William Wirt 1772 – 1830
“Perhaps there is no property in which men are more distinguished from each other, then in the various degrees in which they possess the faculty of observation. The great herd of mankind past their lives in listless inattention and indifference as to what is going on around them, being perfectly content to satisfy the mere cravings of nature, while those who are destined to distinction have a lynx eyed vigilance that nothing can escape. They know of all that is passing and keep a reckoning not only of every interesting passage but of all the characters of the age who have any concern in them.” ((Source))