MeanwhilehemustsolvetheriddleofthisnewSphinx，orbedevoured。ThoughMr。Lincoln\'spolicyinthiscriticalaffairhasnotbeensuchastosatisfythosewhodemandanheroictreatmentforeventhemosttriflingoccasion，andwhowillnotcuttheircoataccordingtotheircloth，unlesstheycanborrowthescissorsofAtropos，（1）ithasbeenatleastnotunworthyofthelong—headedkingofIthaca。（2）Mr。LincolnhadthechoiceofBassanio（3）
offeredhim。Whichofthethreecasketsheldtheprizethatwastoredeemthefortunesofthecountry？Therewasthegoldenonewhoseshowyspeciousnessmighthavetemptedavainman;thesilverofcompromise，whichmighthavedecidedthechoiceofamerelyacuteone;andtheleaden，——dullandhomely—looking，asprudencealwaysis，——yetwithsomethingaboutitsuretoattracttheeyeofpracticalwisdom。Mr。Lincolndalliedwithhisdecisionperhapslongerthanseemedneedfultothoseonwhomitsawfulresponsibilitywasnottorest，butwhenhemadeit，itwasworthyofhiscautiousbutsure—footedunderstanding。ThemoraloftheSphinx—riddle，anditisadeepone，liesinthechildishsimplicityofthesolution。Thosewhofailinguessingit，failbecausetheyareover—ingenious，andcastaboutforananswerthatshallsuittheirownnotionofthegravityoftheoccasionandoftheirowndignity，ratherthantheoccasionitself。
Inamatterwhichmustbefinallysettledbypublicopinion，andinregardtowhichthefermentofprejudiceandpassiononbothsideshasnotyetsubsidedtothatequilibriumofcompromisefromwhichaloneasoundpublicopinioncanresult，itisproperenoughfortheprivatecitizentopresshisownconvictionswithallpossibleforceofargumentandpersuasion;butthepopularmagistrate，whosejudgmentmustbecomeaction，andwhoseactioninvolvesthewholecountry，isboundtowaittillthesentimentofthepeopleissofaradvancedtowardhisownpointofview，thatwhathedoesshallfindsupportinit，insteadofmerelyconfusingitwithnewelementsofdivision。Itwasnotunnaturalthatmenearnestlydevotedtothesavingoftheircountry，andprofoundlyconvincedthatslaverywasitsonlyrealenemy，shoulddemandadecidedpolicyroundwhichallpatriotsmightrally，——andthismighthavebeenthewisestcourseforanabsoluteruler。Butinthethenunsettledstateofthepublicmind，withalargepartydecryingevenresistancetotheslaveholders\'
rebellionasnotonlyunwise，butevenunlawful;withamajority，perhaps，evenofthewould—beloyalsolongaccustomedtoregardtheConstitutionasadeedofgiftconveyingtotheSouththeirownjudgmentastopolicyandinstinctastoright，thattheywereindoubtatfirstwhethertheirloyaltywereduetothecountryortoslavery;andwitharespectablebodyofhonestandinfluentialmenwhostillbelievedinthepossibilityofconciliation，——Mr。Lincolnjudgedwisely，that，inlayingdownapolicyindeferencetooneparty，heshouldbegivingtotheothertheveryfulcrumforwhichtheirdisloyaltyhadbeenwaiting。
（1）OneofthethreeFates。