“Hamilton was, in the prevalent literary sense, the composer and writer of the paper. The occasional adoption of Washington's language does not materially take from the justice of this attribution. The new plan, the different form, proceeded from Hamilton. He was the author of it. He put together the thoughts of Washington in a new order, and with a new bearing; and while, as often as he could, he used the words of Washington, his own language was the general vehicle, both of his own thoughts, and for the expansion and combination of Washington's thoughts. Hamilton developed the thoughts of Washington, and corroborated them—included several cognate subjects, and added many effective thoughts from his own mind, and united all into one chain by the links of his masculine logic.
“The main trunk was Washington's; the branches were stimulated by Hamilton; and the foliage, which was not exuberant, was altogether his: and he, more than Washington, pruned and nipped off, with severe discrimination, whatever was excessive—that the tree might bear the fruits which Washington desired, and become his full and fit representative....
“We have explicit authority for regarding the whole Man as compounded of Body, Soul, and Spirit. The Farewell Address, in a lower and figurative sense, is likewise so compounded. If these were divisible and distributable, we might, though not with full and exact propriety, allot the Soul to Washington, and the Spirit to Hamilton. The elementary body is Washington's, also; but Hamilton has developed and fashioned it, and he has symmetrically formed and arranged the members, to give combined and appropriate action to the whole. This would point to an allotment of the soul and the elementary body to Washington, and of the arranging, developing, and informing spirit, to Hamilton—the same characteristic which is found in the great works he devised for the country, and are still the chart by which his department of the government is ruled.
“The Farewell Address itself, while in one respect—the question of its authorship—it has had the fate of the Eikon Basilike, in another it has been more fortunate; for no Iconoclasts has appeared, or ever can appear, to break or mar the image and superscription of Washington, which it bears, or to sully the principles of the moral and political action in the government of a nation, which are reflected from it with his entire approval, and were, in fundamental points, dictated by himself.”—"An Inquiry into the Formation of Washington's Farewell Address,” by Horace Binney, page 169.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
washington at mount vernon—public matters claim his attention—monroe and the french government—his public reception as minister—the display disapproved of at home—his concessions to the french—his indiscreet promise of pecuniary aid—jay's mission—monroe asks jay for a copy of his treaty for the french government—jay's refusal—monroe offended—misapprehension and resentment of the french government—monroe recalled—mr. pinckney his successor—monroe's defence—washington's justification of his own course.