rica, Oct. 28,
A.D. 1851.

[After hearing several other--complimentary addresses, Kossuth in a few
minutes replied. He began with apologies, and then proceeded]:--

Permit me to say, that in my opinion the word "glory" should be blotted
out from the Dictionary in respect to individuals, and only left for use
in respect to nations. Whatever a man can do for his country, even
though he should live a long life, and have the strongest faculties,
would not be too much: for he ought to use his utmost exertions, and his
utmost powers, in return for the gifts he receives. Whatever a man can
do on behalf of his country and of humanity, would never be so much as
his duty calls upon him to do, still less so much as to merit the use of
the word "glory" in regard to himself. Once more, I say, that duty
belongs to the man and glory to the nation. When an honest man does his
duty to his own country, and becomes a patriot, he acts for all
humanity, and does his duty to mankind.

You have bestowed great attention upon the cause of Hungary, and the
subject is here well understood generally, which is a benefit to me. I
declare to you all, that I find more exact knowledge of the Hungarian
cause here, than in any other place I have been. Yet I am astonished to
see in a report of the proceedings of the United States Senate, that a
member rose and said that we were not struggling for the principle of
Freedom and of Liberty, but rather for the support of our ancient
Charter. This, gentlemen, is a misrepresentation of our cause. There is
a truth in the assertion that we were struggling for our _ancient
rights_, for the right of self-government is an ancient right. The
right of self-government was ours a thousand years ago, and has been
guaranteed to us by the coronation oaths of more than thirty of our
kings. I say that this right was guaranteed to us, yet it had become a
dead letter in the course of time. Before the Revolution of 1848 we were
long struggling to enforce our notorious but often invaded rights; but
the whole people were not interested in them: for although they were
constitutional rights, they were restricted in ancient times, not to a
particular _race_, but to a particular _class_, called Nobles.
These did not belong to the Magyars alone, but to all the races that
settled in the country, to the Sclaves, to the Wallachians, the Serbs,
and to others, whatever their race or their extraction. Yet none but the
_Nobles_ were privil