May None But Honest And Wise Men

Washington Had Performed His Role To Perfection. It Was No Enough That A Leader Look The Part; By Washington's Rules, He Must Know How To Act It With Self-command And Precision.

The More Adams Thought About The Future Of His Country, The More Convinced He Became That It Rested On Education. Before Any Great Things Are Accomplished, He Wrote To A Correspondent, A Memorable Change Must Be Made In The System Of Education And Knowledge Must Become So General As To Raise The Lower Ranks Of Society Nearer To The Higher. The Education Of A Nation Instead Of Being Confined To A Few Schools And Universities For The Instruction Of The Few, Must Become The National Care And Expense For The Formation Of The Many.

You Have To Get Inside The People You Are Writing About. You Have To Go Below The Surface. And That's To A Very Large Degree What All Writers Are Doing - They're Trying To Get Below The Surface. Whether It's In Fiction Or Poetry Or Writing History And Biography. Some People Make That Possible Because They Write Wonderful Letters And Diaries. And You Have To Sort Of Go Where The Material Is.

The Truth Isn't Just The Facts. You Can Have All The Facts Imaginable And Miss The Truth, Just As You Can Have Facts Missing Or Some Wrong, And Reach The Larger Truth.

I'm Drawn Particularly To Stories That Evolve Out Of The Character Of The Protagonist.