"A final example, his trademark decision to surrender power as commander in chief and then president, was not, as Morris insisted, a sign that he had conquered his ambitions, but rather that he fully realized that all ambitions were inherently insatiable and unconquerable. He knew himself well enough to resist the illusion that he transcended human nature. Unlike Julius Caesar and Oliver Cromwell before him, and Napoleon, Lenin, and Mao after him, he understood that the greater glory resided in posterity's judgment. If you aspire to live forever in the memory of future generations, you must demonstrate the ultimate self-confidence to leave the final judgment to them. And he did."
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Presidents of the United StatesMilitary leaders from the United StatesFreemasonsFounding Fathers of the United States of AmericaNationalists
Original Language: English
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Sources
Joseph Ellis, His Excellency: George Washington (2004), pp. 274-275
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Washington
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Categories
George Washington
1732 – 1799
1. Präsident der USA (1789-1797)
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