His was the belief of reason and revelation; and that belief was illustrated and exemplified in all his actions. No parade accompanied its exercise, no declamation its exhibition; for it was his opinion that a man who is always boasting of his religion, is like one who continually proclaims his honesty—he would trust neither one nor the other. He was not accustomed to argue points of faith, but on one occasion, in reply to a gentleman who expressed doubts on the subject, thus gave his sentiments:—   “It is impossible to account for the creation of the universe without the agency of a Supreme Being.   “It is impossible to govern the universe without the aid of a Supreme Being.   “It is impossible to reason without arriving at a Supreme Being. Religion is as necessary to reason, as reason is to religion. The one cannot exist without the other. A reasoning being would lose his reason in attempting to account for the great phenomena of nature, had he not a Supreme Being to refer to; and well has it been said, that if there had been no God, mankind would have been obliged to imagine one.” On this basis of piety was erected the superstructure of his virtues.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "His was the belief of reason and revelation; and that belief was illustrated and exemplified in all his actions. No parade accompanied its exercise, no declamation its exhibition; for it was his opinion that a man who is always boasting of his religion, is like one who continually proclaims his honesty—he would trust neither one nor the other. He was not accustomed to argue points of faith, but on one occasion, in reply to a gentleman who expressed doubts on the subject, thus gave his sentiments:—   “It is impossible to account for the creation of the universe without the agency of a Supreme Being.   “It is impossible to govern the universe without the aid of a Supreme Being.   “It is impossible to reason without arriving at a Supreme Being. Religion is as necessary to reason, as reason is to religion. The one cannot exist without the other. A reasoning being would lose his reason in attempting to account for the great phenomena of nature, had he not a Supreme Being to refer to; and well has it been said, that if there had been no God, mankind would have been obliged to imagine one.” On this basis of piety was erected the superstructure of his virtues." in the context of "James Kirke Paulding, A Life of Washington (New-York, Harper and Brothers, 1835), vol. 2, p. 209-210; Paulding gives no authority for this anecdote" to mean that wisdom is timeless.