Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1908-02-21
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SOURCE OF LINCoLN's GREATNESS
By Rev. Percy Trafford Olton.
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By Rev. Percy Trafford Olton.
! Blessed is the man whose strength
! Is in thee.-Psalms lXXxiv. 5.
The anniversary of the birth of Abra-
| ham Lincoln is not SO much time for
recapitulatiOn Of the outward events
Of his life as for trying to make clear
! the forces that governed it. 1t would
be comparatively simple task to
! point a moral and adorn a tale" from
life SO full of integrity and virtue.
1t Is far more important to note the
hidden springs Of conduct that pro-
! duced" it.
The prophet, the genius, the states
man differs from his fellow creatures
not in essence nut in degree. He is of
! the same clay, subject to the same limi-
tatiOns, and meets the same difficult
ties as are common to mortals. The
point Of difference is not to be found
in the influence of heredity or the
power Of environment or even in the
possession Of greater natural gifts It
is true that these are factors which
must be considered, but were history
fully written it would contain the
names of as many failures as it has
recorded successes among those who
possessed every such advantage.
The first fact to be noticed about
this man whom the nation and the
world honors is the inf1exibility of his
will. He was not easily turned aside
from course of action; he was i'm
movable when it concerned a decision
Of the conscience. If he believed an
action to be right there could be no
yielding to the voice of opportunism
or concession; the course must be pur-
sued at all risks, at the price Of the
loss of reputation, yea of life itself.
If need be-
The next is the sense of reverence
which was so strongly developed in the
man. Abraham Lincoln loved the COM
mon people and they well-nigh wor-
shipped him. 1t was not simply be-
cause he himself was of lowly origin.
although that undoubtedly gave him
point Of contact which otherwise he
cause he had a deep and genuine re-
spect for every human being Of what
ever rank or station in life. He looked
upon man as the child of the Heavenly
Father and treated him as such al
ways, according to him the dignity Of
his place as heir of the eternal life.
He could not eXalt himself above his
fellows when he remembered that they,
with him, were sharers Of the life Of
God.
And lastly, it may be said that one
of the next potent influences that mold
ed his conduct and character was his
belief in an OVerruling Providence. Like
all great souls he was lonely. It is
the penalty of greatness. But he found
his strength and consolation in COM
muniOn with the infinite. He could
bear all the weight Of his nations
shame. He could face all the hate and
fury Of his personal enemies; he could
go forward, undiscouraged and undis-
mayed, in the presence of defeat and
impending ruin because he believed
that God was his heaven and that the
right would ultimately prevail. Truly,
Abraham Lncoln's strength was in
God, and saying that We have laid bare
the source of his greatness.
1t sums up all the various qualities
that made this humble, uncultured man
a prince among men.