Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1872-07-26
Portrait of Mr.. Greeley.

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The Boston .40ceytiser gives the
following graphic pen portrait of
Horace Greeley, written by John
Hccker, twenty years ago. Its CO.
incidence with the estimate of his
character formed by VIM. Cullen
Bryant, and other able men of the
present day who have had intimate
relations with Mr.. Greeley, will be
noticed:
"Mr. Greeley is sufficiently sup.
piled with the requisites for moral
appreciation and action to keep him
from falling irrcdecmably low, but
they have little OF nothing to do
with Guiding him. He has no SUI
perhuous moral power; neither is it
of that kind that makes man have
any distinct purpose. Beneyolence,
marvelousness, hope and ideality-
all improperly controlled-consti-
tutc his moral capital He is quite
deficient in conscientiousness and
firmness. They have no influence
over his actions. None of the NOR
al faculties have any direct influence
Oh his general character. They are
controlled by, or consort with, his
intellect. We must except, howev-
er, benevolence, to which all his
other moral faculties are subjected,
or for which they are neglected.
This is the only moral faculty which
maintains Il strong, though not uni
form, equality with the intellect. 70
"Mr. Greeley has no constitutions
al appreciation Of truth. He is not
morally lmpressible. He is just as
likely to take wrong position as a
true one; and sclf-esteem, or conccit,
rather, being the largest organ in
the group Of the will, the best part
of his life is passed in repelling the
assaults made on his motives, in cx
planning and defining his position,'
which he cannot do satisfactorily,
because he has no purpose. But he
is not honest as reformer. His
judicious silence on some points
| contributes in a great measure to
spread abroad an idea that he is
honest, or rather to limit the knowl-
edge of his dishonesty. If q Loco
Foco President had signed the
Fugitive Slave bill, Webster's
quarto would have been exhausted
in abusing him. Every bad act of
his life, often exaggerated, would
have been held up to the public
gaze not n good deed would have
been rccounted. This man would
have been stamped as a hell-hound
before the world.
1t is when he is off his guard, and
not under the influence Of his gener-
al character, that Mr.. Greeley is
benevolent, privately. And then,
being deficient in religion, consci-
entioIsness and tirmness, he is as
likely to give to q seoundrel as to
an honest man. He is poor judge
of character. He does not judge a
man from strong feeling of right.
1t is a mere question Of cxpedicncy,
immediate availability or unavaila-
bility. And then he often misses
it. He sympathizes equally with
the man of character and the man
of no characer. A coarse, vulgar
fellow that would without knocking
enter his room, walk up to him, slap
him Familiarity on the back, and call
him Horace, would be better receiv
ed by him than a gentleman who
would wait an hour until he was
discngaged and then courteous
ly accost him. While he would be
hardly aware, apparently, of the ex-
istence OF the latter, and would allow
him to stand awkwardly, hat in
hand, he would be submissive to
and afraid of the former He has
no power to resist an onslaught
made on him by a rough, low fell
low. In 4 controversy he takes
every fair advantage, and shows
that he acts fairly; and every unfair
one, and says nothing about it; and
he does this quite honestly in one
sense, when his organic inability to
discriminate between the true and
the false is considered. His capac-
ity as u business man, in the COM
prchcnsive sense of the word, is
quite limited. lie is not u good
plamer, although he can OCCASION
ally combine n plan that he thinks
will advance his interests"