Quote of the Day (Patrick Henry, on the Use Americans Make of Their Blessings)

“Whether this [American independence] will prove a blessing or a curse, will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings which a gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable.—Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation. Reader! whoever thou art, remember this; and in thy sphere, practise virtue thyself, and encourage it in others.”—American lawyer and patriot Patrick Henry (1732-1799), in the concluding lines of a note found with his will after his death, quoted in William Wirt, Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry (1817)