He has, indeed, been tested by the sternest maxims of the military art. He has been found responsive to their most exacting demands. But all such tests are largely those of mere intellectual power—not disclosing excellence in moral and social relations, except as these illustrate “Statesmanship in War,” and complement other qualifications of the Ideal Soldier. But Washington was more than a soldier. It is no ill-conceived paradox to assert that the ideal soldier, the greatest soldier, is not the man who most literally represents knowledge of the military art. It is asserted in the Word of Life, that “he that ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city.” It is not to be forgotten that the only proper function of War is, to eliminate disturbants of the public peace. To give life for country is to partake of the Divine prerogative of giving life for humanity. And the soldiers who fought under Washington were not mere men, of certain ages, to be handled well in battle, as parts of a machine. They were not hirelings, discounting the chances of life and death for money. Peace and its domesticities represented the goal of their pursuit; and self-sacrifice, even of life, to secure that peace, was their conscious service to family, to country, and to God. The people, as a people, had no unholy frenzy for war as a source of purely military glory. Only barbarous nations, or the devotees of some great conqueror or fanatical religionist, can thus pervert the patriotic sentiment to the instincts of the beast. Washington’s army was strong, because strong at home. Country, was the aggregate of homes many. Never did the term patriotism have a more radiant reflection of its intrinsic glory; and Washington, as “Pater Patriæ,” was so paternal in his trust, that his army was filial as well as loyal, in the highest quality of duty to their great Captain. His faith in his country’s future was based upon the intelligence of the people; and his army was both intelligent and religious, because respect for law and religion was the basis of the first settlement of the American Colonies as well as the foundation upon which they established all domestic and political concerns. In 1780, Thomas Pownall, once royal Governor of Massachusetts, pronounced “American Independence as fixed as fate”; adding: “North America has become a new Primary planet, which, while it takes its own course, in its own orbit, must shift the common centre of gravity.” He added this significant inquiry: “Will that most enterprising spirit be stopped at Cape Horn; or, not pass beyond the Cape of Good Hope? Before long, they will be found trading in the South Sea, in the Spice Islands, and in China. Commerce will open the door to emigration. By constant intercommunication, America will every day approach nearer and nearer to Europe.”