F. LEE I am not influenced by any such
questionable views. To do honor to his memory I need only say what
justice and truth dictate. There is little danger, in speaking of him,
of committing the offense of exaggerated eulogy. There is more danger of
doing the injustice of understatement in commemorating a character so
rounded and symmetrical.
As a son, Gen. LEE's filial piety was so marked as to make him an
example worthy of all imitation by the youth of his country. In every
post of honor or trust to which he was called--and they were many and
exalted ones--he met his engagements with such fidelity and courage as
never to incur censure and seldom provoke criticism.
His bearing as a private citizen was of such dignity and benevolence as
to secure the love, while it evoked the admiration, of all who knew him.
His character was made up of blended chivalry and courtesy and adorned
with the mild luster of a religious faith.
He was frank and open, plain and sincere, speaking only what he thought
without reserve, and promising only what he designed to perform.
As he was plain and sincere, so he was firm and steady in his purposes;
courteous and affable, he was not influenced by servile compliance to
his company, approving or condemning as might be most agreeable to them.
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