Daniel Webster, secretary of state, letter to the New York Committee for the Celebration of the Birthday of Washington (February 20, 1851); in The Writings and Speeches of Daniel Webster, vol. 12 (1903), p. 261

Gentlemen, the character of Washington is among the most cherished contemplations of my life. It is a fixed star in the firmament of great names, shining without twinkling or obscuration, with clear, steady, beneficent light.

— Daniel Webster

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Gentlemen, the character of Washington is among the most cherished contemplations of my life. It is a fixed star in the firmament of great names, shining without twinkling or obscuration, with clear, steady, beneficent light." in the context of "Daniel Webster, secretary of state, letter to the New York Committee for the Celebration of the Birthday of Washington (February 20, 1851); in The Writings and Speeches of Daniel Webster, vol. 12 (1903), p. 261" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "George Washington" (Quotes about George Washington: Sorted alphabetically by author or source These should be arranged alphabetically by author) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 05, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
George Washington

About George Washington

George Washington (22 February 1732 – 14 December 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Second Continental Congress as commander of the Continental Army in June 1775, Washington led Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War and then served as president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which drafted and ratified the Constitution of the United States and established the American federal government. Washington has thus been called the "Father of his Country".