staid and quiet gentleman into the very soul incarnate of war, as that the incentives and stimulus of such a martial occasion aroused his faculties and intensified and developed talents and aptitudes which were already existent but somewhat dormant in his nature.
These powers of observation, of reasoning from known facts, quickly comprehending a situation and promptly deciding upon a course of conduct, were notably developed in Jackson by every occasion for their exercise; and as the war advanced his mentality and his capacity for efficient service were steadily strengthened and increased, so that he was a stronger and a more capable man in May, 1863, than he could have been in May, 1862, or in 1861.
Accordingly, it is probably true that some of the inadequate estimates which have been placed upon Jackson's mental capacity have been based upon a misconception or a too superficial study of the facts as to his intellectual traits and attainments.
Although Jackson's life was ended before he knew whether the cause for which he fought would be crowned with success or be overwhelmed in disaster and defeat, and before he had reached the zenith of his powers, that life was by no means a failure.
No, it was, beyond the capacity of human language to define, a glorious success.
Rising, as he did, superior to circumstance and to temporary conditions, his life has been a priceless heritage to his countrymen and to mankind.
The example which he gave the world of self-sacrificing devotion to principle and to country, of loyal obedience to duty, and unquestioning faith in God, the unsurpassed manifestations of courage which he exhibited, and the radiance with which his genius illumined the fields of his triumphs, compel the admiration alike of friend and foe, and constitute a part of the patrimony of glory, not of Virginia and the Confederate South alone, but of the American people and the human race.
These are the unspoken lessons of his life; but there comes
