( tlNTtA"^ JJL^. OOD TREE AND ITS FRUIT, A MEMORIAL SERMON THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF THE LATE PROFESSOR GEORGE IDE CHACE, THATCHER THAYER, D. D. T H p: good t r e p: and its fruit. A MEMORIAL SERMON THE LIFE AND SERVICES OF THE LATE PROFESSOR GEORGE IDE CHACE, THATCHER THAYER, D. D. DELIVERED IN THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, PROVIDENCE, yU.YE 14, jSSj. PROVIDENCE : PROVIDENCE PRESS COMPANY, BOOK PRINTERS. 18S5. Iji excli*ng© itihd "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit." Matthew vii. 17. This is so, of course ; for it is according to God's estab- lished order. Whatever appearances may be, only good trees bear good fruit. Thus it is known what they are as trees. So we reason from the good fruit in a man's life to what he is as a man. Not self, nicely baUuiced for good or bad fruit, but fully determined for good. .Thus our Lord, who saw such moral significance in nature, used a fruitful tree as a type of a good man. The Bil)le, true to our neces- sary conceptions and their expression, deals with ideals. So when we speak of the good man we must speak as John writes in his epistle. Briefly, then, the good man Avho bears fruit is one born of God, united to Christ by faith, living a new life in Him and conformed to His image. Thus the good man is the Christ-like man, and hence his relation to God is one of consciousness of God's love as manifested in Christ; is one of awe, of humble penitence and chikl-likc confidence, and willing obedience. ■ His relation to self is no longer swollen with exaggerated esteem, and prone to false estimates of all else — even to the crowding of God out of the soul — intent on its own pleasure — a sovereign fool — but to a self of due proportions, in harmony with other beings, in gracious subordination to a supreme law ; its "life hid with Christ in God." His relation to his fellow-men that of fullest recognition and sympathy — as children of one Father — sharers in one redemption, between whom recipro- cal duties are maintained by the absolute rule of love to God. Here, then, is a Scriptural view of a good man — good in his very inmost being. Such humanity cannot fail to bear good fruits. Eminent among these will be active benevolence to others. Perhaps we can conceive of a diiferent world from this, in which man, existing out of race conditions, might be called to exercise the same benevolence in a different mode from the present. However that might be, here morality is conditioned by race, and as evil manifests itself vicariously, and selfishness can- not act alone, but must represent and be in the place of others, even to curse, whether it will or not, so goodness has no choice but to manifest itself vicariously, and benevo- lence cannot act out itself without acting representatively, putting itself in the place of others. This condition is our social system — the good man, with more or less under- standing of its extent and significance, accepts and lives largely in and for others. Thus he uses power and wealth, and knowledge and philosophy and influence, and himself, too, for his fellow-men, bearing their burdens, identified very closely with them, suffering for them and with them. So obeying Christ and acting in His spirit, he unconsciously assimilates to Him. There is no limit to this blessed fruit- age. Hence the sight of a good man bearing good fruit is very desirable in our world. It is very convincing. Noth- ing proves Christianity like Christ, and a good man abound- ing in the fruits of the Spirit is worth more to prove the truth of the Gospel than a whole course of apologetic ser- mons which themselves need apologies. It is very discrim- inating. Every thoughtful man must be struck with the amount of moral confusion which prevails, and its disastrous effects. Despite what men claim for the actual conscience, it cannot make right, for that were to do away with moral substance ; but it can be so perverted and neglected as to mix inextricably right and Avrong to an unknown extent. This, in a measure, is the difficulty with men. Of course, they do much that they know to be wrong, but they do and say a great deal which is proved to be wrong, if anything can be, Ijut which they think right. In this way men come to be morally confused. They judge by unworthy standards; they look through media discolored by interest and prejudice and self-conceit. So it is that a fundamental need is a clearer moral perception. Now a good life lived steadily on, helps greatly to show the two great moral distinctions in the world. Again it is very assuring. There are times when so many wicked and mean things come to light unexpectedly, and so many characters, seeming white, turn suddenly black, and there is so much moral confusion among men, that one doubts and fears for right in this present at least. Then the sight of a true man is immensely comforting. So it is very elevating, for it lifts us up above the things we run after. We see, then, absolutely the highest, noblest excel- lence. For what in the greatest comparisons is art or any intellectual attainment, still less any public notoriety, least of all wealth, to goodness. God esteems that first, and He made us to esteem it so. It is because of the foolishness and degradation of sin that we put other things above good- ness. After all, how we turn to good men ! There is ff luxury in trusting such. Society depends on personal char- acter at last. Within all your fastnesses only the good man is sure. Individual men who have the kingdom of God within them are the great want. Real goodness with mod- erate talents is strong. But when God gives marked abili- ties and generous culture, with Christian benevolence acting out, then the image of the Lord is fulfilled on the largest scale — trees of noblest growth bearing richest fruit. How far this was fulfilled in him whom we remember to-day let each judge. Certainly a stately tree has fallen, a strons: rod of the vine is broken. Professor Chace came of a good New England family, vigorous in mind and body. You who are familiar with the scenes in which he passed his life, and the events in which he bore a conspicuous part can- not separate him from a somewhat remote past. You asso- ciate him with other and revered names, and involuntarily recall those earlier years of the college in which he began his career as instructor. The American college fifty years ago was a very different institution from that Avhich it has become and is yet more becoming. It was almost domestic, and its government aimed to be parental. Its habits were simple. Early prayers were not thought to be above the average strength, nor evening devotions excessive for that period, while morning recitations by candle-light did not require increased athletics. Its irregularities of conduct were more primitive, and sometimes had a certain grim humor characteristic of the youthful sinners of those days — which gave a kind of zest to their punishment wanting to the flatter offenses of modern students. Even in this State of " soul liberty," souls in Brown were content with alle- giance to their college, and did not ramify into intercolle- giate sodalities. They sta3'ed at home and lived in the family with paterfamilias and professors, who themselves rarely left their work, content with unremitting labor and the clas- sical ration — 'Uenui avena,'" — as interpreted by an English clergyman familiar with small incomes — whose tradition has been faithfully preserved in some, at least, of the salaries. A strong, earnest Christian Faculty had fair opportunities to impress deeply the students. Brown by all accounts had such a Faculty. Its President — to whom his alumni give an honora1)lc testimony rarely l)estowed, and yet strangely enough have been satisfied with a marble head as his memo- rial instead of a nobly endowed professorship — must have 1)een a remarkable man. Without the grace of God he had l)een still Gii>'ans Pedagoffus, but Ijelieving; with all his mioht in Almighty God and Divine government l)y Jesus Christ, he was completely possessed in every fibre of his nature by the conviction of the eternal difference l)etAveen right and wrong. He w^as governed by an undying sense of obligation, and constrained by the love of Christ. So he taught even his philosophies in this fear and love, and lifted his pupils up to those heights in thinking and sought to make them true men to Christ. With such a President, Professor Chace commenced his course. How he sympathized with him, his own heartfelt eulogy of President Wayland is touching proof. Mr. Chace entered college in one of the earliest classes under this President, and is described as becoming distinguished at once in every department. He did those things best which demanded the severest exercise of intellect, and his college course was throughout singularly successful. A few months after takinir his degree he was called back to the college to 8 be one of the instructors, and thus he entered upon the career which he pursued with so much usefulness and distinction for more than forty years — first as a teacher of pure mathematics and mechanical philosophy ; then of those physical sciences in which he became a distinguished master, and finally as a teacher of metaphysics and ethics. When he became a professor of the physical sciences, they were just beginning to be taught in the new methods which now prevail ; indeed, they were only entering upon that wonderful expansion which now demands such various de- partments of instruction. The survivors of that period have sometimes called it the "heroic ag-e" of the college. Certainly in some aspects the period was heroic in bracing up the minds of the students to new habits of thought and study which came in with President Wayland's administra- tion. The vigorous tone imparted to the mind of the col- lege then has been justly attributed chiefiy to the great force of Doctor Wayland's personal contact, but it was also largely due to the men he gathered about him. Professor Chace, we are assured, exerted a quickening and lasting influence in this direction. His instructions in the sciences were given principally in lectures, and they have been described as brilliant and stimulating. The interest in them extended beyond the college, and numbers from the city attended his classes. It is a very pleasing fact to be remem- bered, that in one branch of industry for which Providence has become distinguished, and whose finest products require very considerable scientific knowledge, quite a company of mechanics followed some of his courses, and at their close presented him with a beautiful testimonial of their sense of the value of his instructions. We can conceive how much 9 plciisure this gnvo Professor Chace as an illustration of the practicalness of science, and above all as showing the imme- diate relation of the college to the community, a relation which from the first President Wayland and his associates tried to strengthen, and which every lover of the University must desire to see become more intimate and enduring, till this fair city rejoices in being the protector and constant benefactor of an institution at once its ornament and its blessing. The past is eloquent for this, in that the earliest and greatest benefactors of the college were citizens of Provi- dence. Nor has the city, at any period, ever failed to fur- nish generous givers. While in turn the college has always been represented in its schools and hospitals, and has en- riched its merchants and manufacturers and mechanics with its culture, and largely helped to save its wealth from vulgar display, and had no small part in promoting the refinement and intelligence of its homes. Professor Chace was re- garded as eminently fitted to investigate minutely and to generalize safely. This ability he exercised in the various departments of material nature, l)ut he had no less aptitude for metaphysical pursuits. He was a careful student of the relations between mind and matters, and of the mysterious analogies through which they reflect light one on the other. The results of these studies he frequently gave to special companies of students who met for this purpose, and there he unfolded the essential ideas of natural theology and the argument for immortality. So far, indeed, from his physi- cal studies having absorbed his capacity for psychological inquiries or dulled his sensibilities to their finest distinctions, his earlier direction of thouoht seemed rather to have ren- 10 » derecl his mental vision in the sphere of intellectual and •moral philosophy more acute, and to have disciplined to severer limitations his use of analogical reasoning. Certain it is that when he actually became Professor of Metaphysics and Ethics he proved himself fully equal to the new de- mands on him. It was an emergency that arose in 1867 which led the cor- poration to appoint Professor Chace to this chair. The appointment required him to abandon the work of many years and enter a new field of lal)or. It was natural that he should hesitate. The sacrifice was great for any man to make. But his acceptance was urged as a necessity of the college, and on this ground he yielded to the solicitations which were addressed to him. In this department he spent the closing five years of his life as a Professor. How well he succeeded we all know. Many wdio hear me will testify to the thoroughness of his instructions and to the opinions they then formed of his power to impress on other minds the great truths of Christian ethics. To some, indeed, Avho have known little of Professor Chace as a scientific man, but who in these last years have been somewhat familiar with his treatment of metaphysical subjects, it is a question if metaphysical acumen was not his chief characteristic, and his last department was not best fitted to call out his highest powers. True, Professor Chace reminded one of the older thinkers on these matters in modes of thought and style of expression, that style being particularly simple and appar- ently never tempted to excuse imperfect conceptions by cloudy words. A great change in this respect has taken place ; but, after all, it ma}^ well be doubted if men go into deeper problems, or follow finer courses of thinking, or 11 express themselves more intelligil)ly. In this connection it may be mentioned that one of the last papers l)y Professor Chace was the review of a very al)le work on "Man a Crea- tive First Cause," in sup[)ort of the author, maintaining freedom to be true of man rather than of the will. It is marked l)y his usual acuteness, and shows him far better qualified to discuss "free-will and fore-knowledge absolute" with New England's greatest inet;i[)hysic'ian than mor*) pre- tentious writers, who, after painful etibrts to dislodge him, have come away leaving Edwards still on the Will. Even later than this is an address read before the Rhode Island Medical Society, in which is manifested his attmction to such themes and his ability to treat them. Professor Chace closed his college work in 1872. It had extended from nearly the beginning of Doctor Wayland's Presidency through those of his two immediate successors. His service had been constant in the la])oratory and the lecture-room, and in every other way in which he could })ro- mote the interests of the institution. He retlected honor on his college, and it is a grateful office to pay him the hearty tribute. He had acted in the fear of God and never shrunk from duty. "The good tree bore good fruit." And now to human view here was a public life well rounded otf, looking out from a home of intelligence and affection upon those whom he had helped to train — here a man of science, there an honored jurist, and again a mission- ary of the cross ; bearing a name of high repute in the com- munity, his society sought by the cultivated and the good, how might he well have rested from labor and s})cnt an old age calm with philosophic thought and bright with Christian hope. But he shrunk from ceasing to do good. God had 12 yet a noble work with which to crown his life. The union of letters with public affairs has ever been a favorite theme, and a beautiful mind lately with us took pleasure in dis- coursing of the "Scholar in Politics.*' We remember, too, that Plato dreamed of a republic administered by philoso- phers. As idealized, this is an agreeable vision. Actually, it is a rare sight. When attempted, " Bays " are apt to get soiled from ignoble contact. But the scholar, the man of science, the philosopher, in works of benevolence and insti- tutions of reform, is an association which one can contem- plate with the greatest confidence in the good sure to result. A year and a half was spent by Professor Chace in travel and residence abroad, and then he returned to find a field of the greatest usefulness and engrossing activity open before him. In May, 1874, a few months after his return, he was appointed a member of the Board of State Charities and Corrections, and was at once chosen chairman by his asso- ciates. The work accomplished by this board has been too well described to need any detailed account here. The State may well be proud of the system and order now established in the institutions under its care. But it required great knowledge and sound judgment, with immense labor, to bring them into their present state. Professor Chace gave almost all his time and thoughts to this work, and his associates unite in the testimony to his varied qualifications, to his devotedness and his conciliatory spirit. He was also a trus- tee of the Butler Hospital and president of the Rhode Island Hospital. In this last ofiice he continued till his death. He has had the happiness of seeing this institution increase in strenoth and usefulness. Those connected with him in its 13 administration embrace this opportunity to put on record their high estimation of his merit as their presiding officer. They recall his conscientious attention to the minutest con- cerns of the hospital, the judicious use of his scientific knowledge in its service, ai;^i his large conception of its future. His fairness in the treatment of questions, the uni- form courtesy of his bearing, and his never-failing kindliness, all come to mind as on this day they rememl)er their loss. Professor Chace was happy in these labors. His student life had not estranged him from the outside Avorld. He deeply felt himself a partaker of a common humanity ; and the terrible facts of crime and madness and suttering aftected him as in its unity. Hence Christ's vicarious love in ministering to the bodily woes of men i)articularly im- pressed him, and he loved to think of such works done by His disciples as obedience to Him " who l^ore our griefs and carried our sorrows." In a paper read before the Baptist City Mission al)out this time there is a striking exhibition of his Christian feeling. It is full of sympathy with the degraded and neglected, and he speaks as one who habitually came very near to them in his efforts for their good. There is in it, too, a profound appreciation for the Gospel as fitted to human Avants, and a most tender and reverential apprehen- sion of Christ Himself. Indeed, those who saw most of Professor Chace's private life could not fail to see the blessed influences of such labors on his own spirit. There remains but one more public relation of Professor Chace to notice. Very pleasant it must l)e for the pastor and meml)ers of this ancient church to recall his loyalty to it. Here in early life he professed his faith in Christ. Here he remained steadfast through many changes and 14 unwavering in its support. Largely under his guidance and with unstinted gifts and efibrts, this hallowed building- has been renewed. Nor has his care for the church ceased with his life, but his thoughtful benevolence has reached on to its poor in all time to come. We rear monuments to the memory of those we honor. It is well, but they only testify to feeling. Nor can stone and iron keep men's names in remembrance long. But ben- efactions to institutions for the good of men continue with ever- widening blessings, and bear on into the ages the mem- ory of those who gave. So we love to think that this hon- ored name will endure associated with ceaseless benefits in the college he served so faithfully and in the hospitals so long the object of his care. In full ripeness of years, in a home of undimmed happi- ness, with the name of his Saviour last on his lips, this long- life of usefulness passed away. A good tree, it bore good fruit to the end. We need not delay on the moral of such a life. It is its own moral. It helps to answer the question now so often asked since once it has been formulated. It is the question of human nature, tired of itself and yet without penitence : "Is life worth living?" If the life to be lived is after some of the patterns the actual world proposes ; if it be to gain power, and to that end to intrigue and buy and flatter and decry and to be decried, and at last be disappointed and be consumed with heart-burning ; if it be to toil for wealth and struggle in fierce competitions and see the weaker go to the wall and hear their moans and hisses, and have at last the curse of Midas ; if to strive for social place and sacrifice simple taste and natural afiections and Christian obligation ; 15 if even to be wholly given up to the nobler contentions of the intellect, and end with nothing but refined sensations ; or, in a word, if life in our civilization is to be the growing weariness of a burdened self without God, and without hope, and then, then to die like a dog. No ! Life is not worth living. But if the life to be lived is after the pattern of that glorious Life once lived on earth, our own humanity com- plete in goodness standing out in light on our dark ground of guilt and sin — our Saviour and example; if life be to live as He lived, not for self, but for God and fellow-men ; to use Avealth and knowledge, and all the powers of the mind and body and the very self to this end, to bear others' burdens and lift up the fallen and unite discordant men one to another in Christ — head of a new humanity — for which the groaning earth is waiting ; a life full of the conscious- ness of God and of man's true worth in beinof and havins: a blessed immortality — yes, a thousand times yes ! For after all, it is a great world to redeem and to be redeemed in ! Just the world for the Son of God to be manifested in, and fulfill the highest idea of love ! Just the world for us guilty men to be forgiven in, and for us selfish men to be radically changed in and built up into characters of moral excellence through mixed issues of joys and sorrows ! Just the world, with its «m»c unity and interwoven relations for •«• t Ck the spirit of Christ continually to reappear in, and so for all ^tmm grand and magnanimous and tender and gentle afiections to grow and expand in. '^'Vaaa. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS I mill mil Hill mil mil mil mil mil mil mil mil INI nil 029 919 118 7 •