_Discite justitiam moniti nec temere divos!_

_April 20._--Yesterday, April 19th, Mr. Lincoln and his Aide,
Halleck, went to Acquia Creek to visit Hooker, to have a peep into
his plans, and, of course to babble about them. I hope Hooker will
most politely keep his own secrets.

_April 21._--The American people never will and never can know and
realize the whole immensity of McClellan's treasonable incapacity,
and to what extent all subsequent disasters have their roots in the
inactivity of McClellan during 1861-62. Whatever may be the official
reports, or private investigations, chronicles, confessions,
memoirs, all the facts will never be known. Never will it be known
how almost from the day when he was intrusted with the command,
McClellan was without any settled plans, always hesitating,
irresolute; how almost hourly he (deliberately or not, I will not
decide) stuffed Mr. Lincoln with lies, and did the same to others
members of the Cabinet. The evidences thereof are scattered in all
directions, and it is impossible to gather them all. Mr Lincoln
could testify--if he would. Almost every day I learn some such fact,
but I could not gather and record them all. Seward mostly sided with
McClellan, and so did Blair, _par nobile fratrum_.

Few, if any, detailed reports of the campaigns and battles fought
by McClellan have been sent by him to the President or to the War
Department. Such reports ought to be made immediately; so it is done
in every well regulated government. It is the duty of the staff of
the army to prepare the like reports. But McClellan did in his own
way, and his reports, if ever he sends them, would only be
disquisitions elaborated _ex post_, and even apart from their
truthfulness--null.

All kinds of lies against Stanton have been elaborated by McClellan
and his partisans, and circulated in the public. The truth is, that
when Stanton became McClellan's superior, Stanton tried in every
friendly and devoted way to awake McClellan to the sense of honor
and duty, to make him fight the enemy, and not dodge the fight under
false pretenses. Stanton implored McClellan to get ready, and not to
evade from day to day; and only when utterly disappointed by
McClellan's hesitation and untruthfulness, Stanton, so to say, in
despair, forced McClellan to action. Stanton was a friend of
McClellan, but sacrificed friendship to the sacred duty of a
patriot.

_April 21._--England plays as false in Europe as she do