I Should Be Glad If

In Conformity With These Designs On The City Of Washington, And Notwithstanding The Disastrous Results Of The Invasion Of 1862, It Was Determined By The Rebel Government Last Summer To Resume The Offensive In That Direction.

I Should Be Glad If I Could Flatter Myself That I Came As Near The Central Idea Of The Occasion, In Two Hours, As You Did In Two Minutes.

Literature Is The Voice Of The Age And The State; The Character, Energy, And Resources Of The Country Are Reflected And Imaged Forth In The Conceptions Of Its Great Minds; They Are Organs Of The Time; They Speak Not Their Own Language, They Scarce Think Their Own Thoughts; But Under An Impulse Like The Prophetic Enthusiasm Of Old, They Must Feel And Utter The Sentiments Which Society Inspires.

We Have Now In Our Possession Three Instruments Of Civilization, Unknown To Antiquity. These Are The Art Of Printing; Free Representative Government; And, Lastly, A Pure And Spiritual Religion, The Deep Fountain Of Generous Enthusiasm, The Mighty Spring Of Bold And Lofty Designs, The Great Sanctuary Of Moral Power.

There Is No Sanctuary Of Virtue Like A Home.