Nixon's Farewell Address

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Nixon's Farewell Address to Cabinet and White House Staff (Soothing Today)
American Rhetoric ^ 
Posted on 11/8/2006 7:56:28 PM by furquhart
"Now, however, we look to the future. Had a little quote in the speech last night¹ from T.R. [Theodore Roosevelt] As you know, I kind of like to read books. I'm not educated, but I do read books and the T.R. quote was a pretty good one. Here is another one I found as I was reading -- my last night in the White House -- and this quote is about a young man. He was a young lawyer in New York. He'd married a beautiful girl, and they had a lovely daughter, and then suddenly she died, and this is what he wrote. This was in his diary.
He said:
She was beautiful in face and form and lovelier still in spirit. As a flower she grew and as a fair young flower she died. Her life had been always in the sunshine. There had never come to her a single great sorrow. None ever knew her who did not love and revere her for her bright and sunny temper and her saintly unselfishness. Fair, pure, and joyous as a maiden; loving, tender, and happy as a young wife. When she had just become a mother, when her life seemed to be just begun, and then the years seemed so bright before her, then by a strange and terrible fate death came to her. And when my heart's dearest died -- died, the light went from my life forever.
That was T.R. in his twenties. He thought the light had gone from his life forever -- but he went on. And he not only became President but, as an ex-President, he served his country always in the arena, tempestuous, strong, sometimes wrong, sometimes right, but he was a man.
And as I leave, let me say, that's an example I think all of us should remember. We think sometimes when things happen that don't go the right way, we think that when you don't pass the bar exam the first time -- I happened to, but I was just lucky; I mean my writing was so poor the bar examiner said, "We have just gotta let the guy through." We think that when someone dear to us dies, we think that when we lose an election, we think that when we suffer a defeat, that all is ended. We think, as T.R. said, that the light had left his life forever.
Not true. It's only a beginning -- always. The young must know it; the old must know it. It must always sustain us because the greatness comes not when things go always good for you, but the greatness comes when you are really tested, when you take some knocks, some disappointments, when sadness comes; because only if you've been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain.
And so I say to you on this occasion we leave, we leave proud of the people who have stood by us and worked for us and served this country. We want you to be proud of what you've done. We want you to continue to serve in Government, if that is your wish. Always give your best; never get discouraged; never be petty. Always remember others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.
And so, we leave with high hopes, in good spirit and with deep humility, and with very much gratefulness in our hearts. I can only say to each and every one of you, we come from many faiths, we pray perhaps to different gods, but really the same God in a sense, but I want to say for each and every one of you, not only will we always remember you, not only will we always be grateful to you, but always you will be in our hearts and you will be in our prayers.
Thank you very much."