... The magistrates of Colombia are neither Robespierre nor
Marat.... Colombia has never been a kingdom. A throne would produce
terror on account of its height as well as on account of its glamour."
To all his friends he declared his decided opposition to the monarchical
idea. In another letter, addressed to vice-president Santander, he wrote:
"I have fulfilled all my obligations, for I have done my duty as a
soldier, the only profession which I have followed since the first day
of the Republic.... I was not born to be a magistrate.... Even if a
soldier saves his country, he rarely proves a good executive.... You,
only, are a glorious exception to this rule."
One of the greatest rewards for his ambition, the one he valued the most
throughout the rest of his life, was received at that time. It consisted
of Washington's picture and a lock of his hair, sent as a present by
Washington's family from Mount Vernon through General Lafayette. In his
letter to Bolivar, Lafayette said:
"My religious and filial devotion to General Washington could not be
better recognized by his family than by honoring me with the commission
they have entrusted to me.... Of all men living, and even of all men in
history, Bolivar is the very one to whom my paternal friend w
have preferred to send this present. What else can I say to the great
citizen whom South America has honored with the name of Liberator,
confirmed in him by two worlds, a man endowed with an influence equal
to his self-denial, who carries in his heart the sole love of freedom
and of the republic?"
Bolivar answered:
"There are no words with which I can express how my heart appreciates
this gift.
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