is ruling organ; that always manifested itself with love,
regardless of truth and justice, right and equity. The question still
is, was Mr. Lincoln a cold, heartless man, or a warm, affectionate
man? Can a man be a warm-hearted man who is all head and conscience,
or nearly so? What, in the first place, do we mean by a warm-hearted
man? Is it one who goes out of himself and reaches for others
spontaneously because of a deep love of humanity, apart from equity
and truth, and does what it does for love's sake? If so, Mr. Lincoln
was a cold man. Or, do we mean that when a human being, man or child,
approached him in behalf of a matter of right, and that the prayer of
such a one was granted, that this is an evidence of his love? The
African was enslaved, his rights were violated, and a principle was
violated in them. Rights imply obligations as well as duties. Mr.
Lincoln was President; he was in a position that made it his duty,
through his sense of right, his love of principle, his constitutional
obligations imposed upon him by oath of office, to strike the blow
against slavery. But did he do it for love? He himself has answered
the question: "I would not free the slaves if I could preserve the
Union without it." I use this argument against his too enthusiastic
friends. If you mean that this is love for love's sake, then Mr.
Lincoln was a warm-hearted man--not otherwise. To use a general
expression, his general life was cold. He had, however, a strong
latent capacity to love; but the object must first come as principle,
second as right, and third as lovely. He loved abstract humanity when
it was oppressed. This was an abstract love, not concrete in the
individual, as said by some. He rarely used the term love, yet was he
tender and gentle. He gave the key-note to his own character when he
said, "with malice toward none, with charity for all," he did what he
did. He had no intense loves, and hence no hates and no malice. He had
a broad charity for imperfect man, and let us imitate his great life
in this.

"But was not Mr. Lincoln a man of great humanity?" asks a friend at my
elbow, a little angrily; to which I reply, "Has not that question been
answered already?" Let us suppose that it has not. We must understand
each other. What do you mean by humanity? Do you mean that he had much
of human nature in him? If so, I will grant that he was a man of
humanity. Do you mean, if the above definition is unsatisfactory,
that Mr. Li