Rarely has there been
exhibited so complete a combination of qualities in statesmanship. His
intellectual endowments were almost without a parallel, and his
achievements without a precedent. In him seemed to be centered a rich
collection of the highest gifts of genius, great learning and readiness
in debate and discourse in the House of Commons, and extraordinary
wisdom in the administration of the affairs of the nation. His financial
talent, his business aptitude, his classical attainments, and above all
his moral fervor, and religious spirit were conspicuous. Some men would
have been contented with political power, or classical learning, or
literary distinction, but he excelled in all these--not only as a
statesman, but as a man of letters and a classical scholar. Neither has
held him exclusively as its own--he belongs to all, or rather they
belong to him--for he explored and conquered them. His literary
productions equal in merit his papers of State, while his knowledge of
the classics would do credit to any scholar.
He possessed the unusual quality of throwing the light of his own mind
on the greatest questions of national and international importance, of
bringing them down to the understanding and appreciation of the masses
of the people, of infusing, by his earnestness, the fire of his own soul
in the people, and of arousing in them the greatest enthusiasm.
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