Note 53 — Chapter IV · The Warrior, the Statesman, and the Planter.

To a nephew, who was entering the Assembly for the first time, he wrote, “The only advice I will offer, if you have a mind to command the attention of the House, is to speak seldom, but on important subjects, except such as particularly relate to your constituents; and, in the former case make yourself perfectly master of the subject. Never exceed a decent warmth, and submit your sentiments with diffidence. A dictatorial style, though it may carry conviction, is always accompanied with disgust.”—Sparks’ Life of Washington, p. 101.