Some great crisis, or threatening state of affairs, seems to furnish the
necessary condition for the exercise of a great mind, and Burke is never so
effective as when thoroughly aroused. His imagination needed the chastening
which only a great moment or critical situation could give. Two of his greatest
speeches--Conciliation, and Impeachment of Warren Hastings--were delivered under
the restraining effect of such circumstances, and in each the figurative
expression is subdued and not less beautiful in itself than, appropriate for the
occasion.

Finally, it must be observed that no other writer of English prose has a better
command of words. His ideas, as multifarious as they are, always find fitting
expression. He does not grope for a term; it stands ready for his thought, and
one feels that he had opportunity for choice. It is the exuberance of his fancy,
already mentioned, coupled with this richness of vocabulary, that helped to make
Burke a tiresome speaker. His mind was too comprehensive to allow any phase of
his subject to pass without illumination. He followed where his subject led him,
without any great attention to the patience of his audience. But he receives
full credit when his speeches are read. It is then that his mastery of the
subject and the splendid qualities of his style are apparent, and appreciated at
their worth.

In conclusion, it is worth while observing that in the study of a great
character, joined with an attempt to estimate it by conventional standards,
something must always be left unsaid. Much may be learned of Burke by knowing
his record as a partisan, more by a minute inspection of his style as a writer,
but beyond all this is the moral tone or attitude of the man himself. To a
student of Burke this is the greatest thing about him. It colored every line he
wrote, and to it, more than anything else, is due the immense force of the man
as a speaker and writer. It was this, more than Burke's great abilities, that
justifies Dr. Johnson's famous eulogy: "He is not only the first man in the