speak for themselves. The grossly immoral and dishonest
doctrine of despotic State sovereignty, the exclusive judge of its
own obligations, and responsible to no power on earth or in
heaven, for the violation of them, is not there. The Declaration
says, it is not in me. The Constitution says, it is not in me.



"Oration at Plymouth, December 22, 1802, in Commemoration
of the Landing of the Pilgrims."


Among the sentiments of most powerful operation upon the
human heart, and most highly honorable to the human
character, are those of veneration for our forefathers, and of
love for our posterity. They form the connecting links between
the selfish and the social passions. By the fundamental
principle of Christianity, the happiness of the individual is
interwoven, by innumerable and imperceptible ties, with that of
his contemporaries. By the power of filial reverence and
parental affection, individual existence is extended beyond the
limits of individual life, and the happiness of every age is
chained in mutual dependence upon that of every other.
Respect for his ancestors excites, in the breast of man, interest
in their history, attachment to their characters, concern for
their errors, involuntary pride in their virtues. Love for his
posterity spurs him to exertion for their support, stimulates him
to virtue for their example, and fills him with the tenderest
solicitude for their welfare. Man, therefore, was not made for
himself alone. No, he was made for his country, by the