XXXV.
WHAT CONSTITUTES GOOD CITIZENSHIP.
MEMORY GEMS.
A great nation is made only by worthy citizens.—Charles Dudley Warner
Nothing is politically right that is morally wrong.—O'Connor
The noblest principle in education is to teach how best to live for
one's country.—G. T. Balch
The good citizen will never consent that his voice and vote shall
sanction a public wrong.—A. M. Gow
Let our object be, our country, our whole country, and nothing but
our country.—D. Webster
An old English picture represents a king, with the motto beneath, "I govern all;" a bishop, with this sentence, "I pray for all;" a soldier, with the inscription, "I fight for all;" and a farmer, who reluctantly draws forth his purse, and exclaims with rueful countenance, "I pay for all." The American citizen combines in himself the functions of these four. He is king, prophet, warrior, and laborer. He governs, prays, and fights for himself, and pays all expenses.
It is neither desirable nor possible, however, for men to be wholly independent of one another. Their very nature reveals the fact that they are intended to be associated in the bonds of mutual intercourse and affection; and such forms of associated life we see all about us, in the life of the family, the community, and the nation.