Of his failings I have said little; such as he had were obvious to all
the world; they lay on the surface of his character; those who knew him
least made the most account of them. With a character so made up of
positive qualities--a character so independent and uncompromising, and
with a sensitiveness far more acute than he was willing to acknowledge,
it is not surprising that occasions frequently arose to bring him,
sometimes into friendly collision, and sometimes in to graver
disagreements and misunderstandings with his fellow-men. For his
infirmities, his friends found an ample counterpoise in the generous
sincerity of his nature. He never thought of disguising his opinions,
and he abhorred all disguise in others; he did not even deign to use
that show of regard towards those of whom he did not think well, which
the world tolerates, and almost demands. A manly expression of opinion,
however different from his own, commanded his respect. Of his own works,
he spoke with the same freedom as of the works of others; and never
hesitated to express his judgment of a book for the reason that it was
written by himself: yet he could bear with gentleness any dissent from
the estimate lie placed on his own writings. His character was like the
bark of the cinnamon, a rough and astringent rind without, and an
intense sweetness within. Those who penetrated below the surface found a
genial temper, warm affections, and a heart with ample place for his
friends, their pursuits, their good name, their welfare. They found him
a philanthropist, though not precisely after the fashion of the day; a
religious man, most devout where devotion is most apt to be a feeling
rather than a custom, in the household circle; hospitable, and to the
extent of his means liberal-handed in acts of charity. They found, also,
that though in general he would as soon have thought of giving up an old
friend as of giving up an opinion, he was not proof against testimony,
and could part with a mistaken opinion as one parts with an old friend
who has been proved faithless and unworthy. In short, Cooper was one of
those who, to be loved, must be intimately known.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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