Life and Correspondence of Joseph Reed - Military Secretary of Washington; At Cambridge; Adjutant; General of the Continental Army; Member of the Congress of the United States; And President of the Executive Council of the State of Pen... #225311

It would be great affectation to disguise the active motives which have stimulated me in the publica tion of this work. One is altogether personal; and may be candidly described as the pride of ancestry, which every American has a right to cherish, and which, wholly distinct from irrational and offensive boastfulness, may be indulged, so far at least as to guide conduct, elevate the aims of life, and make one ashamed to discredit the examples of the past. It certainly does not weaken patriotic impulses for a man to feel that he and his children. Bear a patriot's name; and pride becomes stronger, and surer, and more rational when the world sees on the faithful record of the past how that name was earned.