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  ...request, you may have some previous time for reflection on it."
"The picture which you have exhibited," replied the general, "and the accounts which are published of the commotions and temper of numerous bodies in the eastern country, present a state of things equally to be lamented and deprecated. They exhibit a melancholy verification of what our transatlantic foes have predicted; and of another thing perhaps which is still more to be regretted, and is yet more unaccountable--that Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government.   I am mortified beyond expression when I view the clouds which have spread over the brightest morn that ever dawned upon any country. In a word, I am lost in amazement when I behold what intrigue, the interested views of desperate characters, ignorance and jealousy of the minor part, are capable of effecting as a scourge on the major part of our fellow citizens of the union; for it is hardly to be supposed that the great body of the people, though they will not act, can be so short...   Washington, George

Excerpt from The Life of George Washington, Vol. 4 (of 5) Commander in Chief of the American Forces During the War which Established the Independence of his Country and First President of the United States · This quote is about government · Search on Google Books to find all references and sources for this quotation.

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