Daily Inspiration Quote by Caleb Cushing

Cushing’s sentence is a velvet-gloved attempt to seize the room without sounding like he’s seizing it. “I beg of gentlemen” performs deference, but it’s also a coded reminder of hierarchy: this is a closed, male political world where being addressed as a “gentleman” is both flattery and discipline. The ask isn’t merely to consider the issue; it’s to accept Cushing’s frame for considering it.

The key move is the pairing of “calm review” with “facts and of principles.” In 19th-century diplomatic and legislative culture, “calm” isn’t just a mood; it’s a credential. It implies the speaker is rational, above faction, immune to the heat of demagoguery. That posture quietly delegitimizes opponents as impulsive, ideological, or unserious before they’ve even spoken. “Facts” signals modernity and competence; “principles” reassures the audience that practicality won’t slide into opportunism. The subtext: I have done my homework, I have the moral architecture, and if you disagree, you’re either ignoring reality or violating the shared code.

“Entertaining these opinions of the course to be pursued” also matters. The phrasing softens assertion into something like polite contemplation, a diplomatic habit that leaves room for negotiation while still guiding the outcome. As a diplomat, Cushing is practicing governance as tone management: pacify the forum, elevate his method, and make his preferred policy feel like the natural product of reason rather than the triumph of a faction.