Original Maxims of George Washington.
[Recitations for Twelve Students.]
I.
Commerce and industry are the best mines of a nation.
II.
Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distresses of every one.
III.
Ingratitude, I hope, will never constitute a part of my character, nor find a place in my bosom.
IV.
Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.
V.
To persevere is one’s duty, and to be silent is the best answer to calumny.
VI.
I never wish to promise more than I have a moral certainty of performing.
VII.
I shall never attempt to palliate my own foibles by exposing the error of another.
VIII.
It is a maxim with me not to ask what, under similar circumstances, I would not grant.
IX.
Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those be well tried before you give them your confidence.
X.
Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for it is better to be alone than in bad company.
XI.
A good character is the first essential in a man. It is, therefore, highly important to endeavor not only to be learned, but virtuous.
XII.
I am resolved that no misrepresentations, falsehoods, or calumny shall make me swerve from what I conceive to be the strict line of duty.