Moreover, there had
been such a mingling of different political elements in support of the
Union during the civil war that Lincoln, standing at the head of that
temporarily united motley mass, hardly felt himself, in the narrow sense
of the term, a party man. And as he became strongly impressed with the
dangers brought upon the republic by the use of public offices as party
spoils, it is by no means improbable that, had he survived the
all-absorbing crisis and found time to turn to other objects, one of the
most important reforms of later days would have been pioneered by his
powerful authority. This was not to be. But the measure of his
achievements was full enough for immortality.
To the younger generation Abraham Lincoln has already become a
half-mythical figure, which, in the haze of historic distance, grows to
more and more heroic proportions, but also loses in distinctness of
outline and feature. This is indeed the common lot of popular heroes;
but the Lincoln legend will be more than ordinarily apt to become
fanciful, as his individuality, assembling seemingly incongruous
qualities and forces in a character at the same time grand and most
lovable, was so unique, and his career so abounding in startling
contrasts.
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