Sentence:  There is no man here so young—and we have some very young members—but he must have observed, must have known from the impulses of his own mind and his own feelings, that, when in a state of high excitement, a man's judgment is not so accurate, not so effectual, not to be relied upon to such an extent, as when he is cool, calm and <WSD>collected</WSD>. That is an axiom in morals, in the history of human life, about which I suppose there will be no question. Are we now in that condition? 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  (Cool‐headed), emotionally stable, in focus.