieved, he
returned to his own country, and thenceforward took no part in the
controversies which have divided us.

"In the events of our Revolution, and in the forms of policy which we
have adopted for the establishment and perpetuation of our freedom,
Lafayette found the most perfect form of government. He wished to add
nothing to it. He would gladly have abstracted nothing from it. Instead
of the imaginary Republic of Plato, or the Utopia of Sir Thomas More, he
took a practical existing model in actual operation here, and never
attempted or wished more than to apply it faithfully to his own country.

"It was not given to Moses to enter the promised land; but he saw it
from the summit of Pisgah. It was not given to Lafayette to witness the
consummation of his wishes in the establishment of a Republic and the
extinction of all hereditary rule in France. His principles were in
advance of the age and hemisphere in which he lived.... The prejudices