George Wythe was an only child of a wealthy family. His father died when he was young, and his mother raised him. Both saw to his education. However, his mother passed when he was only 20, and he spent the next 10 years indulging himself. At 30, he returned to his studies, pursuing law.
He supported the cause of independence from the first. Being from Virginia, he stood with John Hancock, Richard Henry Lee, and Thomas Jefferson. He served his state and taught at university.
I don't know why I felt a sense of unsavoriness about the man. I do know that less than upstanding men are capable of standing for good causes. If a man who is less than honorable is able to recognize and defend liberty, than how much more important is it for an honorable person to do so?
I fear that I will talk a good talk but fail to walk the walk.
A couple of my favorite quotes are from Edmund Burke and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
From Wikipedia: Edmund Burke's alleged quote bears a
striking resemblance to the narrated theme of Sergei Bondarchuk's Soviet film
version of Tolstoy's book "War and Peace", in which the narrator
declares "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do
nothing," although since the original is in Russian various translations
to English are possible.
Original quote: "When bad men combine, the good must
associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a
contemptible struggle." ~ Edmund Burke
Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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