"The wit exemplified by Mr. Otis in debate," says Dr. Magoon,
"was often keen but never malignant, as in John Randolph. The
attacks of the latter were often fierce and virulent, not
unfrequently in an inverse proportion to the necessity of the
case.
"He would yield himself up to a blind and passionate obstinacy,
and lacerate his victims for no apparent reason but the mere
pleasure of inflicting pangs.
"In this respect, the orator of Roanoke resembled the Sicilian
tyrant whose taste for cruelty led him to seek recreation in
putting insects to the torture. If such men cannot strike strong
blows, they know how to fight with poisonous weapons; thus by
their malignity, rather than by their honorable skill, they can
bring the noblest antagonist to the ground.
"But Mr. Otis pursued more dignified game and with a loftier
purpose.
"He indeed possessed a Swiftian gift of sarcasm, but, unlike the
Dean of St. Patrick's, and the forensic gladiator alluded to
above, he never employed it in a spirit of hatred and contempt
towards the mass of mankind.
"Such persons should remember the words of Colton, that, 'Strong
and sharp as our wit may be, it is not so strong as the memory of
fools, nor so keen as their resentment; he that has strength of
mind to forgive, is by no means weak enough to forget; and it is
much more easy to do a cruel thing than to say a severe one.'"