The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1915-09-03


and concise writer, and the mos
fundamental statesman of his time
Napoleon, Alexander and Washing
ton were also largely endowed with
the powers requisite to statesman
ship. Gin eloquence and literature, >
says Charming of Caesar, he left
| behind him almost all those who had
devoted themselves exclusively to
THESE pursuits" "No military nara
tive" says Fraud, ''has approached
the excellence of the history of the
war in Gaul." But one may be a
consummate orator andyet be no peer
among the mightiest intellectual
orbs. And purely historical writings
do not, and in their nature cannot,
rank with the grandest and SUI
blimest literary productions in
| stance, with the best poetry and
philosophy. The production of even
the best history does not require a
large employment of imagination,
reason or intuition, which are re-
garded as the eminent of the intel
lectual attributes, and the express
sion Of which are highly pronounced
in the best poetry, fiction and phil
osophy. Neither does consummate
ability as a statesman or lawgiver,
which deals only with the material
or experimentally movable, require
a large endowment, development or
use of the creative, intuitive or rea-
soning powers-a deep subtitle use
of the reason such as we find in
Plato or Bacon Caesar, and per-
haps no other statesman, has ever
appeared to be most literally gifted
with the superior parts of mind.
Even the great Webster, a powerful
intellect, does not seem to possess
a very profoundly penetrating rea
son, that sinks it's roots deep to uni
versal law and fact, or the large
imagination that bodies forth the
form of things unknown" We must
deny to Mr.. Webster" says Therea-
dore Parker, "the great reason" and
further he added, "the large imagi-
nation" And l have seen no reason
as yet for contradicting Mr.. Parker's
statements.
Caesar was, I believe, the most
intellectual of all generals, with Ma
poleon as a close second, but neither
his oratory, his literary productions
or craftsmanship entities him to
rank as a peer, or equal, among the
worlds greatest characters and in
telligences. Moses, Homer, Plato,
Paul, Shakespeare, Bacon, Dante,
Milton--who would think of COM
pairing any general whomsoever, as
a character or an intellect, with
these and like luminaries, whose
minds with powerful sweep travelled,
like a beam of glory, thru all earth,
all space, all nature, all time and in
to eternity, vivifying and Eliminating
things most abstruse and high, and
revealing profound moral and spirit
ual depths. Generals, as rule, and
nearly all statesmen also, are lack
ing in large moral worth, without
which the sublimest visions or deep
est insight is impossible even to
but pure, intellect; for
morality, next to spirituality, with
which it is closely related) is the
deepest and greatest of all universal
facts.
The exorbitant love of gain and
for glory, such as are
of nearly all renowned
generals, and which are pushed for
ward often to their ultimate goal
thru useless, enormous and utterly
butchery, can only be-
long to an order of men below the
first. "The conqueror of Napoleon"
says Charming, possesses undoubt-
edly great military talents; but we
do not understand that his most par
tial admirers claim for him place
in the highest class of men," And
that is more or less true of nearly |
all military geniuses. There is a
wide gulf fixed between such men
as Wellington and the man (Ten~
nyson) that sang of him, 20 good
gray head which all men knew
The truly great, deep, good and
wise souls of all ages have been, and
must forever be, lifted above the
brutal ambition and vain glory OF
war, as the eagle with her stronger
wings and more bouyant spirit, rises
above all earthly vapors and clouds
and disports in the suns purest
The really great man is
more than destructive.
A thinker and an orderly doer, not
/ whirlwind of fire or a mealstrom
If ruin. He lays his ear close to the
1eaving bosom of all existence and
listens to the pulsings of the ages,
% the deep breathings of Deity, to
he dimly articulate thoughts of
God! To him, deep answers unto
leep in accents of peace and good
will. He may drive war, but it
must be a matter of necessity, not
and it must be on the side
# justice and of God. His soul is
n harmony with the UNIVERSAL order
md beauty, behind which is God,
nd he would have the laws, or kin
Ired laws, that govern the con-
ordant motion of the stars, to rule
mong men. The wise and good
nan must be for universal peace
nd Righteousness. Jesus Christ, be- !
ng the most imperial of all men,
he wholly wise and good, must of
ecessity from his own divinely har-
1onious nature, full of grace, truth
nd love, be the Prince of Peace. ]
noa4L ~ T,oxy