He was making something out of nothing, and in his
campaigns it was the flash of genius which led him rather than science.
Washington was successful as a military commander and more so as a
statesman; Bolivar had remarkable successes and crushing defeat a general,
and, as a statesman, he showed a vision which amounted to inspiration--but
the creation of his mind and soul, Colombia, was a sad failure. Washington
lived in a country of law; Bolivar had to make the law. When Washington was
absent from a place, law remained in that place; when Bolivar turned his
back, law was violated.
San Martin is a noble figure. He stands alone in the southernmost part of
America. He did not begrudge praise given Bolivar, whose superiority he
acknowledged by withdrawing in time from the scene in America. Because of
this acknowledgment, San Martin grew greater than he had been before their
interview in Guayaquil. To endeavor to establish invidious comparisons
between him and Bolivar does harm to both heroes and good to no one. Let
both stay where they belong, in the hearts of their fellow-citizens, and
in the minds of lovers of freedom.
Strong resemblance might be found between Bolivar and Lincoln. Both gave
freedom to slaves; both fought a real civil war, for we must not forget
that most of the royalists were Americans. Both were men of sorrows. A
close examination of Bolivar's pictures and statues will reveal to the
observer that in the eyes of the great man of the South is the same
inexpressible melancholy which is obvious in those of our own man of
sorrows, the beloved Lincoln.
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