Page:Vol 1 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/154

34 the unscrupulous positiveness inseparable here from permanent success. He was resolute in overcoming difficulties, and he was strong and shrewd enough in the prosecution of any high enterprise, particularly so long as fortune favored him; but he was no match for the subtle-minded of his own nation, who overwhelmed him in their show of learning, backed by imposing forms. All contemporary writers speak well of him; likewise all the chroniclers, except Gomara, who permits chivalry no place save in his pet and patron, Cortés. The soldier Bernal Diaz pronounces him a most worthy officer. The historians Oviedo and Herrera call him a comely man, thoroughly loyal, and never backward at fighting. Yet we are told that some censured him, while others cursed him outright for his conscientiousness, because he did not break orders and seize opportunity. So ready were they to engage in the fallacious argument that it was right to do wrong if good might come of it. To disobey Velazquez, they said, was to break no divine law; forgetting that the governor derived his authority from the king, and the king from the Almighty. Of a truth, when force alone is the standard of right, then honesty is not the best policy. For a time he carried himself with a brave front, conscious of his integrity, yet we may say he was laid low forever by the blow misfortune here gave him. Meanwhile patience, good