Note 293:1 — Chapter XI
Reading edition
"He stands for the commonplace virtues; he is great along lines on which each one of us can be great if he wills and dares" (Theodore Roosevelt, the Man and Citizen, by Jacob A. Riis). Mr. Roosevelt has spoken of himself as "a very ordinary man." A pleasant story is told by Mr. Riis of the lady who said: "I have always wanted to make Roosevelt out a hero, but somehow, every time he did something that seemed really great, it turned out, upon looking at it closely, that it was only just the right thing to do."