He was one of the few great rulers whose wisdom increased with his power, and whose spirit grew gentler and tenderer as his triumphs were multiplied.

Garfield’s sentence praises a rare moral trajectory in political life: the tendency of power to harden rulers is here reversed. The “wisdom increased with his power” clause suggests that authority, instead of breeding arrogance or rashness, deepened the ruler’s judgment and restraint. The second clause—his spirit growing “gentler and tenderer” as victories multiplied—frames greatness not as domination but as an enlarging capacity for empathy and humane governance. The quote thus functions as an ethical standard for leadership: success is most admirable when it produces humility, mercy, and reflective intelligence rather than cruelty or self-glorification.