Book Description

Excerpt from Biographical Sketch of Linton Stephens: Containing a Selection of His Letters, Speeches, State Papers, Etc The life of Linton Stephens was one of character rather than of incident - more the life of a thinker than an actor upon the stage of human affairs. He chose to be a spectator of passing events, and was content to weigh their significance and watch their succession through the "loopholes of retreat," so as not "to feel the pressure of the crowd." He had little relish for the hot arena of the world-strife. The mild dignity that environs the good citizen was more beautiful and more attractive in his eyes, and more grateful to his tastes and habitudes, than "the applause of listening senates," or the victor's wreath of laurel. The blaze of public notoriety he shunned. He shrunk from all manner of self-exposition or display. Vain-glory was not among the imperfections of his nature. He was perfectly satisfied with knowing the truth of anything, or any fact, himself - uncaring whether the outside world appreciated his knowledge thereof or not; hence, he had no ambition to make history: he was content to study its lessons, interpret its facts, and learn wisdom from its teachings. Although it was impossible for a man of the parts he had, not to be conspicuous among men; and although his opinions upon every subject - large enough to agitate a free people - were anxiously sought after, impatiently waited for, and eagerly canvassed, yet he never held, nor - left to his own volition - ever aspired to hold, high political station. For this reason, the general reader of these pages will remark the lacking, somewhat, of that significance of events in the story of his life which imparts the chief interest, attraction, and charm to biography. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.