While Washington hath left
His awful memory,
A light for after times.

While Washington hath left
His awful memory,
A light for after times.

First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his
countrymen.

First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his
countrymen.

A nobleness to try for,
A name to live and die for.

A nobleness to try for,
A name to live and die for.

The defender of his country--the founder of liberty,
The friend of man,
History and tradition are explored read more

The defender of his country--the founder of liberty,
The friend of man,
History and tradition are explored in vain
For a parallel to his character.
In the annals of modern greatness
He stands alone;
And the noblest names of antiquity
Lose their lustre in his presence.
Born the benefactor of mankind,
He united all the greatness necessary
To an illustrious career.
Nature made him great,
He made himself virtuous.

That name was a power to rally a nation in the hour of
thick-thronging public disasters and calamities; that read more

That name was a power to rally a nation in the hour of
thick-thronging public disasters and calamities; that name shone
amid the storm of war, a beacon light to cheer and guide the
country's friends; it flamed too like a meteor to repel her foes.

Were an energetic and judicious system to be proposed with your
signature it would be a circumstance highly honorable read more

Were an energetic and judicious system to be proposed with your
signature it would be a circumstance highly honorable to your
fame . . . and doubly entitle you to the glorious republican
epithet,
The Father of your Country.

The purely Great
Whose soul no siren passion could unsphere,
Thou nameless, now a power and mixed read more

The purely Great
Whose soul no siren passion could unsphere,
Thou nameless, now a power and mixed with fate.

Every countenance seeked to say, "Long live George Washington,
the Father of the People."

Every countenance seeked to say, "Long live George Washington,
the Father of the People."

His work well done, the leader stepped aside
Spurning a crown with more than kingly pride.
Content read more

His work well done, the leader stepped aside
Spurning a crown with more than kingly pride.
Content to wear the higher crown of worth,
While time endures, "First citizen of earth."