Poesy! thou sweet'st content
That e'er Heaven to mortals lent,
Though they as a trifle leave thee
Whose dull thoughts cannot conceive thee;
Though thou be to them a scorn
That to nought but earth are born;
Let my life no longer be
Than I am in love with thee.
GEORGE WITHER
There are two things that to a marvellous degree bring people under
subjection--moral and corporeal fear. The most dissolute are held in
restraint by the influence of moral worth, and there are few who would
engage in a quarrel, if they were certain that defeat or death would be
the consequence. Cromwell obtained, and we may add, maintained his
ascendency over the people of England, by his earnest and continually
directed efforts towards these two important ends. His court was a rare
example of irreproachable conduct, from which all debauchery and
immorality were banished; while such was his deep and intimate, though
mysterious, acquaintance with every occurrence throughout the
Commonwealth, its subjects had the certainty of knowing that, sooner or
later, whatever crimes they committed would of a surety reach the ear of
the Protector. His natural abilities must always have been of the
highest order, though in the early part of his career he discovered none
of those extraordinary talents that afterwards gained him so much
applause, and worked so upon the affections of the hearers and standers
by.
His mind may be compared to one of those valuable manuscripts that
had long been rolled up and kept hidden from vulgar eyes, but which
exhibits some new proof of wisdom at each unfolding. It has been well
said by a philosopher, whose equal the world has not known since his
day, "that a place showeth the man." Of a certainty Cromwell had no
sooner possessed the opportunity so to do, than he showed to the whole
world that he was destined to govern. "Some men achieve greatness, some
men are born to greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."
With Cromwell, greatness was achieved. He was the architect of his own
fortunes, owing little to, what is called, "chance," less to patronage,
and still less to crime, if we except the one sad blot upon the page of
his own history, as connected with that of his country. There appears in
his character but a small portion of that which is evil, blended with
much that is undoubtedly good. Although his public speeches were, for
the most part, ambiguous--leaving others to pick out his meaning--or
more frequently still, having no meaning to pick out--being words,
words, words--strung of mouldy sentences, scriptural phrases, foolish
exclamations, and such like; yet, when necessary, he showed that he
could sufficiently command his style, delivering himself with so much
energy, pith, propriety, and strength of expression, that it was
commonly said of him, under such circumstances, "every word he spoke was
a thing." But the strongest indication of his vast abilities was, the
extraordinary tact with which he entered into, dissected, and
scrutinised the nature of human kind. No man ever dived into the manners
and minds of those around him with greater penetration, or more rapidly
discovered their natural talents and tempers. If he chanced to hear of a
person fit for his purpose, whether as a minister, a soldier, an
artisan, a preacher, or a spy--no matter how previously obscure--he
sent for him forthwith, and employed him in the way in which he could be
made most useful, and answer best the purpose of his employer. Upon this
most admirable system (a system in which, unhappily, he has had but few
imitators among modern statesmen,) depended in a great degree his
success. His devotion has been sneered at; but it has never been proved
to have been insincere. With how much more show of justice may we
consider it to have been founded upon a solid and upright basis, when we
recollect that his whole outward deportment spoke its truth. Those who
decry him as a fanatic ought to bethink themselves that religion was
the chivalry of the age in which he lived. Had Cromwell been born a few
centuries earlier, he would have headed the Crusades, with as much
bravery, and far better results than our noble-hearted, but wrong-headed
"Coeur de Lion." It was no great compliment that was passed on him by
the French minister, when he called the Protector "the first captain of
the age." His courage and conduct in the field were undoubtedly
admirable: he had a dignity of soul which the greatest dangers and
difficulties rather animated than discouraged, and his discipline and
government of the army, in all respects, was the wonder of the world. It
was no diminution of this part of his character that he was wary in his
conduct, and that, after he was declared Protector, he wore a
coat-of-mail concealed beneath his dress. Less caution than he made use
of, in the place he held, and surrounded as he was by secret and open
enemies, would have deserved the name of negligence. As to his political
sincerity, which many think had nothing to do with his religious
opinions, he was, to the full, as honest as the first or second Charles.