rcome by energy of
will; mild but persisting firmness, resignation toward heaven, struggle
against the world; long conception of the idea in solitude, heroic
execution of it in action; intrepidity and coolness in storms,
fearlessness of death in civil strife; confidence in the destiny--not of
an individual, but of the human race; a life risked without hesitation
or retrospect in venturing into the unknown and phantom-peopled ocean,
1,500 leagues across, and on which the first step no more allowed of
second thoughts than Caesar's passage of the Rubicon; untiring study,
knowledge as extensive as the science of his day, skillful but honorable
management of courts to persuade them to truth; propriety of demeanor,
nobleness, and dignity in outward bearing, which afford proof of
greatness of mind and attracts eyes and hearts; language adapted to the
grandeur of his thoughts; eloquence which could convince kings and quell
the mutiny of crews; a natural poetry of style, which placed his
narrative on a par with the wonders of his discoveries and the marvels
of nature; an immense, ardent, and enduring love for the human race,
piercing even into that distant future in which humanity forgets those
that do it service; legislative wisdom and philosophic mildness in the
government of his colonies; paternal compassion for those Indians,
infants of humanity, whom he wished to give over to the
guardianship--not to the tyranny and oppression--of the Old World;
forgetfulness of injury and magnanimous forgiveness of his enemies; and
lastly, piety, that virtue which includes and exalts all other virtues,
when it exists as it did in the mind of Columbus--the constant presence
of God in the soul, of justice in the conscience, of mercy in the heart,
of gratitude in success, of resignation in reverses, of worship always
and everywhere.

Such was the man. We know of none more perfect. He contains several
impersonations within himself. He was worthy to represent the ancient
world before that unknown continent on which he was the first to set
foot, and carry to these men of a new race all the virtues, without any
of the vices, of the elder hemisphere. So great was his influence on the
destiny of the earth, that none more than he ever deserved the name of a
_Civilizer_.

His influence in civilization was immeasurable. He completed the world.
He realized the physical unity of the globe. He advanced, far beyond all
that had been done before his time