The Reform [of The Civil Service] Should

My Ambition For Station Was Always Easily Controlled. If The Place Came To Me It Was Welcome. But It Never Seemed To Me Worth Seeking At The Cost Of Self-respect, Or Independence. My Family Were Not Historic; They Were Well-to-do, Did Not Hold Or Seek Office. It Was Easy For Me To Be Contented In Private Life. An Honor Was No Honor To Me, If Obtained By My Own Seeking.

No Person Connected With Me By Blood Or Marriage Will Be Appointed To Office.

Nobody Ever Left The Presidency With Less Regret, Less Disappointment, Fewer Heart Burnings, Or Any General Content With The Result Of His Term (in His Own Heart, I Mean) Than I Do. Full Of Difficulty And Trouble At First, I Now Find Myself On Smooth Waters And Under Bright Skies.

Virtue Is Defined To Be Mediocrity, Of Which Either Extreme Is Vice.

The Sacred Obligation To The Union Soldiers Must Not - Will Not Be Forgotten Nor Neglected. But Those Who Fought Against The Nation Cannot And Do Not Look To It For Relief. Confederate Soldiers And Their Descendants Are To Share With Us And Our Descendants The Destiny Of America. Whatever, Therefore, We Their Fellow Citizens Can Do To Remove Burdens From Their Shoulders And To Brighten Their Lives Is Surely In The Pathway Of Humanity And Patriotism.