l.i) '^A PRINCETON, N. J. BX 9225 .D2 D32 1899 Dabney, Charles William, 1855-1945, , In memoriam Shelf. R(_M!EK'r I.KWIS DAIIXICV, H:iin|)aths. He supports the system of the Westminster Standards without resort to sikIi (loulilful and ultimately insufficient, even if profound looking, shifts as those to which the great New Englander re- sorted. He cuts up Edwardsism by the roots. He shows that the shifts were untrue and to be rcpudiatefl. He again defends fearlessly om- standards received from tlie great assembly at West- minster. y\nd he gives new illustrations of his profundity and mental might by stating objections to certain doctrines more over- whelming than had before been stated; and by giving arguments of greater weight in behalf of the truth. Nor are men of our own church alone in this judgment as to Dr. Dabney's abilities as a thinker on theological and philo- sophical subjects. We havC it on good testimony that Dr. A. A. Hodge, when about to introduce one of his middle classes to the study of Systematic theology, pronounced the same judgment substantially concerning the ability of Dr. Dabney. Our inform- ant told us that on the day that Dr. Hodge gave his opening lecture in the course on systematic theology to his class he took up most of the hour in talking about text-books and other literature which might be read as collateral during the course, and that when about to conclude his remarks concerning the literature he spoke as follows: "Gentlemen, before concluding this list of theological treatises which may be read as we pursue our studies together, I wish to call your attention to one other work. Tliis is a single large octavo volume. It is by the profoundest thinker and writer on theological subjects, in my judgment, that .America has produced. Remember, I say the profoundest thinker and writer. You may not find the style of his book agreeable or the reading easy. But you will find a jirofundity of thought thnt you cannot find elsewhere. It is stimulating too, and I beg vou to read it. The work I refer to is by the Rev. R. L. Dabney of the Southern Presbyterian Church." We have heard from still an- other source that Dr. Hodge was accustomed to say substantially the same thing to all his classes as they began with him the studv of theology. Other testimonies from abroad might be given — some from 10 Robert Lewis Dabney — In flfemoriam across the Atlantic. But we know of no more competent judge than Dr. A. A. Hodge. Young men who read this paper, let us remember that Dr. Dabney grctv. Of course all admit that he was born with great and noble parts; but wise old men in the church tell us that, in their judgment. Dr. George A. Baxter was the greater man of the two by natural endowment, and yet afifirm that Dr. Dabney developed himself into a vastly bigger man. Dr. Dabney's mental history ought to be an inspiration to us, and that whether we can render half so noble a service as he, or not. 2. Moral Traits. His endowments in the way of active and practical powers were of a noble order; and as we knew him they had been sanctified to an unusually high degree by divine grace. His sensibilities were duly subordinated. He was remarka- bly free from base affections. He loved not low things. He delighted in high things. He loved devotedly, and was a good hater, as every good lover must be. He loved passionately the good and hated passionately the evil. His afTectiona! nature was a great fire; it drove him at times almost furiously against what seemed wrong, and in support of what seemed right. His logic, and all his mental workings, like the Apostle Paul's, were often aflame with feeling. No man can understand the products of his mind who does not keep this fact before him. While he had a general love for mankind, and a much warmer love for all his Christian brethren, lie gave a peculiar love to a few friends. Few men are capable of an affection so intense and loyal. When he admired a brother and trusted him as thor- oughly honest, open and sincere, intimate association was alone needed to call forth from him a wealth of affection which no other could give save one equally great. But the ruling passion of his life was his love to God. Men who sat under his teaching before he had reached his prime have given expression in our presence, to their conviction that Dr. Dabney was even then the mo'st godly man whom they had ever met. His students in his old age at Austin, were wont to speak of him as St. John. One proof of his practical godliness is found in the fact that he was a man to whom people in trouble Robert Lewis Dabncy — In Memoriam 1 1 and need were wont to go in order to find comfort and help. \Vc liavc seen no one whose life was more poverned by principle — by what he thought to be the teaching of God's Word. He tried to regarn( i( is not my i)urpose even to attempt to give you an adc(|uate ciincei)tii>n of I )r. Dabncy's life and character. I leave that for the more competent brethren who will presently address you. I only wished, in introducing this part of the service, to avail myself of the privilege and opportunity of laying a little flower upon the bier of him to whom I am more indebted than to any other man, living or dead. REGNANT MEN. BY REV. DR. MOSES D. HOGE. (Address at the Funeral.) It is not my purpose to attempt any portraiture of Dr. Dab- ney, or even an outline of the work he had luidertaken and ac- complished in the world, further than to remark that a man was ordinarily regarded as having fulfilled the great end of life when he had been successful in any one department of useful labor, but that it had been the privilege of tlie man whose loss we mourn to- day to be distinguished, first as an able and impressive expounder of the Word in the pulpit; second, as one of the strongest of writ- ers on philosophic, secular, and theological themes ; and, third, as one of the most successful of teachers in a seminary devoted to the training of young men for the Gospel ministry ; that it was his rare lot not only to win distinction in each but to combine and nobly employ all three of these great instrumentalities for wide and permanent usefulness. The loss of such a man makes a great void in the world, and all who appreciated his worth bemoan the bereavement and say, "How is the strong staff broken and the beautiful rod." The Bible contains a record of the regnant men of the race, the kingly men of the world, not because of hereditary rank and power, but because of commanding influence through services rendered by which the intellectual and moral progress of man- kind has been advanced. But outside of that inspired register, and continually adding to its length and numbers, are the men of distinguished in- fluence, who in the providence of God are raised up from age to age. Some are endowed with such genius, and their natural ca- pacities have been so strengthened and illumined by vast and varied learning, that they are compelled to occupy conspicuous positions. Their own modesty might induce them to seek private stations, but those who appreciate their worth and power will not consent, and insist that they shall not be allowed to abandon the high positions to which they have been elevated. Robert Lewis Dahncy — In Mcmoriam 27 vSucI) men an- the ackno\vlt'clf,a-d leaders in the State, tlicy are the lifjlils and landmarks in the Church, they arc the grand pillars in the tenijile which C.od is rearing in the world to the glory of His grace. Among the gifts of Clod are the gifts of such nun to the Church and to the world. For they are the instru- nicnts l)y which society is moulded, and the moral and spiritual influence of mankind strengthened and advanced from age to age. When such men are snatched away we attempt to console ourselves by saying : 'The workmen die, but the work goes on.' It docs go on in the sense that God cannot be thwarted in His purposes; that He is never at a loss for instruments to carry them on to completion. Moses and Aaron may drop out of the ranks on that magnificent march of the tribes to the Land of Promise, but Joshua is there at the river to conduct them on and to establish them in their inheritance. Then Samuel comes to lay the foimdation of justice and order; then David, to give them an inspired liturgy and to frame a wise constitution of religious wor- ship. One by one the lights in the golden candlestick are extin- guished, but the temple still glows with the radiance of the glory of the Lord. The Church still lifts up its voice, though tremulous and full of tears, and cries, 'Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling- place in all generations,' and is measurably comforted. But there is another sense in which it is true that when the workman dies the work does not go on as successfully and steadily as before. In- deed, the death of a single man often arrests that progress tem- porarily and cripples, though it does not stop the work. During the last decade great has been the loss of the Church of eminent men. To say nothing of our own Continent, I may look abroad and remark the blanks that have been made by the removal of such men as Christlieb, of Bonn and Bersier, of Paris; Liddon, of England, and Spurgeon — of what country shall we call him? Let us say Spurgeon, of Christendom, for all claim him as their own. Our Southern Church has been dignified and adorned by an illustrious Triumvirate. Born amidst the throes of the greatest revolution in modern times, it needed the wisdom and experience of men qualified by nature and by grace for the responsible task ol giving it symmetrical and Scriptural forms ; of conserving the 28 Robert Lewis Dabncy — In Metiioriam principles embodied in the Westminster standards and of graft- ing upon them wliatever might give these time-honored truths new apphcations and new efficiency. No church on this continent has been more favored of heaven in liaving at its very organization three such men as Thornwell, Palmer and Dabney — each fitted by splendid genius, profound scholarship and consecration to the noblest ends, to give direction to its future life and to enrich it for all time by their published contributions to theological science. Two of this illustrious Triumvirate have been called to a higher service; one still survives to find each succeeding year crowned with fresh benedictions. The places of such leaders may be occupied without being filled. And where are the champions who are ready to take up the weapons fallen from their hands and cheer on the Church to renewed victories. We all know how the loss of one great statesman has sometimes defeated measures by which the pro- gress of prosperity of a nation might have been promoted for gen- erations. And who does not know that in a great crisis in na- tic nal history the death of a single distinguished leader has made the independence of that people impossible for all time. So, in the Church, the work goes on haltingly, wearily, and is often tem- porarily crushed. It was so when the reformations which attempted to spring up often before Luther was born were put down, such as that of Arnold of Brescia, and that of Savonarola, and of John Huss. It was so when Coligny and Conde fell. It was so when other re- formers were put down ; their fall was the signal of the decline of the great work they undertook. Among the lessons to be learned from the bereavements that make the world poorer and the Church emptier is this : The need of earnest prayer to God that He would raise up and qualify men who can take the places of the departed and efficiently hasten the accomplishment of His great purpose of mercy and grace by which this revolted world is to be brought back to its rightful allegiance — men who, if not inspired men, like Moses and Isaiah, or like David, who composed the psalms which animated the sac- ramental army on its march to final victory; or like Paul, who Robert Lewis Duhney -^In l\fevior'uuii 29 girdled the larlli with a zone of li^lU and ff'ory. ^'"' wrote tlie Epistles wliieli have shaped the tlicolo^ncal thotight of the world ; at least, like their successors, who thoUf:;h uninspired, yet pos- sessed the consecrated genius and learning t(j meet the great exi- gencies which are always arising in the history of the Church. Who can say that such men are not needed now to combat great errors and arrest the tide of secularism, false philanthrojjy, and atsaulls u[)on the inspiration of the Scriptures which prevail even in lands where Christianity is sujjjjosed to exist in its purest form? Let us beseech the Great Head of the Church to bless it with more of power in the pulpit, power with the pen, power in the professor's chair, the power of sanctified scholarshii), the power of consecrated lives in every department of Church work and Christian enterprise. The scholar is a product of slow growth, of patient toil, and a rare product even after the most protracted toil. Kvery day we have new illustrations of the difficulty of finding men ([ualificd for the high positions which death makes vacant by the removal of the great and good, although there never was a time, perlKi])s, when the Cluuch was fuller of men of average al)ility. In deploring such a loss as the one which makes us mourners this afternoon, we will not forget the most blessed of all conso- lations: Heaven gains what we lose, and becomes richer and more attractive to us. True, the Lamb is the liglit thereof, but our departed ones stand disclosed in that light, and reflect it down to us. We love them all the more because they shine in the beauty of their Lord and ours. We remember our brother, beloved now in the rest and peace and blessedness of the true home. We remember those whom he has left behind for awhile, and it comforts us to know that there is one hand gentle enough to bind up the bleeding heart and soft enough to wipe away the tears of bereavement; one who is the husband of the widow and the father of the fatherless; one who is able to sanctify to us our deepest distress and to bring us all by ways of His own choosing to the end of life's journey and through the bright gate of Paradise into the land of eternal light and glory. A LIGHT GONE. BY COL. L. S. MARYE. [From the Richmond (Va.) Times of January 9th, 1898.] The Times has announced the death at Victoria, Texas, on Tuesday last, of Dr. Robert L. Dabney. His remains were brought to Hampden Sydney, and on I'riday afternoon, interred in the cemetery of the Union Theological Seminary. This was the appropriate spot in which his earthly frame should take its last and long repose, for it was during the thirty years of his con- nection with the Seminary that his great intellect put forth the most vigorous and varied displays of its mighty powers. In 18811, chiefly on account of failing health, he accepted the chair of Moral Philosophy in the University of Texas, it being thought that the warmer climate of that region would prove beneficial. And now after more than fourteen years of reluctant exile, sweetly as a child upon its mother's breast, he sleeps in the bosom of the old Commonwealth that he loved and served, in peace and in war, with a fond and filial devotion. Dr. Dabney possessed a mind of the very highest order, and of the most far-reaching powers. It is the opinion of many se- date and competent judges that the present century has not pro- duced a more vigorous and penetrating intellect, certainly on this side of the Atlantic. In a letter written to Dr. Walter Jones, on January 2d, 1814, Mr. Jefiferson gives an exceedingly interesting delineation of Gen- eral Washington, in the course of which he says : "His mind was great and powerful without being of the very first order ; his pene- tration strong, though not so acute as that of a Newton, Bacon or Locke." It may be, and doubtless is, that at intervals in the slow centuries you discern an intellect, here and there, an Aris- totle, a Bacon, a Newton, more acute, more penetrating, more powerful than that possessed by the subject of this notice, but they are rare, very rare. In conversation with an accomplished minister who, two or three years since was called from a \^irginia pulpit, to a chair in Robert Lewis Dabney — /;/ Memoriam \\\ tlie Columbia (S. C.) Tlicolo{;;ical Seminary, the writer asked tliat pentleman iiow lie would compare the three men fjenerally rci'u^i^nizod as the most eminent in the Southern Presbyterian Church. Two (jf them are still living and it is not necessary to call their names. Replying slowly and meditatively he said: "Dr. is perhaps the best furnished of the three. Dr. is the most elo(|uent and attractive in the pulpit; but for blasting rocks, I would take Dr. Dabney." One can see the picture of the did Titau si)litting asunder the theological problems with giant p( w der, each grain the size of a man's tluunh or a minnie ball. ilut it was not alone for his great powers of mind that his memory will be cherished. In elevation of character, and in at- tributes of heart, he was equally to be admired and more ten- derly to be loved. His was stalwart strength blended with in- efi'ablc sweetness. His fit symbol was the mighty monarch of the forest that towers high above its fellows, companionlcss in the a/ure concave, its imperial crown fanned and caressed by the sweet breath and soft kisses of that pure atmosphere. And as the fall of such forest monarch shakes the solid earth, and sends for countless leagues resounding tumult in the troubled air, so will the death of this great and good man excite an all-pervading sense of distress and bereavement throughout the bounds of the Southern Assembly of the Presbyterian Church; nay, throughout the bounds of the South, without distinction of sect, for much of his life-long labor and service of heart and head was devoted to the defence and vindication of his beloved South. Rut it is, of course, in the ecclesiastical denomination in which he was the foremost figure and acknowledged leader that his death will be most keenly felt and deeply deplored. These his peculiar friends in the ties of ecclesiastical associations, feel in the extinguishment of this great light, as we may imagine the seafaring dwellers on the coast of Cornwall felt when the mighty Eddystone light-house was swept away by the angry sea, and when that steady, far-reach- ing beacon went out in darkness and dismay. It is pleasant to know that Dr. Dabney's mental powers re- mained to the last unimpaired. There was no touch of decadence to be seen or felt in the working of the glorious machinery. .A.I- though he had for four years been totally blind, there was no 32 Robert Lewis Dabney — In Memoriani abatciiieiU of his intellectual labors. Within the past six monlhs he has delivered a most delightful and instructive scries of K-ctures at Davidson College and at the Columbia Theological Seminary. If I may borrow the fine phrase of Milton, he bade adieu to the scenes of earth while yet "soaring in the high reason of his fan- cies, with his garland and his singing robes al:)out him." \\'hen a man like this is stricken down, it seems that in the eclipse and extinction of such powers and such erudition an irre- parable loss has been suffered. And in a certain sense so it is. And yet in the benign arrangement of Providence such men pre- pare others to take their places, and the cause of truth and learn- ing is thus preserved and transmitted, even as in the Grecian games the swift runntirs of the torch race, delivering the blazing brand from one to another, imitated the successive generations of mankind, who hand down the fire of knowledge which the crafty Prometheus stole from Heaven. The year that Galileo died wit- nessed the birth of Sir Isaac Newton. The truth I am endeavor- ing to present is conspicuously illustrated in the case of Dr. Dab- ney. Year by year for almost half a century he sent forth from the Theological Seminary at Hampden Sydney, and from the Univer- sity of Texas, devoted bands of young men to enter the fields of Christian labor and of splendid scholarship. In the lives and la- bors of these his pupils, as well as in his many published volumes, the learning and acquisitions which in one aspect are buried with him, are in another sense snatched from the grave and endowed with the power of an endless life. In such instances we may trulv say: Alike are life and death Where life in death survives, And the uninterrupted breath Inspires a thousand lives. So when a great man dies. For years beyond our ken The Hght he leaves behind him lies Upon the paths of men. r.r.iN i i.KWis DAB^^:^■. Austin, Texas, about l.'^iLV A LOVIvR OF THE SOUTH. BY MK. J. H. RICK, JR. I From Tlie States (Columbia, S. C.) of January 9th, 1898. J Dr. I)al)iiey's recent visit to Cohiinbia* proved to be his last. As announced in The States on Wednesday, the venerable man has entered into rest, so that his visit here will possess a solemn and abiding interest, calling to mind the dying patriarch as he is set forth in the Bible story — with gaze fixed on eternity and yet tinctured with tender love for those left to face the storms and trials of earth. As Dr. Dabney sat in the pulpit of the First Presbyterian Cliiuch the other day and preached a sermon long to be remem- bireil by those who heard it, his appearance was both venerable and patriarchical. As Dr. Joynes admirably expressed it, "He symbolized the union of a Christian apostle with old Homer." The towering figure, majestic though recumbent, the flowing locks and the sightless eyes and withal the fire and passion of his utterances, proved the aptness and justness of the characterization. That in a few words pictures the great Virginian as he was. The old heroic poetry lived in him and found a vent in the beauty and worth of his long and illustrious life ; and the deathless spirit of the Beserkir's fired him to the last. He was a born gladiator, though he combated principalities and powers and not foes of flesh and blood. Dabney never waited for evil to mass its forces ; he fell on it with savage fury in its camp— tracked the beast to its lair and there laid hold with the dauntless courage of his kind. And there was that in him that cannot perish. The lesson of such a life deserves close reading and diligent consideration. In a material sense he would have bettered his fortunes by a more temperate tone in dealing with the many questions which his in- tellect grappled. But it was the nature of the princely man to spurn anything that savored of a compromise of principle. He *Dr. Dabney visited Columbia in October, 1897, for the purpose of delivering a course of lectures before the Theological Seminary. 34 Robert Lewis Dabney — /?/ Memoriam fought long and hard, and died unconquered and not convinced of the efficiency of gunpowder and the bayonet to control reason or subvert truth. It is of course beyond the province of a newspaper to enter into a discussion of Dr. Dabney 's controversial writings or to examine his contentions on theological subjects. It is sufficient to say that he saw clearly and stated exactly. His reasoning was cogent and profound. The style with which he treated the most abstruse themes was always refreshing and sparkled with an originality that charmed the reader. It never lacked the spice of variety. As an example, we might cite for those interested in fi^rther investigation, the article on pentecostal baptism in the Piesbyterian Quarterly Review (1895), where his great powers are seen to peculiar advantage in a disquisition upon one of the deepest and richest themes that ever evoked the curious inquiry of the human mind. Dr. Dabney believed in the South and in her institutions and was a constant defender of both. He was a member of the fa- mous General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church that met in Charlotte in 1864 and threw down the gage of battle to the world. The attitude of the Church toward the institution of slavery was defined with a clearness and precision which drew on it a fusillade of wrath and invective. On his recent visit here, Dr. Dabney spoke of it to the present writer and explained the circumstances. They were, in short, that slavery was recognized as an e.xisting legal domestic institution by the Holy Scriptures. The church had, therefore, no power to condemn or to approve it, but was charged with making it useful. And as Dr. Dabney further expressed it: ■'Slavery had been abolished in the British colonies and through- out Europe. By a special dispensation of Providence it had been permitted to continue in the Southern States." Thence the ac- tion of the Presbyterian Church formulated in the now world- famous Resolutions. He believed it then; he believed it and uttered it to the day of his death — one man at least not submerged in the on-reaching sea of modernism ; but who "saved his crown of spiritual manhood" in a dark and evil time — an old world hero risen above the wreck of all that he cherished and fought for. Robot I.m'is Pabtiey - In Mcmoriam •'?•') I las it |)(rislic(! iiKfily ? Are the l)eauty, the glory, the chiv- alry, llic itislitiitidiis and lla- crccil of the old South but so many shrivrUil and fossilized remains of an archaic age? I )!(! it all "wax old like a garment" and then return to dust? Modern tenrhing would have us believe it; modern turncoats are ready to criticise and bow to a new order, raised to nobility by dollars got Cod knows how. I'.ut it is nothing but a slcek-faccd modern lie. The old South cannot die. The price of its betrayal has been paid, but wc shall sec about that. All that was true in it will live; all that was best in it will survive though temporarily hidden under a cloud. ]''or all that the host of thinkers and doers strove (o attain there is a reward forthcoming somewhere. No bad cause ever had men like Lee and Jackson to fight its bat- tles, nor intellects like Calhoun, Thornwell, Hammond, Bled- soe, Dabney and Laws to settle its problems. .Ml these earnest souls are the warrant that truth was there and just so sure as truth itself is eternal, will the cause endure to the end — not per- haps in the form we knew it, for truth has many faces, but in its essence the same always. In General Hill's Magazine, "The Land We Love," Dr. Dabney published nearly 30 years ago, a paper, which had form- erly been delivered at Davidson College, in which he took little account of the recent conquest of our Southern land, but to a danger, then remote, he called earnest attention and that was the flood of wild notions that would sweep over the South and im- peril her existence. It was like prophecy ; the flood has come ; the South is tottering to its foundations and the "only typically American portion of the Commonwealth" is threatened with ex- tinction, so that it may be truly referred to hereafter by the mod- ern vulgarism, "a section." Our teachers, preachers and press have a grave and present duty to perform. The soul that has striven truly, though the strife may have been long and hard, has its own rich reward. Robert L. Dabney has his now in a brighter land. The "knightliest of the knightly band" of great Virginians who have shed honor and renown upon their native State has sheathed his sword and "entered into rest." Not unlike in his mental equipment those warlike bishops of the middle ages who wielded sword and bludgeon when the 36 Robert Letnis Dabney — In Memoriam foe overran the country, and yet all unlike them in its beauty and gentleness of his character. Stonewall Jackson's chief of staf? has reported for duty at Headquarters on the shining plains of Heaven! What we intended to illustrate in the foregoing was the value of the life force of such a man ; it transcends in worth and in importance all the systems of all the schools and will lie on this generation like a benediction. On all departments his keen eye rested ; on every abuse descended his malediction like a whip of scorpions. For over half a century he had borne himself in the heat of the battle and had passed into the dim half-twilight of age a stern, splendid figure with eternal youth in his heart and with the joy of hope on his lips. Remember, the old south made such as these. They were her jewels; they remain her monu- ments; they were nurtured on her bosom and they depart with her blessing. They "Kept the faith of men and saints Serene and pure and bright." As Taine wrote of Shakespeare : — "Only this great age could have cradled such a child." THE TEACHER AND FRIEND. BY REV. DR. THORNTON R. SAMPSON. On Sunday afternoon, January 30tli, 1898, memorial serv- ice'; were held in the Opera Mouse, at Sherman, Texas, by .Mil- dred Lee Camp of United Confederate Veterans, to commemor- ate the patriotism and virtues of General L. S. Ross and Major K. L. Dabney, D. D. After the address had been made in honor of General Ross, the Rev. Dr. Thornton R. Sampson, president of Austin Collei,'e, a son of Rev. Dr. Francis S. Sampson, and a pupil of Dr. Dabney while he was professor in Ihmm Theological Seminary, spoke, in part, as follows : "But peace too hath her heroes. In the death of Dr. Robert I,. Dabney not only has the South lost a most valiant, coura- geous and persistent defender, both with sword and pen, but the Southern Presbyterian Church her greatest theologian and the world one of her greatest teachers." Then followed a brief out- line of his life and work. * * * * "It is not upon the virtues of Major Dabney as a soldier or upon the ability of Dr. Dabney as a theologian that I feel called to dwell today, for his published works, 'Defense of Vir- ginia,' 'Life of Stonewall Jackson' and 'Systematic Theology' speak for themselves ; but it is a glad duty to bear testimony to his excellence as a teacher and his faithfulness as a friend, which are less generally known. "Dr. Dabney was a bom teacher, and he loved his work. It has been my privilege, as a student, to sit at the feet of some of the most distinguished scholars and teachers of America, Great Britain and the continent of Europe, such as McGuffey, Gildersleeve, Davidson, Delitzsch and Luthardt, but Dr. Dabney was the peer of any and in some respects the superior of them all. He always left his impress upon the mind of his students. One might difTor with him in conclusions but could never deny the force and aptness of his reasoning. His thorough mastery of the subject, his clear and thorough analysis of it, his forceful, apt il- lustrations and his sympathetic recognition of the students' diffi- culties gave him most remarkable force as a teacher. No one 38 Robert Leiuis Dabncy — In Mcmoriam who desired to learn could fail to make ])rop;rcss or get profit under his lucid, inspiring tuition. "It is, however, chiefly of another striking side of Dr. Dab- nty's character that I wish to speak. Sonic who knew Dr. Daij- ney only through his publications have formed the idea that he was a stern, severe man lacking in sympathy and affection, ft carmot be denied that some expressions, in a certain class of his articles, especially those concerning the civil war, have given just ground for such inference. "But it should be stated and it can be asserted with all posi- tiveness, for it is a fact to which all who came in contact with him can testify, that such was not the case. He was a kind neighbor, a tender and most afifectionate husband, an over-indul- gent parent and a most faithful friend. In fact, he scarcely seemed, with all his acumen, to be able to see the faults of a friend and his judgment possibly failed him oftener in speaking or writ- ing of those whom he loved than at any other time. '"All of his old students will testify to this striking character- istic, but the most impressive illustration can be found in his de- votion to the memory of his early friend. Dr. Francis S. Samp- son. The first published work from his pen was an enthusiastic memorial of him and the last work of his life, the morning of the day of his death was a glowing tribute to the memory of the same friend for whom his afifectionate admiration seemed to grow with his years. "It is an honor and a privilege that I enjoy today, as I stand before this great audience to testify to the undiminished affec- tion of this great man for his early friend, my father, who died before my life could lisp his name, forty-five years ago. Noth- ing could have been more beautiful than this love of a strong man, for one whose gifts, whatever they were, excited no senti- ment but admiration in him. "Just three days before the death of Dr. Dabney I made a pilgrimage to his home in Southern Texas, and can never for- get his warm welcome, his sympathetic interrogatories, his prophetic counsels, giving evidence still of his warm affection for his old friend which neither blindness, nor age, nor time could chill. "He, indeed, "loved him as his own soul.' " A TRIBUTE. BY RHV. DR. S. TAVI.OK MARTIN. I From The Soutlicrn Presbyterian, January 20, 1898.] Dr. Dabiiey is dead. The Soutlicrn Church is in leans. Her faithful, tireless, powerful defender during the period of her strug- gle and persecution, has exchanged the warfare of the Church militant for the glory and rest of the Church triumphant. Her most gifted instructor in the mysteries of redemption, in the science of Ueity is a pupil of the great Teacher, seeing Jesus as He is and receiving from Him the revelations of His grace, tlie unfolding of His character, the glories of His Kingdom which on earth, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man." The commonwealth and the nation has sustained an irrepar- able loss in the withdrawal of a man whose philosophic mind, en- riched by the history of nations, governments and constitutions, recognized the only statesmanship that can secure perpetuity and prosperity and peace, the statesmanship that is founded on truth and righteousness. The rapidly vanishing remnant of the old Confederacy mourns the loss of one of the ablest defenders of a cause as true and principles as just as any for which a sw'ord was ever drawn or the sacrifice of human life ever made. The Church of God of all denominations has lost the labors of a mighty champion, who with unswerving fidelity advanced and defended these fundamental truths without which there could be no true church, no religion, no gospel of salvation, no glad tidings, no hope for lost and ruined man. All through the ranks of God's servants in the ministry there is a painful sense of loss of a faithful comrade and fellow laborer, of a revered father in Israel. In many a quiet study in the manses of the Southern Church, as God's servants ponder their work and its difficulties and obstacles, as they look out upon the hosts of the enemy and see the danger to the flock, there is a feeling of overwhelming loss, of almost helpless dismay, and of keenest personal bereavement, as they 40 Robert Lewis Dabney — In Memoriam realize that their revered instructor, the faithful guide, the sympa- thizing friend is no more; but there is mingled with their grief profound gratitude for the privilege of having enjoyed the in- structions, the fellowship, the friendship of such a man. The versatility of Dr. Dabney's genius was one of his most striking characteristics. Had he occupied Calvin's position he might have done Calvin's work. Had he been substituted for John Knox he could have performed the part of Knox. If dur- ing the war instead of being on the staff, he had been in the line and a leader of men, we know of no man who in our humble judg- ment would have so nearly approximated the renowned career of Stonewall Jackson. His range of study was broad and his scholarship ac- curate, his discussions were characterized by absolute candor and frankness. There was no attempt to obscure the strong points of his adversary, nor was there any evasion of the objec- tions to his own position. His modesty added a charm to his greatness. Numberless incidents recur to us that illustrate this trait. His pupils were his brethren, he seemed to ignore the dif- ference between the planes on which his students and their teacher moved. There was doubtless less need for formality with the half dozen of us that constituted the post bellum class. Certain is it when a student was reciting that the class-room was the arena in which was exhibited a free fight. It was "give and take;" the stu- dents had to take and he was at liberty to give with all his force. The professor often played the roll of the objector. Probably the mental foundation for his excellence in every department of human activity was his extraordinary power of analysis. In deal- ing with the most intricate and complex subjects he seemed to separate from it all its accidentals and reveal its essence in its perspicuous nakedness. Dr. Dabney's ability as a profound theologian, his power as a preacher, his extraordinary gift as a teacher, his accurate analysis and keen acumen as a metaphysician are readily recognized, but there was one trait not observed by the multitude, but known by those in personal contact with him. That was his gentleness. He abhored all meanness, all trickery, all that was false. When with his native vigor he denounced these traits men would naturally Robert l.nvis Dabyicy — In Mcmoriam 41 cotiiil liim severe. 1 le lived in a period when, in the church, men were willinj^ to barter away their independence, their professed convictions, for material advantage or for a sentiment of unity, that was a deceitful form, a hollow sham, lie lived in a period when men who had won military renown, renounced the cause, the principles for which they professed to fight, took or sought ofifice under the conquerors of their country and supported an ad- ministration and a party that was persecuting a disarmed and honorable people, with a more cruel, malignant and relentless hatred than had characterized any period of open warfare. Dr. Dabney's clear analytic mind enabled him to see, that the adoption of one set of principles during their prosperity, their renunciation in adversity and the espousal of another set as much the contra- dictory of the former as light is of darkness or life is of death, was an impeachment of personal integrity. Ostracism of such men was not due to difference of political convictions, but to the recognition of a lack of principle. He recognized the fact that war was not only a calamity but a crime. That no man could vin- dicate his right to engage in war, except when it becomes his solemn duty to fight. He saw clearly that no matter how brilliant the achievements of such men, their warfare was brigandage, their capture of property robbery, their killing of men, murder. Their proper category was that of deserters. In the face of all the me- naces and oppressions of the trying period of destruetion Dr. Dab- ney maintained his integrity. He spoke the truth. It hurt. Some thought him austere and harsh, but with all his contempt for truculence and meanness he was a man of profound and tender affection. It is the memory of his gentle sympathy, his affection- ate friendship, that causes us to bow in grief, that fills our heart with sorrow, because we have lost not only the reverend in- structor and guide, not only the faithful friend and brother, but also another tender, loving father. DATE DUE JW^TT- W»^ ^^CU>*^ \Qjijr MOV 3 id 9 ^^-^-^ m GAVLORD PRINTED, NUS...