Democratic Sentinel, Volume 12, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 February 1888 — A TRIBUTE TO NOBILITY. [ARTICLE]

A TRIBUTE TO NOBILITY.

Abraham Lincoln Beautifully Pictured by an Eloquent Speaker. The Grandest Figure of the Greatest Civil War of the ( World. At a banquet in Brooklyn, N. Y., in observance of Lincoln’s birthday, Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, responding to the toast “Abraham Lincoln,” spoke as follows: Abraham Lincoln was one of the few who saw that slavery could not exist forever. He was bojn in a cabin—laid m the lap of the poor—born in a cabin in the wilderness of ■Kentucky, yet he rose to such a supreme and splendid bight that fame never reached higher than his brow when putting his laurels on the brow of a human beihg. He was a man who was true to himself, and for that reason Yfi 8 true to others. He was a strange mingling of mirth and tears, of the perfect and grotesque, of Socrates and Rabelais, of iEsop and ot Marcus Aurelius, of all that was noble and just, of mercy and honesty, mercilul, wise, lovable, and divine—and all consecrated to the use of man, while through ail and over all was an overwhelming sense of chivalry and loyalty, c and above all the shadow of a perfect mind. Of nearly all the great characters of history we know nothing of their peculiarities. About the oaks of these great men, and about the roots of these oaks, wo know nothing of the earth that cliugs to them. Washington himself is now a steel engraving. About the real man who lived, who loved, who schemed, “and who succeeded, we know nothing. The glass through which we look at hhn is of such high magnilyiug power that the features are indistinct Hundreds of people are now engaged smoothing out the lines in Lincoln’s face so that he may be known, not as he really was, but, according to their poor standard, as he should have been. “Abraham Lincoln was not a type; he stands alone—no ancestors, no followers, and no successors. He had the advantage of living in a new country, the advantage of social equality, of personal freedom, of seeing in the horizon of 1A life the perpetual star of hope. He kuew and mingled with men of every kind, and became "familiar with tho best books. In a new country you must possess at least three qualities—honesty, courage and generosity. In cultivated society, cultivation is often more important than soil; and, while a polished counterfeit sometimes passes more readily than the blurred genuine, it is necessary only to observe the uncertain laws of society to be honest enough to keep out of the penitentiary, and generous enougn to subscribe in public when the subscription can be defined as a business investment In a new country character is essential; in the old reputation is often sufficient In the new they find what a man is; in the old he generally passes for what he resembles. People separated by distance are mnch nearer together than those divided by the wads of caste. “Lincoln never finished his education, although he was always an inquirer and a seeker after knowledge. You have no idea how many men are spoiled by what is called education. For the most part colleges are where pebbles are polished and diamonds are dimmed. If bhakspeare had graduated at Oxford he might have been a quibbling attorney or a poor parson. Lincoln was a many-sided man, as reliable as the direction of gravity. His words were kind as mercy, and gave a perfect image of his thought. He was never afraid to ask, never too dignified to admit that he did not know.

“Lincoln was natural in his life and thought, master of the story-telling art, liberal in speech, using any word which wit would disinfect He was a logician. He did not say what he thought others thought, but what Ije thought He was sincerely natural. If you wish to be sublime you must keep close to the grass. Too much polish suggests insincerity. If you wish to know what is the difference between an orator and an elocutionist, read Lincoln’s wondrous words at Gettysburg and then read the speech of Edward Everett. The oration of Lincoln will never be forgotten; it will live until languages are dead and lips are dust. The speech of Everett will never be read. Lincoln was an immense personality, firm but not obstinate—obstinacy is egotism, firmness is heroism. He influenced others, and they submitted to him. He was severe to himself, and for that reason lenient to others, and appeared to apologize for being kinder than his fellows. He did merciful things as stealthily as others committed crimes. He did and said the noblest deeds and words with that nobleness that is the grace of modesty. Everything for principle, nothing for money, everything for independenca Where no principle was involved easily swayed, w.illing to go somewhere if in the right direction; willing to stop sometimes; but he would not go back, and he would, not go away. He knew that fight was needed and full of chances; he knew that slavery had defenders, but no defense, and that those who advocated the right must win some tima He was neither tyrant or slave. Nothing discloses real character like the use of power, and it was the quality of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it except on the side of mercy. Wealth could not purchase power, could notaws this divine, this loving man, He knew no fear except the fear of doing wrong. He was the embodiment of self-denial and couraga He spoke not to upbraid, but to convince. He raised his hands, not to strike, but in benediction, and lived to see pearls of tears on the cheeks of the wives whose husbands he had saved from death. Lincoln was the grandest figure of the greatest civil war of the world.”

Speak well of your friends—of your enemies speak nothing.