Roger Wolcott

“ On the sloping hillside of Plymouth, that bathes its feet in the waters of the Atlantic, such a voice is breathed by the brooding genius of the place, and the ear must be dull that fails to catch the whispered words. For here not alone did godly men and women suffer greatly for a great cause, but their noble purpose was not doomed to defeat, but was carried to perfect victory. ”

“ May God in his mercy grant that the moral impulse which founded this nation may never cease to control its destiny; that no act of any future generation may put in peril the fundamental principles on which it is based, — of equal rights in a free state, equal privileges in a free church and equal opportunities in a free school.
In this precious volume which I hold in my hands — the gift of England to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts — is told the noble, simple story of the Plymouth Plantation. ”

“ There are places and objects so intimately associated with the world's greatest men or with mighty deeds that the soul of him who gazes upon them is lost in a sense of reverent awe, as it listens to the voice that speaks from the past, in words like those which came from the burning bush, "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." ”