He was candid and sincere, true to his friends, and faithful to all; neither practicing dissimulation, descending to artifice, nor holding out expectations which he did not intend should be realized.  His passions were strong, and sometimes they broke out with vehemence:  but he had the power of checking them in an instant.  Perhaps self-control was the most remarkable trait of his character.  It was, in part, the effect of discipline; yet he seems by nature to have possessed this power in a degree which has been denied to other men.

A Christian in faith and practice, he was habitually devout.  His reverence for religion is seen in his example, his public communications, and his private writings.  He uniformly ascribed his successes to the beneficent agency of the Supreme Being.  Charitable and humane, he was liberal to the poor, and kind to those in distress.  As a husband, son, and brother, he was tender and affectionate.  Without vanity, ostentation, or pride, he never spoke of himself or his actions unless required by circumstances which concerned the public interests.

As he was free from envy, so he had the good fortune to escape the envy of others by standing on an elevation which none could hope to attain.  If he had one passion more strong than another it was love of his country.  The purity and ardor of his patriotism were commensurate with the greatness of its object.  Love of country in him was invested with the sacred obligation of a duty; and from the faithful discharge of this duty he never swerved for a moment, either in thought or deed, through the whole period of his eventful career.

Such are some of the traits in the character of Washington, which have acquired for him the love and veneration of mankind.  If they are not marked with the brilliancy, extravagance, and eccentricity, which, in other men, have excited the astonishment of the world, so neither are they tarnished by the follies, nor disgraced by the crimes of those men.  It is the happy combination of rare talents and qualities, the harmonious union of the intellectual and moral powers, rather than the dazzling splendor of any one trait, which constitute the grandeur of his character.  If the title of great man ought to be reserved for him who can not be charged with an indiscretion or a vice; who spent his life in establishing the independence, the glory, and durable prosperity of his country; who succeeded in all that he undertook; and whose successes were never won at the expense of honor, justice, integrity, or by the sacrifice of a single principle,—­this title will not be denied to Washington.

      How sweetly on the ear such echoes sound! 
      While the mere victors may appall or stun
      The servile and the vain, such names will be
      A watchword till the future shall be free. 
          
                                      —­Byron.

CXXXI.  EULOGY ON WASHINGTON. (444)