The Monmouth inquirer., 1894-03-29

The personality of Abraham Lincoln
ranks him easily as the greatest Of
Americans since Washington; and it is
by no means a heresy to the rising
thought of the age to see in lincoln
and in Ralph Waldo Emerson types
of American greatness more thorough
ly but our own than even that of
Washington.
But every great man has. besides
his own personal place in the lists OF
character, another place which he
holds by virtue of the service he has
rendered to his fellow-men by means
of that character and moral life. He
has what may be called biographical
standing. He has also historical
standing. That is, he takes one rank
according to what he is, and another
according TO what he does. In this
latter light it is not as yet at all COM
mon to think of Abraham Lincoln.
Consider as said, therefore, all that
the most sincere admirer could say of
Lincoln's stalwart character, his or
iginal nature, trained by unparalleled
events, his genius, so entirely American
shaped In circumstances America
alone could supply; but remember also
that when we study him from this
point of view, we are taking him. after
all, only in his national relations as Il
countryman and an American. We
have not yet sought his place in the
larger human circle which includes
the world. What place does he hold
there? Has he any claims to rank be-
side the heroes whose fame. far from
provincial, the heritage of a state or
4 race, is swept up into the loftier
glory that belongs to the great men Of
all time and all ages and all races?
1t is time for us to put our man of
the West in his world relations. If
our nation itself has a clear function
in the development of the worlds So
cial and political life, then this man
who sustained such important rela-
| tions to our national existence had
certain equally important functions in
the economy of international progress.
This man, who stepped from the
prairies of Illinois to the leadership
of the most momentous struggle OF
modern times, was by that very fact
brought into relation with the whole
scheme of the worlds political history,
and was called to one of the most inn
portant posts in the march of civilian
ton. Yet men have hardly begun to
understand the full import of Lincoln's
influence in the great struggle which
shook this continent a quarter century
ago. He was wiser man and more
opportune man than we have realized.
He comprehended the circumstances
of the hour, and saw their relations to
/ the political life of the ages with an
| intr ton the accuracy of which is ali
/ the more impressive from the fact
that it seems to have been half un-
/ conscious.
When a man, in the midst of the
babel of policies and principles which
! fills the ears in a time of excitement
and uncertainty, singles out the one
! transcendent and supreme thought,
holds TO it firmly, and makes it the
guide of all his acts and the test of
all his methods, he gives incontestable
| evidence of greatness and genius. How
maryelously Lincoln fulfilled the test
of greatness we are just beginning to
see. For we are beginning to perceive
| the connection of our struggle with
the evolution of the nations, and how
definite a relation it had to the world $
| advance from barbarism to political
order, from anarchy to constitutional
| freedom, from a state of perpetual
feuds to condition nearer to essen.
tial peacefulness than the world has
previously known.-Century.