man may act upon them. My
first rule will be, leave it to others to judge of what duties you
are capable, and for what position you are fitted; but never refuse
to give your services in whatever capacity it my be the opinion of
others who are competent to judge that you may benefit your
neighbors and your country. My second rule is, when you agree to
undertake public duties, concentrate every energy and faculty in
your possession with the determination to discharge those duties to
the best of your ability. Lastly, I would counsel you that, in
deciding on the line which you will take in public affairs, you
should be guided in your decision by that which, after mature
deliberation, you believe to be right, and not by that which, in the
passing hour, may happen to be fashionable or popular."

Another author equally eminent writes in the same vein:

"The first great duty of every citizen is that of an abiding love for
his country. This is one of the native instincts of the noble heart.
History tells of many a devoted hero, reared under an oppressive
despotism, and groaning under unjust exactions, with little in the
character of his ruler to excite anything like generous enthusiasm,
who yet has shed his blood and given up his treasures in willing
sacrifice for his country's good. In a country such as this we live
in, it is the duty of every man to be a patriot, and to love and
serve it with an affection that is commensurate both with the
priceless cost of her liberties, and the greatness of her civil and
religious privileges. Indeed, however it may be in other lands, in
this one the youth may be said to draw in the love of country with
his native air; and it is justly taken for granted that all will
seek and maintain her interests, as that the child shall love its
mother, on whose bosom it has been cradled, and of whose life it is
a part.

"In no other country more than this is it important that all should
rightly understand and faithfully fulfill the duties of citizenship.
While ignorance is the natural stronghold of tyranny, knowledge is
the very throne of civil liberty. It is the interest of despotism to
foster a blind, unreasoning obedience to arbitrary law; but where,
as with us, almost the humblest has a voice in the administration of
public affairs, more depends upon the enlightened sentiments of the
masses than upon even the skill of temporary rulers, or the
character of existing laws."

A generation ago, when