MASTERPIECES OF MODERN ORATORY >HURTE.R Class. Book. r- Q Gop}Tiglil X^. COFYRIC.HT DEPOSIT. \ MASTERPIECES OF MODERN ORATORY EDITED BY EDWIN Dubois shurter Associate Professor of Public Speaking in the University of Texas GINN & COMPANY BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON LIBRARY of CONGRESS Tw0 Copfts Received JAN 10190? //Copyright Entry , CLASS 0/\ XXc, No. COPY B. / n \ .~i •Ss3 Copyright, 1906, by EDWIN Dubois shurter ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 66.12 QDbe sattieiTKutn K^tti^ GINN & COMPANY PRIETORS • BOSTON . PRO- U.S.A. I PREFACE The fifteen orations in this volume are intended to furnish models for students of Oratory, Argumentation, and Debate. For the most part the orations are given without abridgment. In making the selection the aim has been to include only ora- tions that (i) deal with subjects of either contemporary or historical interest, (2) were delivered by men eminent as ora- tors, and (3) are of inherent literary value. There are of course many orators and orations in modern times that fulfill these tests, but it is believed that the orations selected are fairly representative. A further aim has been to secure such variety in the selections as to cover in a single volume the fields of deliberative, forensic, pulpit, and demonstrative oratory, and so to meet the needs of classes both in argumentation and oratorical composition. If we give relatively less attention nowadays to the art side of oratory, — the manner of delivery, — there is all the more need of studying the matter, — the invention, organization, and expression of the thought. The young men in our schools and colleges, who in a small or large way are bound to be called upon to speak in public, should be taught how to com- pose for a hearer as distinguished from a reader — how to construct an oration as distinguished from an essay. To this end oratorical models should be critically studied in order that the student may learn and appreciate how masters have wielded the language for the purposes of conviction and per- suasion. And this should be made an intensive rather than an extensive process. To become thoroughly acquainted with one great oration is better than a cursory reading of many ill iv PREFACE orations, and especially better than reading the extracts contained in books of " choice s'elections." With a view of such intensive study each oration in this volume is preceded by an introduction, and bibliographies and notes are given on pages 339 to 369 inclusive. In the notes, which are here and there in the form of suggestive questions, the editor has tried to incorporate only such comments as will illuminate the text for the average student, and has tried to avoid explanation of the familiar or obvious. To avoid confu- sion to the general reader, the notes are put by themselves in the back part of the book ; and even for the special student, each oration should first be read independently of the notes, whatever use may subsequently be made of them. Grateful acknowledgment is made to Little, Brown & Co. for permission to use the text of Webster's speech as contained in the volume, Webster's Great Speeches and Orations ; to the O. S. Hubbell Company, publishers of The Lincoln- Douglas Debates^ for the text of Lincoln's speech ; to Lee & Shepard, publishers of the Speeches^ Lectures., a?id Letters of Wendell Phillips^ for the oration by Phillips ; to Harper & Brothers, publishers of the Orations and Addresses of George William Curtis^ for the oration by Curtis ; to Fox, Duffield & Co., publishers of Watterson's Compromises of Life, for the speech by Watterson ; to Honorable W. Bourke Cockran, for the use of his oration on Marshall ; to Callaghan & Co., publishers of Dillon's John Marshall, which contains Mr. Cockran's oration ; to Bishop J. L. Spalding for permission to use his address on " Opportunity," contained in a volume entitled Opportunity, and Other Essays and Addresses, published by A. C. McClurg & Co. ; and to the Reverend Dr. Henry van Dyke for the use of his baccalaureate sermon on " Salt." E. D. S. The University of Texas September, 1906 CONTENTS CONCILIATION WITH THE AMERICAN COLONIES — Edmund Burke Page Introduction 3 Text II Notes 339 THE MURDER OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH WHITE — Daniel Webster Introduction ......... 53 Text 65 Notes 345 A HOUSE STAND "- DIVIDED -Abraham AGAINST Lincoln ITSELF CANNOT Introduction , , , ^ 129 Text . Reply by Rejoinde Notes . Douglas r by Lincoln 133 142 146 348 THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC — Wendell Phillips Introduction . . . . . . . . • 153 Text . . . . . . . . . . -159 Notes 350 THE PUBLIC DUTY OF EDUCATED MEN — George William Curtis Introduction 189 Text 192 Notes 353 V vi CONTENTS THE RACE PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH — Henry W. Grady Page Introduction 211 Text 214 Notes 355 THE PURITAN AND THE CAVALIER — Henry Wat- TERSON Introduction 235 Text 237 Notes 356 EULOGY OF ROBERT E. LEE — John Warwick Daniel Introduction 243 Text 244 Notes 357 EULOGY OF ULYSSES S. GRANT — Horace Porter Introduction 257 Text 259 Notes 358 THE IMMORTALITY OF GOOD DEEDS — Thomas Brackett Reed Introduction 265 Text 266 Notes • . 360 TRIBUTE TO MARCUS A. H ANN A— Albert Jeremiah Beveridge Introduction 273 Text . . . . . 274 Notes 3^3 MARSHALL AND THE CONSTITUTION — William Bourke Cockran Introduction • 279 Text . . . .280 Notes 364 CONTENTS vii INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION — Carl Schurz page Introduction ......... 293 Text ........... 296 Notes 364 OPPORTUNITY — John Lancaster Spalding Introduction . . , . . . . . -311 Text ' . . . . ' . . . . . . .312 Notes . 367 SALT — Henry van Dyke Introduction 325 Text . . . . . ... . . . . 326 Notes 368 MASTERPIECES OF MODERN ORATORY CONCILIATION WITH THE AMERI- CAN COLONIES Edmund Burke On moving his resolutions for conciliation WITH THE COLO- NIES. House of Commons, March 22, 1775. INTRODUCTION Edmund Burke, statesman, orator, and man of letters, was born in Dublin, Ireland, January 12, 1729. His father, a Protestant, was a lawyer with a good practice. His mother was of Irish descent and a Catholic. In 1741 he was sent to school at Balli- tore, under the tutorship of one Abraham Shackleton, a Quaker from Yorkshire. In 1743 he entered Trinity College, Dublin. During the five years spent there Burke did not distinguish him- self as a student, but he spent much time in reading widely in history, politics, literature, and philosophy, — a habit that was con- tinued throughout his life. Burke's father intended that his son should be a lawyer, and in 1750 Burke was sent to London to pur- sue his legal studies. Except for the circumstance of his marriage in 1756, his life during the nine years following his removal to London is enveloped in almost complete obscurity. He was entered at the Middle Temple, but was never admitted to practice. General reading doubtless claimed his attention more than the law. He had a strong literary bent, and we find him passing his sum- mers in retired country villages, reading and writing with desul- tory industry. Having displeased his father by failing to enter the legal profession, Burke found his allowance withdrawn, and was forced to depend chiefly on his pen for a living. In 1765 he became private secretary to Lord Rockingham, the head of the new Whig ministry. Soon after he was returned to Parliament as a member from Wendover, and later from Bristol. He took his 3 4 CONCILIATION WITH AMERICAN COLONIES seat in time to participate in the debates which preceded the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766, and was continuously in Parliament from this time until 1794. He died in 1797. Some one has said that a passion for order and a passion for justice were the master motives of Burke's life and thought. It is interesting to see how these master passions expressed themselves in dealing with the three great problems in government which arose dur- ing his career, — the problems of America, of India, and of France. In dealing with America Burke was unquestionably at his best. His highly developed sense of justice led him to protest against the paternal policy and high-handed methods of George the Third and his Tory supporters. Burke felt that these methods threatened liberty not only in the colonies, but also in England ; hence his plea for justice to the colonists comported with his passion for order. His plan would not violate the principles of the English constitution, while it would insure order and tranquillity in the colonies. Burke was not, however, a thoroughgoing reformer in the modern sense. He has been called the Great Conservative. The basis of his plea for conciliation with the American colonies fell far short of the principles enunciated in the Declaration of Independence. When the Stamp Act was repealed the radical wing of the Whig party, led by Pitt and Fox, would have gone farther and acknowledged the absolute injustice of taxation with- out representation. Not so with Burke ; the declaration of this principle would have been to him a too violent breaking with the traditions of the English constitution, as he conceived them. He therefore warmly supported the Declaratory Act coupled with the repeal of the Stamp Act, which asserted " the supreme authority of Parliament over the colonies, in all cases whatsoever." In both of his speeches on America Burke refuses to discuss the question of taxation without representation. That, he said, was not the main issue. And yet that was the issue which the colonists raised, and the issue which divided the English Whigs. Burke based his arguments solely on expediency, so that, as Goldwin Smith has pointed out, " you cannot extract from him any definite theory of the colonial relation." His conservative attitude, springing from his passion for order, as we have seen, was a strong influence in the disruption of the Whig party, thus preventing a solid front in the opposition to the policy of George the Third. BURKE 5 When the American colonies were forever lost Burke turned his attention to India. For many years he had studied the history and the workings of English rule in India, and when, in 1786, he began a nine years' fight against the injustice and corruption in the government of that country, he was unquestionably the best informed man in England on Indian affairs. In this contest, as in the case of America, Burke's passion for order and for justice did not conflict ; and although his efforts to impeach Hastings techni- cally failed, the result was a moral victory, for his masterful array of facts and splendid oratory led to government refomis on a large scale in India. In 1789 came the crash of the French Revolution. In dealing with the questions thereby involved, Burke's natural conservatism became yet more predominant, for he was growing old. His pas- sion for order prevented a calm consideration of justice as between oppressor and oppressed. He believed the Revolution to be the work of atheists and theorists, who were waging war upon the institutions which preserve order in society, — upon king, nobles, and clergy. So when in 1 790 his " Reflections on the Revolution in France " appeared, the Tories and King George, whom Burke had stoutly opposed in the American policy, now hailed him as their shield and defender. As the Revolution developed its worst fea- tures, Burke's hatred of it grew, and his non-judicial attitude, violence of temper, and fierce invective, mark a decline of those powers of reasoning and persuasion which appear at their best in the speech on " Conciliation." The leading characteristics, then, of Burke's political philosophy are opposed to much that is fundamental in modern systems. He belonged to both the old order and the new, — planting himself on the old and prophesying the new. All in all, his title to fame as a statesman lies not so much in his immediate accomplishment as in his influence, — his persistent and eloquent advocacy of those high and noble principles which find justification by their adoption in modern times. Burke brought to politics a terror of crime, a deep humanity, and a keen sensibility. "No one," says Morley, "has ever come so close to the details of practical politics, and at the same time remembered that these can only be understood and dealt with by the aid of the broad conceptions of political philos- ophy." " He was," says Buckle,^ " Bacon alone excepted, the 1 Civilization in England^ chap. vii. 6 CONCILIATION WITH AMERICAN COLONIES greatest political thinker who ever devoted himself to the practice of English politics." As an orator, Burke did not excel in delivery, though often very- effective. " The heavy, Quaker-like figure, the scratch wig, the round spectacles, the cumbrous roll of paper which loaded Burke's pocket,"^ were not prepossessing. He was tall though not robust, angular in his movements, with a somewhat harsh voice that never lost a strong Irish accent, and a temper which, when aroused by opposition or criticism, often weakened the effect of what he said. On the other hand, he possessed many qualities, both natural and acquired, which fitted him for his career as an orator. His Protes- tant-Catholic parentage, together with the early association with his Quaker tutor, conduced to broad-mindedness and toleration in an age of intense religious bigotry, and gave him sympathy with struggles for liberty and hatred of all forms of oppression. Readi- ness in thinking on his feet was aided by early practice in a pri- vate debating club, and later in the Robin Hood Club in London. Withal, the impress of his native genius was powerfully aided by his unflagging industry, — his thoroughness in getting up his cases. All his great speeches reveal a marvelous mastery of the facts, — a detailed and comprehensive knowledge which make them, as he himself said of the utterances of Alfred the Great, " both minute and sublime." As to the immediate influence of Burke's oratory, there is much conflicting testimony among his contemporaries. Prior, in his Life of Burke ^ quotes Mr. Curran to the effect that "as an orator Burke surpassed all his contemporaries, and was perhaps never exceeded." And Grattan says : " Burke is unquestionably the first orator among the Commons of England ; boundless in knowledge, instantaneous in his apprehensions, and abundant in his language. He speaks with profound attention and acknowledged superiority, notwithstanding the want of energy, grace, and elegance in his manner." Erskine said to Mr. Rush, the American minister : " I was in the House when Burke made his great speech on American Conciliation, — the greatest he ever made. He drove everybody away. When I read it, I read it over and over again ; I could hardly think of anything else." Erskine's testimony furnishes the key to a just estimate of Burke's oratory. Judged by its ultimate influence, he was unquestionably 1 Green, Short History of the English People^ p. 770, BURKE 7 the greatest orator England has ever produced. And yet it must be admitted that his speeches were generally unsuited to the needs of the House of Commons. Burke was an orator rather than a debater, a statesman rather than a politician, the champion of a principle rather than the legislative manipulator. His speeches are largely political lectures ; hence his title of Philosopher- Statesman. Unlike Fox, Burke was not content to seize upon the strong points of a case and cast aside inteiTnediate thoughts. His exuberant fancy and wide knowledge led him to adduce details, illustrations, repetitions, maxims, and figures, which were so interwoven with his main arguments that his speeches were apt to weary men who cared for nothing, and could not be expected to care for anything, but the question before the House and the most expeditious way to settle it. Though fraught with all learning, yet straining his throat To persuade Tommy Townshend to lend him a vote ; Who, too deep for his hearers, still went on refining, And thought of convincing, while they thought of dining.i Johnson says that Burke's early speeches " filled the town with wonder," but adds that " he spoke too often and too long." Not that his speeches always went wide of the mark in delivery, for they were sometimes remarkably effective ; but Burke frequently combined his thoughts and knowledge in propositions so weighty and strong that the minds of ordinary hearers were not on the instant prepared for them. Boswell once asked him why he took so much pains with his speeches, knowing that not one vote would be gained by them. Burke replied that his reputation was at stake, and further, that although the House might not grant his whole contention, a law was frequently so modified as to be less oppres- sive. " Aye, sir," Johnson broke in, " and there is a gratification of pride. Though we cannot outvote them, we will outargue them." " Outarguing," says Morley, " is not the right word. Burke surrenders himself wholly to the matter, and follows up, though with a strong and close tread, all the excursions to which it may give rise in an elastic intelligence." Yet always the " strong and close tread." Take the speech on Conciliation, for example. What- ever may be the intricacies of its details, and although the solidity 1 From Goldsmith's Retaliation. 8 CONCILIATION WITH AMERICAN COLONIES of the structure may be hidden by flowers, yet, like a great cathe- dral, throughout the whole there is a massive unity of design. It is the literary quality of Burke's speeches, then, that renders them of interest to-day and is chiefly responsible for the perpetuity of his fame as an orator. The leading characteristics of his subject- matter and style (already incidentally referred to) are : 1. Thoroughness of treat?nent. This manifests itself in a broad comprehensiveness joined to an amplitude of detail, — in general- ization coupled with exhaustiveness. Burke has been called " myriad-minded." Both depth and breadth are shown in the treat- ment of every subject he discussed. 2. Rhetorical excellence. This was secured by much practice in writing. His principal speeches were carefully prepared in advance, though not always rigidly adhered to in delivery ; hence an excel- lence in form and finish which could not have been attained in extemporaneous efforts. He always wrote, however, with an audi- ence in mind. Like Macaulay, his prevailing style suggests the speaker. As we have seen, the finished elaborateness of his speeches were a drawback in delivery, and occasionally the reader nowadays feels the justice of Johnson's stricture, that " he some- times talked partly from ostentation " ; or of Hazlitt's criticism, that he seemed to be " perpetually calling the Speaker out to dance a minuet with him before he begins." But while there are pas- sages here and there that may warrant such censure, — evident self-consciousness and a lack of ease and delicacy, — yet the dom- inant quality of his style contradicts the idea of the mere rhetori- cian dealing in fine phrases, but rather reveals the master wielding language to subserve a controlling purpose. 3. Figurative language. Burke's fertility of imagery, compari- sons, analogies, and illustrations, enabled him to exhaust a subject without tediousness, so that we have much reiteration and reen- forcement without mere repetition. His idea of a truly fine sen- tence, as once stated to a friend, consists in a " union of thought, feeling, and imagery, — of a striking truth and a corresponding sentiment, rendered doubly striking by the force and beauty of figurative language." In such sentences Burke's speeches and writings abound. He is no doubt excessively ornate at times, his figures being placed in such bold relief or dwelt upon so long that the primary idea is lost sight of in the image. We find great extremes of imagery, from his much-admired picture of the queen BURKE 9 of France, as he saw her " just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glit- tering like the morning star, full of life and splendor and joy," or of friendship as " the soft green of the soul, on which the eye loves to repose," to Lord Chatham's administration " pigging together in the same truckle-bed," — and other comparisons yet more vulgar. While a master of the decorative style, Burke does not always escape the faults that usually accompany an abundance of figures. His imagination seemed to need the restraining and chastening influence of a critical situation, such as was afforded in the efforts for " conciliation " with America. 4. Co7n77iand of words. In his deliberative speeches Burke's tendency, as we have seen, was to overload his main arguments with too many collateral topics. Likewise his sentences frequently contain secondary thoughts — qualifying and modifying clauses — which tend to weaken the blow by dividing it. This method of exhaustiveness in treatment required the use of many words ; but though copious in language, he is rarely verbose. Though he usually develops every phase of his subject, he always illuminates it. His multifarious ideas always find fitting expression. By the introduction of a fresher and more natural diction Burke gave a lasting stimulus to English prose literature, his writings and speeches — notably the speech in this volume — being studied as models in present-day English. 5. Passion. It was his passion for order and justice, previously mentioned, that inspired his commanding and noble passages and colored the words in which they were expressed ; so that we are made to feel that the more magnificent passages must have been written in moments of absolute abandonment to feeling. It was his passion, after all, that produced his style — the amplitude, the weightiness, the high flight, and the grandeur that comported with his imperial themes — and makes his productions now worth while. To su7)iinarize : As an orator, Burke was outclassed by Pitt, Fox, and Sheridan in immediate influence upon the House of Com- mons, but he far surpassed them all in his ultimate influence. " He had not the impetuous and splendid eloquence of Chatham, nor the remarkable skill in debate of Fox, but in learning, in the power of clothing great thoughts in the most appropriate words, and of producing speeches which were even more interesting when read than when they were delivered, he far surpassed them both." lO CONCILIATION WITH AMERICAN COLONIES Macaulay speaks of him as " superior, in aptitude of comprehen- sion and richness of imagination, to every orator, ancient or modern." As a man, all that we know of Burke is of good repute. Some of his contemporary political opponents attempted to impeach his honesty because of his extravagances, and later critics have essayed to cast a shadow over his early life in London, concerning which Burke always maintained a dignified silence; but there is no evidence to substantiate these charges. There is no reason for doubting that the noble thoughts and high principles which Burke enunciated, emanated from an earnest mind and a sound character. He has therefore wielded an influence that has not yet by any means spent its force. The consensus of opinion points to Burke as an abiding name in history. Wordsworth believed him to be " by far the greatest man of his age," and Macaulay considered him " the greatest man since Milton." " He is not only the first man in the House of Commons," said Johnson, his political oppo- nent, " he is the first man everywhere." " A gentleman," said Sheridan, "whose abilities, happily for the glory of the age in which we live, are not entrusted to the perishable eloquence of the day, but shall live to be the admiration of that hour when all of us shall be mute, and most of us forgotten." It is a mark of Burke's singular and varied genius that hardly any two people agree precisely as to which of his productions should be considered the masterpiece. Each great essay or speech that he composed is the rival of every other. But his speech on Conciliation has perhaps been most universally admired, — " the wisest in its temper, the most closely logical in its reasoning, the amplest in appropriate topics, the most generous and conciliatory in the substance of its appeals." When this speech was delivered in the House of Commons, events in the colonies were fast hastening toward the Declaration of Independence. The first Continental Congress had met, and within a month the battles of Concord and Lexington were fought. On February 20, 1775, Lord North, then Prime Minister, brought forward so-called " Propositions for Conciliating the Differences with America." Burke seized the opportunity to propose a method of conciliation that might be really effective ; for, as he shows in the speech following (paragraphs 63-76), Lord North's plan was BURKE II a scheme to divide and conquer. Burke proposed that instead of imposing taxes the colonies be granted the opportunity of taxing themselves, and trust the result to the natural loyalty of a kindred people. He waived all discussion of the right oi taxation, but based his argument solely on expediency. But it is not Burke's partic- ular plan — for that may have been impracticable — that chiefly interests and holds us now ; it is rather the high and noble principles underlying such plan, and the wise political maxims with which the speech abounds, — maxims which have no doubt been quoted by succeeding statesmen more fully and frequently than in the case of any other speech in oratorical literature. I. I hope, Sir, that notwithstanding the austerity of the Chair, your good nature will incline you to some degree of indulgence towards human frailty. You will not think it unnatural that those who have an object depending, which strongly engages their hopes and fears, should be somewhat inclined to super- 5 stition. As I came into the House full of anxiety about the event of my motion, I found, to my infinite surprise, that the grand penal bill, by which we had passed sentence on the trade and sustenance of America, is to be returned to us from the other House. I do confess I could not help looking on 10 this event as a fortunate omen. I look upon it as a sort of providential favor, by which we are put once more in possession of our deliberative capacity upon a business so very question- able in its nature, so very uncertain in its issue. By the return of this bill, which seemed to have taken its flight forever, we 15 are at this very instant nearly as free to choose a plan for our American Government as we were on the first day of the ses- sion. If, Sir, we incline to the side of conciliation, we are not at all embarrassed (unless we please to make ourselves so) by any incongruous mixture of coercion and restraint. We are 20 therefore called upon, as it were by a superior warning voice, again to attend to America ; to attend to the whole of it together ; and to review the subject with an unusual degree of care and calmness. 12 CONCILIATION WITH AMERICAN COLONIES 2. Surely it is an awful subject, or there is none so on this side of the grave. When I first had the honor of a seat in this House, the affairs of that continent pressed themselves upon us as the most important and most deHcate object of Parlia- 5 mentary attention. My Httle share in this great deliberation oppressed me. I found myself a partaker in a very high trust; and, having no sort of reason to rely on the strength of my natural abilities for the proper execution of that trust, I was obliged to take more than common pains to instruct myself in lo everything which relates to our colonies. I was not less under the necessity of forming some fixed ideas concerning the gen- eral policy of the British Empire. Something of this sort seemed to be indispensable, in order, amidst so vast a fluctua- tion of passions and opinions, to concentre my thoughts, to 15 ballast my conduct, to preserve me from being blown about by every wind of fashionable doctrine. I really did not think it safe or manly to have fresh principles to seek upon every fresh mail which should arrive from America. 3. At that period I had the fortune to find myself in perfect 20 concurrence with a large majority in this House. Bowing under that high authority, and penetrated with the sharpness and strength of that early impression, I have continued ever since, without the least deviation, in my original sentiments. Whether this be owing to an obstinate perseverance in error, or to a 25 religious adherence to what appears to me truth and reason, it is in your equity to judge. 4. Sir, Parliament having an enlarged view of objects, made, during this interval, more frequent changes in their sentiments and their conduct than could be justified in a particular per- 30 son upon the contracted scale of private information. But though I do not hazard anything approaching to a censure on the motives of former Parliaments to all those alterations, one fact is undoubted — that under them the state of America has been kept in continual agitation. Everything administered as BURKE 13 remedy to the public complaint, if it did not produce, was at least followed by, an heightening of the distemper ; until, by a variety of experiments, that important country has been brought into her present situation — a situation which I will not miscall, which I dare not name, which I scarcely know 5 how to comprehend in the terms of any description. 5. To restore order and repose to an empire so great and so distracted as ours, is, merely in the attempt, an undertaking that would ennoble the flights of the highest genius, and obtain pardon for the efforts of the meanest understanding. Struggling 10 a good while with these thoughts, by degrees I felt myself more firm. I derived, at length, some confidence from what in other circumstances usually produces timidity. I grew less anxious, even from the idea of my own insignificance. For, judging of what you are by what you ought to be, I persuaded 15 myself that you would not reject a reasonable proposition because it had nothing but its reason to recommend it. On the other hand, being totally destitute of all shadow of influ- ence, natural or adventitious, I was very sure that, if my prop- osition were futile or dangerous — if it were weakly conceived, 20 or improperly timed — there was nothing exterior to it of power to awe, dazzle, or delude you. You will see it just as it is ; and you will treat it just as it deserves. 6. The proposition is peace. Not peace through the medium of war ; not peace to be hunted through the labyrinth of intri- 25 cate and endless negotiations ; not peace to arise out of uni- versal discord fomented, from principle, in all parts of the Empire ; not peace to depend on the juridical determination of perplexing questions, or the precise marking the shadowy boundaries of a complex government. It is simple peace ; 30 sought in its natural course, and in its ordinary haunts. It is peace sought in the spirit of peace, and laid in principles purely pacific. I propose, by removing the ground of the 14 CONCILIATION WITH AMERICAN COLONIES difference, and by restoring the former unsuspecting confidence of the colonies in the Mother Country, to give permanent satisfaction to your people ; and (far from a scheme of ruling by discord) to reconcile them to each other in the same act 5 and by the bond of the very same interest which reconciles them to British government. 7. My idea is nothing more. Refined policy ever has been the parent of confusion ; and ever will be so, as long as the world endures. Plain good intention, which is as easily discov- 10 ered at the first view as fraud is surely detected at last, is, let me say, of no mean force in the government of mankind. Genuine simplicity of heart is an healing and cementing prin- ciple. My plan, therefore, being formed upon the most simple grounds imaginable, may disappoint some people when they 15 hear it. It has nothing to recommend it to the pruriency of curious ears. There is nothing at all new and captivating in it. It has nothing of the splendor of the project which has been lately laid upon your table by the noble lord in the blue ribbon. It does not propose to fill your lobby with squabbling 20 colony agents, who will require the interposition of your mace, at every instant, to keep the peace amongst them. It does not institute a magnificent auction of finance, where captivated provinces come to general ransom by bidding against each other, until you knock down the hammer, and determine a 25 proportion of payments beyond all the powers of algebra to equalize and settle. 8. The plan which I shall presume to suggest derives, how- ever, one great advantage from the proposition and registry of that noble lord's project. The idea of conciliation is admis- 30 sible. First, the House, in accepting the resolution moved by the noble lord, has admitted — notwithstanding the menacing front of our address, notwithstanding our heavy bills of pains and penalties — that we do not think ourselves precluded from all ideas of free grace and bounty. BURKE 15 9. The House has gone farther; it has declared concihation admissible, previous to any submission on the part of America. It has even shot a good deal beyond that mark, and has admitted that the complaints of our former mode of exerting the right of taxation were not wholly unfounded. That right 5 thus exerted is allowed to have something reprehensible in it, something unwise, or something grievous ; since, in the midst of our heat and resentment, we, of ourselves, have proposed a capital alteration ; and in order to get rid of what seemed so very exceptionable, have instituted a mode that is altogether 10 new; one that is, indeed, wholly alien from all the ancient methods and forms of Parliament. 10. The principle of this proceeding is large enough for my purpose. The means proposed by the noble lord for carrying his ideas into execution, I think, indeed, are very indifferently 15 suited to the end ; and this I shall endeavor to show you before I sit down. But, for the present, I take my ground on the admitted principle. I mean to give peace. Peace implies reconcihation ; and where there has been a material dispute, reconciliation does in a manner always imply concession on the 20 one part or on the other. In this state of things I make no difficulty in affirming that the proposal ought to originate from us. Great and acknowledged force is not impaired, either in effect or in opinion, by an unwilUngness to exert itself. The superior power may offer peace with honor and with safety. 25 Such an offer from such a power will be attributed to magna- nimity. But the concessions of the weak are the concessions of fear. When such a one is disarmed, he is wholly at the mercy of his superior ; and he loses forever that time and those chances, which, as they happen to all men, are the 30 strength and resources of all inferior power. II. The capital leading questions on which you must this day decide are these two : First, whether you ought to con- cede ; and secondly, what your concession ought to be. On l6 CONCILIATION WITH AMERICAN COLONIES the first of these questions we have gained, as I have just taken the liberty of observing to you, some ground. But I am sensible that a good deal more is still to be done. Indeed, Sir, to enable us to determine both on the one and the other 5 of these great questions with a firm and precise judgment, I think it may be necessary to consider distinctly the true nature and the peculiar circumstances of the object which we have before us ; because after all our struggle, whether we will or not, we must govern America according to that nature and to 10 those circumstances, and not according to our own imagina- tions, nor according to abstract ideas of "right — by no means according to mere general theories of government, the resort to which appears to me, in our present situation, no better than arrant trifling. I shall therefore endeavor, with your 15 leave, to lay before you some of the most material of these circumstances in as full and as clear a manner as I am able to state them. 1 2 . The first thing that we have to consider with regard to the nature of the object is — the number of people in the 20 colonies. I have taken for some years a good deal of pains on that point. I can by no calculation justify myself in placing the number below two millions of inhabitants of our own European blood and color, besides at least five hundred thou- sand others, who form no inconsiderable part of the strength 25 and opulence of the whole. This, Sir, is, I beheve, about the true number. There is no occasion to exaggerate where plain truth is of so much weight and importance. But whether I put the present numbers too high or too low is a matter of little moment. Such is the strength with which population shoots 30 in that part of the world, that, state the numbers as high as we will, whilst the dispute continues, the exaggeration ends. Whilst we are discussing any given magnitude, they are grown to it. Whilst we spend our time in deliberating on the mode of governing two millions, we shall find we have millions more BURKE 17 to manage. Your children do not grow faster from infancy to manhood than they spread from famihes to communities, and from villages to nations. 13. I put this consideration of the present and the growing numbers in the front of our deliberation, because. Sir, this 5 consideration will make it evident to a blunter discernment than yours, that no partial, narrow, contracted, pinched, occa- sional system will be at all suitable to such an object. It will show you that it is not to be considered as one of those rnin- ima which are out of the eye and consideration of the law; 10 not a paltry excrescence of the state ; not a mean dependent, who may be neglected with little damage and provoked with little danger. It will prove that some degree of care and cau- tion is required in the handling such an object ; it will show that you ought not, in reason, to trifle with so large a mass of 15 the interests and feelings of the human race. You could at no time do so without guilt ; and be assured you will not be able to do it long with impunity. 14. But the population of this country, the great and grow- ing population, though a very important consideration, will 20 lose much of its weight if not combined with other circum- stances. The commerce of your colonies is out of all propor- tion beyond the numbers of the people. This ground of their commerce indeed has been trod some days ago, and with great ability, by a distinguished person at your bar. This 25 gentleman, after thirty-five years — it is so long since he first appeared at the same place to plead for the commerce of Great Britain — has come again before you to plead the same cause, without any other effect of time, than that to the fire of imagination and extent of erudition which even then 30 marked him as one of the first literary characters of his age, he has added a consummate knowledge in the commercial interest of his country, formed by a long course of enlightened and discriminating experience. l8 CONCILIATION WITH AMERICAN COLONIES 15. Sir, I should be inexcusable in coming after such a person with any detail, if a great part of the members who now fill the House had not the misfortune to be absent when he appeared at your bar. Besides, Sir, I propose to take the 5 matter at periods of time somewhat different from his. There is, if I mistake not, a point of view from whence, if you will look at the subject, it is impossible that it should not make an impression upon you. 16. I have in my hand two accounts; one a comparative 10 state of the export trade of England to its colonies, as it stood in the year 1704, and as it stood in the year 1772 ; the other a state of the export trade of this country to its colonies alone, as it stood in 1772, compared with the whole trade of England to all parts of the world (the colonies included) in 15 the year 1704. They are from good vouchers; the latter period from the accounts on your table, the earlier from an original manuscript of Davenant, who first established the Inspector-General's office, which has been ever since his time so abundant a source of Parliamentary information. 20 17. The export trade to the colonies consists of three great branches : the African — which, terminating almost wholly in the colonies, must be put to the account of their commerce, — the West Indian, and the North American. All these are so interwoven that the attempt to separate them would tear 25 to pieces the contexture of the whole; and, if not entirely destroy, would very much depreciate the value of all the parts. I therefore consider these three denominations to be, what in effect they are, one trade. 18. The trade to the colonies, taken on the export side, at 30 the beginning of this century, that is, in the year 1704, stood thus : Exports to North America and the West Indies . . ;^483,265 To Africa 86,665 ;^569.930 BURKE 19 19. In the year 1772, which I take as a middle year be- tween the highest and lowest of those lately laid on your table, the account was as follows : To North America and the West Indies .... £4,79^,734 To Africa . 866,398 5 To which, if you add the export trade from Scotland, which had in 1704 no existence . . . 364,000 ^6,022,132 20. From five hundred and odd thousand, it has grown to six millions. It has increased no less than twelve-fold. This 10 is the state of the colony trade as compared with itself at these two periods within this century ; — and this is matter for meditation. But this is not all. Examine my second account. See how the export trade to the colonies alone in 1772 stood in the other point of view; that is, as compared to the whole 15 trade of England in 1704 : The whole export trade of England, including that to the colonies, in 1704 ^6,509,000 Export to the colonies alone, in 1772 6,024,000 Difference ;i^485,ooo 20 21. The trade with America alone is now within less than ;£'5 00,000 of being equal to what this great commercial nation, England, carried on at the beginning of this century with the whole world ! If I had taken the largest year of those on your table, it would rather have exceeded. But, it will be said, is 25 not this American trade an unnatural protuberance, that has drawn the juices from the rest of the body? The reverse. It is the very food that has nourished every other part into its present magnitude. Our general trade has been greatly aug- mented, and augmented more or less in almost every part to 30 which it ever extended ; but with this material difference, that of the six millions which in the beginning of the century constituted the whole mass of our export commerce, the 20 CONCILIATION WITH AMERICAN COLONIES colony trade was but one-twelfth part ; it is now (as a part of sixteen millions) considerably more than a third of the whole. This is the relative proportion of the importance of the col- onies at these two periods ; and all reasoning concerning our 5 mode of treating them must have this proportion as its basis ; or it is a reasoning weak, rotten, and sophistical. 22. Mr. Speaker, I cannot prevail on myself to hurry over this great consideration. // is good for us to be here. We stand where we have an immense view of what is, and what is lo past. Clouds, indeed, and darkness, rest upon the future. Let us, however, before we descend from this noble eminence, reflect that this growth of our national prosperity has hap- pened within the short period of the life of man. It has hap- pened within sixty-eight years. There are those alive whose 15 memory might touch the two extremities. For instance, my Lord Bathurst might remember all the stages of the progress. He was in 1704 of an age at least to be made to comprehend such things. He was then old enough acta parentum jam kgere, et qtice sit potiiit cognoscere virtus. Suppose, Sir, that 20 the angel of this auspicious youth, foreseeing the many virtues which made him one of the most amiable, as he is one of the most fortunate, men of his age, had opened to him in vision that when in the fourth generation the third Prince of the House of Brunswick had sat twelve years on the throne of 25 that nation which, by the happy issue of moderate and healing counsels, was to be made Great Britain, he should see his son. Lord Chancellor of England, turn back the current of heredi- tary dignity to its fountain, and raise him to a higher rank of peerage, whilst he enriched the family with a new one — if, 30 amidst these bright and happy scenes of domestic honor and prosperity, that angel should have drawn up the curtain, and unfolded the rising glories of his country, and, whilst he was gazing with admiration on the then commercial grandeur of England, the genius should point out to him a httle speck, BURKE 21 scarcely visible in the mass of the national interest, a small seminal principle, rather than a formed body, and should tell him : " Young man, there is America — which at this day serves for little more than to amuse you with stories of savage men, and uncouth manners; yet shall, before you taste of 5 death, show itself equal to the whole of that commerce which now attracts the envy of the world. Whatever England has been growing to by a progressive increase of improvement, brought in by varieties of people, by succession of civilizing conquests and civilizing settlements in a series of seventeen 10 hundred years, you shall see as much added to her by America in the course of a single life ! " If this state of his country had been foretold to him, would it not require all the sanguine credulity of youth, and all the fervid glow of enthusiasm, to make him believe it? Fortunate man, he has lived to see it ! 15 Fortunate, indeed, if he lives to see nothing that shall vary the prospect, and cloud the setting of his day ! 23. Excuse me. Sir, if turning from such thoughts I resume this comparative view once more. You have seen it on a large scale ; look at it on a small one. I will point out to 20 your attention a particular instance of it in the single province of Pennsylvania. In the year 1704 that province called for ;;^i 1,459 i^ value of your commodities, native and foreign. This was the whole. What did it demand in 1772? Why, nearly fifty times as much; for in that year the export to 25 Pennsylvania was ;^507,909, nearly equal to the export to all the colonies together in the first period. 24. I choose. Sir, to enter into these minute and particular de- tails, because generalities, which in all other cases are apt to heighten and raise the subject, have here a tendency to sink it. 30 When we speak of the commerce with our colonies, fiction lags after truth, invention is unfruitful, and imagination cold and barren. 25. So far. Sir, as to the importance of the object, in view of its commerce, as concerned in the exports from England. 22 CONCILIATION WITH AMERICAN COLONIES If I were to detail the imports, I could show how many en- joyments they procure which deceive the burthen of life ; how many materials which invigorate the springs of national industry, and extend and animate every part of our foreign 5 and domestic commerce. This would be a curious subject in- deed ; but I must prescribe bounds to myself in a matter so vast and various. 26. I pass, therefore, to the colonies in another point of view, — their agriculture. This they have prosecuted with such 10 a spirit, that, besides feeding plentifully their own growing multitude, their annual export of grain, comprehending rice, has some years ago exceeded a million in value. Of their last harvest I am persuaded they will export much more. At the beginning of the century some of these colonies imported 15 corn from the Mother Country. For some time past the Old World has been fed from the New. The scarcity which you have felt would have been a desolating famine, if this child of your old age, with a true filial piety, with a Roman charity, had not put the full breast of its youthful exuberance , to the 20 mouth of its exhausted parent. 27. As to the wealth which the colonies have drawn from the sea by their fisheries, you had all that matter fully opened at your bar. You surely thought those acquisitions of value, for they seemed even to excite your envy; and yet the spirit 25 by which that enterprising employment has been exercised ought rather, in my opinion, to have raised your esteem and admiration. And pray. Sir, what in the world is equal to it? Pass by the other parts, and look at the manner in which the people of New England have of late carried on the whale 30 fishery. Whilst we follow them among the tumbling mountains of ice, and behold them penetrating into the deepest frozen recesses of Hudson's Bay and Davis's Straits, whilst we are looking for them beneath the arctic circle, we hear that they have pierced into the opposite region of polar cold, that they BURKE 23 are at the antipodes, and engaged under the frozen Serpent of the south. Falkland Island, which seemed too remote and romantic an object for the grasp of national ambition, is but a stage and resting-place in the progress of their victorious in- dustry. Nor is the equinoctial heat more discouraging to them 5 than the accumulated winter of both the poles. We know that whilst some of them draw the line and strike the harpoon on the coast of Africa, others run the longitude and pursue their gigantic game along the coast of Brazil. No sea but what is vexed by their fisheries; no climate that is not wit- 10 ness to their toils. Neither the perseverance of Holland, nor the activity of France, nor the dexterous and firm sagacity of English enterprise ever carried this most perilous mode of hardy industry to the extent to which it has been pushed by this recent people ; a people who are still, as it were, but in 1 5 the gristle, and not yet hardened into the bone of manhood. When I contemplate these things ; when I know that the colonies in general owe little or nothing to any care of ours, and that they are not squeezed into this happy form by the constraints of watchful and suspicious government, but that, 20 through a wise and salutary neglect, a generous nature has been suffered to take her own way to perfection ; when I re- flect upon these effects, when I see how profitable they have been to us, I feel all the pride of power sink, and all presump- tion in the wisdom of human contrivances melt and die away 25 within me. My rigor relents. I pardon something to the spirit of liberty. [Burke here refutes the plan of employing force in the govern- ment of the colonies, because, he says, the use of force alone is temporary, uncertain, experimental, and because " You impair the object by your very endeavors to preserve it."] 28. There is a third consideration concerning this object which serves to determine my opinion on the sort of policy which ought to be pursued in the management of America, 30 24 CONCILIATION WITH AMERICAN COLONIES even more than its population and its commerce — I mean its temper and character. 29. In this character of the Americans, a love of freedom is the predominating feature which marks and distinguishes 5 the whole ; and as an ardent is always a jealous affection, your colonies become suspicious, restive, and untractable whenever they see the least attempt to wrest from them by force, or shuffle from them by chicane, what they think the only advan- tage worth living for. This fierce spirit of liberty is stronger 10 in the Enghsh colonies probably than in any other people of the earth, and this from a great variety of powerful causes ; which, to understand the true temper of their minds and the direction which this spirit takes, it will not be amiss to lay open somewhat more largely. 15 30. First, the people of the colonies are descendants of Englishmen. England, Sir, is a nation which still, I hope, respects, and formerly adored, her freedom. The colonists emigrated from you when this part of your character was most predominant; and they took this bias and direction the mo- 20 ment they parted from your hands. They are therefore not only devoted to liberty, but to liberty according to English ideas, and on English principles. Abstract liberty, like other mere abstractions, is not to be found. Liberty inheres in some sensible object; and every nation has formed to itself 25 some favorite point, which by way of eminence becomes the criterion of their happiness. It happened, you know. Sir, that the great contests for freedom in this country were from the earliest times chiefly upon the question of taxing. Most of the contests in the ancient commonwealths turned primarily 30 on the right of election of magistrates ; or on the balance among the several orders of the state. The question of money was not with them so immediate. But in England it was otherwise. On this point of taxes the ablest pens, and most eloquent tongues, have been exercised; the greatest spirits BURKE 25 have acted and suffered. In order to give the fullest satisfac- tion concerning the importance of this point, it was not only necessary for those who in argument defended the excellence of the English Constitution to insist on this privilege of grant- ing money as a dry point of fact, and to prove that the right 5 had been acknowledged in ancient parchments and blind usages to reside in a certain body called a House of Commons. They went much farther ; they attempted to prove, and they succeeded, that in theory it ought to be so, from the particu- lar nature of a House of Commons as an immediate represent- 10 ative of the people, whether the old records had dehvered this oracle or not. They took infinite pains to inculcate, as a fundamental principle, that in all monarchies the people must in effect themselves, mediately or immediately, possess the power of granting their own money, or no shadow of liberty 15 can subsist. The colonies draw from you, as with their life- blood, these ideas and principles. Their love of liberty, as with you, fixed and attached on this specific point of taxing. Liberty might be safe, or might be endangered, in twenty other particulars, without their being much pleased or alarmed. 20 Here they felt its pulse ; and as they found that beat, they thought themselves sick or sound. I do not say whether they were right or wrong in applying your general arguments to their own case. It is not easy, indeed, to make a monopoly of theorems and corollaries. The fact is, that they did thus 25 apply those general arguments ; and your mode of governing them, whether through lenity or indolence, through wisdom or mistake, confirmed them in the imagination that they, as well as you, had an interest in these common principles. 31. They were further confirmed in this pleasing error by 30 the form of their provincial legislative assemblies. Their gov- ernments are popular in an high degree ; some are merely pop- ular; in all, the popular representative is the most weighty; and this share of the people in their ordinary government 26 CONCILIATION WITH AMERICAN COLONIES never fails to inspire them with lofty sentiments, and with a strong aversion from whatever tends to deprive them of their chief importance. 32. Permit me, Sir, to add another circumstance in our 5 colonies which contributes no mean part towards the growth and effect of this untractable spirit. I mean their education. In no country perhaps in the world is the law so general a study. The profession itself is numerous and powerful ; and in most provinces it takes the lead. The greater number of 10 the deputies sent to the Congress were lawyers. But all who read, and most do read, endeavor to, -obtain some smattering in that science. I have been told by an eminent bookseller, that in no branch of his business, after tracts of popular devo- tion, were so many books as those on the law exported to the 15 Plantations. The colonists have now fallen into the way of printing them for their own use. I hear that they have sold nearly as many of Blackstone's Commentaries in America as in England. General Gage marks out this disposition very particularly in a letter on your table. He states that all the 20 people in his government are lawyers, or smatterers in law; and that in Boston they have been enabled, by successful chi- cane, wholly to evade many parts of one of your capital penal constitutions. The smartness of debate will say that this knowl- edge ought to teach them more clearly the rights of legislature, 25 their obligations to obedience, and the penalties of rebellion. All this is mighty well. But my honorable and learned friend on the floor, who condescends to mark what I say for animad- version, will disdain that ground. He has heard, as well as I, that when great honors and great emoluments do not win over 30 this knowledge to the service of the state, it is a formidable adversary to government. If the spirit be not tamed and broken by these happy methods, it is stubborn and litigious. Abeunt studia in mores. This study renders men acute, in- quisitive, dexterous, prompt in attack, ready in defence, full BURKE 27 of resources. In other countries, the people, more simple, and of a less mercurial cast, judge of an ill principle in government only by an actual grievance ; here they antici- pate the evil, and judge of the pressure of the grievance by the badness of the principle. They augur misgovernment 5 at a distance, and snuff the approach of tyranny in every tainted breeze. ^^. The last cause of this disobedient spirit in the colonies is hardly less powerful than the rest, as it is not merely moral, but laid deep in the natural constitution of things. Three 10 thousand miles of ocean lie between you and them. No con- trivance can prevent the effect of this distance in weakening government. Seas roll, and months pass, between the order and the execution ; and the want of a speedy explanation of a single point is enough to defeat a whole system. You have, 15 indeed, winged ministers of vengeance, who carry your bolts in their pounces to the remotest verge of the sea. But there a power steps in that limits the arrogance of raging passions and furious elements, and says. So far shalt thou go, and no fai'thei'. Who are you, that you should fret and rage, and bite 20 the chains of nature? Nothing worse happens to you than does to all nations who have extensive empire ; and it happens in all the forms into which empire can be thrown. In large bodies the circulation of power must be less vigorous at the extremities. Nature has said it. The Turk cannot gov- 25 ern Egypt and Arabia and Kurdistan as he governs Thrace ; nor has he the same dominion in Crimea and Algiers which he has at Brusa and Smyrna. Despotism itself is obliged to truck and huckster. The Sultan gets such obedience as he can. He governs with a loose rein, that he may govern at all ; 30 and the whole of the force and vigor of his authority in his centre is derived from a prudent relaxation in all his borders. Spain, in her provinces, is, perhaps, not so well obeyed as you are in yours. She complies, too ; she submits ; she watches 28 CONCILIATION WITH AMERICAN COLONIES times. This is the immutable condition, the eternal law of extensive and detached empire. 34. Then, Sir, from these six sources — of descent, of form of government, of religion in the Northern Provinces, 5 of manners in the Southern, of education, of the remoteness of situation from the first mover of government — from all these causes a fierce spirit of liberty has grown up. It has grown with the growth of the people in your colonies, and increased with the increase of their wealth ; a spirit that un- 10 happily meeting with an exercise of power in England which, however lawful, is not reconcilable to any ideas of liberty, much less with theirs, has kindled this flame that is ready to consume us. 35. I do not mean to commend either the spirit in this 15 excess, or the moral causes which produce it. Perhaps a more smooth and accommodating spirit of freedom in them would be more acceptable to us. Perhaps ideas of liberty might be desired more reconcilable with an arbitrary and boundless authority. Perhaps we might wish the colonists to be per- 20 suaded that their liberty is more secure when held in trust for them by us, as their guardians during a perpetual minority, than with any part of it in their own hands. The question is, not whether their spirit deserves praise or blame, but — what, in the name of God, shall we do with it? You have before 25 you the object, such as it is, with all its glories, with all its imperfections on its head. You see the magnitude, the impor- tance, the temper, the habits, the disorders. By all these considerations we are strongly urged to determine something concerning it. We are called upon to fix some rule and line 30 for our future conduct which may give a little stability to our politics, and prevent the return of such unhappy deliberations as the present. Every such return will bring the matter before us in a still more untractable form. For, what astonishing and incredible things have we not seen already ! What monsters BURKE 29 have not been generated from this unnatural contention ! Whilst every principle of authority and resistance has been pushed, upon both sides, as far as it would go, there is noth- ing so solid and certain, either in reasoning or in practice, that has not been shaken. Until very lately all authority in 5 America seemed to be nothing but an emanation from yours. Even the popular part of the colony constitution derived all its activity and its first vital movement from the pleasure of the Crown. We thought, Sir, that the utmost which the dis- contented colonists could do was to disturb authority ; we 10 never dreamt they could of themselves supply it — knowing in general what an operose business it is to establish a govern- ment absolutely new. But having, for our purposes in this contention, resolved that none but an obedient Assembly should sit, the humors of the people there, finding all passage 15 through the legal channel stopped, with great violence broke out another way. Some provinces have tried their experi- ment, as we have tried ours ; and theirs has succeeded. They have formed a government sufficient for its purposes, without the bustle of a revolution or the troublesome formality of an 20 election. Evident necessity and tacit consent have done the business in an instant. So well they have done it, that Lord Dunmore — the account is among the fragments on your table — tells you that the new institution is infinitely better obeyed than the ancient government ever was in its most fortunate 25 periods. Obedience is what makes government, and not the names by which it is called ; not the name of Governor, as formerly, or Committee, as at present. This new government has originated directly from the people, and was not trans- mitted through any of the ordinary artificial media of a positive 30 constitution. It was not a manufacture ready formed, and transmitted to them in that condition from England. The evil arising from hence is this ; that the colonists having once found the possibility of enjoying the advantages of order in 30 CONCILIATION WITH AMERICAN COLONIES the midst of a struggle for liberty, such struggles will not henceforward seem so terrible to the settled and sober part of mankind as they had appeared before the trial. 36. Pursuing the same plan of punishing by the denial of the 5 exercise of government to still greater lengths, we wholly ab- rogated the ancient government of Massachusetts. We were confident that the first feeling, if not the very prospect, of an- archy would instantly enforce a complete submission. The experiment was tried. A new, strange, unexpected face of 10 things appeared. Anarchy is found tolerable. A vast province has now subsisted, and subsisted in a B K : A hundred years ago our society was planted, — a slip from the older root in Virginia. The parent seed, tradition says, was French, — part of that conspiracy for free speech whose leaders prated democracy in the salons^ while they carefully held on to the 5 fleshpots of society by crouching low to kings and their mis- tresses, and whose final object of assault was Christianity itself. Voltaire gave the watchword, ^'•Ecrasez Virifame,^^ — Crush the wretch. No matter how much or how little truth there may be in the tradition ; no matter what was the origin or what was 10 the object of our society, if it had any special one, — both are long since forgotten. We stand now simply a representa- tive of free, brave, American scholarship. I emphasize Ameri- ean scholarship. 2. In one of those glowing, and as yet unequaled pictures 15 which Everett drew for us, here and elsewhere, of Revolution- ary scenes, I remember his saying that the independence we then won, if taken in its literal and narrow sense, was of no interest and little value ; but, construed in the fullness of its real meaning, it bound us to a distinctive American character 20 and purpose, to a keen sense of large responsibility, and to a generous self-devotion. It is under the shadow of such unques- tioned authority that I use the term "American scholarship." l6o THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC 3. Our society was, no doubt, to some extent, a protest against the somber theology of New England, where, a hundred years ago, the atmosphere was black with sermons, and where religious speculation beat uselessly against the narrowest limits. 5 4. The first generation of Puritans — though Lowell does let Cromwell call them "a small colony of pinched fanatics" — included some men, indeed not a few, worthy to walk close to Roger Williams and Sir Harry Vane, — the two men deep- est in thought and bravest in speech of all who spoke English 10 in their day, and equal to any in practical statesmanship. Sir Harry Vane, in my judgment the noblest human being who ever walked the streets of yonder city, — I do not forget Franklin or Sam Adams, Washington or Lafayette, Garrison or John Brown, — but Vane dwells an arrow's flight above them 15 all, and his touch consecrated the continent to measureless toleration of opinion and entire equality of rights. We are told we can find in Plato " all the intellectual life of Europe for two thousand years " ; so you can find in Vane the pure gold of two hundred and fifty years of American civilization, 20 with no particle of its dross. Plato would have welcomed him to the Academy, and Fenelon kneeled with him at the altar. He made Somers and John Marshall possible ; like Carnot, he organized victory ; and Milton pales before him in the stain- lessness of his record. He stands among English statesmen 25 preeminently the representative, in practice and in theory, of serene faith in the safety of trusting truth wholly to her own defense. For other men we walk backward, and throw over their memories the mantle of charity and excuse, saying rever- ently, " Remember the temptation and the age." But Vane's 30 ermine has no stain ; no act of his needs explanation or apol- ogy ; and in thought he stands abreast of our age, — like pure intellect, belongs to all time. 5. Carlyle said, in years when his words were worth heed- ing, "Young men, close your Byron, and open your Goethe," PHILLIPS l6l If my counsel had weight in these halls, I should say, " Young men, close your John Winthrop, and open Sir Harry Vane." The generation that knew Vane gave to our Alma Mater for a seal the simple pledge, — Veritas. 6. But the narrowness and poverty of colonial life soon 5 starved out this element. Harvard was rededicated Christo et Ecdesiae ; and up to the middle of the last century, free thought in religion meant Charles Chauncey and the Brattle Street Church protest, while free thought hardly existed any- where else. But a single generation changed all this. A hun- 10 dred years ago there were pulpits that led the popular move- ment ; while outside of religion, and of what called itself literature, industry and a jealous sense of personal freedom obeyed, in their rapid growth, the law of their natures. English common sense and those municipal institutions born of the 15 common law, and which had saved and sheltered it, grew in- evitably too large for the eggshell of English dependence, and allowed it to drop off as naturally as the chick does when she is ready. There was no change of law, nothing that could properly be called revolution, only noiseless growth, the seed 20 bursting into flower, infancy becoming manhood. It was life, in its omnipotence, rending whatever dead matter confined it. So have I seen the tiny weeds of a luxuriant Italian spring upheave the colossal foundations of the Caesars' palace, and leave it a mass of ruins. 25 7. But when the veil was withdrawn, what stood revealed astonished the world. It showed the undreamt power, the serene strength of simple manhood, free from the burden and restraint of absurd institutions in Church and State. The grandeur of this new Western constellation gave courage to 30 Europe, resulting in the French Revolution, the greatest, the most unmixed, the most unstained and wholly perfect blessing Europe has had in modern times, unless we may possibly except the Reformation and the invention of printing. l62. THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC 8. What precise effect that giant wave had when it struck our shore we can only guess. History is, for the most part, an idle amusement, the daydream of pedants and triflers. The details of events, the actors' motives, and their relation to each 5 other are buried with them. How impossible to learn the exact truth of what took place yesterday under your next neighbor's roof ! Yet we complacently argue and speculate about matters a thousand miles off, and a thousand years ago, as if we knew them. When I was a student here, my favorite 10 study was history. The world and affairs have shown me that one half of history is loose conjecture, and much of the rest is the writer's opinion. But most men see facts, not with their eyes, but with their prejudices. Any one familiar with courts will testify how rare it is for an honest man to give a perfectly 15 correct account of a transaction. We are tempted to see facts as we think they ought to be, or wish they were. And yet journals are the favorite original sources of history. Tremble, my good friend, if your sixpenny neighbor keeps a journal. " It adds a new terror to death." You shall go down to your 20 children not in your fair lineaments and proportions, but with the smirks, elbows, and angles he sees you with. Journals are excellent to record the depth of the last snow and the date when the mayflower opens ; but when you come to men's motives and characters, journals are the magnets that get near 25 the chronometer of history and make all its records worthless. You can count on the fingers of your two hands all the robust minds that ever kept journals. Only milksops and fribbles indulge in that amusement, except now and then a respectable mediocrity. One such journal nightmares New England annals, 30 emptied into history by respectable middle-aged gentlemen who fancy that narrowness and spleen, like poor wine, mellow into truth when they get to be a century old. But you might as well cite the Daily Advertise?^ of 1850 as authority on one of Garrison's actions. PHILLIPS . 163 9. And, after all, of what value are these minutige? Whether Luther's zeal was partly kindled by lack of gain from the sale of indulgences, whether Boston rebels were half smugglers and half patriots, what matters it now? Enough that he meant to wrench the gag from Europe's lips, and that they were content 5 to suffer keenly, that we might have an untrammeled career. We can only hope to discover the great currents and massive forces which have shaped our lives ; all else is trying to solve a problem of whose elements we know nothing. As the poet- historian of the last generation says so plaintively, " History 10 comes like a beggarly gleaner in the field, after Death, the great lord of the domain, has gathered the harvest, and lodged it in his garner, which no man may open." 10. But we may safely infer that French debate and expe- rience broadened and encouraged our fathers. To that we 15 undoubtedly owe, in some degree, the theoretical perfection, ingrafted on English practical sense and old forms, which marks the foundation of our republic. English civil life, up to that time, grew largely out of custom, rested almost wholly on precedent. For our model there was no authority in the 20 record, no precedent on the file ; unless you find it, perhaps, partially, in that Long Parliament bill with which Sir Harry Vane would have outgeneraled Cromwell, if the shameless soldier had not crushed it with his muskets. 11. Standing on Saxon foundations, and inspired, perhaps, 25 in some degree by Latin example, we have done what no race, no nation, no age, had before dared even to try. We have founded a republic on the unlimited suffrage of the millions. We have actually worked out the problem that man, as God created him, may be trusted with self-government. We have 30 shown the world that a church without a bishop, and a state without a king, is an actual, real, everyday possibility. Look back over the history of the race ; where will you find a chap- ter that precedes us in that achievement? Greece had her l64 THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC republics, but they were the republics of a few freemen and subjects and many slaves ; and " the battle of Marathon was fought by slaves, unchained from the doorposts of their mas- ters' houses." Italy had her republics : they were the repub- 5 lies of wealth and skill and family, limited and aristocratic. The Swiss republics were groups of cousins. Holland had her republic, a republic of guilds and landholders, trusting the helm of state to property and education. And all these, which at their best held but a million or two within their narrow 10 limits, have gone down in the ocean of time. 12. A hundred years ago our fathers announced this sublime, and, as it seemed then, foolhardy declaration, — that God in- tended all men to be free and equal ; all men, without restric- tion, without qualification, without limit. A hundred years 15 have rolled away since that venturous declaration; and to-day, with a territory that joins ocean to ocean, with fifty millions of people, with two wars behind her, with the grand achieve- ment of having grappled with the fearful disease that threat- ened her central life and broken four millions of fetters, the 20 great Republic, stronger than ever, launches into the second century of her existence. The history of the world has no such chapter in its breadth, its depth, its significance, or its bearing on future history. 13. What Wy cliff e did for religion, Jefferson and Sam 25 Adams did for the state, — they trusted it to the people. He gave the masses the Bible, the right to think. Jefferson and Sam Adams gave them the ballot, the right to -rule. His intrepid advance contemplated theirs as its natural, inevitable result. Their serene faith completed the gift which the Anglo-Saxon 30 race makes to humanity. We have not only established a new measure of the possibilities of the race ; we have laid on streng'th, wisdom, and skill a new responsibility. Grant that each man's relations to God and his neighbor are exclusively his own concern, and that he is entitled to all the aid that PHILLIPS 165 will make him the best judge of these relations ; that the people are the source of all power, and their measureless ca- pacity the lever of all progress ; their sense of right the court of final appeal in civil affairs ; the institutions they create the only ones any power has a right to impose ; that the attempt 5 of one class to prescribe the law, the religion, the morals, or the trade of another is both unjust and harmful, — and the Wycliffe and Jefferson of history mean this if they mean any- thing, — then, when in 1867 Parliament doubled the English franchise, Robert Lowe was right in affirming, amid the cheers 10 of the House, '' Now the first interest and duty of every Englishman is to educate the masses — our masters." Then, whoever sees farther than his neighbor is that neighbor's serv- ant to lift him to such higher level. Then, power, ability, influence, character, virtue, are only trusts with which to serve 15 our time. 14. We all agree in the duty of scholars to help those less favored in life, and that this duty of scholars to educate the mass is still more imperative in a republic, since a republic trusts the state wholly to the intelligence and moral sense of 20 the people. The experience of the last forty years shows every man that law has no atom of strength, either in Boston or New Orleans, unless, and only so far as, public opinion in- dorses it, and that your life, goods, and good name rest on the moral sense, self-respect, and law-abiding mood of the men 25 that walk the streets, and hardly a whit on the provisions of the statute book. Come, any one of you, outside of the ranks of popular men, and you will not fail to find it so. Easy men dream that we live under a government of law. Absurd mis- take ! we live under a government of men and newspapers. 30 Your first attempt to stem dominant and keenly cherished opinions will reveal this to you. 15. But what is education? Of course it is not book learn- ing. Book learning does not make five per cent of that mass l66 THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC of common sense that " runs " the world, transacts its busi- ness, secures its progress, trebles its power over nature, works out in the long run a rough average justice, wears away the world's restraints, and lifts off its burdens. The ideal Yankee, 5 who " has more brains in his hand than others have in their skulls," is not a scholar; and two thirds of the inventions that enable France to double the world's sunshine, and make Old and New England the workshops of the world, did not come from colleges or from minds trained in the schools of lo science, but struggled up, forcing their way against giant ob- stacles, from the irrepressible instinct of untrained natural power. Her workshops, not her colleges, made England, for a while, the mistress of the world ; and the hardest job her workman had was to make Oxford willing he should work his 15 wonders. 16. So of moral gains. As shrewd an observer as Governor Marcy, of New York, often said he cared nothing for the whole press of the seaboard, representing wealth and education (he meant book learning), if it set itself against the instincts of 20 the people. Lord Brougham, in a remarkable comment on the life of Romilly, enlarges on the fact that the great reformer of the penal law found all the legislative and all the judicial power of England, its colleges and its bar, marshaled against him, and owed his success, as all such 7'eforms do, says his 25 lordship, to public meetings and popular instinct. It would be no exaggeration to say that government itself began in usurpation, in the feudalism of the soldier and the bigotry of the priest ; that liberty and civilization are only fragments of rights wrung from the strong hands of wealth and book learn- 30 ing. Almost all the great truths relating to society were not the result of scholarly meditation, " hiving up wisdom with each curious year," but have been first heard in the solemn protests of martyred patriotism and the loud cries of crushed and starving labor. When common sense and the common PHILLIPS 167 people have stereotyped a principle into a statute, then book- men come to explain how it was discovered and on what ground it rests. The world makes history, and scholars write it, — one half truly and the other half as their prejudices blur and distort it. 5 17. New England learned more of the principles of tolera- tion from a lyceum committee doubting the dicta of editors and bishops when they forbade it to put Theodore Parker on its platform ; more from a debate whether the antislavery cause should be so far countenanced as to invite one of its 10 advocates to lecture ; from Sumner and Emerson, George William Curtis and Edward Whipple, refusing to speak unless a negro could buy his way into their halls as freely as any other, — New England has learned more from these lessons than she has or could have done from all the treatises on free 15 printing from Milton and Roger Williams through Locke down to Stuart Mill. 18. Selden, the profoundest scholar of his day, affirmed, " No man is wiser for his learning "; and that was only an echo of the Saxon proverb, *' No fool is a perfect fool until he learns 20 Latin." Bancroft says of our fathers, that " the wildest theories of the human reason were reduced to practice by a community so humble that no statesman condescended to notice it, and a legislation without precedent was produced offhand by the instincts of the people." And Wordsworth testifies, that, while 25 German schools might well blush for their subserviency — A few strong instincts and a few plain rules, Among the herdsmen of the Alps, have wrought More for mankind at this unhappy day Than all the pride of intellect and thought. 30 19. Wycliffe was, no doubt, a learned man. But the learn- ing of his day would have burned him, had it dared, as it did burn his dead body afterwards. Luther and Melanchthon were l68 THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC scholars, but they were repudiated by the scholarship of their time, which followed Erasmus, trying " all his life to tread on eggs without breaking them" ; he who proclaimed that " peace- ful error was better than tempestuous truth." What would 5 college-graduate Seward weigh, in any scale, against Lincoln, bred in affairs? ^o. Hence, I do not think the greatest things have been done for the world by its bookmen. Education is not the chips of arithmetic and grammar, — nouns, verbs, and the multipli- 10 cation table ; neither is it that last year's almanac of dates, or series of lies agreed upon, which we so often mistake for his- tory. Education is not Greek and Latin and the air pump. Still, I rate at its full value the training we get in these walls. Though what we actually carry away is little enough, we do 15 get some training of our powers, as the gymnast or the fen- cer does of his muscles ; we go hence also with such general knowledge of what mankind has agreed to consider proved and settled, that we know where to reach for the weapon when we need it. 20 21. I have often thought the motto prefixed to his college library catalogue by the father of the late Professor Peirce, — Professor Peirce, the largest natural genius, the man of the deepest reach and firmest grasp and widest sympathy, that God has given to Harvard in our day, whose presence made 25 you the loftiest peak and farthest outpost of more than mere scientific thought, the magnet who, with his twin, Agassiz, made Harvard for forty years the intellectual Mecca of forty states, — his father's catalogue bore for a motto, Sa're ubi aliqiiid invenias magna pars eruditionis est; and that always seemed 30 to me to gauge very nearly all we acquired at college, except facility in the use of our powers. Our influence in the com- munity does not really spring from superior attainments, but from this thorough training of faculties, and more even, perhaps, from the deference men accord to us. PHILLIPS 169 22. Gibbon says we have two educations, — one from teachers, and the other we give ourselves. This last is the real and only education of the masses, — one gotten from life, from affairs, from earning one's bread ; necessity, the mother of invention ; responsibility, that teaches prudence, and inspires 5 respect for right. Mark the critic out of office ; how reckless in assertion, how careless of consequences ; and then the cau- tion, forethought, and fair play of the same man charged with administration. See that young, thoughtless wife suddenly widowed ; how wary and skillful, what ingenuity in guarding her 10 child and saving his rights ! Any one who studied Europe forty or fifty years ago could not but have marked the level of talk there, far below that of our masses. It was of crops and rents, markets and marriages, scandal and fun. Watch men here, and how often you listen to the keenest discussions of right and 15 wrong, this leader's honesty, that party's justice, the fairness of this law, the impolicy of that measure, — lofty, broad topics, training morals, widening views. Niebuhr said of Italy, sixty years ago, '' No one feels himself a citizen. Not only are the people destitute of hope, but they have not even wishes touch- 20 ing the world's affairs ; and hence all the springs of great and noble thoughts are choked up." 23. In this sense the Fremont campaign of 1856 taught Americans more than a hundred colleges ; and John Brown's pulpit at Harper's Ferry was equal to any ten thousand ordi- 25 nary chairs. God lifted a million of hearts to his gibbet, as the Roman cross lifted a world to itself in that divine sacrifice of two thousand years ago. As much as statesmanship had taught in our previous eighty years, that one week of intellectual watch- ing and weighing and dividing truth taught twenty millions of 30 people. Yet how little, brothers, can we claim for bookmen in that uprising and growth of 1856 ! And while the first of American scholars could hardly find in the rich vocabulary of Saxon scorn words enough to express, amid the plaudits of 170 THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC his class, his loathing and contempt for John Brown, Europe thrilled to him as proof that our institutions had not lost all their native and distinctive life. She had grown tired of our parrot note and cold moonlight reflection of older civilizations. 5 Lansdowne and Brougham could confess to Sumner that they had never read a page of their contemporary, Daniel Webster ; and you spoke to vacant eyes when you named Prescott, fifty years ago, to average Europeans ; while Vienna asked, with careless indifference, "Seward, who is he?" But long before lo our ranks marched up State Street to the John Brown song, the banks of the Seine and of the Danube hailed the new life which had given us another and nobler Washington. Lowell foresaw him when, forty years ago, he sang of, — Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne ; 15 Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown Standeth God, within the shadow, keeping watch above His own. And yet the bookmen, as a class, have not yet acknowl- edged him. 24. It is here that letters betray their lack of distinctive 20 American character. Fifty millions of men God gives us to mold ; burning questions, keen debate, great interests trying to vindicate their right to be, sad wrongs brought to the bar of public judgment, — these are the people's schools. Timid scholarship either shrinks from sharing in these agitations, or 25 denounces them as vulgar and dangerous interference by incom- petent hands with matters above them. A chronic distrust of the people pervades the book-educated class of the North ; they shrink from that free speech which is God's normal school for educating men, throwing upon them the grave responsibihty 30 of deciding great questions, and so lifting them to a higher level of intellectual and moral life. Trust the people — the wise and the ignorant, the good and the bad — with the gravest questions, and in the end you educate the race. At the same time you secure, not perfect institutions, not necessarily good PHILLIPS 171 ones, but the best institutions possible while human nature is the basis and the only material to build with. Men are edu- cated and the State uplifted by allowing all — every one — to broach all their mistakes and advocate all their errors. The community that will not protect its most ignorant and unpop- 5 ular member in the free utterance of his opinions, no matter how false or hateful, is only a gang of slaves ! 25. Anacharsis went into the Archon's court at Athens, heard a case argued by the great men of that city, and saw the vote by five hundred men. Walking in the streets, some 10 one asked him, "What do you think of Athenian liberty?" "I think," said he, "wise men argue cases, and fools decide them." Just what that timid scholar, two thousand years ago, said in the streets of Athens, that which calls itself scholarship here says to-day of popular agitation, — that it lets wise men 15 argue questions and fools decide them. But that Athens, where fools decided the gravest questions of policy and of right and wrong, where property you had gathered wearily to-day might be wrung from you by the caprice of the mob to-morrow, — that very Athens probably secured, for its era, the greatest amount 20 of human happiness and nobleness, invented art, and sounded for us the depths of philosophy. God lent to it the largest intellects, and it flashes to-day the torch that gilds yet the mountain peaks of the Old World. While Egypt, the hunker conservative of antiquity, where nobody dared to differ from 25 the priest or to be wiser than his grandfather ; where men pretended to be alive, though swaddled in the graveclothes of creed and custom as close as their mummies were in Hnen, — that Egypt is hid in the tomb it inhabited, and the intellect Athens has trained for us digs to-day those 30 ashes to find out how buried and forgotten hunkerism lived and acted. 26. I knew a signal instance of this disease of scholar's dis- trust, and the cure was as remarkable. In boyhood and early 172 THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC life I was honored with the friendship of Lothrop Motley. He grew up in the thin air of Boston provincialism, and pined on such weak diet. I remember sitting with him once in the State- house when he was a member of our legislature. With biting 5 words and a keen crayon he sketched the ludicrous points in the minds and persons of his fellow-members, and tearing up the pictures, said scornfully, " What can become of a country with such fellows as these making its laws? No safe invest- ments ; your good name lied away any hour, and little worth 10 keeping if it were not." In vain I combated the folly. He went to Europe ; spent four or five years. I met him the day he landed on his return. As if our laughing talk in the State- house had that moment ended, he took my hand with the sudden exclamation, " You were all right ; I was all wrong ! 15 It is a country worth dying for ; better still, worth living and working for, to make it all it can be !" Europe made him one of the most American of all Americans. Some five years later, when he sounded the bugle note in his letter to the London Times, some critics who knew his early mood, but not 20 its change, suspected there might be a taint of ambition in what they thought so sudden a conversion. I could testify that the mood was five years old, — years before the slightest shadow of political expectation had dusked the clear mirror of his scholar life. 25 27. This distrust shows itself in the growing dislike of uni- versal suffrage, and the efforts to destroy it made of late by all our easy classes. The white South hates universal suffrage ; the so-called North distrusts it. Journal and college, social-science convention and pulpit, discuss the propriety of restraining it. 30 Timid scholars tell their dread of it. Carlyle, that bundle of sour prejudices, flouts universal suffrage with a blasphemy that almost equals its ignorance. See his words : " Democracy will prevail when men believe the vote of Judas as good as that of Jesus Christ." No democracy ever claimed that the vote of PHILLIPS 173 ignorance and crime was as good in any sense as that of wisdom and virtue. It only asserts that crime and ignorance have the same right to vote that virtue has. Only by allowing that right, and so appealing to their sense of justice, and throwing upon them the burden of their full responsibility, can we hope ever 5 to raise crime and ignorance to the level of self-respect. The right to choose your governor rests on precisely the same foundation as the right to choose your religion ; and no more arrogant or ignorant arraignment of all that is noble in the civil and religious Europe of the last five hundred years ever came 10 from the triple crown on the Seven Hills than this sneer of the bigot Scotsman. Protestantism holds up its hands in holy horror, and tells us that the Pope scoops out the brains of his churchmen, saying, " I'll think for you ; you need only obey." But the danger is, you meet such popes far away from the 15 Seven Hills ; and it is sometimes difficult at first to recog- nize them, for they do not by any means always wear the triple crown. 28. Evarts and his committee, appointed to inquire why the New York City government is a failure, were not wise enough, 20 or did not dare, to point out the real cause, — the tyranny of that tool of the demagogue, the corner grogshop ; but they advised taking away the ballot from the poor citizen. But this provision would not reach the evil. Corruption does not so much rot the masses ; it poisons Congress. Ci-edit Mobilier 25 and money rings are not housed under thatched roofs ; they flaunt at the Capitol. As usual in chemistry, the scum floats uppermost. The railway king disdained canvassing for voters : " It is cheaper," he said, " to buy legislatures." 29. It is not the masses who have most disgraced our polit- 30 ical annals. I have seen many mobs between the seaboard and the Mississippi. I never saw or heard of any but well- dressed mobs, assembled and countenanced, if not always led in person, by respectability and what called itself education. 174 THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC That unrivaled scholar, the first and greatest New England ever lent to Congress, signaled his advent by quoting the original Greek of the New Testament in support of slavery, and offer- ing to shoulder his musket in its defense ; and forty years later 5 the last professor who went to quicken and lift the moral mood of those halls is found advising a plain, blunt, honest witness to forge and lie, that this scholarly reputation might be saved from wreck. Singular comment on Landor's sneer, that there is a spice of the scoundrel in most of our literary men. But lo no exacting level of property qualification for a vote would have saved those stains. In those cases Judas did not come from the unlearned class. 30. Grown gray over history, Macaulay prophesied twenty years ago that soon in these States the poor, worse than another 15 inroad of Goths and Vandals, would begin a general plunder of the rich. It is enough to say that our national funds sell as well in Europe as English consols ; and the universal- suffrage Union can borrow money as cheaply as Great Britain, ruled, one half by Tories, and the other half by men not certain that 20 they dare call themselves Whigs. Some men affected to scoff at democracy as no sound basis for national debt, doubting the payment of ours. Europe not only wonders at its rapid pay- ment, but the only taint of fraud that touches even the hem of our garment is the fraud of the capitalist cunningly adding 25 to its burdens, and increasing unfairly the value of his bonds; not the first hint from the people of repudiating an iota of its unjust additions. 31. Yet the poor and the unlearned class is the one they propose to punish by disfranchisement. No wonder the hum- 30 bier class looks on the whole scene with alarm. They see their dearest right in peril. When the easy class conspires to steal, what wonder the humbler class draws together to defend itself? True, universal suffrage is a terrible power; and with all the great cities brought into subjection to the dangerous classes PHILLIPS 175 by grog, and Congress sitting to register the decrees of cap- ital, both sides may well dread the next move. Experience proves that popular governments are the best protectors of life and property. But suppose they were not, Bancroft allows that " the fears of one class are no measure of the rights of 5 another." 32. Suppose that universal suffrage endangered peace and threatened property. There is something more valuable than wealth, there is something more sacred than peace. As Hum- boldt says, "The finest fruit earth holds up to its Maker is 10 a man." To ripen, lift, and educate a man is the first duty. Trade, law, learning, science, and rehgion are only the scaf- folding wherewith to build a man. Despotism looks down into the poor man's cradle, and knows it can crush resistance and curb ill will. Democracy sees the ballot in that baby hand; 15 and selfishness bids her put integrity on one side of those baby footsteps and intelhgence on the other, lest her own hearth be in peril. Thank God for His method of taking bonds of wealth and culture to share all their blessings with the humblest soul He gives to their keeping ! The American should cherish as 20 serene a faith as his fathers had. Instead of seeking a coward safety by battening down the hatches and putting men back into chains, he should recognize that God places him in this peril that he may work out a noble security by concentrating all moral forces to lift this weak, rotting, and dangerous mass 25 into sunlight and health. The fathers touched their highest level when, with stout-hearted and serene faith, they trusted God that it was safe to leave men with all the rights he gave them. Let us be worthy of their blood, and save this sheet anchor of the race, — universal suffrage, — God's church, God's 30 school, God's method of gently binding men into common- wealths in order that they may at last melt into brothers. 33. I urge on college-bred men, that, as a class, they fail in republican duty when they allow others to lead in the agitation 176 THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC of the great social questions which stir and educate the age. Agitation is an old word with a new meaning. Sir Robert Peel, the first English leader who felt himself its tool, defined it to be ''marshaling the conscience of a nation to mold its laws." 5 Its means are reason and argument, — no appeal to arms. Wait patiently for the growth of public opinion. That secured, then every step taken is taken forever. An abuse once removed never reappears in history. The freer a nation becomes, the more utterly democratic in its form, the more need of this outside 10 agitation. Parties and sects laden with the burden of securing their own success cannot afford to risk new ideas. " Predom- inant opinions," said Disraeli, " are the opinions of a class that is vanishing." The agitator must stand outside of organiza- tions, with no bread to earn, no candidate to elect, no party to 15 save, no object but truth, — to tear a question open and riddle it with light. 34. In all modern constitutional governments, agitation is the only peaceful method of progress. Wilberforce and Clarkson^J" Rowland Hill and Romilly, Cobden and John Bright, Garrison 20 and O'Connell, have been the master spirits in this new form of crusade. Rarely in this country have scholarly men joined, as a class, in these great popular schools, in these social move- ments which make the great interests of society " crash and jostle against each other like frigates in a storm." 25 35. It is not so much that the people need us, or will feel any lack from our absence. They can do without us. By sovereign and superabundant strength they can crush their way through all obstacles. They will march prospering, — not through our presence ; 30 Songs will inspirit them, — not from our lyre ; Deeds will be done, — while we boast our quiescence, Still bidding crouch whom the rest bid aspire. The misfortune is, we lose a God-given opportunity of making the change an unmixed good, or with the slightest possible PHILLIPS 177 shaie of evil, and are recreant besides to special duty. These "agitations" are the opportunities and the means God offers us to refine the taste, mold the character, lift the purpose, and educate the moral sense of the masses on whose intelligence and self-respect rests the State. God furnishes these texts. 5 He gathers for us this audience, and only asks of our coward lips to preach the sermons. 36. There have been four or five of these great opportuni- ties. The crusade against slavery — that grand hypocrisy which poisoned the national life of two generations — was one, — a 10 conflict between two civilizations which threatened to rend the Union. Almost every element among us was stirred to take a part in the battle. Every great issue, civil and moral, was involved, — toleration of opinion, limits of authority, relation of citizen to law, place of the Bible, priest and layman, sphere 15 of woman, question of race. State rights and nationality ; and Channing testified that free speech and free printing owed their preservation to the struggle. But the pulpit flung the Bible at the reformer ; law visited him with its penalties ; so- ciety spewed him out of its mouth ; bishops expurgated the 20 pictures of their Common Prayer Books ; and editors omitted pages in republishing English history ; even Pierpont emascu- lated his Class-book ; Bancroft remodeled his chapters ; and Everett carried Washington through thirty states, remember- ing to forget the brave words the wise Virginian had left on 25 record warning his countrymen of this evil. Amid this battle of the giants, scholarship sat dumb for thirty years until immi- nent deadly peril convulsed it into action, and colleges, in their despair, gave to the army that help they had refused to the market place and the rostrum. 30 37. There was here and there an exception. That earth- quake scholar at Concord, whose serene word, like a whisper among the avalanches, topples down superstitions and preju- dices, was at his post, and with half a score of others, made 178 THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC the exception that proved the rule. Pulpits, just so far as they could not boast of culture and nestled closest down among the masses, were infinitely braver than the " spires and antique towers " of stately collegiate institutions. 5 38. Then came reform of penal legislation, — the effort to make law mean justice, and substitute for its barbarism Chris- tianity and civilization. In Massachusetts, Rantoul represents Beccaria and Livingston, Mackintosh and Romilly. I doubt if he ever had one word of encouragement from Massachusetts 10 letters ; and with a single exception, I have never seen, till within a dozen years, one that could be called a scholar active in moving the legislature to reform its code. 39. The London Times proclaimed, twenty years ago, that intemperance produced more idleness, crime, disease, want, 15 misery, than all other causes put together ; and the West- minster Review calls it a " curse that far eclipses every other calamity under which we suffer." Gladstone, speaking as prime minister, admitted that " greater calamities are inflicted on mankind by intemperance than by the three great historical 20 scourges, — war, pestilence, and famine." De Quincey says, " The most remarkable instance of a combined movement in society which history, perhaps, will be summoned to notice, is that which, in our day, has applied itself to the abatement of intemperance. Two vast movements are hurrying into action 25 by velocities continually accelerated, — the great revolutionary movement from political causes, concurring with the great physical movement in locomotion and social intercourse from the gigantic power of steam. At the opening of such a crisis, had no third movement arisen of resistance to intemperate 30 habits, there would have been ground of despondency as to the melioration of the human race." These are English testi- monies, where the State rests more than half on bayonets. Here we are trying to rest the ballot box on a drunken people. "We can rule a great city," said Sir Robert Peel, "America PHILLIPS 179 cannot"; and he cited the mobs of New York as sufficient proof of his assertion. 40. Thoughtful men see that up to this hour the government of great cities has been with us a failure ; that worse than the dry rot of legislative corruption, than the rancor of party spirit, 5 than Southern barbarism, than even the tyranny of incorpo- rated wealth, is the giant burden of intemperance, making universal suffrage a failure and a curse in every great city. Scholars who play statesmen, and editors who masquerade as scholars, can waste much excellent anxiety that clerks shall get 10 no office until they know the exact date of Caesar's assassination, as well as the latitude of Pekin, and the Rule of Three. But while this crusade — the Temperance movement — has been, for sixty years, gathering its facts and marshaling its argu- ments, rallying parties, besieging legislatures, and putting great 15 states on the witness stand as evidence of the soundness of its methods, scholars have given it nothing but a sneer. But if universal suffrage ever fails here for a time, — permanently it cannot fail, — it will not be incapable civil service, nor an ambitious soldier, nor Southern vandals, nor venal legislatures, 20 nor the greed of wealth, nor boy statesmen rotten before they are ripe, that will put universal suffrage into eclipse ; it will be rum intrenched in great cities and commanding every vantage ground. 41. Social science affirms that woman's place in society 25 marks the level of civilization. From its twilight in Greece, through the Italian worship of the Virgin, the dreams of chiv- alry, the justice of the civil law, and the equality of French society, we trace her gradual recognition ; while our common law, as Lord Brougham confessed, was, with relation to women, 30 the opprobrium of the age and of Christianity. For forty years plain men and women, working noiselessly, have washed away that opprobrium ; the statute books of thirty states have been remodeled, and woman stands to-day almost face to face with l80 THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC her last claim, — the ballot. It has been a weary and thank- less, though successful, struggle. But if there be any refuge from that ghastly curse, — the vice of great cities, before which social science stands palsied and dumb, — it is in this more 5 equal recognition of woman. If, in this critical battle for uni- versal suffrage, — our fathers' noblest legacy to us, and the greatest trust God leaves in our hands, — there be any weapon, which once taken from the armory will make victory certain, it will be, as it has been in art, literature, and society, sum- 10 moning woman into the political arena. 42. But at any rate, up to this point, putting suffrage aside, there can be no difference of opinion; everything born of Christianity, or allied to Grecian culture or Saxon law, must rejoice in the gain. The literary class, until within half a 15 dozen years, has taken note of this great uprising only to fling every obstacle in its way. The first glimpse we get of Saxon blood in history is that line of Tacitus in his Germany which reads, "In all grave matters they consult their women." Years hence, when robust Saxon sense has flung away Jewish 20 superstition and Eastern prejudice, and put under its foot fas- tidious scholarship and squeamish fashion, some second Tacitus, from the valley of the Mississippi will answer to him of the Seven Hills, " In all grave questions we consult our women." 43. I used to think that then we could say to letters as 25 Henry of Navarre wrote to the Sir Philip Sidney of his realm, Crillon, "the bravest of the brave," "We have conquered at Arques, et tu n'y etais pas, Crillon,^'' — "You were not there, my Crillon." But a second thought reminds me that what claims to be literature has been always present in that battle- 30 field, and always in the ranks of the foe. 44. Ireland is another touchstone which reveals to us how absurdly we masquerade in democratic trappings while we have gone to seed in Tory distrust of the people ; false to every duty, which, as eldest born of democratic institutions, we owe PHILLIPS l8l to the oppressed, and careless of the lesson every such move- ment may be made in keeping public thought clear, keen, and fresh as to principles which are the essence of our civilization, the groundwork of all education in republics. 45. Sydney Smith said, "The moment Ireland is mentioned 5 the English seem to bid adieu to common sense, and to act with the barbarity of tyrants and the fatuity of idiots. . . . As long as the patient will suffer, the cruel will kick. ... If the Irish go on withholding and forbearing, and hesitating whether this is the time for discussion or that is the time, they 10 will be laughed at another century as fools, and kicked for another century as slaves." Byron called England's union with Ireland "the union of the shark with his prey." Ben- tham's conclusion, from a survey of five hundred years of European history, was, " Only by making the ruling few uneasy 15 can the oppressed many obtain a particle of rehef." Edmund Burke — Burke, the noblest figure in the Parliamentary history of the last hundred years, greater than Cicero in the Senate and almost Plato in the Academy — Burke affirmed, a century ago, " Ireland has learned at last that justice is to be had from 20 England only when demanded at the sword's point." And a century later, only last year, Gladstone himself proclaimed in a public address in Scotland, " England never concedes any- thing to Ireland except when moved to do so by fear." 46. When we remember these admissions, we ought to clap 25 our hands at every fresh Irish " outrage," as a parrot press styles it, aware that it is only a far-off echo of the musket shots that rattled against the Old State House on the 5 th of March, 1770, and of the warwhoop that made the tiny spire of the Old South tremble when Boston rioters emptied the three India 30 teaships into the sea, — welcome evidence of living force and rare intelligence in the victim, and a sign that the day of deliverance draws each hour nearer. Cease ringing endless changes of eulogy on the men who made North's Boston l82 THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC port bill a failure, while every leading journal sends daily over the water wishes for the success of Gladstone's copy of the bill for Ireland. If all rightful government rests on consent, — if, as the French say, you "can do almost anything with a bayonet 5 except sit on it," — be at least consistent, and denounce the man who covers Ireland with regiments to hold up a despotism which, within twenty months, he has confessed rests wholly upon fear. 47. Then note the scorn and disgust with which we gather 10 up our garments about us and disown the Samuel Adams and William Prescott, the George Washington and John Brown, of St. Petersburg, the spiritual descendants, the living representa- tives of those who make our history worth anything in the world's annals, — the Nihilists. 15 48. Nihilism is the righteous and honorable resistance of a people crushed under an iron rule. Nihilism is evidence of life. When "order reigns in Warsaw," it is spiritual death. Nihilism is the last weapon of victims choked and manacled beyond all other resistance. It is crushed humanity's only 20 means of making the oppressor tremble. God means that un- just power shall be insecure ; and every move of the giant, prostrate in chains, whether it be to lift a single dagger, or stir a city's revolt, is a lesson in justice. One might well tremble for the future of the race if such a despotism could exist with- 25 out provoking the bloodiest resistance. I honor Nihilism, since it redeems human nature from the suspicion of being utterly vile, made up only of heartless oppressors and contented slaves. Every line in our history, every interest of civilization, bids us rejoice when the tyrant grows pale and the slave rebellious. 30 We cannot but pity the suffering of any human being, however richly deserved ; but such pity must not confuse our moral sense. Humanity gains. Chatham rejoiced when our fathers rebelled. For every single reason they alleged, Russia counts a hundred, each one ten times bitterer than any Hancock or PHILLIPS 183 Adams could give. Samuel Johnson's standing toast in Oxford port was, " Success to the first insurrection of slaves in Jamaica," — a sentiment Southey echoed. " Eschew cant," said that old moralist. But of all the cants that are canted in this cant- ing world, though the cant of piety may be the worst, the 5 cant of Americans bewailing Russian Nihilism is the most disgusting. 49. I know what reform needs, and all it needs, in a land where discussion is free, the press untrammeled, and where public halls protect debate. There, as Emerson says, "What 10 the tender and poetic youth dreams to-day, and conjures up with inarticulate speech, is to-morrow the vociferated result of public opinion, and the day after is the charter of nations." Lieber said, in 1870, " Bismarck proclaims to-day in the Diet the very principles for which we were hunted and exiled fifty years 1 5 ago." Submit to risk your daily bread, expect social ostracism, count on a mob now and then, "be in earnest, don't equivocate, don't retreat a single inch," and you will finally be heard. For Humanity sweeps onward, where to-day the martyr stands On the morrow crouches Judas, with the silver in his hands ; 20 Far in front the cross stands ready, and the crackling fagots burn, While the hooting mob of yesterday in silent awe return To glean up the scattered ashes into History's golden urn. In such a land he is doubly and trebly guilty who, except in some most extreme case, disturbs the sober rule of law 25 and order. 50. But such is not Russia. In Russia there is no press, no debate, no explanation of what government does, no remon- strance allowed, no agitation of public issues. Dead silence, like that which reigns at the summit of Mont Blanc, freezes 30 the whole empire, long ago described as " sl despotism tempered by assassination." Meanwhile, such despotism has unsettled the brains of the ruling family, as unbridled power doubtless made some of the twelve Caesars insane, — a madman sporting with l84 THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC the lives and comfort of a hundred millions of men. The young girl whispers in her mother's ear, under a ceiled roof, her pity for a brother knouted and dragged half dead into exile for his opinions. The next week she is stripped naked and flogged 5 to death in the public square. No inquiry, no explanation, no trial, no protest ; one dead uniform silence, — the law of the tyrant. Where is there ground for any hope of peaceful change? Where the fulcrum upon which you can plant any possible lever? 10 51. Macchiavelli's sorry picture of poor human nature would be fulsome flattery if men could keep still under such oppres- sion. No, no ! in such a land dynamite and the dagger are the necessary and proper substitutes for Faneuil Hall and the Daily Advertiser. Anything that will make the madman quake in his 15 bedchamber, and rouse his victims into reckless and desperate resistance. This 'is the only view an American, the child of 1620 and 1776, can take of NihiHsm. Any other unsettles and perplexes the ethics of our civilization. 52. Born within sight of Bunker Hill, in a commonwealth 20 which adopts the motto of Algernon Sidney, si(b libertate qiiiefem (" accept no peace without liberty ") ; son of Harvard, whose first pledge was "Truth"; citizen of a republic based on the claim that no government is rightful unless resting on the consent of the people, and which assumes to lead in assert- 25 ing the rights of humanity, — I at least can say nothing else and nothing less ; no, not if every tile on Cambridge roofs were a devil hooting my words ! 53. I shall bow to any rebuke from those who hold Chris- tianity to command entire non-resistance. But criticism from 30 any other quarter is only that nauseous hypocrisy which, stung by threepenny tea tax, piles Bunker Hill with granite and statues, prating all the time of patriotism and broadswords, while, like another Pecksniff, it recommends a century of dumb submission and entire non-resistance to the Russians, who for PHILLIPS 185 a hundred years have seen their sons by thousands dragged to death or exile, no one knows which, in this worse than Venetian mystery of police, and their maidens flogged to death in the market place, and who share the same fate if they presume to ask the reason why. 5 54. ♦' It is unfortunate," says Jefferson, " that the efforts of mankind to secure the freedom of which they have been deprived, should be accompanied with violence and even with crime. But while we weep over the means, we must pray for the end." Pray fearlessly for such ends; there is no risk! 10 " Men are all tories by nature," says Arnold, " when tolerably well off; only monstrous injustice and atrocious cruelty can rouse them." Some talk of the rashness of the uneducated classes. Alas ! ignorance is far oftener obstinate than rash. Against one French revolution — that scarecrow of the ages — 15 weigh Asia, " carved in stone," and a thousand years of Europe, with her half-dozen nations meted out and trodden down to be the dull and contented footstools of priests and kings. The customs of a thousand years ago are the sheet anchor of the passing generation, so deeply buried, so fixed, that the most 20 violent efforts of the maddest fanatic can drag it but a hand's- breadth. 55. Before the war, Americans were like the crowd in that terrible hall of EbUs which Beckford painted for us, — each man with his hand pressed on the incurable sore in his bosom, 25 and pledged not to speak of it ; compared with other lands, we were intellectually and morally a nation of cowards. 56. When I first entered the Roman States, a customhouse ofificial seized all my French books. In vain I held up to him a treatise by Fenelon, and explained that it was by a Catholic 30 archbishop of Cambray. Grufily he answered, " It makes no difference ; // is French^ As I surrendered the volume to his remorseless grasp, I could not but honor the nation which had made its revolutionary purpose so definite that despotism feared l86 THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC its very language. I only wished that injustice and despotism everywhere might one day have as good cause to hate and to fear everything American. 57. At last that disgraceful seal of slave complicity is broken. 5 Let us inaugurate a new departure, recognize that we are afloat on the current of Niagara, eternal vigilance the condition of our safety, that we are irrevocably pledged to the world not to go back to bolts and bars, — could not if we would, and would not if we could. Never again be ours the fastidious scholarship 10 that shrinks from rude contact with the masses. Very pleasant it is to sit high up in the world's theater and criticise the ungraceful struggles of the gladiators, shrug one's shoulders at the actors' harsh cries, and let every one know that but for " this villainous saltpeter you would yourself have been a 15 soldier." But Bacon says, " In the theater of man's life, God and his angels only should be lookers-on." "Sin is not taken out of man as Eve was out of Adam, by putting him to sleep." "Very beautiful," said Richter, "is the eagle when he floats with outstretched wings aloft in the clear blue ; but sublime 20 when he plunges down through the tempest to his eyrie on the cliff, where his unfledged young ones dwell and are starving." Accept proudly the analysis of Fisher Ames: "A monarchy is a man-of-war, stanch, iron-ribbed, and resistless when under full sail ; yet a single hidden rock sends her to the bottom. 25 Our republic is a raft hard to steer, and your feet always wet ; but nothing can sink her." If the Alps, piled in cold and silence, be the emblem of despotism, we joyfully take the ever-restless ocean for ours, — only pure because never still. 58. Journalism must have more self-respect. Now it praises 30 good and bad men so indiscriminately that a good word from nine tenths of our journals is worthless. In burying our Aaron Burrs, both political parties — in order to get the credit of magnanimity — exhaust the vocabulary of eulogy so thoroughly that there is nothing left with which to distinguish our John PHILLIPS 187 Jays. The love of a good name in life and a fair reputation to survive us — that strong bond to well-doing — is lost where every career, however stained, is covered with the same ful- some flattery, and where what men say in the streets is the exact opposite of what they say to each other. De mortuis nil 5 nisi bonu7?i most men translate, " Speak only good of the dead." I prefer to construe it, " Of the dead say nothing unless you can tell something good." And if the sin and the recreancy have been marked and far-reaching in their evil, even the charity of silence is not permissible. 10 59. To be as good as our fathers we must be better. They silenced their fears and subdued their prejudices, inaugurating free speech and equality with no precedent on the file. Europe shouted " Madmen ! " and gave us forty years for the ship- wreck. With serene faith they persevered. Let us rise to their 15 level. Crush appetite, and prohibit temptation if it rots great cities. Intrench labor in sufficient bulwarks against that wealth which, without the tenfold strength of modern incorporation, wrecked the Grecian and Roman States ; and with a sterner effort still, summon women into civil life as reenforcement to 20 our laboring ranks in the effort to make our civilization a success. 60. Sit not, like the figure on our silver coin, looking ever backward. New occasions teach new duties ; time makes ancient good un- couth ; 25 They must upward still, and onward, who would keep abreast of Truth. Lo ! before us gleam her camp fires ! we ourselves must Pil- grims be, Launch our Mayflower, and steer boldly through the desperate winter sea, Nor attempt the Future's portal with the Past's blood-rusted key. THE PUBLIC DUTY OF EDU- CATED MEN' George William Curtis An oration delivered at the Commencement of Union College, June 27, 1877. INTRODUCTION George William Curtis, author, orator, and publicist, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, February 24, 1824. In 1839 he went to New York and became a clerk in a mercantile house. In 1842 he and his elder brother joined the Brook Farm Community, at West Roxbury, Massachusetts. After remaining there a year and a half he went to Concord and spent another eighteen months with a farmer, dividing his time between farming and the society of Emerson, Hawthorne, and other noted men. In place of a col- lege course Curtis spent the next four years in travel abroad. He lived first in Italy and Germany, and afterwards traveled in Egypt and Syria. Upon his return, he published the Howadji books, which gave him some reputation as a writer. Later there came from his pen The Potiphar Papers^ Prue and I^ and Trumps. In 1850 he joined the editorial staff of the New York Tributie, and in 1852 became a partner in the firm that established Putnam's Monthly. When this firm failed, Curtis assumed a large indebted- ness for which he was not legally bound, applied his private fortune toward meeting the firm's obligations, and for sixteen years devoted to that purpose the money earned by lecturing. In 1854 he began his " Easy Chair" papers in Haj'per's Magazine., and later became the leading editorial writer for Harper's Weekly. 1 Copyright, 1893, hy Harper & Brothers. 189 IQO THE PUBLIC DUTY OF EDUCATED MEN In 1856 Curtis delivered an oration before the literary societies of Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Connecticut, on " The Duty of the American Scholar to Politics and the Times." This marks the beginning of his connection with public affairs. The same year he spoke in the presidential campaign in favor of the Republican candidates. In i860, 1864, and 1876, he was a dele- gate to the Republican national conventions. In 1864 he was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress. In 1869 he declined the Republican nomination for secretary of state of New York, and in 1876 he also declined the position of minister to England. In 1 87 1 he became identified with the civil service as a member of the commission appointed to draw up rules for its regulation. He later became president of the National Civil Service Reform League, and for twenty years he wrote and spoke in its interests. The cause of civil service reform owes more to Curtis than to any other one man. One large volume of his orations and addresses is devoted entirely to this subject. In politics he was exceptionally independent and fearless. He was among the first, as he was the leader, of those who broke away from party affiliations in 1884 and supported Cleveland, as against Blaine, for the presidency, and were satirically denominated " Mugwumps." As a leader of public opinion Curtis exerted an influence which is probably un- paralleled in our history. He died August 31, 1892. In an article entitled " George William Curtis : Friend of the Republic," McClure's Magazine^ October, 1904, Honorable Carl Schurz says : " However effective his regular journalistic communion with the public was, the most valuable and impressive of his teachings were contained in that grand series of orations and occasional addresses which not only placed him in the first rank of the great orators of his time, but also constitute his finest contributions to American literature — addresses and orations delivered at college commencements, alumni reunions, the unveiling of monuments, memorial services in honor of statesmen, or soldiers, or men of letters, or public meetings held to shape, or express, or stimulate popular sentiment on some matter of great public concern. Noth- ing could surpass the splendid architecture of their argument and the wealth and chaste beauty of their ornamentation. In what gorgeous colors he would paint the glories of his country ! How CURTIS 191 he would revel in the memories of the heroic birth of the republic and in extolling the grand and eternal significance of the principles which constituted its reason of being and its promise to all man- kind ! With what lofty sternness he would castigate those whose mean spirit failed to appreciate those principles ! How vividly he would make to gleam and radiate the virtues and high aims and achievements of the great men who were the subjects of his eulogy ! How magnificently his noble manhood and his American citizen's pride shone forth when he defined to the youth of his generation the nature of true patriotism, — a patriotism that em- braced all the human kind and had its source in the purest moral sense and in the profoundest and most courageous convictions of right and duty in the service of the highest ideals ! " Though Curtis was primarily a man of letters, he is, as Mr. Schurz says, best known now as a lecturer and an orator. Among a galaxy of contemporary lecturers such as Emerson, Phillips, and Beecher, Curtis was in constant demand for the lyceum platform, and was one of the most accomplished and polished speakers of his times. Before and during the war he spoke chiefly on the question of slavery ; later, on civil service reform and occasional topics. From the very first his addresses were characterized by those rhetorical excellencies which make them, as he himself said of Burke's speeches, " not only historical events, but splendid possessions of literature." If he has not the energy and pugnacity of Phillips> or the prevailing emotionalism of Grady, he has a poise and finish that excel the one and equal the other. While Curtis was a master in extemporaneous oratory, his set speeches were prepared with great care. Suggestions as to his methods may be gleaned from the following extracts of a letter written by him and published in Smith's Reading and Speaking (p. 125): " The young orator must not be afraid to take the same pains with the form of his oration, which is largely the oration, that the painter takes with his color, his drawing, his aerial perspective, and his chiaroscuro ; and the poet with his rhythm and his words. Care and taste, the felicitous choice of phrase and happy cadence, do not result in disagreeable artificiality in an oration more than in a poem or picture. . . . The greatest orations have probably been most thoughtfully prepared. But this does not prevent a quick and fortunate use of unforeseen incidents and the remarks 192 THE PUBLIC DUTY OF EDUCATED MEN of others, . . . [The great orators] did not trust to the ' spur of the moment,' but relied upon thought and knowledge, and careful cultivation of the forms of expression." In delivery, Curtis's manner was well adapted to the intelligent audiences he usually addressed. With a fine form and pleasing bearing, a deep, musical, and well-modulated voice, using few but expressive gestures, he " seemed absorbed by the expression of his thought, unheeding the eyes, seeking the judgment and the heart, of his auditors." The following oration on " The Public Duty of Educated Men" is not notably better than many of the other orations and addresses given by Curtis during the forty years of his- active life, but it does represent, in perhaps the most comprehensive form, the sum of his political philosophy, — that educated and consecrated intelligence is the hope of this Republic, — and pleads the responsibilities and duties of that class of which he himself was a most distinguished type, — the Scholar in Politics. I. It is with diffidence that I rise to add any words of mine to the music of these younger voices. This day, Gentlemen of the Graduating Class, is especially yours. It is a- day of high hope and expectation ; and the councils that fall from older 5 lips should be carefully weighed, lest they chill the ardor of a generous enthusiasm, or stay the all-conquering faith of youth that moves the world. To those who, constantly and actively engaged in a thousand pursuits, are still persuaded that edu- cated intelligence molds states and leads mankind, no day in lo the year is more significant, more inspiring, than this of the ^^<»4A College Commencement. It matters not at what college it may be celebrated. It is the same at all. We stand here indeed beneath these eoWege walls, beautiful for situation, girt at this moment with the perfumed splendor of midsummer, and full 15 of tender memories and joyous associations to those who hear ^ me. But on this day, and on other days, at a hundred other ^'iT-i colleges, this summer sun beholds the same spectacle of eager and earnest throngs. The faith that we hold, they also cherish. CURTIS 193 It is the same God that is worshiped at the different altars. It is the same benediction that descends upon every reverent head and believing heart. In this annual celebration of faith in the power and the responsibility of educated men, all the ^**colleges in the country, in whatever state, of whatever age, of 5 whatever religious sympathy or direction, form but one great Ume« University. 2. But the interest of the day is not that of mere study, of sound scholarship as an end, of good books for their own sake, but of education as a power in human affairs ; of educated 10 men as an influence in the commonwealth. "Tell me," said an American scholar of Goethe, the many-sided, " what did he ever do for the cause of man?" The scholar, the poet, the philosopher, are men among other men. From these unavoid- able social relations spring opportunities and duties. How do 15 they use them? How do they discharge them? Does the scholar show in his daily walk that he has studied the wisdom of ages in vain ? Does the poet sing of angelic purity and lead an unclean life ? Does the philosopher peer into other worlds, and fail to help this world upon its way? Four years before 20 our Civil War, the same scholar — it was Theodore Parker — said sadly : " If our educated men had done their duty, we should not now be in the ghastly condition we bewail." The theme of to-day seems to me to be prescribed by the occasion. It is the festival of the departure of a body of educated young 25 men into the world. This company of picked recruits marches out with beating drums and flying colors to join the army. We who feel that our fate is gracious which allowed a liberal train- ing, are here to welcome and to advise. On your behalf, Mr. President and Gentlemen, with your authority, and with all my 30 heart, I shall say a word to them and to you of the public duty of educated men in America. 3. I shall not assume, Gentlemen Graduates, for I know that it is not so, that what Dr. Johnson says of the teachers of 194 THE PUBLIC DUTY OF EDUCATED MEN Rasselas and the princes of Abyssinia can be truly said of you in your happy valley — " The sages who instructed them told them of nothing but the miseries of public life, and described all beyond the mountains as regions of calamity where discord 5 was always raging, and where man preyed upon man." The sages who have instructed you are American citizens. They know that patriotism has its glorious opportunities and its sacred duties. They have not shunned the one, and they have well performed the other. In the sharpest stress of our awful lo conflict, a clear voice of patriotic warning was heard from these peaceful academic shades ; the voice of the venerated teacher whom this University still freshly deplores, drawing, from the wisdom of experience stored in his ample learning, a lesson of startHng cogency and power from the history of Greece for the 15 welfare of America. 4. This was the discharge of a public duty by an educated man. It illustrated an indispensable condition of a progressive republic : the active, practical interest in politics of the most intelligent citizens. Civil and religious liberty in this country 20 can be preserved only through the agency of our political insti- tutions. But those institutions alone will not suffice. It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosper- ous voyage. American institutions presuppose not only general honesty and intelligence in the people, but their constant and ,25 direct application to public affairs. Our system rests upon all the people, not upon a part of them, and the citizen who evades his share of the burden betrays his fellows. Our safety lies not in our institutions but in ourselves. It was under the forms of the republic that Julius Caesar made himself emperor 30 of Rome. It was by professing reverence for the national tradi- tions that James II was destroying rehgious liberty in England. To labor, said the old monks, is to pray. What we earnestly desire we earnestly toil for. That she may be prized more truly, heaven-eyed Justice flies from us, like the Tartar maid CURTIS 195 from her lovers, and she yields her embrace at last only to the swiftest and most daring of her pursuers. 5. By the words "public duty" I do not necessarily mean official duty, although it may include that. I mean simply that constant and active practical participation in the details of poli- 5 tics without which, upon the part of the most intelligent citizens, the conduct of public affairs falls under the control of selfish and ignorant, or crafty and venal men. I mean that personal attention which, as it must be incessant, is often wearisome and even repulsive, to the details of politics, attendance at 10 meetings, service upon committees, care and trouble and expense of many kinds, patient endurance of rebuffs, chagrins, ridicules, disappointments, defeats — in a word, all those duties and services which, when selfishly and meanly performed, stigmatize a man as a mere politician; but whose constant, 15 honorable, intelligent, and vigilant performance is the gradual building, stone by stone, and layer by layer, of that great temple of self-restrained liberty which all generous souls mean that our government shall be. 6. PubHc duty in this country is not discharged, as is so 20 often supposed, by voting. A man may vote regularly, and still fail essentially of his political duty, as the Pharisee who gave tithes of all that he possessed, and fasted three times in the week, yet lacked the very heart of religion. When an American citizen is content with voting merely, he consents 25 to accept what is often a doubtful alternative. His first duty is to help shape the alternative. This, which was formerly less necessary, is now indispensable. In a rural community such as this country was a hundred years ago, whoever was nominated for office was known to his neighbors, and the consciousness 30 of that knowledge was a conservative influence in determining nominations. But in the local elections of the great cities of to-day, elections that control taxation and expenditure, the mass of the voters vote in absolute ignorance of the candidates. 196 THE PUBLIC DUTY OF EDUCATED MEN The citizen who supposes that he does all his duty when he votes, places a premium upon poHtical knavery. Thieves wel- come him to the polls and offer him a choice, which he has done nothing to prevent, between Jeremy Diddler and Dick 5 Turpin. The party cries, for which he is responsible, are, " Turpin and Honesty ! " '' Diddler and Reform ! " And within a few years, as a result of this indifference to the details of pubhc duty, the most powerful politician in the Empire State of the Union was Jonathan Wild the Great, the captain of a 10 band of plunderers. I know it is said that the knaves have taken the honest men in a net, and have contrived machinery which will inevitably grind only the grist of rascals. The answer is, that when honest men did once what they ought to do always, the thieves were netted and their machine was broken. To say LL5 that in this country the rogues must rule, is to defy history and to despair of the republic. It is to repeat the imbecile executive cry of sixteen years ago, " Oh, dear ! the states have no right to go "; and, " Oh, dear ! the nation has no" right to help itself." Let the Union, stronger than ever and unstained 20 with national wrong, teach us the power of patriotic virtue — and Ludlow Street jail console those who suppose that American politics must necessarily be a game of thieves and bulHes. 7. If ignorance and corruption and intrigue control the primary meeting, and manage the convention, and dictate the 25 nomination, the fault is in the honest and intelligent workshop and office, in the library and the parlor, in the church and the school. When they are as constant and faithful to their polit- ical rights as the slums and the grogshops, the pool rooms and the kennels; when the educated, industrious, temperate, thrifty 30 citizens are as zealous and prompt and unfailing in political activity as the ignorant and venal and mischievous, or when it is plain that they cannot be roused to their duty, then, but not until then — if ignorance and corruption always carry the day — there can be no honest question that the republic has failed. CURTIS 197 But let us not be deceived. While good men sit at home, not knowing that there is anything to be done, nor caring to know ; cultivating a feeling that politics are tiresome and dirty, and politicians vulgar bullies and bravoes ; half persuaded that a republic is the contemptible rule of a mob, and secretly long- 5 ing for a splendid and vigorous despotism, — then remember it is not a government mastered by ignorance, it is a govern- ment betrayed by intelligence ; it is not the victory of the slums, it is the surrender of the schools ; it is not that bad men are brave, but that good men are infidels and cowards. 10 8. But, Gentlemen, when you come to address yourselves to these primary public duties, your first surprise and dismay will be the discovery that, in a country where education is declared to be the hope of its institutions, the higher education is often practically held to be almost a disadvantage. You will go from 1 5 these halls to hear a very common sneer at college-bred men ; to encounter a jealousy of education as making men visionary and pedantic and impracticable ; to confront a belief that there is something enfeebling in the higher education, and that self- made men, as they are called, are the sure stay of the state. 20 But what is really meant by a self-made man ? It is a man of native sagacity and strong character, who was taught, it is proudly said, only at the plow or the anvil or the bench. He w^as schooled by adversity, and was polished by hard attrition with men. He is Benjamin Franklin, the printer's boy, or 25 Abraham Lincoln, the rail-splitter. They never went to college, but nevertheless, like Agamemnon, they were kings of men, and the world blesses their memory. 9. So it does ; but the sophistry here is plain enough, although it is not always detected. Great genius and force of 30 character undoubtedly make their own career. But because Walter Scott was dull at school, is a parent to see with joy that his son is a dunce? Because Lord Chatham was of a tower- ing conceit, must we infer that pompous vanity portends a 198 THE PUBLIC DUTY OF EDUCATED MEN comprehensive statesmanship that will fill the world with the splendor of its triumphs ? Because Sir Robert Walpole gambled and swore and boozed at Houghton, are we to suppose that gross sensuality and coarse contempt of human nature are the 5 essential secrets of a power that defended liberty against Tory intrigue and priestly politics? Was it because Benjamin Franklin was not college-bred that he drew the lightning from heaven and tore the scepter from the tyrant? Was it because Abraham Lincoln had little schooling that his great heart beat 10 true to God and man, lifting him to free a race and die for his country ? Because men naturally great have done great service in the world without advantages, does it follow that lack of advantage is the secret of success? Was Pericles a less saga- cious leader of the state, during forty years of Athenian glory, 15 because he was thoroughly accomplished in every grace of learning? Or, swiftly passing from the Athenian agora to the Boston town meeting, behold Samuel Adams, tribune of New England against Old England, of America against Europe, of liberty against despotism. Was his power enfeebled, his fervor 20 chilled, his patriotism relaxed, by his college education? No, no ; they were strengthened, kindled, confirmed. Taking his Master's degree one hundred and thirty-four years ago, thirty- three years before the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Adams, then twenty-one years old, declared in a Latin dis- 25 course — the first flashes of the fire that blazed afterward in Faneuil Hall and kindled America — that it is lawful to resist the supreme magistrate if the commonwealth cannot otherwise be preserved. In the very year that Jefferson was born, the college boy, Samuel Adams, on a Commencement day like this, 30 on an academical platform like this on which we stand, struck the keynote of American independence, which still stirs the heart of man with its music. 10. Or, within our own century, look at the great modern statesmen who have shaped the politics of the world. They CURTIS 199 were educated men ; were they therefore visionary, pedantic, impracticable? Cavour, whose monument is United Italy — one from the Alps to Tarentum, from the lagoons of Venice to the Gulf of Salerno ; Bismarck, who has raised the German empire from a name to a fact ; Gladstone, to-day the incar- 5 nate heart and conscience of England, — they are the perpetual refutation of the sneer that higher education weakens men for practical affairs. Trained themselves, such men know the value of training. All countries, all ages, all men, are their teachers. The broader their education, the wider the horizon of their 10 thought and observation, the more affluent their resources, the more humane their policy. Would Samuel Adams have been a truer popular leader had he been less an educated man? Would Walpole the less truly have served his country had he been, with all his capacities, a man whom England could have 15 revered and loved? Could Gladstone so sway England with his serene eloquence, as the moon the tides, were he a gambling, swearing, boozing squire like Walpole? There is no sophistry more poisonous to the state, no folly more stupendous and de- moralizing, than the notion that the purest character and the 20 highest education are incompatible with the most commanding mastery of men and the most efficient administration of affairs. 1 1 . Undoubtedly a practical and active interest in politics will lead you to party association and cooperation. Great public results — the repeal of the corn laws in England, the 25 abolition of slavery in America — are due to that organization of effort and concentration of aim which arouse, instruct, and inspire the popular heart and will. This is the spring of party, and those who earnestly seek practical results instinctively turn to this agency of united action. But in this tendency, useful 30 in the state as the fire upon the household hearth, lurks, as in that fire, the deadliest peril. Here is our republic — it is a ship with towering canvas spread, sweeping before the pros- perous gale over a foaming and sparkling sea ; it is a lightning 200 THE PUBLIC DUTY OF EDUCATED MEN train, darting with awful speed along the edge of dizzy abysses and across bridges that quiver over unsounded gulfs. Because we are Americans, we have no peculiar charm, no magic spell, to stay the eternal laws. Our safety lies alone in cool self- 5 possession, directing the forces of wind and wave and fire. If once the madness to which the excitement tends usurps con- trol, the catastrophe is inevitable. And so deep is the convic- tion that sooner or later this madness must seize every republic, that the most plausible suspicion of the permanence of the 10 American government is founded in the belief that party spirit cannot be restrained. It is indeed a master passion, but its control is the true conservatism of the republic and of happy human progress; and it is men made famihar by education with the history of its ghastly catastrophes, men with the proud 15 courage of independence, who are to temper by lofty action, born of that knowledge, the ferocity of party spirit. 12. The first object of concerted political action is the highest welfare of the country. But the conditions of party association are such that the means are constantly and easily 20 substituted for the end. The sophistry is subtle and seductive. Holding the ascendency of his party essential to the national welfare, the zealous partisan merges patriotism in party. He insists that not to sustain the party is to betray the country, and against all honest doubt and reasonable hesitation and 25 reluctance, he vehemently urges that quibbles of conscience must be sacrificed to the public good ; that wise and practical men will not be squeamish ; that every soldier in the army cannot indulge his own whims ; and that if the majority may justly prevail in determining the government, it must not be 30 questioned in the control of a party. 13. This spirit adds moral coercion to sophistry. It de- nounces as a traitor him who protests against party tyranny, and it makes unflinching adherence to what is called regular party action the condition of the gratification of honorable CURTIS 201 political ambition. Because a man who sympathizes with the party aims refuses to vote for a thief, this spirit scorns him as a rat and a renegade. Because he holds to principle and law against party expediency and dictation, he is proclaimed to have betrayed his country, justice, and humanity. Because he 5 tranquilly insists upon deciding for himself when he must dissent from his party, he is reviled as a popinjay and a vision- ary fool. Seeking with honest purpose only the welfare of his country, the hot air around him hums with the cry of " the grand old party," " the traditions of the party," *' loyalty 10 to the party," "future of the party," "servant of the party," and he sees and hears the gorged and portly money changers in the temple usurping the very divinity of the God. Young hearts ! be not dismayed. If ever any one of you shall be the man so denounced, do not forget that your own individual 15 convictions are the whip of small cords which God has put into your hands to expel the blasphemers. 14. The same party spirit naturally denies the patriotism of its opponents. Identifying itself with the country, it regards all others as public enemies. This is substantially revolution- 20 ary politics. It is the condition of France, where, in its own words, the revolution is permanent. Instead of regarding the other party as legitimate opponents — in the English phrase, His Majesty's Opposition — lawfully seeking a different policy under the government, it decries that party as a conspiracy 25 plotting the overthrow of the government itself. History is lurid with the wasting fires of this madness. We need not look to that of other lands. Our own is full of it. It is painful to turn to the opening years of the Union, and see how the great men whom we are taught to revere* and to whose fostering 30 care the beginning of the republic was intrusted, fanned their hatred and suspicion of each other. Do not trust the flatter- ing voices that whisper of a Golden Age behind us, and be- moan our own as a degenerate day. The castles of hope always 202 THE PUBLIC DUTY OF EDUCATED MEN shine along the horizon. Our fathers saw thens where we are standing. We behold ours where our fathers stood. But pen- sive regret for the heroic past, like eager anticipation of the future, shows only that the vision of a loftier life forever 5 allures the human soul. We think our fathers to have been wiser than we, and their day more enviable. But eighty years ago the Federahsts abhorred their opponents as Jacobins, and thought Robespierre and Marat no worse than Washington's Secretary of State. Their opponents retorted that the Federal- 10 ists were plotting to establish a monarchy by force of arms. The New England pulpit anathematized Tom Jefferson as an atheist and a satyr. Jefferson denounced John Jay as a rogue, and the chief newspaper of the opposition, on the morning that Washington retired from the presidency, thanked God 15 that the country was now rid of the man who was the source of all its misfortunes. There is no mire in which party spirit wallows to-day with which our fathers were riot befouled, and how little sincere the vituperation was, how shallow a fury, appears when Jefferson and Adams had retired from public 20 life. Then they corresponded placidly and familiarly, each at last conscious of the other's fervent patriotism ; and when they died, they were lamented in common by those who in their names had flown at each other's throats, as the patri- archal Castor and Pollux of the pure age of our poHtics, now 25 fixed as a constellation of hope in our heaven. 15. The same brutal spirit showed itself at the time of Andrew Johnson's impeachment. Impeachment is a proceed- ing to be instituted only for great public reasons, which should, presumptively, command universal support. To prostitute the 30 power of impeachment to a mere party purpose would readily lead to the reversal of the result of an election. But it was made a party measure. The party was to be whipped into its support : and when certain senators broke the party yoke upon their necks, and voted according to their convictions, as CURTIS 203 honorable men always will, whether the party whips like it or not, one of the whippers-in exclaimed of a patriotism the struggle of obedience to which cost one senator, at least, his life, — "If there is anything worse than the treachery, it is the cant which pretends that it is the result of conscientious con- 5 viction ; the pretense of a conscience is quite unbearable." This was the very acridity of bigotry, which in other times and countries raised the cruel tribunal of the Inquisition, and burned opponents for the glory of God. The party madness that dictated these words, and the sympathy that approved 10 them, was treason not alone to the country but to well-ordered human society. Murder may destroy great statesmen, but corruption makes great states impossible ; and this was an attempt at the most insidious corruption. The man who attempts to terrify a senator of the United States to cast a 15 dishonest vote, by stigmatizing him as a hypocrite and devot- ing him to party hatred, is only a more plausible rascal than his opponent who gives Pat O'Flanagan a fraudulent natural- ization paper or buys his vote with a dollar or a glass of whisky. Whatever the offenses of the President may have been, they 20 were as nothing when compared with the party spirit which declared that it was tired of the intolerable cant of honesty. So the sneering cavalier was tired of the cant of the Puritan conscience ; but the conscience of which plumed Injustice and coroneted Privilege were tired has been for three cen- 25 turies the invincible bodyguard of civil and religious liberty. 16. Gentlemen, how dire a calamity the same party spirit was preparing for the country within a few months, we can now perceive with amazement and with hearty thanksgiving for a great deliverance. The ordeal of last winter was the 30 severest strain ever yet applied to republican institutions. It was a mortal strain along the very fiber of our system. It was not a collision of sections, nor a conflict of principles of civi- lization. It was a supreme and triumphant test of American 204 THE PUBLIC DUTY OF EDUCATED MEN patriotism. Greater than the declaration of independence by colonies hopelessly alienated from the Crown and already in arms; greater than emancipation, as a military expedient, amid the throes of civil war, was the peaceful and reasonable 5 consent of two vast parties — in a crisis plainly foreseen and criminally neglected — a crisis in which each party asserted its solution to be indisputable — to devise a lawful settlement of the tremendous contest, a settlement which, through furi- ous storms of disappointment and rage, has been rehgiously lo respected. We are told that our politics are mean — that already, in its hundredth year, the decadence of the Ameri- can republic appears and the hope of the world is clouded. But tell me, scholars, in what high hour of Greece, when, as De Witt CHnton declared, the herb-woman could criticise the 15 phraseology of Demosthenes, and the meanest artisan could pronounce judgment on the works of Apelles and Phidias, or at what proud epoch of imperial Rome, or millennial moment of the fierce Italian republics, was ever so momentous a party difference so wisely, so peacefully, so humanely, composed? 20 Had the sophistry of party prevailed, had each side resolved that not to insist upon its own claim at every hazard was what the mad party spirit of each side declared it to be, a pusillani- mous surrender; had the spirit of Marius mastered one party and that of Sylla the other, this waving valley of the Mohawk 25 would not to-day murmur with the music of industry, and these tranquil voices of scholars blending with its happy har- vest song; it would have smoked and roared with fraternal war, and this shuddering river would have run red through desolated meadows and by burning homes. 30 17. It is because these consequences are familiar to the knowledge of educated and thoughtful men that such men are constantly to assuage this party fire and to take care that party is always subordinated to patriotism. Perfect party dis- cipline is the most dangerous weapon of party spirit, for it is CURTIS 205 the abdication of the individual judgment : it is the appHca- tion to political parties of the Jesuit principle of implicit obedience. 18. It is for you to help break this withering spell. It is for you to assert the independence and the dignity of the 5 individual citizen, and to prove that party was made for the voter, not the voter for party. When you are angrily told that if you erect your personal whim against the regular party behest, you make representative government impossible by refusing to accept its conditions, hold fast by your own con- 10 science and let the party go. There is not an American mer- chant who would send a ship to sea under the command of Captain Kidd, however skillful a sailor he might be. Why should he vote to send Captain Kidd to the legislature or to put him in command of the ship of state because his party 15 directs? The party which to-day nominates Captain Kidd, will to-morrow nominate Judas Iscariot ; and to-morrow, as to-day, party spirit will spurn you as a traitor for refusing to sell your master. " I tell you," said an ardent and well-mean- ing partisan, speaking of a closely contested election in another 20 state, " I tell you it is a nasty state, and I hope we have done nasty work enough to carry it." But if your state has been carried by nasty means this year, success will require nastier next year, and the nastiest means will always carry it. The party may win, but the state will have been lost, for there are 25 successes which are failures. When a man is sitting upon the bough of a tree and diligently sawing it off between himself and the trunk, he may succeed, but his success will break his neck. 19. The remedy for the constant excess of party spirit lies, 30 and lies alone, in the courageous independence of the individ- ual citizen. The only way, for instance, to procure the party nomination of good men, is for every self-respecting voter to refuse to vote for bad men. In the mediaeval theology the 206 THE PUBLIC DUTY OF EDUCATED MEN devils feared nothing so much as the drop of holy water and the sign of the cross, by which they were exorcised. The evil spirits of party fear nothing so much as bolting and scratching. In hoc signo vinces. If a farmer would reap a good crop, he 5 scratches the weeds out of his field. If we would have good men upon the ticket, we must scratch bad men off. If the scratching breaks down the party, let it break ; for the success of the party by such means would break down the country. The evil spirits must be taught by means that they can under- 10 stand. " Them fellers " — said the captain of a canal boat of his men — '' them fellers never think you mean a thing until you kick 'em. They feel that, and understand." 20. It is especially necessary for us to perceive the vital relation of individual courage and character to the common 15 welfare because ours is a government of public opinion, and public opinion is but the aggregate of individual thought. We have the awful responsibility as a community of doing what we choose ; and it is of the last importance that we choose to do what is wise and right. In the early days of the antislavery 20 agitation a meeting was called at Faneuil Hall, in Boston, which a good-natured mob of sailors was hired to suppress. They took possession of the floor and danced breakdowns and shouted choruses and refused to hear any of the orators upon the platform. The most eloquent pleaded with them in vain. 25 They were urged by the memories of the Cradle of Liberty, for the honor of Massachusetts, for their own honor as Boston boys, to respect liberty of speech. But they still laughed and sang and danced, and were proof against every appeal. At last a man suddenly arose from among themselves, and be- 30 gan to speak. Struck by his tone and quaint appearance, and with the thought that he might be one of themselves, the mob became suddenly still. "Well, fellow-citizens," he said, *'I wouldn't be quiet if I didn't want to." The words were greeted with a roar of delight from the mob, which supposed CURTIS 207 it had found its champion, and the applause was unceasing for five minutes, during which the strange orator tranquilly awaited his chance to continue. The wish to hear more hushed the tumult, and when the hall was still he resumed : " No, I certainly would n't stop if I had n't a mind to ; but 5 then, if I were you, I would ]\2i\e. a mind to ! " The oddity of the remark and the earnestness of the tone held the crowd silent, and the speaker continued, " not because this is Fan- euil Hall, nor for the honor of Massachusetts, nor because you are Boston boys, but because you are men, and because 10 honorable and generous men always love fair play." The mob was conquered. Free speech and fair play were secured. Public opinion can do what it has a mind to in this country. If it be debased and demoralized, it is the most odious of tyrants. It is Nero and Caligula multiplied by millions. Can 15 there then be a more stringent public duty for every man — and the greater the intelligence the greater the duty — than to take care, by all the influence he can command, that the country, the majority, public opinion, shall have a mind to do only what is just and pure and humane ? 20 21. Gentlemen, leaving this college to take your part in the discharge of the duties of American citizenship, every sign encourages and inspires. The year that is now ending, the year that opens the second century of our history, has furnished the supreme proof that in a country of rigorous 25 party division the purest patriotism exists. That, and that only, is the pledge of a prosperous future. No mere party fervor, or party fidelity, or party discipline, could fully restore a country torn and distracted by the fierce debate of a century and the convulsions of civil war ; nothing less than a patriot- 30 ism all-embracing as the summer air could heal a wound so wide. I know — no man better — how hard it is for earnest men to separate their country from their party, or their religion from their sect. But nevertheless the welfare of the 208 THE PUBLIC DUTY OF EDUCATED MEN country is dearer than the mere victory of party, as truth is more precious than the interest of any sect. You will hear this patriotism scorned as an impracticable theory, as the dream of a cloister, as the whim of a fool. But such was the 5 folly of the Spartan Leonidas, staying with his three hundred the Persian horde and teaching Greece the self-reliance that saved her. Such was the folly of the Swiss Arnold von Winkel- ried, gathering into his own breast the host of Austrian spears, making his dead body the bridge of victory for his country- 10 men. Such was the folly of the American Nathan Hale, gladly risking the seeming disgrace of his name, and grieving that he had but one life to give for his country. Such are the beacon lights of a pure patriotism that burn forever in men's memories and answer each other through the illuminated ages. And of 15 the same grandeur, in less heroic and poetic form, was the patriotism of Sir Robert Peel in recent history. He was the leader of a great party and the prime minister of England. The character and necessity of party were as plain to him as to any man. But when he saw that the national welfare 20 demanded the repeal of the corn laws which he had always supported, he did not quail. Amply avowing the error of a life and the duty of avowing it — foreseeing the probable over- throw of his party and the bitter execration that must fall upon him, he tranquilly did his duty. With the eyes of Eng- 25 land fixed upon him in mingled amazement, admiration, and indignation, he rose in the House of Commons to perform as great a service as any English statesman ever performed for his country, and in closing his last speech in favor of the repeal, describing the consequences that its mere prospect had 30 produced, he loftily exclaimed : " Where there was dissatis- faction, I see contentment ; where there was turbulence, I see there is peace ; where there was disloyalty, I see there is loyalty. I see a disposition to confide in you, and not to agitate questions that are the foundations of your institutions." CURTIS 209 When all was over, when he had left office, when his party was out of power, and the fury of party execration against him was spent, his position was greater and nobler than it had ever been. Cobden said of him, " Sir Robert Peel has lost office, but he has gained a country "; and Lord Bailing said 5 of him, what may truly be said of Washington : " Above all parties, himself a party, he had trained his own mind into a disinterested sympathy with the intelligence of his country." 22. A public spirit so lofty is not confined to other ages and lands. You are conscious of its stirrings in your souls. It 10 calls you to courageous service, and I am here to bid you obey the call. Such patriotism may be ours. Let it be your parting vow that it shall be yours. Bolingbroke described a patriot king in England ; I can imagine a patriot president in America. I can see him indeed the choice of a party, and 15 called to administer the government when sectional jealousy is fiercest and party passion most inflamed. I can imagine him seeing clearly what justice and humanity, the national law and the national welfare, require him to do, and resolved to do it. I can imagine him patiently enduring not only the mad cry of 20 party hate, the taunt of " recreant " and '* traitor," of " rene- gade " and "coward," but what is harder to bear, the amaze- ment, the doubt, the grief, the denunciation, of those as sin- cerely devoted as he to the common welfare. I can imagine him pushing firmly on, trusting the heart, the intelhgence, the 25 conscience of his countrymen ; healing angry wounds, correct- ing misunderstandings, planting justice on surer foundations, and, whether his party rise or fall, lifting his country heaven- ward to a more perfect union, prosperity, and peace. This is the spirit of a patriotism that girds the commonwealth with 30 the resistless splendor of the moral law — the invulnerable panoply of states, the celestial secret of a great nation and a happy people. THE RACE PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH Henry W. Grady a speech delivered at the annual banquet of the boston Merchants' Association in December, 1889. INTRODUCTION Henry Woodfin Grady, journalist and orator, was born at Athens, Georgia, April 24, 1850. He graduated from the State University at Athens at the age of eighteen, and took a post- graduate course at the University of Virginia. For some time he acted as Southern correspondent for the New York Herald^ and later became editor of the Rome(Georgia) Daily Commercial 2in6. of the Atlanta Herald. His journalistic efforts were not finan- cially successful until, in 1880, he became editor and part owner of the Atlanta Constitution. He remained with this paper until his death, December 23, 1889. To the argument that the press in modern times has supplanted oratory, the career of Henry W. Grady is a refutation. Journalism was his profession, while his oratory was an incident ; and yet his fame and influence came chiefly through the incident. It is not two decades since his last public address, the oration in this volume, was delivered, yet even now the story of his oratorical triumphs reads like a doubtful tale. On December 22, 1886, he accepted an invitation to speak on the " New South " at the annual banquet of the New England Society, in New York City. The reception of this speech, both by the immediate audience and by that larger audience reached through the press, amounted to a sensation. The night of the speech Grady was favorably known in his own section ; the next morning he was receiving the 211 212 THE RACE PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH enthusiastic plaudits of the whole country. Not excepting Mr. Bryan's effort at Chicago, — and excelling it in sustained interest and influence, — nothing in the history of modern oratory equals Grady's rocket-like flight to fame. Through this single speech he became a national figure, and his oratory of national renown and influence. The better to understand Grady's oratory, let us briefly consider his equipment, and the cause to which his life was devoted. Introduced to a Boston audience as " the incomparable orator of the day," Grady remarked, " I am a talker by inheritance : my father was an Irishman and my mother was a woman." His Irish ancestry may explain his ready wit and delicious humor, his facility and fluency in extempore speaking, and, in part, the ornateness and emotionalism that characterize his speeches. His experience as a reporter in various fields no doubt aided him in acquiring a vocabulary, in appreciating the power of words and in gaining facility in their use. Further, he must have had the oratorical instinct early developed. At the University of Georgia he took an active part in the work of the literary and debating societies, and his chief ambition was to become " Society Orator." At the University of Virginia his main object, says his biographer, Joel Chandler Harris, was to perfect himself in oratory. Grady's style has been criticised as excessively ornate. This criticism is hardly applicable to the speech in this volume, and yet a leading Boston lawyer described it as a " cannon ball in full flight, fringed with flowers." But taking his speeches as a whole, there are more flowers than cannon balls. Grady's natural element was in the realm of fancy ; he aimed to move and win his hearers, not to drive or force them. In the prohibition campaign in Atlanta, in 1887, Grady came out as a strong prohibitionist, while his associate on the Constitution^ Captain E. P. Howell, was an equally strong anti-prohibitionist. Both were on the hustings in advocacy of their respective sides. A reporter on the Atlanta Evening Journal contrasted their oratory in the following descrip- tion, which is interesting as a record of contemporary impressions: " Howell makes you feel as if he were the commander of an army, waving his sword and saying, ' Follow me,' and you would follow him to the death ; Grady makes you feel like you want to be an angel and with the angels stand. Howell will march his audience, like an army, through flood and fire and hell ; with GRADY 213 subtle humor Grady will lead his audience by the still waters where pleasant pastures lie, and there he will ' take the wings of the morning and fly to the uttermost parts of the sea.' In Howell's march the drumbeat never ceases ; in Grady's flights you only hear the cherubim's wings. Howell's eloquence is like a rushing moun- tain stream that tears every rock and crag from its path, gathering volume as it goes ; Grady's is like a cumulus cloud that rises invisible as mist till it unfolds its white banners in the sky. Howell will doubtless deal in statistics ; Grady will have figures, but they will not smell of the census. They will take on the pleasing shape that induced one of his reporters to plant a crop of Irish potatoes on a speculation. To-night Atlanta will be treated to a hopeful view of prohibition by the most eloquent optimist in the country." The great cause to which Grady gave his life was that of the South and her future. Journalism was his profession, but the " New South " was his passion. Of this subject he never tired, and he discussed it " with a brilliancy, a fervor, a versatility, and a fluency marvelous enough to have made the reputation of half a dozen men." In the preceding oration in this volume Curtis makes an eloquent plea for the higher politics, — the politics that is above partisanship and self-seeking. To this higher politics Grady's contribution was that he lifted the plane of sectional debate to more candid and dignified interchanges of opinion. It is difficult at this time to realize the prejudice and suspicion that obtained between the North and the South when Grady first spoke in New York. While the circumstances that made his mediation necessary have largely disappeared, these circumstances must be borne in mind in order to appreciate both the form and the effect of his speech. As Patrick Henry was the war orator for the colo- nists, and Wendell Phillips for the antislavery agitators, Grady was the orator for the peacemakers. In this work of pacification his speeches necessarily became largely moral appeals rather than arguments ; hence the prevailing emotional element which characterizes his style. And of the New South that Grady foretold, what a prophecy was he ! Linked to the past by the memory of a father killed while fighting for the Confederate cause, he grappled bravely with war's terrible results, and turned his face toward the future with the eye of a statesman and the heart of a patriot. Idolized 214 THE RACE PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH by the South, honored and esteemed by the nation, with a charac- ter above reproach, a soul on fire with earnestness, and a nature peculiarly tender and lovable, it is no exaggeration to say that, excepting our martyred presidents, the death of no American has caused such universal sorrow. The speech that follows was delivered at the annual banquet of the Boston Merchants' Association, December 13, 1889. It has a pathetic background, for on his trip to Boston Grady con- tracted a cold which quickly developed into pneumonia, and he died shortly after returning to Atlanta. Regarding this address, Mr. Joel Chandler Harris writes : " He prepared his Boston speech with great care, not merely to perfect its form, but to make it worthy of the great cause he had at heart, and in its preparation he departed widely from his usual methods of composition. He sent his servants away, locked himself in his room, and would not tolerate interruptions from any source. His memory was so prodigious that whatever he wrote was fixed in his mind, so that when he had once written out a speech he needed the manuscript no more. Those who were with him say that he did not confine himself to the printed text of the Boston speech, but made little excursions suggested by his surroundings. Nevertheless, that speech, as it stands, reaches the high -water mark of modern oratory. It was his last, as it was his best, contribution to the higher politics of the country." 1. Mr. President : Bidden by your invitation to a discus- sion of the race problem — forbidden by occasion to make a political speech — I appreciate in trying to reconcile orders with propriety the predicament of the little maid, who, bidden 5 to learn to swim, was yet adjured, " Now go, my darling, hang your clothes on a hickory limb, and don't go near the water." 2. The stoutest apostle of the church, they say, is the mis- sionary, and the missionary, wherever he unfurls his flag, will 10 never find himself in deeper need of unction and address than I, bidden to-night to plant the standard of a Southern Dem- ocrat in Boston's banquet hall, and discuss the problem of the GRADY 215 races in the home of PhiHips and of Sumner. But, Mr. Presi- dent, if a purpose to speak in perfect frankness and sincerity ; if earnest understanding of the vast interests involved ; if a consecrating sense of what disaster may follow further mis- understanding and estrangement, if these may be counted to 5 steady undisciplined speech and to strengthen an untried arm — then. Sir, I find the courage to proceed. 3. Happy am I that this mission has brought my feet at last to press New England's historic soil, and my eyes to the knowledge of her beauty and her thrift. Here, within touch 10 of Plymouth Rock and Bunker Hill, where Webster thundered and Longfellow sang, Emerson thought and Channing preached, here in the cradle of American letters, and almost of Amer- ican liberty, I hasten to make the obeisance that every Amer- ican owes New England when first he stands uncovered in 15 her mighty presence. Strange apparition ! ' This stern and unique figure, carved from the ocean and the wilderness, its majesty kindling and growing amid the storms of winters and of wars, until at last the gloom was broken, its beauty dis- closed in the sunshine, and the heroic workers rested at its 20 base — while startled kings and emperors gazed and marveled that from the rude touch of this handful, cast on a bleak and unknown shore, should have come the embodied genius of human government and the perfected model of human liberty ! God bless the memory of those immortal workers and prosper 25 the fortunes of their living sons and perpetuate the inspirations of their handiwork. 4. Two years ago. Sir, I spoke some words in New York that caught the attention of the North. As I stand here to reiterate, as I have done everywhere, every word I then uttered 30 — to declare that the sentiments I then avowed were universally approved in the South — I realize that the confidence begot- ten by that speech is largely responsible for my presence here to-night. I should dishonor myself if I betrayed that 2l6 THE RACE PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH confidence by uttering one insincere word or by withholding one essential element of the truth. Apropos of this last, let me confess, Mr. President — before the praise of New England has died on my lips — that I believe the best product of her 5 present life is the procession of 17,000 Vermont Democrats that for twenty- two years, undiminished by death, unrecruited by birth or conversion, have marched over their rugged hills, cast their Democratic ballots, and gone back home to pray for their unregenerate neighbors, and awake to read the rec- 10 ord of 25,000 Republican majority. May the God of the heljDless and the heroic help them — and may their sturdy tribe increase ! -. 5. Far to the south, Mr. President, separated from this sec- tion by a line, once defined in irrepressible difference, once 15 traced in fratricidal blood, and now, thank God, but a vanish- ing shadow, lies the fairest and richest domain of this earth. It is the home of a brave and hospitable people. There, is cen- tered all that can please or prosper humankind. A perfect climate above a fertile soil yields to the husbandman every 20 product of the temperate zone. There, by night the cotton whitens beneath the stars, and by day the wheat locks the sunshine in its bearded sheaf. In the same field the clover steals the fragrance of the wind, and the tobacco catches the quick aroma of the rains. There, are mountains stored with 25 exhaustless treasures ; forests vast and primeval ; and rivers that, tumbling or loitering, run wanton to the sea.' Of the three essential items of all industries — cotton, iron, and wood — that region has easy control. In cotton, a fixed monopoly ; in iron, proven supremacy ; in timber, the reserve supply of 30 the RepubUc. From this assured and permanent advantage, against which artificial conditions cannot much longer prevail, has grown an amazing system of industries. Not maintained by human contrivance of tariff or capital, afar off from the fullest and cheapest source of supply, but resting in Divine GRADY 217 assurance, within touch of field and mine and forest ; not set amid costly farms from which competition has driven the farmer in despair, but amid cheap and sunny- lands, rich with agriculture, to which neither season nor soil has set a limit, — this system of industries is mounting to a splendor that shall 5 dazzle and illumine the world. 6. That, Sir, is the picture and the promise of my home — a land better and fairer than I have told you, and yet but fit setting, in its material excellence, for the loyal and gentle quality of its citizenship. Against that. Sir, we have New 10 England, recruiting the Republic from its sturdy loins, shaking from its overcrowded hives new swarms of workers and touch- ing this land all over with its energy and its courage. And yet, while in the El Dorado of which I have told you, but fifteen per cent of lands are cultivated, its mines scarcely touched 15 and its population so scant that, were it set equidistant, the sound of the human voice could not be heard from Virginia to Texas ; while on the threshold of nearly every house in New England stands a son, seeking with troubled eyes some new land to which to carry his modest patrimony, — the strange 20 fact remains that in 1880 the South had fewer Northern-born citizens than she had in 1870 — fewer in 1870 than in i860. Why is this? Why is it. Sir, though the sectional line be now but a mist that the breath may dispel, fewer men of the North have crossed it over to the South than when it was crimson 25 with the best blood of the Republic, or even when the slave- holder stood guard every inch of its way? 7. There can be but one answer. It is the very problem we are now to consider. The key that opens that problem will unlock to the world the fairer half of this Republic, and 3c free the halted feet of thousands whose eyes are already kindled with its beauty. Better than this, it will open the hearts of brothers for thirty years estranged, and clasp in last- ing comradeship a million hands now withheld in doubt. 2l8 THE RACE PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH Nothing, Sir, but this problem, and the suspicions it breeds, hinders a clear understanding and a perfect union. Nothing else stands between us and such love as bound Georgia and Massachusetts at Valley Forge and Yorktown, chastened by 5 the sacrifices at Manassas and Gettysburg, and illumined with the coming of better work and a nobler destiny than was ever wrought with the sword or sought at the cannon's mouth. 8. If this does not invite your patient hearing to-night, hear one thing more. My people, your brothers in the South lo — brothers in blood, in destiny, in all that is best in our past and future — are so beset with this problem that their very ex- istence depends upon its right solution. Nor are they wholly to blame for its presence. The slave ships of the Republic sailed 'from your ports, the slaves worked in our fields. You 15 will not defend the traffic, nor I the institution. But I do hereby declare that in its wise and humane administration, in lifting the slave to heights of which he had not dreamed in his savage home, and giving him a happiness he has not yet found in freedom, our fathers left their sons a saving and 20 excellent heritage. In the storm of war this institution was lost. I thank God as heartily as you do that human slavery is gone forever from the American soil. 9. But the freedman remains. With him a problem with- out precedent or parallel. Note its appalling conditions. Two 25 utterly dissimilar races on the same soil, with equal political and civil rights, almost equal in numbers, but terribly unequal in intelligence and responsibility, each pledged against fusion, one for a century in servitude to the other, and freed at last by a desolating war, the experiment sought by neither, but 30 approached by both with doubt, — these are the conditions. Under these, adverse at every point, we are required to carry these two races in peace and honor to the end. Never, Sir, has such a task been given to mortal stewardship. Never before in this Republic has the white race divided on the GRADY 219 rights of an alien race. The red man was cut down as a weed, because he hindered the way of the American citizen. The yellow man was shut out of this Republic because he is an alien and inferior. The red man was owner of the land, the yellow man highly civilized and assimilable, but they hin- 5 dered both sections — and are gone ! 10. But the black man, affecting but one section, is clothed with every privilege of government and pinned to the soil, and my people commanded to make good at any hazard and at any cost, his full and equal heirship of American privilege and 10 prosperity. It matters not that wherever the whites and blacks have touched, in any era or any clime, there has been irreconcilable violence. It matters not that no two races, however similar, have lived anywhere at any time on the same soil with equal rights in peace. In spite of these things we 15 are commanded to make good this change of American policy which has not perhaps changed American prejudice — to make certain here what has elsewhere been impossible between whites and blacks — and to reverse, under the very worst con- ditions, the universal verdict of racial history. And driven. Sir, 20 to this superhuman task with an impatience that brooks no delay, a rigor that accepts no excuse, and a suspicion that discourages frankness and sincerity. We do not shrink from this trial. It is so interwoven with our industrial fabric that we cannot disentangle it if we would — so bound up in our 25 honorable obligation to the world that we would not if we could. Can we solve it? The God who gave it into our hands, He alone can know. But this the weakest and wisest of us do know : we cannot solve it with less than your tol- erant and patient sympathy — with less than the knowledge 30 that the blood that runs in your veins is our blood, and that when we have done our best, whether the issue be lost or won, we shall feel your strong arms about us and hear the beating of your approving hearts. 220 THE RACE PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH 11. The resolute, clear-headed, broad-minded men of the South, the men whose genius made glorious every page of the first seventy years of American history, whose courage and for- titude you tested in five years of the fiercest war, whose energy 5 has made bricks without straw and spread splendor amid the ashes of their war- wasted homes,-^- these men wear this problem in their hearts and their brains, by day and by night. They realize, as you cannot, what this problem means — what they owe to this kindly and dependent race — the measure of their 10 debt to the world in whose despite they defended and main- tained slavery. And though their feet are hindered in its under- growth and their march encumbered with its burdens, they have lost neither the patience from which comes clearness nor the faith from which comes courage. Nor, Sir, when in passion- 1 5 ate moments is disclosed to them that vague and awful shadow, with its lurid abysses and its crimson stains, into which I pray God they may never go, are they struck with more of appre- hension than is needed to complete their consecration ! 12. Such is the temper of my people. But what of the 2o problem itself ? Mr. President, we need not go one step farther unless you concede right here the people I speak for are as honest, as sensible, and as just asyour people, seeking as earnestly as you would in their place, rightly to solve the problem that touches them at every vital point. If you insist 25 that they are rufhans, blindly striving with bludgeon and shot- gun to plunder and oppress a race, then I shall sacrifice my self-respect and tax your patience in vain. But admit that they are men of common sense and common honesty, wisely modifying an environment they cannot wholly disregard, guid- 30 ing and controlling as best they can the vicious and irrespon- sible of either race, compensating error with frankness and retrieving in patience what they lose in passion, and conscious all the time that wrong means ruin, — admit this, and we may reach an understanding to-night. GRADY 221 13. The President of the United States in his late message to Congress, discussing the plea that the South should be left to solve this problem, asks: "Are they at work upon it? What solution do they offer? When will the black man cast a free ballot? When will he have the civil rights that are his? " 5 I shall not here protest against the partisanry that, for the first time in our history in time of peace, has stamped with the great seal of our government a stigma upon the people of a great and loyal section, though I gratefully remember that the great dead soldier, who held the helm of state for the eight 10 stormy years of reconstruction, never found need for such a step; and though there is no personal sacrifice I would not make to remove this cruel and unjust imputation on my people from the archives of my country ! 14. But, Sir, backed by a record on every page of which is 15 progress, I venture to make earnest and respectful answer to the questions that are asked. I bespeak your patience, while with vigorous plainness of speech, seeking your judgment rather than your applause, I proceed step by step. We give to the world this year a crop of 7,500,000 bales of cotton, 20 worth $450,000,000, and its cash equivalent in grain, grasses, and fruit. This enormous crop could not have come from the hands of sullen and discontented labor. It comes from peace- ful fields, in which laughter and gossip rise above the hum of industry, and contentment runs with the singing plow, 25 15. It is claimed that this ignorant labor is defrauded of its just hire. I present the tax books of Georgia, which show that the negro, 25 years ago a slave, has in Georgia alone $10,000,- 000 of assessed property, worth twice that much. Does not that record honor him and vindicate his neighbors? What 30 people, penniless, illiterate, has done so well ? For every Afro- American agitator, stirring the strife in which alone he pros- pers, I can show you a thousand negroes, happy in their cabin homes, tilling their own land by day, and at night taking from 222 THE RACE PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH the lips of their children the helpful message their state sends them from the schoolhouse door. And the schoolhouse itself bears testimony. In Georgia we added last year ^250,000 to the school fund, making a total of more than $1,000,000 — 5 and this in the face of prejudice not yet conquered and of the fact that the whites are assessed for ^368,000,000, the blacks for ^10,000,000, and yet 49 per cent of the beneficiaries are black children — and in the doubt of many wise men if edu- cation helps, or can help, our problem. Charleston, with her 10 taxable values cut half in two since i860, pays more in pro- portion for public schools than Boston. Although it is easier to give much out of much than little out of little, the South with one seventh of the taxable property of the country, with relatively larger debt, having received only one twelfth as 15 much public land, and having back of its tax books none of the half billion of bonds that enrich the North, and though it pays annually ^26,000,000 to your section as pensions, yet gives nearly one sixth of the public school fund. The South since 1865 has spent ^122,000,000 in education, and this year 20 is pledged to ^37,000,000 for state and city schools, although the blacks, paying one thirtieth of the taxes, get nearly one half of the fund. 16. Go into our fields and see whites and blacks working side by side, on our buildings in the same squad, in our shops 25 at the same forge. Often the blacks crowd the whites from work, or lower wages because of greater need or simpler habits, and yet are permitted because we want to bar them from no avenue in which their feet are fitted to tread. They could not there be elected orators of the white universities, as they have 30 been here, but they do enter there a hundred useful trades that are closed against them here. We hold it better and wiser to tend the weeds in the garden than to water the exotic in the window. In the South, there are negro lawyers, teach- ers, editors, dentists, doctors, preachers, multiplying with the GRADY 223 increasing ability of their race to support them. In villages and towns they have their military companies equipped from the armories of the state, their churches and societies built and supported largely by their neighbors. What is the testi- mony of the courts? In penal legislation we have steadily 5 reduced felonies to misdemeanors, and have led the world in mitigating punishment for crime, that we might save, as far as possible, this dependent race from its own weakness. In our penitentiary record 60 per cent of the prosecutors are negroes, and in every court the negro criminal strikes the 10 colored juror, that white men may judge his case. In the North one negro in every 466 is in jail ; in the South only one in 1865. In the North the percentage of negro prisoners is six times as great as native whites ; in the South only four times as great. If prejudice wrongs him in Southern courts, 15 the record shows it to be deeper in Northern courts. / 17. I assert here, and a bar as intelHgent and upright as the bar of Massachusetts will solemnly indorse my assertion, that in the Southern courts, from highest to lowest, pleading for life, liberty, or property, the negro has distinct advantage 20 because he is a negro, apt to be overreached, oppressed ; and that this advantage reaches from the juror in making his verdict to the judge in measuring his sentence. /Now, Mr. President, can it be seriously maintained that we are terroriz- ing the people from whose willing hands come every year 25 $1,000,000,000 of farm crops? or have robbed a people, who twenty-five years from unrewarded slavery have amassed in one state $20,000,000 of property? or that we intend to oppress the people we are arming every day? or deceive them when we are educating them to the utmost limit of our 30 ability? or outlaw them when we work side by side with them? or reenslave them under legal forms when for their benefit we have even imprudently narrowed the limit of felo- nies and mitigated the severity of law? My fellow countrymen, 224 THE RACE PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH as you yourself may sometimes have to appeal to the bar of human judgment for justice and for right, give to my people to-night the fair and unanswerable conclusion of these incon- testable facts. 5 1 8. But it is claimed that under this fair seeming there is disorder and violence. This I admit. And there will be until there is one ideal community on earth after which we may pattern. But how widely it is misjudged ! It is hard to meas- ure with exactness whatever touches the negro. His helpless- lo ness, his isolation, his century of servitude, these dispose us to emphasize and magnify his wrongs. This disposition, inflamed by prejudice and partisanry, has led to injustice and delu- sion. Lawless men may ravage a county in Iowa and it is accepted as an incident — in the South a drunken row is de- 15 clared to be the fixed habit of the community. Regulators may whip vagabonds in Indiana by platoons, and it scarcely arrests attention — a chance collision in the South among relatively the same classes is gravely accepted as evidence that one race is destroying the other. We might as well claim 20 that the Union was ungrateful to the colored soldiers who fol- lowed its flag, because a Grand Army post in Connecticut closed its doors to a negro veteran, as for you to give racial significance to every incideni ';i the South or to accept excep- tional grounds as the rule of our society. I am not one of 25 those who becloud American honor with ^'ae parade of the outrages of either section, and belie American character by declaring them to be significant and representative. I prefer to maintain that they are neither, and stand for nothing but the passion and the sin of our poor fallen humanity. If soci- 30 ety, like a machine, were no stronger than its weakest part, I should despair of both sections. But, knowing that soci- ety, sentient and responsible in every fiber, can mend and repair until the whole has the strength of the best, I despair of neither. GRADY 225 19. These gentlemen who come with me here, knit into Georgia's busy life as they are, never saw, I dare assert, an outrage committed on a negro! And if they did, not one of you would be swifter to prevent or punish. It is through them, and the men who think with them — making nine 5 tenths of every Southern community — that these two races have been carried thus far with less of violence than would have been possible anywhere else on earth. And in their fair- ness and courage and steadfastness, more than in all the laws that can be passed or all the bayonets that can be mustered, 10 is the hope of our future. 20. When will the black cast a free ballot? When igno- rance anywhere is not dominated by the will of the intelligent ; when the laborer anywhere casts a vote unhindered by his boss; when the vote of the poor anywhere is not influenced 15 by the power of the rich ; when the strong and the steadfast do not everywhere control the suffrage of the weak and shift- less, — then and not till then will the ballot of the negro be free. The white people of the Solith are banded, Mr. Presi- dent, not in prejudice against the blacks, not in sectional 20 estrangement, not in the hope of political dominion, but in a deep and abiding necessity. Here is this vast ignorant and purchasable vote — clannish, credulous, impulsive and passion- ate — tempting every art of the demagogue, but insensible to the appeal of the statesman. Wrongly started, in that it was 25 led into alienation from its neighbor and taught to rely on the protection of an outside force, it cannot be merged and lost in the two great parties through logical currents, for it lacks political conviction and even that information on which con- viction must be based. It must remain a faction — strong 30 enough in every community to control on the slightest division of the whites. Under that division it becomes the prey of the cunning and unscrupulous of both parties. Its credulity is imposed on, its patience inflamed, its cupidity tempted, its 226 THE RACE PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH impulses misdirected, and even its superstition made to play- its part in a campaign in which every interest of society is jeopardized and every approach to the ballot box debauched. It is against such campaigns as this, the folly and the bitter- 5 ness and the danger of which every Southern community has drunk deeply, that the white people of the South are banded together. Just as you in Massachusetts would be banded if 300,000 black men, not one in a hundred able to read his bal- lot, banded in a race instinct, holding against you the memory TO of a century of slavery, taught by your late conquerors to dis- trust and oppose you, had already travestied legislation from your statehouse, and in every species of folly or villainy had wasted your substance and exhausted your credit. 21. But admitting the right of the whites to unite against 15 this tremendous menace, we are challenged with the small- ness of our vote. This has long been flippantly charged to be evidence, and has now been solemnly and officially declared to be proof of political turpitude and baseness on our part. Let us see. Virginia, a state now under fierce assault for 20 this alleged crime, in 1888 cast 75 per cent of her vote. Massachusetts, the state in which I speak, 60 per cent of her vote. Was it suppression in Virginia and natural causes in Massachusetts? Last month Virginia cast 69 per cent of her vote, and Massachusetts, fighting in every district, cast only 25 49 per cent of hers. If Virginia is condemned because 31 per cent of her vote was silent, how shall this state escape in which 51 per cent was dumb? Let us enlarge this comparison. The sixteen Southern states in 1888 cast 67 per cent of their total vote, the six New England states but 6t, per cent of theirs. 30 By what fair rule shall the stigma be put upon one section, while the other escapes? A congressional election in New York last week, with the polling place within touch of every voter, brought out only 6,000 votes of 28,000 — and the lack of opposition is assigned as the natural cause. In a district in GRADY 227 my state, in which an opposition speech has not been heard in ten years, and the polling places are miles apart — under the unfair reasoning of which my section has been a constant victim — the small vote is charged to be proof of forcible suppression. In Virginia an average majority of 10,000, under 5 hopeless division of the minority, was raised to 40,000 ; in Iowa, in the same election, a majority of 32,000 was wiped out, and an opposition majority of 8000 was established. The change of 40,000 votes in Iowa is accepted as poHtical revolu- tion ; in Virginia an increase of 30,000 on a safe majority is 10 declared to be proof of political fraud. I charge these facts and figures home. Sir, to the heart and conscience of the American people, who will not assuredly see one section con- demned for what another section is excused ! If I can drive them through the prejudice of the partisan, and have them 15 read and pondered at the fireside of the citizen, I will rest on the judgment there formed and the verdict there rendered ! 22. It is deplorable, Sir, that in both sections a larger per- centage of the vote is not regularly cast, but more inexplicable that this should be so in New England than in the South. 20 What invites the negro to the ballot box? He knows that, of all men, it has promised him most and yielded him least. His first appeal to suffrage was the promise of " forty acres and a mule." His second, the threat that Democratic success meant his reenslavement. Both have proved false in his experience. 25 He looked for a home, and he got the freedman's bank. He fought under the promise of the loaf, and in victory was denied the crumbs. Discouraged and deceived, he has real- ized at last that his best friends are his neighbors, with whom his lot is cast, and whose prosperity is bound up in his, and 30 that he has gained nothing in politics to compensate the loss of their confidence and sympathy that is at last his best and his enduring hope. And so, without leaders or organization — and lacking the resolute heroism of my party friends in Vermont 228 THE RACE PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH that makes their hopeless march over the hills a high and inspir- ing pilgrimage — he shrewdly measures the occasional agitator, balances his little account with politics, touches up his mule and jogs down the furrow, letting the mad world jog as it will ! 5 23. The negro vote can never control in the South, and it would be well if partisans in the North would understand this. I have seen the white people of a state set about by black hosts until their fate seemed sealed. But, Sir, some brave man, banding them together, would rise, as Elisha rose in belea- 10 guered Samaria, and touching their eyes with faith, bid them look abroad to see the very air " filled with the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof." If there is any human force that cannot be withstood, it is the power of the banded intel- ligence and responsibility of a free community. Against it, 15 numbers and corruption cannot prevail. It cannot be for- bidden in the law or divorced in force. It is the inaUenable right of every free community and the -just and righteous safeguard against an ignorant or corrupt suffrage. It is on this. Sir, that we rely in the South. Not the cowardly menace 20 of mask or shotgun ; but the peaceful majesty of intelhgence and responsibility, massed and unified for the protection of its homes and the preservation of its liberty. That, Sir, is our reliance and our hope, and against it all the powers of the earth shall not prevail. You may pass force bills, but they will 25 not avail. You may surrender your own liberties to Federal election law ; you may submit, in fear of a necessity that does not exist, that the very form of this government may be changed; this old state that holds in its charter the boast that " it is a free and independent commonwealth " — it may 30 deliver its election machinery into the hands of the govern- ment it helped to create ; but never. Sir, will a single state of this Union, North or South, be delivered again to the control of an ignorant and inferior race. We wrested our state gov- ernment from negro supremacy when the Federal drumbeat GRADY 229 rolled closer to the ballot box and Federal bayonets hedged it deeper about than will e\er again be permitted in this free government. But, Sir, though the cannon of this Republic thundered in every voting district of the South, we still should find in the mercy of God the means and the courage to pre- 5 vent its reestabhshment ! 24. I regret. Sir, that my section, hindered with this prob- lem, stands in seeming estrangement to the North. If, Sir, any man will point out to me a path down which the white people of the South divided may walk in peace and honor, 10 I will take that path though I take it alone — for at the end, and nowhere else, I fear, is to be found the full prosperity of my section and the full restoration of this Union. But, Sir, if the negro had not been enfranchised, the South would have been divided and the Republic united. What solution, then, 15 can we offer for this problem? Time alone can disclose it to us. We simply report progress and ask your patience. If the problem be solved at all — and I firmly believe it will, though nowhere else has it been — it will be solved by the people most deeply bound in interest, most deeply pledged in honor 20 to its solution. I had rather see my people render back this question rightly solved than to see them gather all the spoils over which faction has contended since Catiline conspired and Caesar fought. 2 5./ Meantime we treat the negro fairly, measuring to him 25 justice in the fullness the strong should give to the weak, and leading him in the steadfast ways of citizenship that he may no longer be the prey of the unscrupulous and the sport of the thoughtless. We open to him every pursuit in which he can prosper, and seek to broaden his training and capacity. 30 We seek to hold his confidence and friendship, and to pin him to the soil with ownership, that he may catch in the fire of his own hearthstone that sense of responsibility the shiftless can never know. And we gather him into that alliance of 230 THE RACE PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH intelligence and responsibility that, though it now runs close to racial lines, welcomes the responsible and intelligent of any race. /By this course, confirmed in our judgment and justified in the progress already made, we hope to progress slowly but 5 surely to the end. 26. The love we feel for that race you cannot measure nor comprehend. As I attest it here, the spirit of my old black mammy from her home up there looks down to bless, and through the tumult of this night steals the sweet music of her 10 croonings as thirty years ago she held me in her black arms and led me smiling into sleep. This scene vanishes as I speak, and I catch a vision "of an old Southern home, with its lofty pillars, and its white pigeons fluttering down through the golden air. I see women with strained and anxious faces and 15 children alert yet helpless. I see night come down with its dangers and its apprehensions, and in a big homely room I feel on my tired head the touch of loving hands — - now worn and wrinkled, but fairer to me yet than the hands of mortal woman, and stronger yet to lead me than the hands of mortal 20 man — as they lay a mother's blessing there while at her knees, the truest altar I yet have found, I thank God that she is safe in her sanctuary, because her slaves, sentinel in the silent cabin or guard at her chamber door, put a black man's loyalty between her and danger. 25 27. I catch another vision. The crisis of battle — a soldier struck, staggering, fallen. I see a slave, scuffling through the smoke, winding his black arms about the fallen form, reckless of the hurtling death, bending his trusty face to catch the words that tremble on the stricken lips, so wrestling meantime 30 with agony that he would lay down his life in his master's stead. I see him by the weary bedside, ministering with un- complaining patience, praying with all his humble heart that God will lift his master up, until death comes in mercy and in honor to still the soldier's agony and seal the soldier's life. GRADY 231 I see him by the open grave, miite, motionless, uncovered, suffering for the death of him who in Hfe fought against his freedom. I see him when the mound is heaped and the great drama of that life is closed, turn away and with downcast eyes and uncertain step start out into new and strange fields, falter- 5 ing, struggling, but moving on, until his shambling figure is lost in the light of this better and brighter day. And from the grave comes a voice saying : " Follow him ! Put your arms about him in his need, even as he put his about me. Be his friend as he was mine." And out into this new world — strange 10 to me as to him, dazzling, bewildering both — I follow ! And may God forget my people when they forget him. 28. Whatever the future may hold for them, — whether they plod along in the servitude from which they have never been lifted since the Cyrenian was laid hold upon by the Roman 15 soldiers and made to bear the cross of the fainting Christ; whether they find homes again in Africa, and thus hasten the prophecy of the psalmist who said, " And suddenly Ethiopia shall hold out her hands unto God " ; whether, forever dis- located and separated, they remain a weak people beset by 20 stronger, and exist as the Turk, who lives in the jealousy rather than in the conscience of Europe ; or whether in this miracu- lous Republic they break through the caste of twenty centuries and, belying universal history, reach the full stature of citi- zenship, and in peace maintain it, — we shall give them utter- 25 most justice and abiding friendship. And whatever we do, into whatever seeming estrangement we may be driven, nothing shall disturb the love we bear this Republic, or mitigate our consecration to its service. 29. I stand here, Mr. President, to profess no new loyalty. 30 When General Lee, whose heart was the temple of our hopes and whose arm was clothed with our strength, renewed his allegiance to the government at Appomattox, he spoke from a heart too great to be false, and he spoke for every honest man 232 THE RACE PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH ^ from Maryland to Texas. From that day to this, Hamilcar has nowhere in the South sworn young Hannibal to hatred and vengeance, but everywhere to loyalty and to love. Witness the soldier standing at the base of a Confederate monument 5 above the graves of his comrades, his empty sleeve tossing in the April wind, adjuring the young men about him to serve as honest and loyal citizens the government against which their fathers fought. This message, delivered from that sacred pres- ence, has gone home to the hearts of my fellows ! And, sir, I lo declare here, if physical courage be always equal to human aspiration, that they would die, Sir, if need be, to restore this Republic their fathers fought to dissolve ! - 30. Such, Mr. President, is this problem as we see it ; such is the temper in which we approach it; such the progress 15 made. 'What do we ask of you? First, patience; out of this alone can come perfect work. Second, confidence ; in this alone can you judge fairly. Third, sympathy ; in this you can help us best. Fourth, give us your sons as hostages. When you plant your capital in millions, send your sons that they 20 may help know how true are our hearts and may help swell the Anglo-Saxon current until it can carry without danger this black infusion. Fifth, loyalty to the Repubhc — for there is sectionalism in loyalty as in estrangement. This hour little needs the loyalty that is loyal to one section and yet holds the 25 other in enduring suspicion and estrangement. Give, us the broad and perfect loyalty that loves and trusts Georgia alike with Massachusetts — that knows no South, no North, no East, no West ; but endears with equal and patriotic love every foot of our soil, every state of our Union.;^ 30 31. A mighty duty. Sir, and a mighty inspiration impels every one of us to-night to lose in patriotic consecration whatever estranges, whatever divides. We, Sir, are Americans, and we fight for human liberty. The uplifting force of the American idea is under every throne on earth. ( France, Brazil GRADY 233 — these are our victories. To redeem the earth from kingcraft and oppression — this is our mission. And we shall not fail. God has sown in our soil the seed of his millennial harvest, and he will not lay the sickle to the ripening crop until his full and perfect day has come. Our history, Sir, has been a con- 5 stant and expanding miracle from Plymouth Rock and James- town all the way — aye, even from the hour when, from the voiceless and trackless ocean, a new world rose to the sight of the inspired sailor. As we approach the fourth centennial of that stupendous day, when the old world will come to marvel 10 and to learn, amid our gathered treasures, let us resolve to crown the miracles of oar past with the spectacle of a Republic compact, united, indissoluble in the bonds of love, loving from the lakes to the Gulf, the wounds of war healed in every heart as on every hill, serene and resplendent at the summit of 15 human achievement and earthly glory, blazing out the path, and making clear the way up which all the nations of the earth must come in God's appointed time ! THE PURITAN AND THE CAVALIERi Henry Watterson A RESPONSE TO THE TOAST, " ThE PuRITAN AND THE CaV ALTER," AT THE DINNER OF THE NeW ENGLAND SOCIETY, NEW YoRK CiTY, Saturday evening, December 22, 1897. INTRODUCTION Henry Watterson, journalist and orator, was born in Washing- ton, District of Columbia, February 16, 1840, He was educated by private tutors. In 1861 he went to Nashville, Tennessee, and edited the Republicati Banner. He served on staff duty in the Confederate army from 1861 to 1863, '^^'^ later was Chief of Scouts in General Johnston's army. After the war he again edited the Ban7ier. In 1867 he went to Louisville, Kentucky, and founded the Cotu'ier-JoMrnal^ which he has made one of the foremost of American newspapers. As one of the leading Democrats of the country, Mr. Watterson successfully opposed the reactionary movement of the Southern extremists against the reconstructive amendments to the Constitution, supported Horace Greeley for the presidency, and was chief among the supporters of Samuel J. Tilden. He has represented Kentucky in succeeding national conventions and exercised a decisive influence in shaping the party policy. For years he has been an energetic and consist- ent free trader. At the Democratic National Convention of 1892 he declined the chairmanship of the Committee on Resolutions, which subsequently made a report unsatisfactory to the tariff reformers, and he led a fight in the convention, resulting in the 1 From The Compromises of Life. Copyright, 1903, by Fox, Duf- field & Co. 235 236 THE PURITAN AND THE CAVALIER adoption, by a two-thirds vote, of a minority report made by a single member of the committee. He has steadily refused office, but in 1876-1877 accepted a seat in Congress, declining a reelec- tion. He also declined, in 1896, an offer of the nomination for president on the National (gold) Democratic ticket. Mr. Watterson has published Oddities of Southern Life and Character (1892) ; History of the Spa7iish- American IVar (iSgS) ; and Compromises of Life (1903). The latter book, from which the speech in this volume is taken, is a compilation of his lectures and speeches. Through all of Mr. Watterson's writing and speaking one domi- nant theme will be found, — the national destiny and the homoge- neity of the people. To Northern politicians he has set a good example in charity and tolerance. Like Grady, in both his edi- torial and platform utterances he has effectively represented the policy of conciliation between the North and South. The homo- geneity of the American people, based on the text, "Blessed be tolerance," is humorously shown in the following speech. Upon the occasion of its delivery. Honorable Elihu Root, president of the New England Society, introduced Mr. Watterson in the fol- lowing words : " Gentlemen, we are forced to recognize the truth of the ob- servation that all the people of New England are not Puritans; we must admit an occasional exception. It is equally true, I am told, that all the people of the South are not Cavaliers ; but there is one Cavalier without fear and without reproach, the splendid cour- age of whose convictions shows how close together the highest examples of different types can be among godlike men, — a Cava- lier of the South, of Southern blood and Southern life, who carries in thought and in deed all the serious purpose and disinterested action that characterized the Pilgrim fathers whom we commem- orate. He comes from an impressionist state where the grass is blue, where the men are either all white or all black, and where, we are told, quite often the settlements are painted red. He is a soldier, a statesman, a scholar, and above all, a lover ; and among all the world which loves a lover, the descendants of those who, generation after generation, with tears and laughter, have sympathized with John Alden and Priscilla, cannot fail to open their hearts in sympathy to Henry Watterson and his star- eyed goddess." WATTERSON 237 1 . Eleven years ago to-night, there stood where 1 am stand- ing now a young Georgian, who, not without reason, recog- nized the " significance " of his presence here, — " the first Southerner to speak at this board " (a circumstance, let me add, not very creditable to any of us) — and who, in words 5 whose eloquence I ' cannot hope to recall, appealed from the New South to New England for a united country. He was my disciple, my protege', my friend. He came to me from the Southern schools, where he had perused the arts of oratory and letters, to get a few lessons in journahsm, as he said ; 10 needing so few, indeed, that, but a httle later, I sent him to one of the foremost journalists of this foVemost city, bearing a letter of introduction, which described him as " the greatest boy ever born in Dixie, or anywhere else." He is gone now. But, short as his life was, its heaven-born mission was ful- 15 filled ; the dream of its childhood was realized ; for he had been appointed by God to carry a message of peace on earth, good will to men, and, this done, he vanished from the sight of mortal eyes, even as the dove from the ark. 2 . I mean to take up the word where Grady left it off ; but 20 I shall continue the sentence with a somewhat larger confi- dence, and perhaps with a somewhat fuller meaning ; be- cause, notwithstanding the Puritan trappings, traditions, and associations which surround me — visible illustrations of the self-denying fortitude of the Puritan character and the somber 25 simplicity of the Puritan taste and habit — I never felt less out of place in all my life. 3. To tell you the truth, I am afraid that I have gained access here on false pretenses ; for I am no Cavalier at all ; just plain Scotch-Irish ; one of those Scotch-Irish Southerners 30 who ate no fire in the green leaf and has eaten no dirt in the brown, and who, accepting for the moment the terms Puritan and Cavalier in the sense an effete sectionalism once sought to ascribe to them, — descriptive labels at once classifying and 238 THE PURITAN AND THE CAVALIER separating North and South, verbal redoubts along that myth- ical line called Mason and Dixon, over which there were sup- posed by the extremists of other days to be no bridges, — I am much disposed to say, " A plague o' both your houses ! " 5 4. Each was good enough and bad enough, in its way, while they lasted ; each in its turn filled the Englisli-speaking world with mourning; and each, if either could have resisted the infection of the soil and climate they found here, would be to-day striving at the sword's point to square life by the iron 10 rule of theocracy, or to round it by the dizzy whirl of a petti- coat ! It is very pretty to read about the May pole in Vir- ginia, and very edifying and inspiring to celebrate the deeds of the Pilgrim fathers. But there is not Cavalier blood enough left in the Old Dominion to produce a single crop of first 15 families, while, out in Nebraska and Iowa, they claim that they have so stripped New England of her Puritan stock as to spare her hardly enough for farm hands. This I do know, from personal experience, that it is impossible for the stranger- guest, sitting beneath a bower of roses in the Palmetto Club 20 at Charleston, or by a mimic log-heap in the Algonquin Club at Boston, to tell the assembled company apart, particularly after ten o'clock in the evening ! Why, in that great, final struggle between the Puritans and the Cavaliers — which we still hear sometimes casually mentioned, although it ended 25 nearly thirty years ago — there had been such a mixing up of Puritan babies and Cavalier babies during the two or three generations preceding it that the surviving grandmothers of the combatants could not, except for their uniforms, have picked out their own on any field of battle ! 30 5. Turning to the Cyclopcedia of American Biography, I find that Webster had all the vices that are supposed to have signalized the Cavalier, and Calhoun all the virtues that are claimed for the Puritan. During twenty years three statesmen of Puritan origin were the chosen party leaders of Cavalier WATTERSON 239 Mississippi : Robert J. Walker, born and reared in Pennsyl- vania ; John A. Quitman, born and reared in New York, and Sargent S. Prentiss, born and reared in the good old State of Maine. That sturdy Puritan, John Slidell, never saw Louisiana until he was old enough to vote and to fight : native here, — 5 an alumnus of Columbia College, — but sprung from New England ancestors. Albert Sidney Johnston, the most resplen- dent of modern Cavaliers, — from tip to toe a type of the species, the very rose and expectancy of the young Con- federacy, — did not have a drop of Southern blood in his veins ; lo Yankee on both sides of the house, though born in Kentucky a little while after his father and mother arrived there from Connecticut. The ambassador who serves our government near the French Republic was a gallant Confederate soldier and is a representative Southern statesman; but he owns the 15 estate in Massachusetts where his father was born, and where his father's fathers lived through many generations. 6. And the Cavaliers, who missed their stirrups, somehow, and got into Yankee saddles? The woods were full of them. If Custer was not a Cavalier, Rupert was a Puritan. And 20 Sherwood and Wadsworth and Kearny, and McPherson, and their dashing companions and followers ! The one typical Puritan soldier of the war — mark you ! — was a Southern, and not a Northern, soldier : Stonewall Jackson, of the Virginia line. And, if we should care to pursue the subject further 25 back, what about Ethan Allen and John Stark and Mad Anthony Wayne, Cavaliers each and every one ! Indeed, from Israel Putnam to Buffalo Bill, it seems to me the Puritans have had rather the best of it in turning out Cavaliers. So the least said about the Puritan and the Cavalier — except as blessed 30 memories or horrid examples — the better for historic accuracy. 7. If you wish to get at the bottom facts, I don't mind telling you, in confidence, that it was we Scotch-Irish who vanquished both of you — some of us in peace, others of us in war ; supplying 240 THE PURITAN AND. THE CAVALIER the missing link of adaptability, the needed ingredient of common sense, the conservative principle of creed and action, to which this generation of Americans owes its intellectual and moral emancipation from frivolity and pharisaism, its rescue from 5 the Scarlet Woman and the mailed hand, and its crystalliza- tion into a national character and polity, ruling by force of brains and not by force of arms. 8. Gentlemen — Sir — I, too, have been to Boston. Strange as the admission may seem, it is true; and I live to tell the 10 tale. I have been to Boston ; and, when I declare that I found there many things that suggested the Cavalier and did not sug- gest the Puritan, I shall not say I was sorry. But, among other things, I found there a civilization perfect in its union of the art of living with the grace of life; an Americanism ideal in its 15 simple strength. Grady told us, and told us truly, of that typ- ical American, who, in Dr. Talmage's mind's eye, was coming, but who, in Abraham Lincoln's actuality, had already come. In some recent studies into the career of that great man, I have encountered many startling confirmations of this judgment ; 20 and from that rugged trunk, drawing its sustenance from gnarled roots, interlocked with Cavalier sprays and Puritan branches deep beneath the soil, shall spring, is springing, a shapely tree — symmetric in all its parts — under whose sheltering boughs this nation shall have the new birth of freedom Lincoln promised it, 25 and mankind the refuge which was sought by the forefathers when they fled from oppression. Thank God, the ax, the gib- bet, and the stake have had their day. They have gone, let us hope, to keep company with the lost arts. It has been demonstrated that great wrongs may be redressed and great 30 reforms be achieved without the shedding of one drop of human blood ; that vengeance does not purify, but brutalizes ; and that tolerance, which in private transactions is reckoned a virtue, becomes in public affairs a dogma of the most far-see- ing statesmanship. Else how could this noble city have been 35 redeemed from bondage? It was held like a castle of the WATTERSON 241 Middle Ages by robber barons who levied tribute right and left. Yet have the mounds and dikes of corruption been carried — from buttress to bell tower the walls of crime have fallen — without a shot out of a gun, and still no fires of Smith- field to light the pathway of the victor, no bloody assizes to 5 vindicate the justice of the cause ; nor need of any. 9. So I appeal from the men in silken hose who danced to music made by slaves and called it freedom, from the men in bell-crowned hats who led Hester Prynne to her shame and and called it religion, to that Americanism which reaches forth 10 its arms to smite wrong with reason and truth, secure in the power of both. I appeal from the patriarchs of New England to the poets of New England ; from Endicott to Lowell ; from Winthrop to Longfellow ; from Norton to Holmes ; and I appeal in the name and by the rights of that common citizenship — of 15 that common origin, back both of the Puritan and the Cavalier, to which all of us owe our being. Let the dead past, conse- crated by the blood of its martyrs, not by its savage hatreds, darkened alike by kingcraft and priestcraft — let the dead past bury its dead. Let the present and the future ring with the 20 song of the singers. Blessed be the lessons they teach, the laws they make. Blessed be the eye to see, the light to reveal. . Blessed be tolerance, sitting ever on the right hand of God to guide the way with loving word, as blessed be all that brings us nearer the goal of true religion, true republicanism, and true patriot- 25 ism, distrust of watchwords and labels, shams and heroes, belief in our country and ourselves. It was not Cotton Mather, but John Greenleaf Whittier, who cried : Dear God and Father of us all, Forgive our faith in cruel lies, 30 Forgive the blindness that denies. Cast down our idols — overturn Our bloody altars — make us see Thyself in Thy humanity ! EULOGY OF ROBERT E. LEE John Warwick Daniel An oration delivered at the unveiling of the recumbent FIGURE OF General Lee, at Washington and Lee Univer- sity, Lexington, Virginia, June 28, 1883. INTRODUCTION John Warwick Daniel, lawyer, politician, and orator, was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1 842, and has since made that city his home. He fought on the Confederate side in the Civil War, and rose to the rank of colonel. After the war he studied law, and soon be- came active in politics. He was for some time a member of the state legislature, and since 1885 has been United States Senator from Virginia. Mr. Daniel has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the lead- ing speakers in his section, and in the Senate and in Democratic national conventions his oratorical talents have commanded a wider hearing. Both he and Mr. Cockran have gained attention by crossing swords with Mr. Bryan in Democratic nominating conventions. Mr. Daniel's style, judged by the oration that follows, is some- what florid, but perhaps this is in part explained by the subject and the occasion. The occasion, which was the unveiling of a statue of Robert E. Lee, brought together an audience of about ten thousand people, including a large number of ex-Confederates, all in thorough sympathy with the speaker. An ex-Confederate himself, Mr. Daniel was deeply moved by emotions of loyalty and love — emotions which found a ready response in the hearts of his hearers. The official report of the proceedings states that " Major Daniel for three hours held his audience by the spell of his eloquence, mov- ing it now to applause, and now to tears.' 243 244 EULOGY OF ROBERT E. LEE I . Mr. President, my Comrades, and Countrymen : There was no happier or loveher home than that of Colonel Robert Edward Lee in the spring of 1861, when for the first time its threshold was darkened with the omens of civil war. 5 2 . Crowning the green slopes of the Virginia hills that over- look the Potomac, and embowered in stately trees, stood the venerable mansion of Arlington, facing a prospect of varied and imposing beauty. Its broad porch and widespread wings held out open arms, as it were, to welcome the coming guest. 10 Its simple Doric columns graced domestic comfort with a classic air. Its halls and chambers were adorned with the por- traits of patriots and heroes, and with illustrations and relics of the great Revolution, and of the Father of his Country. And within and without, history and tradition seemed to 15 breathe their legends upon a canvas as soft as a dream of peace. 3. The noble river, which in its history, as well as in its name, carries us back to the days when the red man trod its banks, sweeps in full and even flow along the forefront of the land- 20 scape ; while beyond its waters stretch the splendid avenues and rise the gleaming spires of Washington ; and over all, the great white dome of the National Capitol looms up against the eastern sky, like a glory in the air. 4. Southward and westward, toward the blue rim of the Alle- 25 ghenies, roll away the pine and oak clad hills, and the fields of the "Old Dominion," dotted here and there with the homes of a people of simple tastes and upright minds, renowned for their devotion to their native land, and for their fierce love of liberty ; a people who had drunk into their souls with their 30 mother's milk, that man is of right, and ought to be, free. 5 . On the one hand there was impressed upon the most casual eye that contemplated the pleasing prospect, the munificence and grandeur of American progress, the arts of industry and commerce, and the symbols of power. On the other hand, DANIEL 245 Nature seemed to woo the heart back to her sacred haunts, with vistas of sparkling waters, and verdant pastures, and many a wildwood scene ; and to penetrate its deepest recesses with the halcyon charm that ever lingers about the thought of Home. 5 6. The head of the house established here was a man whom Nature had richly endowed with graces of person, and high qualities of head and heart. Fame had already bound his brow with her laurel, and Fortune had poured into his lap her golden horn. Himself a soldier, and colonel in the army of 10 the United States, the son of the renowned " Light Horse Harry Lee," who was the devoted friend and compatriot of Washington in the Revolutionary struggle, and whose mem- orable eulogy upon his august chief has become his epitaph ; descended indeed from a long line of illustrious progenitors, 15 whose names are written on the brightest scrolls of English and American history, from the conquest of the Norman at Hastings to the triumph of the Continentals at Yorktown, — he had already established his own martial fame at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Cherubusco, Molino del Rey, Chapul- 20 tepee, and Mexico, and had proved how little he depended upon any merit but his own. Such was his early distinction, that when but a captain, the Cuban Junta had offered to make him the leader of their revolutionary movement for the independ- ence of Cuba, — a position which, as an American officer, he 25 felt it his duty to decline. And so deep was the impression made of his genius and his valor, that General Scott, Com- mander in Chief of the army in which he served, had declared that he " was the best soldier he ever saw in the field," " the greatest military genius in America"; that "if opportunity 30 offered, he would show himself the foremost captain of his times" \ and that " if a great battle were to be fought for the liberty or slavery of the country, his judgment was that the commander should be Robert Lee." 246 EULOGY OF ROBERT E. LEE 7. Wedded to her who had been the playmate of his boyhood, and who was worthy in every relation to be the companion of his bosom, sons and daughters had risen up to call them blessed, and there, decorated with his country's honors and sur- 5 rounded by " love, obedience, and troops of friends," the host of Arlington seemed to have filled the measure of generous desire with whatever of fame or happiness fortune can add to virtue. And had the pilgrim started in quest of some hap- pier spot than the Vale of Rasselas, well might he have paused 10 by this threshold and doffed his " sandal shoon." 8. So situated was Colonel Lee in the spring of 1 86 1 ,upon the verge of the momentous revolution of which he became so mighty a pillar and so glorious a chieftain. But we cannot estimate the struggle it cost him to take up arms against the 15 Union, nor the sacrifice he made, nor the pure devotion with which he consecrated his sword to his native state, without looking beyond his physical surroundings, and following fur- ther the suggestions of his history and character, for the springs of action which prompted his course. Colonel Lee was emphat- 20 ically a Union man ; and Virginia, to the crisis of dissolution, was a Union state. He loved the Union with a soldier's ardent loyalty to the government he served, and with a patriot's faith and hope in the institutions of his country. His ances- tors had been among the most distinguished and revered of its 25 founders; his own life from youth upward had been spent and his blood shed in its service, and two of his sons, following his footsteps, held commissions in the army. 9. He was born in the same county, and descended from the same strains of English blood from which Washington 30 sprang, and was united in marriage with Mary Custis, the daughter of his adopted son. He had been reared in the school of simple manners and lofty thoughts which belonged to the elder generation; and with Washington as his exem- plar of manhood and his ideal of wisdom, he reverenced his DANIEL 247 character and fame and work with a feeHng as near akin to worship as any that man can have for aught that is human. 10. UnHke the statesmen of the hostile sections, who were constantly thrown into the provoking conflicts of political debate, he had been withdrawn by his military occupations 5 from scenes calculated to irritate or chill his kindly feelings toward the people of the North ; and on the contrary — in camp, and field, and social circle — he had formed many ties of friendship with its most esteemed soldiers and citizens. With the reticence becoming his military office, he had taken 10 no part in the controversies which preceded the fatal rupture between the states — other than the good man's part, to " speak the soft answer that turns away wrath," and to plead for that forbearance and patience which alone might bring about a peaceful solution of the questions at issue. 15 1 1 . Years of his professional life he had spent in Northern communities, and, always a close observer of men and things, he well understood the vast resources of that section, and the hardy, industrious, and resolute character of its people ; and he justly weighed their strength as a military power. When 20 men spoke of how easily the South would repel invasion he said : " You forget that we are all Americans." And when they prophesied a battle and a peace, he predicted that it would take at least four years to fight out the impending conflict. None was more conscious than he that each side undervalued 25 and misunderstood the other. He was, moreover, deeply imbued with the philosophy of history and the course of its evolutions, and well knew that in an upheaval of government deplorable results would follow which were not thought of in the beginning, or, if thought of, would be disavowed, belittled 30 and deprecated. And eminently conservative in his cast of mind and character, every bias of his judgment, as every tend- ency of his history, filled him with yearning and aspiration for the peace of his country and the perpetuity of the Union. 248 EULOGY OF ROBERT E. LEE Is it a wonder then, as the storm of revolution lowered, Colonel Lee, then with his regiment, the Second Cavalry, in Texas, wrote thus to his son in January, 1861 : 12. "The South, in my opinion, has been aggrieved by the 5 acts of the North as you say. I feel the aggression, and am wilHng to take any proper steps for redress. It is the principle I contend for, not individual or private benefit. As an Ameri- can citizen, I take great pride in my country, her prosperity and institutions, and would defend any state if her rights were 10 invaded. But I can anticipate no greater calamity for the coun- try than a dissolution of the Union. It would be an accumu- lation of all evils we complain of, and I am willing to sacrifice everything but honor for its preservation. I hope, therefore, that all constitutional means will be exhausted before there is 15 a resort to force. Secession is nothing but revolution. . . . Still, a Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayo- nets, and in which strife and civil war are to take the place of love and kindness, has no charm for me. I shall mourn for my country and for the welfare and progress of mankind. If 20 the Union is dissolved, and the government is disrupted, I shall return to my native state and share the miseries of my people, and, save in defense, will draw my sword on none." 13. There was naught on earth that could swerve Robert E. Lee from the path where, to his clear comprehension, honor 25 and duty lay. To the statesman, Mr. Francis Preston Blair, who brought him the tender of supreme command of the Union forces, he answered : " Mr. Blair, I look upon secession as an- archy. If I owned the four millions of slaves in the South, I would sacrifice them all to the Union. But how can I draw 30 my sword against Virginia? " 14. Draw his sword against Virginia? Perish the thought! Over all the voices that called him he heard the still small voice that ever whispers to the soul of the spot that gave it DANIEL 249 birth, and over every ambitious dream there rose the face of the angel that guards the door of home. 15. On the twentieth of April, as soon as the news of Vir- ginia's secession reached him, he resigned his commission in the army of the United States, and thus wrote to his sister who 5 remained with her husband on the Union side : " With all my devotion to the Union, and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have therefore resigned my commission in the army, 10 and save in the defense of my native state (with the sincere hope that my poor services may never be needed) I hope I may never be called upon to draw my sword." 16. Bidding an affectionate adieu to his old friend and com- mander. General Scott, who mourned his loss, but nobly ex- 15 pressed his confidence in his motives, he repaired to Richmond. Governor John Letcher immediately appointed him to the commander in chief of the Virginia forces, and the Convention unanimously confirmed the nomination. Memorable and impres- sive was the scene when he came into the presence of that body 20 on April 23d. Its venerable president, John Janney, with brief, sententious eloquence, addressed him, and concluded saying: 17. "Sir, we have by this unanimous vote expressed our convictions that you are at this day, among the living citizens of Virginia, ' first in war.' We pray to God most fervently that 25 you may so conduct the operations committed to your charge, 'that it may be said of you that you are 'first in peace,' and when that time comes, you will have earned the still prouder distinction of being ' first in the hearts of your countrymen.' Yesterday your mother, Virginia, placed her sword in your 30 hand upon the implied condition that we know you will keep in letter and in spirit : that you will draw it only in defense, and that you will fall with it in your hand rather than the object for which it was placed there should fail." 250 EULOGY OF ROBERT E. LEE 1 8. General Lee thus answered : " Profoundly impressed with the solemnity of the occasion, for which I must say I was not prepared, I accept the position assigned me by your par- tiality. I would have preferred had your choice fallen upon 5 an abler man. Trusting in Almighty God, an approving con- science, and the aid of my fellow-citizens, I devote myself to the service of my native state, in whose behalf alone will I ever again draw my sword." 19. Thus came Robert E. Lee to the state of his birth and 10 to the people of his blood in their hour of need ! Thus, with as chaste a heart as ever plighted its faith until death, for better or for worse, he came to do, to suffer, and to die for us who to-day are gathered in awful reverence and in sorrow un- speakable to weep our blessings upon his tomb. 15 20. I pause not here to defend the course of General Lee, as that defense may be drawn from the constitution of a Republic which was born in the sublime protest of its people against bayonet rule, and founded on the bed-rock principle of free government, that all free governments " must derive 20 their just powers from the consent of the governed." I pause not to trace the history or define the grounds of that theory of constitutional construction which maintained the right of secession from the Union as an element of sovereign statehood — a theory which has found ablest and noblest advocacy in 25 every section of the country. The tribunal is not yet formed that would hearken to such defense, nor is this the time or place to utter it. And to my mind there is for Lee and his compatriots a loftier and truer vindication than any that may be deduced from codes, constitutions, and conventional articles 30 of government. A great revolution need never apologize for nor explain itself. There it is ! — the august and thrilling rise of a whole population ! And the fact that it is there is the best evidence of its right to be there. None but great inspira- tions underlie great actions. None but great causes can ever DANIEL 251 produce great events. A transient gust of passion may turn a crowd into a mob, a temporary impulse may swell a mob into a local insurrection ; but when a whole people stand to their guns before their hearthstones, and as one man resist what they deem aggression ; when for long years they endure pov- 5 erty and starvation, and dare danger and death to maintain principles which they deem sacred ; when they shake a conti- nent with their heroic endeavors and fill the world with the glory of their achievements, history can make for them no higher vin- dication than to point to their deeds and say — "Behold !" 10 21. A people is its own judge. Under God there can be no higher judge for them to seek or court or fear. In the supreme moments of national life, as in the lives of individuals, the actor must resolve and act within himself alone. The Southern states acted for themselves, the Northern states for themselves, 1 5 Virginia for herself. And when the lines of battle formed, Robert Lee took his place in the line beside his people, his kindred, his children, his home. Let his defense rest on this fact alone. Nature speaks it. Nothing can strengthen it. Nothing can weaken it. The historian may compile; the cas- 20 uist may dissect ; the statesman may expatiate ; the advo- cate may plead ; the jurist may expound ; but, after all, there can be no stronger or tenderer tie than that which binds the faithful heart to kindred and to home. And on that tie — stretching from the cradle to the grave, spanning the heavens, 25 and riveted through eternity to the throne of God on high, and underneath in the souls of good men and true — on that tie rests, stainless and immortal, the fame of Robert Lee. [Here Mr. Daniel traced Lee's career during the Civil War, and continued as follows.] 22. Thus feebly and imperfectly have I attempted to trace the military achievements and services of him to whose memory 30 this day is dedicated. Lee the general stands abreast with 252 EULOGY OF ROBERT E. LEE the greatest captains of all time, and Lee the patriot has uni- versal homage. It is now of Lee the man that I would speak. 23. In personal appearance, General Lee was a man whom . once to see was ever to remember. His figure was tall, erect, 5 well proportioned, lithe, and graceful. A fine head, with broad, uplifted brow, and features boldly but yet delicately chiseled, bore the high aspect of one born to command. The firm yet mobile lips and the thickset jaw were expressive of daring and resolution ; and the dark scintillant eye flashed with the 10 light of a brilliant intellect and a fearless spirit. His whole countenance, indeed, bespoke alike a powerful mind and indomitable will, yet beamed with charity, gentleness, and be- nevolence. In his manners, quiet, reserve, unaffected courtesy and native dignity, made manifest the character of one who 15 can only be described by the name of gentleman. And taken all in all, his presence possessed that grave and simple majesty which commanded instant reverence and repressed familiarity ; and yet so charmed by a certain modesty and gracious defer- ence that reverence and confidence were ever ready to kindle 20 into affection. It was impossible to look upon him and not to recognize at a glance that in him Nature gave assurance of a man created great and good. 24. Mounted in the field, and at the head of his troops, a glimpse of Lee was an inspiration. His figure was as distinctive 25 as that of Napoleon. Ah ! soldiers ! who can forget it? The black slouch hat, the cavalry boots, the dark cape, the plain gray coat without an ornament but the three stars on the collar, the calm, victorious face, the splendid, manly figure on the gray war horse, that steps as if proudly conscious of his rider, 30 — he looked every inch the true knight, the grand, invincible champion of a great principle. 25. At the bottom of all true heroism is unselfishness. Its crowning expression is sacrifice. The world is suspicious of DANIEL 253 vaunted heroes. They are so easily manufactured. So many feet are cut and trhnmed to fit Cinderella's slippers that we hesitate long before we hail the princess. But when the true hero has come, and we know that here he is, in verity, ah ! how the hearts of men leap forth to greet him ! how worship- 5 fully we welcome God's noblest work, — the strong, honest, fearless, upright man. 26. In Robert Lee was such a hero vouchsafed to us and to mankind, and whether we behold him declining command of the Federal army to fight the battles and share the miseries of 10 his own people ; proclaiming on the heights in front of Gettys- burg that the fault of the disaster was his own ; leading charges in the crisis of combat ; walking under the yoke of conquest wnthout a murmur of complaint ; or refusing fortunes to come here and train the youth of his country in the path of duty, — 15 he is ever the same meek, grand, self-sacrificing spirit. Here he exhibited qualities not less worthy and heroic than those displayed on the broad and open theater of conflict, when the eyes of nations watched his every action. Here in the calm repose of civil and domestic duties, and in the trying routine 20 of incessant tasks, he lived a life as high as when, day by day, he marshaled and led his thin and wasting lines, and slept by night upon the field that was to be drenched again in blood upon the morrow. 27. Here in these quiet walks, far removed from "war or 25 battle's sound," came into view, as when, the storm o'erpast, the mountain seems a pinnacle of light, the landscape beams with fresher and tenderer beauties, and the purple, golden clouds float above us in the azure depths like the Islands of the Blest, so came into view the towering grandeur, the massive 30 splendor, and the loving-kindness of the character of General Lee, and the very sorrows that overhung his life seemed lumi- nous with celestial hues. Here he revealed in manifold gracious hospitalities, tender charities, and patient, worthy counsels, 254 EULOGY OF ROBERT E. LEE how deep and pure and inexhaustible were the fountains of his virtues. And loving hearts delight to recall, as loving lips will ever delight to tell, the thousand little things he did which sent forth lines of light to irradiate the gloom of the conquered land, 5 and to lift up the hopes and cheer the works of the people. 28. Here, indeed, Lee, no longer the leader, became, as it were, the priest of his people, and the young men of Washington Col- lege were but a fragment of those who found in his voice and his example the shining signs that never misguided their footsteps. 10 29. Five years rolled by while here "the self-imposed mis- sion" of Lee was being accomplished, and now, in 1870, he had reached the age of sixty-three. A robust constitution, never abused by injurious habits, would doubtless have pro- longed his life beyond the threescore years and ten which the 15 psalmist has ascribed as the allotted term of man; but many causes were sapping and undermining it. The exposures of two wars in which he had participated, and the tremendous strain on nerves and heart and brain which his vast responsibili- ties and his accumulated trials had entailed, had been silently 20 and gradually doing their work ; and now his step had lost something of its elasticity, the shoulders began to stoop as if under a growing burden, and the ruddy glow of health upon his countenance had passed into a feverish flush. Into his ears, and into his heart, had been poured the afflictions of his 25 people, and while composed and self-contained and uncom- plaining, who could have looked upon that great face, over whose majestic lineaments there stole the shade of sadness, without perceiving that grief for those he loved was gnawing at the heartstrings? without perceiving in the brilliant eye, 30 which now and then had a far-away, abstracted gaze, that the soul within bore a sorrow " that only Heaven could heal " ? 30. And now he has vanished from us forever. And is this all that is left of him — this handful of dust beneath the DANIEL 255 marble stone? No ! the ages answer as they rise from the gulfs of Time, where lie the wrecks of kingdoms and estates, hold- ing up in their hands as their only trophies, the names of those who have wrought for man in the love and fear of God, and in love unfearing for their fellow-men. No ! the present answers, 5 bending by his tomb. No ! the future answers, as the breath of the morning fans its radiant brow, and its soul drinks in sweet inspirations from the lovely life of Lee. No ! methinks the very heavens echo, as melt into their depths the words of reverent love that voice the hearts of men to the tingling stars. 10 31. Come we then to-day in loyal love to sanctify our mem- ories, to purify our hopes, to make strong all good intent by communion with the spirit of him who, being dead, yet speaketh. Come, child, in thy spotless innocence ; come, woman, in thy purity ; come, youth, in thy prime ; come, man- 15 hood, in thy strength ; come, age, in thy ripe wisdom ; come citizen, come soldier, let us strew the roses and lilies of June around his tomb, for he, like them, exhaled in his life Nature's beneficence, and the grave has consecrated that life and given it to us all ; let us crown his tomb with the oak, the emblem 20 of his strength, and with the laurel, the emblem of his glory, and let these guns, whose voices he knew of old, awake the echoes of the mountains, that Nature herself may join in his solemn requiem. Come, for here he rests, and On this green bank, by this fair stream, 25 We set to-day a native stone, That memory may his deeds redeem, When, like our sires, our sons are gone. Come, for here the genius of loftiest poesy in the artist's dream and through the sculptor's touch has restored his form and 30 features — a Valentine has lifted the marble veil and disclosed him to us as we would love to look upon him — lying, the flower of knighthood, in '' Joyous Gard." His sword beside him is sheathed forever. But honor's seal is on his brow, and 256 EULOGY OP^ ROBERT E. LEE valor's star is on his breast, and the peace that passeth all understanding descends upon him. Here, not in the hour of his grandest triumph of earth, as when, mid the battle roar, shouting battalions followed his trenchant sword, and bleeding 5 veterans forgot their wounds to leap between him and his enemies — but here in victory, supreme over earth itself, and over death, its conqueror, he rests, his warfare done. 32. And as we seem to gaze once more on him we loved and hailed as chief, in his sweet, dreamless sleep, the tranquil 10 face is clothed with heaven's light, and the mute hps seem eloquent with the message that in life he spoke: ^^ There is a true glory and a true honor ; the glory of duty done^ the honor of the integrity of principle,^'' EULOGY OF ULYSSES S. GRANT Horace Porter A SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE BANQUET OF THE ArMY OF THE Tennessee, upon the occasion of the inauguration of THE Grant Equestrian Statue, Chicago, October 8, 1891. INTRODUCTION Horace Porter, soldier, politician, orator, and business man, was born at Huntington, Pennsylvania, April 15, 1837. He entered the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard, but left there for West Point, where he graduated in i860, standing third in a class of more than forty. He served in the field throughout the entire period of the Civil War, passing through every commissioned grade up to brigadier general. In the campaign around Chatta- nooga he met Grant, who recognized his soldierly abilities, and brought him east as an aid-de-camp. Throughout the Wilder- ness campaign, and until the final scene of the struggle, he was Grant's close personal associate and trusted military aid, and was brevetted six times for " gallant and meritorious conduct in action." In 1867 he was appointed Assistant Secretary of War under Gen- eral Grant, when the latter was serving for a few months in Presi- dent Johnson's cabinet. From 1869 to 1877 he was President Grant's private secretary. For twenty years thereafter he devoted himself to a business career, and became president or director of several railway corporations. He has also been prominent as presi- dent of the Union League Club, of New York City, and other clubs and patriotic societies. Since 1897 he has been the United States Minister to France. From the foregoing it is plain that General Porter is eminently an " all-round man." He has entered many fields and has won the highest success in each. As a soldier he attained, as we have seen, 257 258 EULOGY OF ULYSSES S. GRANT a brilliant military record. As a man of business, he has directed the interests of half a dozen great corporations, and is a prominent ojfficer of New York's most influential mercantile association, — the Chamber of Commerce. He is interested in science, and has a turn for mechanical invention ; the " chopping box " used on the elevated railroads of New York is a patented apparatus of his own devising. For public life he has shown an equal aptitude, having served this country with distinction as Minister to France. He is a writer, a scholar, and a linguist withal, familiar with the classics and with several modern languages. As an orator for special occasions, and especially as an after- dinner speaker, he has been in constant deniand, his popularity being rivaled by not more than two or three of his fellow-countrymen. He has appeared as the orator on various notable occasions (mentioned in the notes), and always acquits himself most satis- factorily. His wit is unfailing, his fertility as a 7'aco7iteur appar- ently exhaustless. Direct and forcible in delivery, his quick turns of thought and striking expressions hold the sustained attention of his hearers. In pronouncing the following eulogy, General Porter certainly possessed the two elements necessary for any orator for any occa- sion, — a thorough knowledge of his subject, and sincere and strong convictions and feelings regarding it. From the time that Grant discovered Porter during the war, the two maintained the closest and most affectionate relations toward each other. Further, a feel- ing of generosity on General Porter's part was added to that of loyalty. If Grant did not make Porter, he aided powerfully in giving the latter an opportunity to make himself. Grant recom- mended him to his friend, George M. Pullman, president of the Pullman Car Company, and it was with this company that General Porter began a business career whereby he acquired an independ- ent fortune. And reciprocal appreciation was shown by General Porter, not alone during Grant's life, but also since his death. When the project for the Grant Monument, now erected at River- side Park, New York City, was in danger of abandonment. General Porter stepped to the front and — as in his recent removal to America of the body of Paul Jones — by personal effort rescued it from threatened failure. It was, like the oration that follows, a graceful and fitting tribute to the memory of his old friend and commander. PORTER 259 1. Mr. Chairman: When a man from the armies of the East finds himself in the presence of men of the armies of the West, he feels that he cannot strike their gait. He can only look at them wistfully and say, in the words of Charles II, " I always admired virtue, but I never could imitate it." If I do 5 not in the course of my remarks succeed in seeing each one of you, it will be because the formation of the Army of the Tennessee to-night is like its formation in the field, when it won its matchless victories, the heavy columns in the center. 2. Almost all the conspicuous characters in history have 10 risen to prominence by gradual steps, but Ulysses S. Grant seemed to come before the people with a sudden bound. Almost the first sight they caught of him was in the flashes of his guns, and the blaze of his camp fires, those wintry days and nights in front of Donelson. From that hour until the 15 closing triumph at Appomattox he was the leader whose name was the harbinger of victory. From the final sheath of his sword until the tragedy on Mount McGregor he was the chief citizen of the Republic and the great central figure of the world. The story of his life savors more of romance than 20 reality. It is more like a fabled tale of ancient days than the history of an American citizen of the nineteenth century. As light and shade produce the most attractive effects in a picture, so the singular contrasts, the strange vicissitudes in his mar- velous career, surround him with an interest which attaches 25 to few characters in history. His rise from an obscure lieuten- ancy to the command of the veteran armies of the Republic ; his transition from a frontier post of the untrodden West to the executive mansion of the nation ; his sitting at one time in his little store in Galena, not even known to the congress- 30 man from his own district ; at another time striding through the palaces of the Old World, with the descendants of a line of kings rising and standing uncovered in his presence — these are some of the features of his extraordinary career which 26o EULOGY OF ULYSSES S. GRANT appeal to the imagination, excite men's wonder, and fascinate all who read the story of his life. 3. General Grant possessed in a striking degree all the characteristics of the successful soldier. His methods were all 5 stamped with tenacity of purpose, with originality and inge- nuity. He depended for his success more upon the powers of invention than of adaptation, and the fact that he has been compared at different times to nearly every great commander in history is perhaps the best proof that he was like none 10 of them. He was possessed of a moral and physical courage which was equal to every emergency in which he was placed ; calm amidst excitement, patient under trials, never unduly elated by victory or depressed by defeat. While he possessed a sensitive nature and a singularly tender heart, yet he never 15 allowed his sentiments to interfere with the stern duties of the soldier. He knew better than to attempt to hew rocks with a razor. He realized that paper bullets cannot be fired in war- fare. He felt that the hardest blows bring the quickest results ; that more men die from disease in sickly camps than from 20 shot and shell in battle. 4. His magnanimity to foes, his generosity to friends, will be talked of as long as manly qualities are honored. You know after Vicksburg had succumbed to him he said in his order : '' The garrison will march out to-morrow. Instruct 25 your commands to be quiet and orderly as the prisoners pass by, and make no offensive remarks." After Lee's surrender at Appomattox, when our batteries began to fire triumphal salutes, he at once suppressed them, saying in his order : " The war is over ; the rebels are again our countrymen ; the 30 best way to celebrate the victory will be to abstain from all demonstrations in the field." After the war General Lee and his officers were indicted in the civil courts of Virginia by direction of a President who was endeavoring to make treason odious and succeeding in making nothing so odious as himself. PORTER 261 General Lee appealed to his old antagonist for protection. He did not appeal to that heart in vain. General Grant at once took up the cudgels in his defense, threatened to resign his office if such officers were indicted while they continued to obey their paroles, and such was the logic of his argument 5 and the force of his character that those indictments were soon after quashed. So that he penned no idle platitude, he fashioned no stilted epigram, he spoke the earnest convictions of an honest heart when he said, " Let us have peace." He never tired of giving unstinted praise to worthy subordinates for 10 the work they did. Like the chief artists who weave the Gobelin tapestries, he was content to stand behind the cloth and let those in front appear to be the chief contributors to the beauty of the fabric. 5. If there be one single word in all the wealth of the Eng- 15 lish language which best describes the predominating trait of General Grant's character, that word is "loyalty." Loyal to every great cause and work he was engaged in ; loyal to his friends, loyal to his family, loyal to his country, loyal to his God. This produced a reciprocal effect in all who came in 20 contact with him. It was one of the chief reasons why men became so loyally attached to him. It is true that this trait so dominated his whole character that it led him to make mis- takes, it induced him to continue to stand by men who were no longer worthy of his confidence ; but after all, it was a 25 trait so grand, so noble, we do not stop to count the errors which resulted. It showed him to be a man who had the courage to be just, to stand between worthy men and their unworthy slanderers, and to let kindly sentiments have a voice in an age in which the heart played so small a part in public 30 life. Many a public man has had hosts of followers because they fattened on the patronage dispensed at his hands ; many a one has had troops of adherents because they were blind zealots in a cause he represented ; but perhaps no man but 262 EULOGY OF ULYSSES S. GRANT General Grant had so many friends who loved him for his own sake, whose attachment strengthened only with time, whose affection knew neither variableness nor shadow of turning, who stuck to him as closely as the toga of Nessus, 5 whether he was captain, general. President, or simply private citizen. 6. General Grant was essentially created for great emergen- cies ; it was the very magnitude of the task which called forth the powers which mastered it. In ordinary matters he was an lo ordinary man. In momentous affairs he towered as a giant. When he served in a company there was nothing in his acts to distinguish him from the fellow-officers ; but when he wielded corps and armies the great qualities of the commander flashed forth and his master strokes of genius placed him at once in 15 the front rank of the world's great captains. When he hauled wood from his little farm and sold it in the streets of St. Louis there was nothing in his business or financial capacity different from that of the small farmers about him ; but when, as Presi- dent of the Republic, he found it his duty to puncture the 20 fallacy of the inflationists, to throttle by a veto the attempt of unwise legislators to tamper with the American credit, he penned a State paper so logical, so masterly, that it has ever since been the pride, wonder, and admiration of every lover of an honest currency. He was made for great things, not 25 for little. He could collect for the nation ^15,000,000 from Great Britain in settlement of the Alaba?na claims ; he could not protect his own personal savings from the mis- creants who robbed him in Wall Street. 7. But General Grant needs no eulogist. His name is 30 indelibly engraved upon the hearts of his countrymen. His services attest his greatness. He did his duty and trusted to history for his meed of praise. The more history discusses him, the more brilliant becomes the luster of his deeds. His record is like a torch, — the more it is shaken, the brighter it PORTER 263 burns. His name will stand imperishable when epitaphs have vanished utterly, and monuments and statues have crumbled into dust ; but the people of this great city, everywhere renowned for their deeds of generosity, have covered it anew with glory in fashioning in enduring bronze, in rearing in monumental rock 5 that magnificent tribute to his worth which was to-day unveiled in the presence of countless thousands. As I gazed upon its graceful lines and colossal proportions I was reminded of that childlike simplicity which was mingled with the majestic grandeur of his nature. The memories clustering about it will 10 recall the heroic age of the Republic ; it will point the path of loyalty to children yet unborn ; its mute eloquence will plead for equal sacrifice, should war ever again threaten the nation's life ; generations yet to come will pause to read the inscription which it bears, and the voices of a grateful people 15 will ascend from the consecrated spot on which it stands, as incense rises from holy places, invoking blessings upon the memory of him who had filled to the very full the largest measure of human greatness and covered the earth with his renown. 20 8. During his last illness an indescribably touching incident happened which will ever be memorable and which never can be effaced from the memory of those who witnessed it. Even at this late date' I can scarcely trust my own feehngs to recall it. It was on Decoration Day in the city of New York, the last 25 one he ever saw on earth. That morning the members of the Grand Army of the Republic, the veterans in that vicinity, arose earlier than was their wont. They seemed to spend more time that morning in unfurling the old battle flags, in burnishing the medals of honor which decorated their breasts, 30 for on that day they had determined to march by the house of their dying commander to give him a last marching salute. In the streets the columns were forming ; inside the house, on that bed from which he was never to rise again, lay the stricken 264 EULOGY OF ULYSSES S. GRANT chief. The hand which had seized the surrendered swords of countless thousands could scarcely return the pressure of the friendly grasp. The voice which had cheered on to triumphant victory the legions of America's manhood could no longer 5 call for the cooling draught which slaked the thirst of a fevered tongue ; and prostrate on that bed of anguish lay the form which in the New World had ridden at the head of conquering columns, which in the Old World had been deemed worthy to stand with head covered and feet sandaled in the presence of JO princes, kings, and emperors. Now his ear caught the sound of martial music. Bands were playing the same strains which had mingled with the echoes of his guns at Vicksburg, the same quicksteps to which his men had sped in hot haste in pursuit of Lee through Virginia. And then came the heavy, 15 measured steps of moving columns, a step which can be acquired only by years of service in the field. He recognized it all now. It was the tread of his old veterans. With his little remaining strength he arose and dragged himself to the window. As he gazed upon those battle flags dipping to him 20 in salute, those precious standards bullet-riddled, battle-stained, but remnants of their former selves, with scarcely enough left of them on which to print the names of the battles they had seen, his eyes once more kindled with the flames which had lighted them at Shiloh, on the heights of Chattanooga, amid 25 the glories of Appomattox, and as those war-scarred veterans looked with uncovered heads and upturned faces for the last time upon the pallid features of their old chief, cheeks which had been bronzed by Southern suns and begrimed with powder were bathed in tears of manly grief. Soon they saw rising the 30 hand which had so often pointed out to them the path of victory. He raised it slowly and painfully to his head in recognition of their salutations. The last of the columns had passed, the hand fell heavily by his side. It was his last military salute. THE IMMORTALITY OF GOOD DEEDS Thomas Brackett Reed An address delivered at the semicentennial of Girard College, January 3, 1898. INTRODUCTION Thomas Brackett Reed, lawyer and statesman, " Czar " of the House of Representatives from 1889 to 1899, was born in Port- land, Maine, October 18, 1839, He worked his way through college, graduating from Bowdoin in i860 with high honors both for scholarship and literary talent. He taught school, acted as paymaster in the navy for a year during the Civil War, studied law, began practice at Portland, but soon entered politics, and after holding several State offices was elected to Congress in 1876 on the Republican ticket. His subsequent career is chiefly remem- bered for the part he played as member, and particularly as Speaker, of the House of Representatives. Here he at once became a power because of his readiness in debate, his easy mas- tery of important political issues, and his remarkable executive ability in managing and controlling men and factions. Elected Speaker of the House in the Fifty-first Congress, the vigor of his administration at once attracted widespread attention. His rulings became widely famous. One of his methods was to complete a quorum by ordering recorded as present on the roll call the names of Democrats present who did not answer to the roll call, thereby reversing the practice of the House. The resulting assaults upon him as " Czar," which were essentially just, did not in the slightest degree disturb his equanimity, and he lived to see his rulings jus- tified in popular approval, since they stopped the dangerous blocking 265 266 THE IMMORTALITY OF GOOD DEEDS of the public work. On April 20, 1 899, Mr. Reed announced his retirement from political life, ending his speakership with the close of the Fifty-fifth Congress. After a brief period of renewed law practice in New York City he died, December 7, 1902. With the allaying of the party strife engendered during his political career, Mr. Reed has come to be generally regarded as one of the nation's strong men. Strength, intellectual and moral, was his most pronounced characteristic. For twenty-two years consecutively he was leader of his party in Congress, either on the floor of the House or in the Speaker's chair. This long lease of power was rendered possible not alone because of superior intel- lectual qualities for leadership, but also "because of strong moral qualities. It was Mr. Reed's moral force which enabled him to eventually maintain his revolutionary rulings, for his integrity and sense of honor were beyond the question of his political adver- saries, even when their animosities were most bitter and pas- sionate. Honorable Joseph G. Cannon says of him, " Thomas B. Reed was the strongest intellectual force, crossed on the best courage, among all men in public life whom I have known." For the most part Mr. Reed's public speaking was of course in the field of political oratory. Herein he stood preeminent. His epigrams were frequently used with more effect by campaign managers than other men's whole speeches. Mr. Reed had at least a theoretical dislike for mere oratory. He is reported to have thanked Heaven that the Ho.use of Representatives was not a deliberative body. He also disliked long speeches. He thought that a man ought to be able to say all that was worth saying in a short speech. This predilection for brevity, the lawyer's instinct for seizing upon the strong points of a case, and also skill in oratory proper — elevation of sentiment and adequacy of expres- sion — are well illustrated in the following oration. I. Six hundred and fifty or seventy years ago, England, which, during the following period of nearly seven centuries, has been the richest nation on the face of the globe, began to establish the two great universities which, from the banks of 5 the Cam and the Isis, have sent forth great scholars and priests and statesmen whose fame is the history of their own REED 267 country, and whose deeds have been part of the history of every land and sea. During all that long period, reaching back two hundred and fifty years before it was ever dreamed that this great hemisphere existed, before the world knew that it was swinging in the air and rolling about the sun, kings and 5 cardinals, nobles and great churchmen, the learned and the pious, began bestowing upon those abodes of scholars their gifts of land and money, and they have continued their bene- factions down to our time. What those universities, with all their colleges and halls teeming with scholars for six hundred 10 years, have done for the progress of civilization and the good of man, this whole evening could not begin to tell. Even your imaginations cannot, at this moment, create the sur- prising picture. Nevertheless, the institution at which most of you are, or have been, pupils is at the beginning of a career 15 with which those great universities and their great history may struggle in vain for the palm of the greatest usefulness to the race of man. One single fact will make it evident that this possi- bility is not the creation of imagination or the product of that boastfulness which America will some day feel herself too great 20 to cherish, but a simple and plain possibility which has the sanction of mathematics as well as hope. 2. Although more than six centuries of regal, princely, and pious donations have been poured into the purses of these venerable aids to learning, the munificence of one American 25 citizen to-day affords an endowment income equal to that of each university, and when the full century has completed his work, will afford an income superior to the income of both. When Time has done his perfect work, Stephen Girard, mari- ner and merchant, may be found to have come nearer immor- 30 tality than the long procession of kings and cardinals, nobles and statesmen, whose power was mighty in their own days, but who are only on their way to oblivion. I am well aware that this college of orphans, wherein the wisdom of the founder 268 THE IMMORTALITY OF GOOD DEEDS requires facts and things to be taught rather than words and signs, can as yet make no claim to that higher learning so essential to the ultimate progress of the world ; but it has its own mission as great and as high, and one which connects 5 itself more nearly with the practical elevation of mankind. 3. Whether the overruhng Providence, of which we talk so much and know so little, has each of us in His kindly care and keeping, we shall better know when our minds have the broader scope which immortality will make possible. But, 10 however men may dispute over individual care, His care over the race as a whole fills all the pages of human history. Unity and progress are the watchwords of the Divine guidance, and no matter how harsh has been the treatment by one man of thousands of men, every great event, or series of events, has 15 been for the good of the race. Were this the proper time, I could show that wars — and wars ought to be banished for- ever from the face of the earth ; that pestilences — and the time is coming when they will be no more ; that persecutions and inquisitions — and liberty of thought is the richest pearl of 20 life, — that all these things, wars, pestilences, and persecu- tions, were but helps to the unity of mankind. All things, including our own natures, bind us together for deep and unrelenting purpose. 4. Think what we should be, who are unlearned and brutish, 25 if the wise, the learned, and the good could separate them- selves from us ; were free from our superstitions and vague and foolish fears, and stood loftily by themselves, wrapped in their own superior wisdom. Therefore hath it been wisely ordained that no set of creatures of our race shall be beyond 30 the reach of their helping hand ; so lofty that they will not fear our reproaches, or so mighty as to be beyond our reach. If the lofty and the learned do not lift us up, we drag them down. But unity is riot the only watchword ; there must be progress also. Since, by a law we cannot evade, we are to REED 269 keep together, and since we are to progress, we must do it together, and nobody must be left behind. This is not a matter of philosophy ; it is a matter of fact. No progress which did not lift all, ever lifted any. If we let the poison of filth diseases percolate through the hovels of the poor, death 5 knocks at the palace gates. If we leave to the greater horror of ignorance any portion of our race, the consequences of ignorance strike us all, and there is no escape. We must all move, but we must all keep together. It is only when the rear guard comes up that the vanguard can go on. 10 5. Stephen Girard must have understood this. He took under his charge the progress of those who needed his aid, knowing that if they were added to the list of good citizens, to the catalogue of moral, enterprising, and useful men, there was so much added, not to their happiness only, but to the 15 welfare of the race to which he belonged. For his orphans the vanguard need not wait. Your founder also understood what education was. Most men brought up as he was on ship- board and on shore, with few books and fewer studies, if they cared for learning at all, would have had for learning an 20 uncouth reverence, such as the savage has for his idol, a rev- erence for the fancied magnificence of the unknown. This would have led him to establish a university devoted to out-of- the-way learning beyond his ken, or to link his name to glo- ries to which he could not aspire. But the man who named 25 his vessels after the great French authors of his age, and who read their works himself, knew from them and from his own laborious and successful life that learning was not all of education, and so gave his orphans an entrance into a prac- tical world with such learning as left the whole field of 30 learning before them, if they wanted it, with power to make fortunes besides. 6. It is strange to watch the growth into fame and respect and reverence of Stephen Girard, as his plan of conferring a 2/0 THE IMMORTALITY OF GOOD DEEDS benefaction upon the city and the people whom he loved has slowly unfolded itself before their gaze. The generation in which he lives can seldom understand the really great man. We live for to-day, and he lives for a day after to-day. He 5 takes on the century in which he lives and a hundred years after he has passed away. The man of mediocrity must make his hay under the shine of the present sun, and so must clasp every hand he can touch and make us think he loves us all. But the greatest merchant of his time, with the noblest ambi- lo tion of them all, was so resolute in his pursuit of wealth and so coldly determined in all his endeavors that he seems to have uncovered to few or to none the generous purpose of his heart. What he said to the man who was so unworthy to write his first biography, but who was forced to bless when 15 he had gone forth to curse, is the secret of his career. " My actions must make my life," he said, and of his life not one moment was wasted. " Facts and things rather than words and signs " were the warp and woof of his existence. No wonder he left the injunction that this should be the teaching 20 of those objects of his bounty into whose faces he was never to look. 7 . The vast wealth which Mr. Girard had was of itself alone evidence of greatness. I have not forgotten the epitaph on Colonel Charters, who died rich and infamous, that you could 25 see what God thought of riches by the people He gave them to. Fortunes may be made and lost. Fortunes may be inherited. These things mean nothing. But the fortune which has given us all our surroundings to-night was made and firmly held in a hand of eighty years. That meant greatness. But when the 30 dead hand opens and pours the rich bloom of a preparation for life over six thousand boys in the half -century which has gone and thousands in the centuries to come, that means more than greatness. Mr. Girard gave more than his money. He put into his enterprise his own powerful brain, and, like the REED 271 ships he sent to sea, long after his death the adventure came home laden, not with the results of his capital alone, but of his forethought and his genius. He builded for so many years that the stars will be cold before his work is finished. We envious people, who cannot be wealthy any more than we can 5 add a cubit to our stature, avenge ourselves by thinking and proclaiming that pursuit of wealth is sordid and stifles the nobler sentiments of the soul. Whether this be so or not, if whoever makes to grow two blades of grass where but one grew before is a benefactor of his race, he also is a benefactor 10 who makes two ships sail the sea where but one encountered its storms before. However sordid the owner may be, this is a benefit of which he cannot deprive the world. 8. That men who have achieved great riches are not always shut out by their riches from the nobler emotions, Stephen 15 Girard was himself a most illustrious example. A hundred years ago this city was under the black horror of a plague. So terrible was the fear that fell upon the city, that the tenderest of domestic ties — the love of husband and wife and of parents for children — seemed obliterated. Even gold lost its power 20 in the multitudinous presence of impending death. There was no refuge even in the hospital, which, reeking with disease, was a hell out of which there was no redemption. Neither money nor affection could buy service. '' Fear was on every soul." 25 9. Mr. Girard was then in the prime of Hfe, forty-two years old, in health and strength, already rich, and with a future as secure as ever falls to human lot. Of his own accord, as a volunteer, he took charge of the interior of the deadly hospital, and for two long and weary months stood face to face with 30 death. ID. A poet himself has sung in vain of what makes the little songs linger in our hearts for ages, while epics perish and tragedies pass out of sight. Why this is so we shall never know 2/2 THE IMMORTALITY OF GOOD DEEDS = I by reason alone. Way down in the human heart there is a ten- derness for self-sacrifice which makes it seem loftier than the j love of glory, and reveals the possibility of the eternal soul. ■ Wars and sieges pass away and great intellectual efforts cease . | 5 to stir our hearts, but the man who sacrifices himself for his ; fellow lives forever. We forget the war in which was the siege j of Zutphen, and almost the city itself, but we shall never forget . the death of Sir Phihp Sidney. Scholars alone read the work of his life, but all mankind honors him in the story of his death. lo The great war of the Crimea, in our own day, with its generals i and marshals, and its bands of storming soldiery, has almost . passed from our memories, but the time will never come when { the charge of Balaklava will cease to stir the heart or pass from i story or from song. It happened to Stephen Girard, mariner 1 15 and merchant, seeking wealth and finding it, whose ships j covered every sea, whose intellect penetrated, as your treas- ; urer's books will show, a hundred years into the future, to light ; up his life by a deed more noble than the dying courtesy of j Sidney and braver than the charge of the six hundred, for he j 20 walked under his own orders day by day and week by week, >. shoulder to shoulder with death, and was not afraid. How fit, i indeed, it is that amidst these temples which are the tribute i to his intellect should stand the tablet which is the tribute to | his heart ! ) 25 II. Surely, if the immortal dead, serene with the wisdom of eternity, are not above all joy and pride, he must feel a thrill : to know that no mariner or merchant ever sent forth a venture | upon unknown seas which came back with richer cargoes or in \ statelier ships. ■ TRIBUTE TO MARCUS A. HANNA Albert Jeremiah Beveridge A EULOGY AT THE HaNNA MEMORIAL IN THE UNITED STATES Senate, April 7, 1904. INTRODUCTION Albert J. Beveridge, lawyer, statesman, and orator, was born on the border of Adam and Highland counties, Ohio, October 6, 1862. After the Civil War his family removed to Illinois. He received a common and high school education, worked his way through col- lege, and was graduated from DePauw University in 1885. Soon thereafter he was admitted to the bar, and began the practice of law at Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1899 he was elected United States Senator from Indiana, being at that time the youngest mem- ber of the Senate. He soon became widely known through his public speeches, both in the Senate and on the hustings. He fer- vidly supported the administration's Philippine policy, and has become recognized as the leading sponsor for that policy in Con- gress. As a result of a trip to the Orient, he is the author of a book on the Eastern question. The Russian Advance (1903). Endowed with native ability, Mr. Beveridge has won his spurs by aiming high and working hard. He is generally admired as a fine type of the young American in public life. Says Mr. Albert Shaw, in the Review of Reviews for January, 1905 : " Senator Beveridge brings a clear head and a firm will into the United States Senate. . . . He is very much more than a good orator, a good lawyer, a good legislator, and a good politician. He is a man of good conscience, of fidelity, of courage, and of patriot- ism. Whatever faults he may possess, — and doubtless he has some, — he has the virtues and the essential qualities of a statesman." 273 2/4 TRIBUTE TO MARCUS A. HANNA Mr. Beveridge is considered one of the best speakers in Con- gress, and he enjoys a national reputation as a campaign orator. While pursuing his college course he gave particular attention to the theory and practice of oratory. He took a leading place in the college literary society, and there won immediate success as an orator, debater, and organizer. In 1 899-1 900 he wrote a series of articles for the Saturday Evening Post, which furnish a good exposition of his ideas regarding oratory, both as to manner and matter. He stresses the need of directness and earnestness in delivery, and the avoidance of tricks and artificialities. " As to matter and style," he says, " aim only to be clear. Nothing else is essential." While Congressional oratory is not highly rated, as a rule, still on those occasions set apart for commemorating deceased members, when the speakers take time for preparation in advance, eulogies of a high order of merit are delivered. In thought and expression, the following tribute will bear careful study as an example of the briefer form of eulogy. 1. Mr. President : Since to all earthly work an end must come, our words of farewell to a fellow- workman should not alone be those of grief that man's common lot has come to him, but also of pride and joy that his task has been done worthily. S Powerful men so weave themselves into their hour that, for the moment, it all but seems the world will stop when they depart. Yet it does not stop or even pause. Undisturbed Time still wings his endless and unwearied flight ; and the progress of the race goes on and up toward the light, realizing at every 10 step more and more of the true, the beautiful, and the good. 2 . So it is not important that any of us should long remain ; the Master Builder lacks not craftsmen to take our place. But it is important to the uttermost that while we are here we should do our duty to the full perfection of our powers, fear- 15 lessly and faithfully, with clean hands, and hearts ever full of kindness, forbearance, charity. 3. These are the outline thoughts that the absence of our friend compels. With his whole strength he did his work from BEVERIDGE 275 boyhood to the place of rest. He was no miser of his life — he poured it into discharge of duty, keeping with nature no account of heart beats. 4. The things he did were real things. He was the very spirit of the practical. Yet the practical did not kill or even 5 impair the human in him. He never lost the gift of lovable- ness. His sense of human touch and fellowship was not dulled, but made more delicate by time and the world. The years made him wiser, but they made him mellower, too. 5. And so he won the people's affection as well as their 10 applause. And affection is worth more than applause. There is no greater glory than this — to make a nation your friend. Senator Hanna did that. For when the angel of peace, which men call Death, took our brother to his well-earned rest, the people knew that a friend had left them. And the people were 15 sad that he- had gone away. 6. This human quality in him made all he did a living thing, all he said a living word. He was the man of affairs in states- manship; yet his personality gave to propositions of mere national business something of the warmth and vitality of prin- 20 ciples. He was the personification of our commercial age, — the age of building, planting, reaping ; of ships on ocean, and on land steel highways and the rolling wheels of trade ; of that movement of the times which knits together with something more than verbal ties all the children of men, weaves tangible 25 civilization around the globe, and will, in time, make of all peoples neighbors, brothers, friends. 7. Thus he was, unwittingly no doubt, one of the agents of God's great purpose of the unification of the race. We are all such agents, small or great. If this is not so — if we are not, 30 ignorantly perhaps and bUndly, but still surely, spinning our lives into the Master's design, whose pattern He alone can comprehend ; if we and all things are not working together for good; if life is but a breath exhaled and then forever 2/6 TRIBUTE TO MARCUS A. HANNA lost — our work means less and is worth less than that of coral insects, which, from the depths, build ever toward the light until islands stand above the waves, permanent monuments of an intelligent architecture. 5 8. Work with real things ^^— real earth, real ocean, real mountains, real men — made him conservative. And his con- servatism was real. Much that is accepted as conservatism is spurious, mere make-believe. Conservatism does not mean doubt or indecision. It does not mean wise looks, masking lo vacuity, nor pompous phrase, as meaningless as it is solemn. Conservatism means clear common sense, which equally rejects the fanaticism of precedent and the fanaticism of change. It would not have midnight last just because it exists ; and yet it knows that dawn comes not in a flash, but gradually — comes 15 with a grand and beautiful moderation. So the conservative is the real statesman. He brings things to pass in a way that lasts and does good. Senator Hanna was a conservative. 9. Working with real things among real men also kept fresh his faith and hope. No sailor of the seas, no delver in the 20 earth, no builder of rooftrees can be a pessimist. He who plants doubts not our common mother's generosity, or fails to see in the brown furrow the certainty of coming harvests. He who sinks a well and witnesses the waters rise understands that the eternal fountains will never cease to flow. Only the man 25 whose hands never touch the realities of life despairs of hu- man progress or doubts the providence of God. The fable of Antaeus is literal truth for body, mind, and soul. And so Senator Hanna, dealing with living men and the actualities of existence, had all the virile hope of youth, all the unquestion- 30 ing faith of prophecy. These are the qualities of the effective leadership of men. 10. He is gone from us — gone before us. Strength and frailty, kindness and wrath, wisdom and folly, laughter and frown, all the elements of life and his living of it have ceased BEVERIDGE 277 their visible play and action. '* Where," said despairing Villon, "where are the snows of yesteryear?" Vanished, he would have us believe. Yes, but vanished only in form. "The snows of yesteryear " are in the stream, in cloud and rain, in sap of tree and bloom of flower, in heart and brain of talent and 5 of beauty. Nothing is lost even here on our ancient and kindly earth. So the energies of our friend, and those of all men, have touched into activity forces that, influencing still others, will move on forever. II. As to the other hfe, we know not fully what it is ; but 10 that it is, we know. Knowing this, we who are left behind go on about our daily tasks, assured that in another and truer existence our friend is now established, weakness cast aside as a cloak when winter has passed, vision clear as when at dawn we wake from dreams, heart happy as when, the victory won, 15 we cease from effort and from care. For him the night is done, and it is written that "joy cometh in the morning." MARSHALL AND THE CONSTITUTION William Bourke Cockran An address delivered before the Erie County Bar Associ- ation, Buffalo, New York, February 14, 1901, upon the OCCASION OF the CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF MARSHALL'S appointment as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. INTRODUCTION William Bourke Cockran, lawyer, politician, and orator, is one of the many men of Irish birth who have become noted as Amer- ican orators. He was born in Ireland, February 28, 1854. He was educated in that country and in France, migrating to the United States in 1871. For five years he taught school in New York, studying law at the same time. In 1876 he was admitted to the New York State bar, and soon took a prominent part in state poli- tics. His ability as a lawyer gained for him a place on the New York commission for revising the judiciary clause of the State Con- stitution. In 1882 he became counsel to the sheriff of New York City, and was reappointed in 1885. In politics Mr, Cockran is a "gold" Democrat. He supported McKinley for the presidency in 1896, but advocated the election of Bryan in 1900 on account of the " imperialism " issue. With some intermissions, he has repre- sented New York in Congress since 1886. Mr. Cockran is a ready, polished, and eloquent speaker. As a campaign orator he has been a tower of strength to whatever side he espoused, and he is also a favorite as an orator for special occasions. He is a man with a strong personal magnetism, his speeches losing not a little in the reading. He himself says in a 279 28o MARSHALL AND THE CONSTITUTION letter to the editor : " Nearly all my speeches have been extempo- raneous, ... It is hard for me to say which I consider the best, or indeed, that I think any of them meritorious. As I read them now my principal feeling is one of surprise at the measure of success which they achieved when delivered." 1 . If there be any one capable of disputing that, aside from the establishment of Christianity, the foundation of this Repub- lic was the most memorable event in the history of man, we would not be apt to seek him at this board or to find him in 5 this country. And if the foundation of this government be the most momentous human achievement" of all the centuries, then clearly the appointment of John Marshall to the Chief Justiceship of the United States was the first event of the last century no less in the magnitude of its importance than in the lo order of its occurrence. 2. To the judicial career whose initial stage we celebrate this country mainly owes its independent Judiciary, — the unique feature of our political system, the distinctive con- - tribution of American democracy to the civilization of the 15 wdrld, the vital principle of constitutional freedom, — on which depend the strength which this government possesses, the fruit which it has borne, the cloudless prospect which it enjoys. 3. It is certainly beyond dispute that this government, 20 which is the freest, is also the most stable in the world. During the period of its existence what changes have swept over the earth ; what upheavals have convulsed society ; what dynasties have been established and overthrown ; what empires have risen and fallen ; what political enterprises have been 25 undertaken and abandoned ; what constitutions framed in high hopes have perished in disappointment and confusion ! It has seen the Whig oligarchy, which ruled England for a century and a half, give place to a republic preserving the outward form of monarchy only to veil the democratic character of its COCKRAN 281 evolution. It has seen the king who aided these colonies to achieve their liberty immolated on the scaffold in the name of liberty, and France, after staggering through anarchy to mili- tary despotism, sink back into monarchy ; and after again overturning thrones and stumbling once more into imperialism, 5 while groping towards republicanism, engage in a third attempt to establish some form of cons.titutional freedom. 4. It has seen Prussia rise from the ashes of defeat and humiliation, and after humbling the pride of the Hapsburgs assume the military primacy of Europe when her king-, raised 10 to imperial dignity on the bucklers of his triumphant soldiery, proclaimed a new empire of Germany in the conquered halls of Louis the Magnificent. It has seen the Republic of Venice perish in its age and decay ; the German principalities dis- appear from the banks of the Rhine ; the ancient city of Leo 1 5 and of Gregory become the capital of a new kingdom, and Spain begin to recover in the cultivation of her own lands the prosperity which she sacrificed in attempts to conquer other lands. It has seen the veil of darkness and ignorance rent in the East. As I speak, it sees the forces of Western 20 civilization standing in the battered gateways of Far Cathay. And through all these changes, convulsions, revolutions, this Republic stands to-day, as it went into operation one hundred and twelve years ago, unchanged in any of its essential features, except that its foundations have sunk deeper in the affections 25 of the people whose security it has maintained, whose pros- perity it has promoted, whose conditions it has blessed. 5. To what must we attribute this stability which has main- tained our government unmoved and apparently immovable on solid foundations amid the upheavals which have engulfed 30 ancient systems? It is not explained by the lofty purpose which animated its founders, because other governments con- ceived in equally high aspirations have perished at the first attempt to put them in practical operation. It is not because 282 MARSHALL AND THE CONSTITUTION it rests on a written constitution, for the pathway of man is strewn with the wrecks of constitutional experiments. It is not because our Constitution declares certain elementary rights of man to be inviolable. Its provisions in this respect 5 were modeled on existing institutions. Their very language was not original. In terms as well as in substance they were borrowed from other charters of liberty. The French Con- stitution of 1793 and the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which was made a part of it, contained even more elaborate 10 provisions for the safety of the individual. But while the French Constitution was munificent in its promises of privi- leges to the citizen, the means which it adopted to secure them were inadequate and indeed puerile. You remember . how that remarkable document sought to enforce its provisions 15 by directing the Constitution to be "written upon tablets and placed in the midst of the legislative body and in public places," that in the language of the Declaration "the people may always have before its eyes the fundamental pillars of its liberty and strength, and the authorities the standard of their 20 duties, and the legislator the object of his problem." The Constitution was placed " under the guarantee of all the virtues," and the Declaration concluded by solemnly enacting that " resistance to oppression is the inference from the other rights of man. It is oppression of the whole society if but 25 one of its members be oppressed. When government violates the rights of the people, insurrection of the people and of every single part of it is the most sacred of its rights and the highest of its duties." 6. The framers of that Constitution made the fatal mistake 30 of assuming that to declare certain privileges the right of the citizen was equivalent to placing them in his possession. In practical operation, however, it was soon found that the sacred right of insurrection was too unwieldy a weapon to be wielded by a single arm. " All the virtues " proved but indifferent COCKRAN 283 guardians for a constitution assailed by all the passions. A mob thirsting for the blood of a victim did not pause to read the measure of his rights on tablets, however legibly inscribed or conspicuously posted. The legislator menaced by an infu- riated populace did not hesitate to seek his own security in 5 the sacrifice of the lives of thousands without regard to " the object of his problem." The Constitution written with so much care, acclaimed with so much enthusiasm, adopted with so much hope, was suspended even before it went into opera- tion. And when on the trial of Danton a decree was passed 10 authorizing juries to declare themselves satisfied of the guilt of persons accused, at any stage of the proceedings against them, the last barrier for the protection of the citizen was swept away. Frenzied patriots and plotting demagogues combined to produce a wild reign of terror — a saturnalia of assassination. 15 Violence became synonymous with patriotism ; to be accused was to be condemned ; to refuse participation in murder was to become its victim; the guillotine became the altar of popular sovereignty, exacting human sacrifices in ghastly abundance. The blood of the best and of the w^orst ; of the 20 most patriotic and of the most disaffected ; of the philanthropic dreamer and of the brutal cut-throat ; of both sexes, of every age, and of all conditions, drenched the soil of France — not as the stern ransom of liberty, but as a mad libation to anarchy and riot. The Constitution founded to protect the rights of 25 man perished miserably after violating all of them, and repub- lican institutions became discredited throughout Europe for a century. 7. The distinction between our Republic and all others — which has made it a bulwark of liberty and order, while they 30 have generally become engines of oppression and sources of confusion — is not in the varied extent of privileges promised by them, but in the different means which they provide for their enforcement. Our Constitution w^as not committed to 284 MARSHALL AND THE CONSTITUTION the " care of all the virtues," but to the courage, wisdom, and patriotism of an independent judiciary. The whole security of our political system rests primarily on Article III of the Con- stitution, which provides that the judicial power of the United 5 States shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as Congress may from time to time ordain and establish ; and that the judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and equity arising under the Constitution and laws of the United States and treaties made under their authority ; to 10 controversies between two or more states, between a state and citizens of another state, and between citizens of different states. This is the corner stone of our political structure, but not the force which secures this government firmly on its foundations. The experience of France, and indeed of this 15 country, shows that constitutional provisions of themselves are but mere admonitions, always disregarded in practice unless adequate instrumentalities are provided to enforce them. The actual character of a constitutional government depends less on the words of its constitution than on the interpretation 20 which they receive. It was not the Constitution as drawn up by its framers, but the Constitution as interpreted by its judges, which the greatest Englishman of modern times described as the most perfect work ever struck off at a given time by the mind of man. Marshall found a plan, he placed 25 it in effective operation ; he found certain declarations in favor of individual safety, he made them the panoply of individual rights ; he found a written Constitution, he made it a constitutional government. 8. In fixing the credit due to Marshall's judicial career it is 30 not necessary to belittle the wisdom and foresight of the men who wrote the Constitution. No structure can be stronger than its foundation. John Marshall could never have raised the Supreme Court from the weakness in which he found it to the power and majesty in which he left it, if the Constitution had COCKRAN 285 not afforded him an adequate field for the fullest exercise of his constructive genius. 9. It would be superfluous, in this presence, to discuss or ,even to mention the long series of decisions through which he made the promises of freedom embraced in the Constitution 5 actual possessions of the American people. It is enough to say- that during his judicial service of thirty-four years, in deciding many controversies arising in every part of the Union, he suc- ceeded in establishing four great principles which underlie our whole constitutional system and which constitute its main sup- 10 port : first, the supremacy of the national government over the states and all their inhabitants ; second, the supremacy of the Constitution over every department of government ; third, the absolute freedom of trade and intercourse between all the states; fourth, the inviolability of private contracts. 15 10. It is true that these principles are now regarded as axioms of civilized society too obvious to be questioned in a nation capable of constitutional government, but the universal respect in which they are held is entirely due to the courage, resolution, and ability with which Marshall asserted and maintained them. 20 If no attempt to violate them had ever been made by the states or by Congress, no occasion would have arisen for the decisions which vindicate them so clearly that no respectable authority can now be found to challenge them. It is true, as the distinguished chairman of this banquet says, that the suprem- 25 acy of the Constitution over Congress and the Executive was asserted by Judge Paterson in a charge to a jury delivered long before Marshall assumed the ermine. It is equally true that at a still earlier period — in 1 788 — Alexander Hamilton devoted a number of the Federalist — I think it was the seventy-eighth 30 — to proving that it was the right and duty of the Judiciary to set aside a law which contravened the Constitution. Indeed, I believe the principle had been asserted in some of the colonies before the Revolution, But, Mr. Chairman, there is nothing 286 MARSHALL AND THE CONSTITUTION new under the sun. Marshall did not discover or establish any new principle of liberty, nor did this Constitution embrace one, but Marshall did devise an effective plan for making declara- tions of ancient principles practical features of civil government. 5 Man can no more invent a new principle than he can invent a new force. The limit of human ingenuity is exhausted when new devices are found for utilizing forces which are eternal. The force which moves the steam engine existed since the begin- ning of the world, but it never was available for the use of man lo till Watt devised an effective machine. Liberty was always an aspiration to cherish, but never till Marshall made this Consti- tution effective did liberty become a possession to enjoy. 11. Marshall brought to the interpretation of the Constitu- tion the love of a patriot, the wisdom of a statesman, and the 15 ardor of a partisan. He had followed the debates of its framers in Philadelphia ; he had successfully urged its adoption in the Virginia Convention against the eloquence and overshadowing authority of Patrick Henry. Every peril which it escaped in the progress of its evolution, every criticism of its provisions, 20 every apprehension expressed of its operations, were signal lights warning him of dangers which threatened it and suggest- ing possibilities of further development which in after years he improved to the utmost. 12. In the very general disposition to treat the Constitution 25 as a mere treaty between independent sovereignties, which might be disregarded at pleasure by any of them, he discerned a danger against which he warned his countrymen from the judgment seat almost as soon as he ascended it. From 1804, in the case of the United States against Fisher, to the last day 30 of his service, he never missed an opportunity to assert the supremacy of the federal government on all matters com- mitted to it by the Constitution as the vital principle of our national existence, nor to show by irresistible logic that to ques- tion its sovereignty was to plot its destruction. This was the COCKRAN 287 doctrine on which patriots ahvays supported the Union — for .which Webster contended in the Senate, for which armies battled during four long years, and which was finally affirmed on the battlefield when the sword of the Confederacy was sur- rendered to the triumphant forces of the Republic. 5 13. In the opposition expressed in the Philadelphia Con- vention to establishing United States courts of inferior jurisdic- tion and in the suggestion that the enforcement of the federal Constitution and laws should be confided to the state courts, he detected a disposition to emasculate the federal Judiciary 10 by making it a body without limbs, and when occasion arose in 1809 he issued that mandamus to Judge Peters which made the subordinate courts of the United States the vigorous and effective hands of the Constitution — enforcing its provisions in every locality, bringing the federal law to the doorway of the 15 citizen, maintaining the supremacy of the United States in every square foot of their territory — without interfering with the power of the state to deal with matters concerning itself and its own citizens, except to administer its justice according to its own laws when they were invoked by a stranger against a 20 resident. And when in the subsequent case of Hunter's Lessee he established the right of the Supreme Court to review any proceedings of a state tribunal which involved a question arising under the laws or Constitution of the United States, he con- verted the state courts from possible obstacles to federal author- 25 ity into additional agencies for the enforcement of federal laws. 14. In the proposal so strongly urged in the Philadelphia Convention to empower the judges of the Supreme Court to advise the legislative and the executive departments in the dis- charge of their functions he detected an apprehension that under 30 a republican form of government parliamentary bodies and executive officers might be carried to excesses by violent gusts of popular opinion, and in the case of Marbury against Madison he quieted that distrust forever by assuming for the Judiciary 288 MARSHALL AND THE CONSTITUTION the right and the duty to enforce the Constitution against any attempt to invade it by any other department, or by all the other departments of government combined, on the complaint of any citizen whose rights might be imperiled by the encroachment. 5 15. Freedom of trade between the states was secured when in Gibbons against Ogden the jurisdiction of the federal gov- ernment was established over the navigable waters of the United States, whether inland rivers or harbors of the sea, and when in the subsequent case of Brown against the State of Maryland — 10 which might be called the original " original package case " — it was held that the state had no power to impose any tax or duty by way of license or other pretext upon the products of other states seeking access to its markets. To these and the subse- quent decisions constituting the body of law governing inter- 15 state commerce we are indebted for the profound peace which reigns between the states; for if one state had been allowed to impose discriminations in matters of trade or communication against the citizens of another, each imposition would have been followed by reprisals leading in turn to fresh retaliatory meas- 20 ures, until a state of commercial war would have been the nor- mal relation between all the states. It is the history of human- ity that a conflict of interests is usually followed by a conflict of arms. 16. The Dartmouth College case, which established the invio- 25 lability of contracts, was an industrial bill of rights to the people of this country-. It has proved the very fountain of the prosper- ity which they have achieved and of the greater prosperity which awaits them. While the whole industrial activity of man depends upon his belief in the fulfillment of contracts, there is often a 30 strong tendency in legislatures and governments to repudiate debts or obstruct their collection. When, therefore, Marshall placed the obligation of contracts beyond the power of any state to disturb, he made the industry of this country the most prosperous in the world by making its fruits the most secure. COCKRAN 289 17. If I were to summarize Marshall's service I should say that on the solid foundation of the Constitution he made power, justice, peace, and prosperity the four great pillars of our gov- ernmental system : power by establishing the sovereignty of the general government over the states, thus making it the 5 strongest nation in the world ; justice by establishing the domin- ion of the Constitution over all the departments of the gov- ernment ; peace by establishing freedom of intercourse between all the states; prosperity by establishing the inviolability of pri- vate contracts. The decisions of Marshall's successors, without 10 disturbing these pillars, have strengthened them, and the stately fabric of government which they support. 18. The stability of the Union has been secured as much by forbearance in refusing to exercise powers not properly belong- ing to it as by firmness in enforcing those essential to its ex- 15 istence. The inviolability of contracts has not been allowed to pervert franchises granted for the public convenience into monopolies beyond the power of the state to control. The right of every citizen to trade, move, or labor everywhere throughout the whole territory of the United States on equal terms with all 20 others has not been allowed to interfere with the right of each state to protect health, order, and morals within its -limits, the only restriction on its police power being the requirement that every exercise of it must apply equally to citizen and stranger under its jurisdiction. 25 19. It is perhaps the most extraordinary feature of our polit- ical system, as it is the most impressive tribute to Marshall's genius, that the power of the Judiciary — now unquestioned — to fix the limits of its own authority and the authority of all other departments rests not upon any specific provision of the Con- 30 stitution, but on a principle of construction first announced authoritatively in the case of Marbury against Madison. The approval bestowed on that momentous decision and on every subsequent amplification of its doctrine has been so universal 290 MARSHALL AND THE CONSTITUTION that the judicial department has been encouraged to extend the buckler of its authority over an ever-widening field, until it has become the dominant force in our national life — the one ele- ment which through all our existence has steadily grown in power 5 and beneficence. Never has the Supreme Court exercised its supreme power of setting aside a law of Congress or of a state that the people did not sustain its course with substantial una- nimity. With the exception of the Eleventh Amendment, there is not in the history of the United States, or of any state, a single lo instance in which the people consented to a constitutional pro- vision limiting the power of the Judiciary, while the tendency everywhere has always been to enlarge it. While this respect for the Judiciary remains a conspicuous feature of our national life, no peril to our institutions can ever become serious. Where 15 parliament is supreme, corruption of legislative bodies under- mines the life of the whole State, for when the omnipotent source of power itself becomes corrupt, all the streams which flow from it must be tainted, and laws springing from greed are sure to be administered for the plunder and oppression of 20 the people. Under such conditions industry languishes, pros- perity withers, civiHzation itself is imperiled. But under our democratic government the right of the citizen to come and go as he pleases, the right to enjoy his property, to exchange the product of his industry against the commodities produced by 25 others, depend not upon the honesty of the legislature, or the loyalty of the executive, but upon the virtue and independence of the Judiciary. If corruption exists in this country, it can only affect the bestowal of favors by the government ; it cannot endanger the life, liberty, or property of a single individual. 30 There may be partiality — corruption, if you will — in the bestowal of public franchises, of public offices, and of public con- tracts, but while there is none in the administration of justice, while the courts remain true to the example and precepts of Marshall, all the essential rights of the citizen are as secure as COCKRAN 291 the earth under his feet, they can no more be invaded than the stars in heaven can be blotted from his gaze. 20. One hundred years after the establishment of our Con- stitution, what purpose expressed in its preamble remains to be accomphshed — what hope cherished by its framers is un- 5 fulfilled? I know of none. Look around you and tell me if this be an idle boast. Has not the Union been made perfect through the wisdom of the great magistrate who showed its necessity and the blood of the heroes who cemented it? Is not justice firmly established by the unquestioned dominion of the 10 Constitution? Is not domestic tranquillity absolutely insured since perfect freedom of intercourse and trade removes all provocation to hostile acts or feelings between the states? Is not the common defense abundantly provided for by the over- whelming strength of a populous nation whose every inhabit- 15 ant would die for the integrity of its soil and the glory of its flag? Has not the general welfare been promoted beyond the wildest hopes of the fathers since the security of property encourages industry to wring measureless abundance from a fruitful soil? Are not the blessings of liberty secured for our- 20 selves and our posterity beyond fear of invasion or danger of abridgment by the effective protection which the Judiciary casts over the essential rights of every citizen? 21. Looking back over the history of this country I cannot entertain a doubt of its security or of its future. While the 25 judicial department remains the depository of our rights and liberties, — the ark of our political covenant, — while the courts remain the inviolable sanctuary of justice, the Constitution will remain the secure foundation of the principles established by Marshall, and this government will continue to be the tem- 30 pie of freedom, the bulwark of order, the light of progress, the supreme monument of what man has achieved, the inspiring promise of the boundless future that awaits him. INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION Carl Schurz An address delivered before the American Conference ON International Arbitration held in Washington, Dis- trict OF Columbia, April 22, 1896. INTRODUCTION Carl Schurz, statesman, journalist, orator, and publicist, was born at Liblar, Prussia, March 2, 1829. While a student at the University of Bonn, in 1849, ^^ participated in a student insurrec- tion against governmental absolutism and for German unification, and took part in the defense of Rastatt, a fortified town of Baden, then occupied by the Revolutionary party. On the surrender of that fortress he was arrested and imprisoned, but escaped to Switzerland. In 1852 he came to America, resided three years in Philadelphia, and then settled in Watertown, Wisconsin. In 1859 he removed to Milwaukee, where he practiced law. He soon became one of the leaders of the newly founded Republican party, and was a prominent speaker for Lincoln during the presidential campaign of i860. In 1 86 1 President Lincoln appointed him Minister to Spain. Resigning that ofiice to enter the Union army, he served at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chattanooga, and other battles, leaving the army with rank of major general. After the war he settled at St. Louis, and from 1869 to 1875 he represented Mis- souri in the United States Senate, beginning there the work for the reform of the civil service which did so much to force the Liberal Republican movement of 1872 and the even more decisive "mug- wump " revolt of 1884. Mr. Schurz removed to New York City in 1875. From 1877 to 1881 he was Secretary of the Interior, retiring to devote himself to journalism and literature. In 1 881-1883 he edited the New York Evening Post, and thereafter was a writer and speaker on various public questions. In 1 892, on the death of 293 294 INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION George William Curtis, he was made president of the National Civil Service Reform Association. On March 2, 1899, his seven- tieth birthday was celebrated at Delmonico's, New York City, by a complimentary dinner which was attended by many of the nation's most prominent men. He died May 14, 1906, For fifty years Mr. Schurz wielded an influence over public opinion in this country, especially among German-American citi- zens, that it would be hard to overestimate. And this in spite of bitter political opposition. In politics he was always a con- servative independent, opposing any tendency that seemingly threatened the cause of individual liberty which he espoused in his native country. Though usually favoring the principles and policies of the Republican party, his political influence and appointments were won by sheer force of ability and statesman- ship. His attitude on political questions was that of the states- man rather than that of the mere politician. He never spoke solely for any party, and never had any party behind him. He supported Horace Greeley for President in 1872, and as one of the leaders of the "mugwump" movement in 1884 he helped indirectly to elect President Cleveland. As United States Senator he opposed many of the principal measures of Grant's adminis- tration. Against the bitter partisanry of the Republican majority, in dealing with the problems of Reconstruction, he stood for a just and generous policy. In 1872 he delivered a notable speech in the' Senate, favoring a policy of general amnesty toward the South and urging the removal of all political disabilities imposed by the third section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Consti- tution. For cogency of reasoning, keen insight into the motives and springs of human action, and persuasive appeal to the nobler sentiments of his hearers, this speech stands out in marked contrast to much of the coarse and brutal haranguing of that period. In concluding this speech, he said: " I would not have the past forgotten, but I would have its his- tory completed and crowned by an act most worthy of a great, noble, and wise people. ... I do not, indeed, indulge in the delu- sion that this act alone will remedy all the evils which we now deplore. No, it will not ; but it will be a powerful appeal to the very best instincts and impulses of human nature ; it will, like a warm ray of sunshine in springtime, quicken and call to light the germs of good intention wherever they exist; it will give new SCHURZ 295 courage, confidence, and inspiration to .the well-disposed ; it will weaken the power of the mischievous by stripping off their pretexts and exposing in their nakedness the wicked designs they still may cherish ; it will light anew the beneficent glow of fraternal feeling and of national spirit ; for, Sir, your good sense as well as your heart must tell you that when this is truly a people of citizens equal in their political rights, it will then be easier to make it also a people of brothers." At the celebration of Mr. Schurz's seventieth birthday, previously mentioned. Honorable Moorfield Storey, of Boston, said : " Mr. Schurz brought into the Senate a fresh moral force, and as we read his speeches we cannot fail to recognize with fresh admiration the unvarying wisdom, the far-seeing statesmanship, the unflinching courage, the high purpose, with which he met them all. The singular clearness of statement, which has never deserted him, his wonderful command of English, the unfailing calmness and dignity with which he encountered and returned the attacks of his opponents, made him the first debater in the Senate, and an orator second to none. But he never descended to any- thing unworthy, and you may search his speeches in vain for any appeal to low motive, for any trace of thought for his personal fortunes." Mr. Schurz may properly be considered as one of the foremost American orators. As a speaker he was noted for his plainness and directness. Except a slight accent in delivery, there was nothing about his speaking for which he had to claim indulgence. His style is unornamented and businesslike ; yet in spite of their lack of the poetical quality his speeches have done much to make American history. " But," says Reverend Richard S. Storrs in one of his speeches, " no discourse that he can utter, however brilliant in rhetoric ; no analysis, however lucid ; no clear and comprehensive sweep of his thought, though expressed in words which ring in our ears and live in our memories, can so fully and fittingly illustrate to us the progress of liberal ideas as does the man himself, in his character and career — an Old-World citizen of the American Republic whose marvelous mastery of our tough English tongue is still surpassed by his more marvelous mastery over the judgments and the hearts of those who hear him use it." The following speech was selected by Mr. Schurz himself as representing a subject of present interest, and as one of the Best 296 INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION of his later addresses. It was delivered before a body of distin- guished men, and the invitation extended Mr. Schurz to address them was a deserved recognition of the speaker's authority on the question of international arbitration. 1. Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Conference : I have been honored with the request that I should address you on the desirableness of arbitration as a method of settling international disputes. To show that arbitration is preferable 5 to war should be, among civilized people, as superfluous as to show that to refer disputes between individuals or associations to courts of justice is better than to r6fer them to single com- bat or to street fights, — in one word, that the ways of civiliza- tion are preferable to those of barbarism. Neither is there any 10 doubt as to the practicability of international arbitration. What seemed an ideahstic dream in Hugo Grotius's time, is now largely an established practice : no longer an uncertain experi- ment, but an acknowledged success. In this century not less than eighty controversies between civilized powers have been 15 composed by arbitration. And more than that. Every interna- tional dispute settled by arbitration has stayed settled, while dur- ing the same period some of the results of great wars have not stayed settled, and others are unceasingly drawn in question, being subject to the shifting preponderance of power. And 20 such wars have cost rivers of blood, countless treasure, and immeasurable misery, while arbitration has cost comparatively nothing. Thus history teaches the indisputable lesson that arbitration is not only the most human and economical method of settling international differences, but also the most, if not 25 the only, certain method to furnish enduring results. 2 . As to the part war has played, and may still have to play, in the history of mankind, I do not judge as a blind sentimen- talist. I readily admit that, by the side of horrible devasta- tions and barbarous cruelty, great and beneficent things, have • 30 been accomplished by means of war, in forming nations and in SCHURZ 297 spreading and establishing the rule or influence of the capable and progressive. I will not inquire how much of this work still remains to be done, and what place war may have in it. But surely, among the civilized nations of to-day — and these we are considering — the existing conditions of intercourse largely 5 preclude war as an agency for salutary objects. The steamship, the railroad, the telegraph, the postal union, and other inter- national arrangements facilitating transportation and the circu- lation of intelligence have broken down many of the barriers which formerly enabled nations to lead separate lives, and have 10 made them, in those things which constitute the agencies of well-being and of progressive civilization, in a very high degree dependent upon each other. And this development of common life interests and mutual furtherance, mental as well as material, still goes on in continuous growth. Thus a war between civi- 15 lized nations means now a rupture of arteries of common life- blood, a stoppage of the agencies of common well-being and advancement, a waste of energies serviceable to common inter- ests, — in one word, a general disaster, infinitely more serious than in times gone by ; and it is, consequently, now an infi- 20 nitely more heinous crime against humanity, unless not only the ends it is to serve fully justify the sacrifices it entails, but unless also all expedients suggested by the genius of peace have been exhausted to avert the armed conflict. 3. Of those pacific expedients, when ordinary diplomatic 25 negotiation does not avail, arbitration has proved itself most effective. And it is the object of the movement in which we are engaged, to make the resort to arbitration, in case of inter- national difliculty, still more easy, more regular, more normal, more habitual, and thereby to render the resort to war more 30 unnatural and more difficult than heretofore. 4. In this movement the Republic of the United States is the natural leader, and I can conceive for it no nobler or more beneficent mission. The naturalness of this leadership is owing 298 INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION to its peculiar position among the nations of the earth. Look at the powers of the Old World, how each of them is uneasily watching the other ; how conflicting interests or ambitions are constantly exciting new anxieties ; how they are all armed to 5 the teeth, and nervously increasing their armaments, lest a hostile neighbor overmatch |;hem ; how they are piling expense upon expense and tax upon tax to augment their instruments of destruction ; how, as has been said, every workingman toiling for his daily bread has to carry a full-armed soldier 10 or sailor on his back; and how, in spite of those bristling armaments, their sleep is unceasingly troubled by dreams of interest threatened, of marches stolen upon them, of com- binations hatched against them, and of the danger of some accident breaking the precarious peace and setting those 15 gigantic and exhausting preparations in motion for the work of ravage and ruin. 5. And then look at this Republic, stronger than any nation in Europe in the number, intelligence, vigor, and patriotism of its people, and in the unparalleled abundance of its barely 20 broached resources ; resting with full security in its magnificent domain ; standing safely aloof from the feuds of the Old World ; substantially unassailable in its great continental stronghold ; no dangerous neighbors threatening its borders ; no outlying and exposed possessions to make it anxious ; the only great 25 power in the world seeing no need of keeping up vast standing armaments on land or sea to maintain its peace or to protect its integrity; its free institutions making its people the sole master of its destinies ; and its best political traditions pointing to a general policy of peace and good will among men. What 30 nation is there better fitted to be the champion of this cause of peace" and good will than this, so strong although unarmed, and so entirely exempt from any imputation of the motive of fear or of selfish advantage ? Truly, this Republic with its power and its opportunities is the pet of destiny. SCHURZ 299 6. As an American citizen I cannot contemplate this noble peace mission of my country without a thrill of pride. And I must confess, it touches me like an attack upon the dignity of this Republic when I hear Americans repudiate that peace mis- sion upon the ground of supposed interests of the United States, 5 requiring for their protection or furtherance preparation for warlike action and the incitement of a fighting spirit among our people. To judge from the utterances of some men having the public ear, we are constantly threatened by the evil designs of rival or secretly hostile powers that are eagerly watching 10 every chance to humiliate our self-esteem, to insult our flag, to balk our policies, to harass our commerce, and even to threaten our independence, and putting us in imminent danger of dis- comfiture of all sorts, unless we stand with sword in hand in sleepless watch, and cover the seas with war ships, and picket 15 the islands of every ocean with garrisoned outposts, and sur- round ourselves far and near with impregnable fortresses. What a poor idea those indulging in such talk have of the true posi- tion of their country among the nations of the world ! 7. A little calm reflection will convince every unprejudiced 20 mind that there is not a single power, nor even an imaginable combination of powers, on the face of the globe that can wish — I might almost say that can afford — a serious quarrel with the United States. There are very simple reasons for this. War in our days is not a mere matter of military skill, nor even 25 — as it would certainly not be in our case — a mere matter of preparation for the first onset. It is a matter of material resources, of reserves, of staying power. Now, considering that in all these respects our means are substantially inexhaustible, and that the patriotic spirit and the extraordinary ingenuity of 30 our people would greatly aid their development in the progress of a conflict; considering that, however grievous might -be the injuries which a strong hostile navy could inflict upon us at the beginning of a war, it could not touch a vital point, as on 300 INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION land we would be immensely superior to any army that could be brought upon our shores ; considering that thus a war with the United States, as a test of endurance, would, so far as our staying power is concerned, be a war of indefinite duration; 5 considering all these things, I am justified in saying that no European power can engage in such a conflict with us, without presenting to its rivals in the Old World the most tempting opportunity for hostile action. And no European power will do this, unless forced by extreme necessity. For the same lo reason, no European power will, even if it were so inclined, insist upon doing anything injurious to bur interests that might lead to a war with the United States. We may therefore depend upon it with absolute assurance that, whether we are armed or not, no European power will seek a quarrel with us ; that, on 1 5 the contrary, they will avoid such a quarrel with the utmost care ; that we cannot have a war with any of them, unless we wantonly and persistently seek such a war ; and that they will respect our rights and comply with our demands, if just and proper, in the way of friendly agreement. 2o 8. If anybody doubts this, let him look at a recent occur- rence. The alarmists about the hostihty to us of foreign powers usually have Great Britain in their minds. I am very sure President Cleveland, when he wrote his Venezuela mes- sage, did not mean to provoke a war with Great Britain. But 25 the language of that message might have been construed as such a provocation, by anybody inclined to do so. Had Great Britain wished a quarrel with us, here was a tempting oppor- tunity. Everybody knew that we had but a small navy, an insignificant standing army, and no coast defenses ; and in 30 fact we were entirely unprepared for a conflict. The public opinion of Europe, too, was against us. What did the British government do? It did not avail itself of that opportunity. It did not resent the language of that message. On the con- trary, the Queen's speech from the throne gracefully turned SCHURZ 301 that message into an " expression of willingness " on the part of the United States to cooperate with Great Britain in the adjustment of the Venezuela boundary dispute. 9. It has been said that the conciliatory mildness of this turn was owing to the impression produced in England by the 5 German Emperor's congratulatory dispatch to the President of the South African Republic. If the two things were so connected, it would prove what I have said, that even the strongest European government will be deterred from a quarrel with the United States by the opportunities which such a 10 quarrel would open to its rivals. If the two things were not so connected, it would prove that even the strongest European power will under any circumstances go to very great lengths in the way of conciliation, to remain on friendly terms with this Republic. 15 10. In the face of these indisputable facts, we hear the hysterical cries of the alarmists, who scent behind every rock or bush a foreign foe standing with dagger in hand ready to spring upon us and to rob us of our valuables if not to kill us outright, or at least making faces at us or insulting the stars 20 and stripes. Is not this constant and eager looking for danger or insult where neither exists, very like that melancholy form of insanity called jpersecution mania, which is so extremely distressing to the sufferers and their friends? We may heartily commiserate the unfortunate victims of so dreadful an afflic- 25 tion ; but surely the American people should not take such morbid hallucinations as a reason for giving up that inesti- mable blessing of not being burdened with large armaments, and for embarking upon a policy of warhke preparation and bellicose bluster. 30 11. It is a little less absurd in sound, but not in sense, when people say that instead of trusting in our position as the great peace power, we must at least have plenty of war ships to " show our flag " everywhere, and to impress foreign nations 302 INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION with our strength, to the end of protecting and developing our maritime commerce. Granting that we should have a sufficient naval force for our share of police work on the seas, would a large armament be required on account of our maritime trade ? 5 Let us see. Fifty years ago, as the official statistics of " the value of foreign trade carried in American and foreign vessels " show, nearly eighty-two per cent of that trade was carried on in American vessels. Between 1847 ^^^ 1861 the percentage fell to sixty-five. Then the Civil War came, at the close of 10 which American bottoms carried only twenty-eight per cent of that trade ; and now we carry less than twelve per cent. During the period when this maritime trade rose to its highest development, we had no naval force to be in any degree com- pared with those of the great European powers. Nor did we 15 need any for the protection of our maritime commerce, for no foreign power molested that commerce. In fact, since the War of 1 81 2, it has not been molested by anybody so as to require armed protection, except during the Civil War by Confederate cruisers. The harassment ceased again when the 20 Civil War ended, but our merchant shipping, on the high seas continued to decline. 12. That decline was evidently not owing to the superiority of other nations in naval armament. It was coincident with the development of ocean transportation by iron steamships 25 instead of wooden sailing ships. The wooden sailing ships we had in plenty, but of iron steamships we have only a few. It appears, therefore, that whatever we may need a large war fleet for, it is certainly not for the development of our mari- time commerce. To raise that commerce to its old superiority 30 again, we want no more war ships, but more merchant vessels. To obtain these, we need a policy enabling American capital and enterprise to compete in that business with foreign nations. And to make such a policy fruitful, we need, above all things, peace. And we shall have that peace so long as we abstain SCHURZ 303 from driving some foreign power, against its own inclination, into a war with the United States. 13. Can there be any motive other than the absurd ones mentioned to induce us to provoke such a war ? I have heard it said that a war might be desirable to enliven business again. 5 Would not that be as wise and moral as a proposition to burn down our cities for the purpose of giving the masons and car- penters something to do? Nay, we are even told that there are persons who would have a foreign war on any pretext, no matter with whom, to the end of bringing on a certain change 10 in our monetary policy. But the thought of plotting in cold blood to break the peace of the country, and to send thou- sands of our youths to slaughter, and to desolate thousands of American homes, for an object of internal policy, whatever it may be, is so abominable, so ghastly, so appalhng, that I dis- 15 miss it as impossible of belief. 14. I know, however, from personal experience, of some otherwise honorable and sensible men who wish for a war on sentimental — aye, on high moral grounds. One of them, whom I much esteem, confessed to me that he longed for a war, 20 if not with England, then with Spain or some other power, as he said, " to lift the American people out of their materiaHsm and to awaken once more that heroic spirit which moved young Gushing to risk his life in blowing up the Confederate steamer Albemarle^ This, when I heard it, fairly took my 25 breath away. And yet, we must admit, such fanatical confusion of ideas is not without charm to some of our high-spirited young men. But what a mocking delusion it is ! To lift a people out of materialism by war ! Has not war always excited the spirit of~reckless and unscrupulous speculation, not only 30 while it was going on, but also afterwards, by the economic disorders accompanying and outlasting it? Has it not always stimulated the rapid and often dishonest accumulation of riches on one side, while spreading and intensifying want and 304 INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION misery on the other? Has it not thus always had a tendency to plunge a people still deeper into materialism? Has not every great war left a dark streak of demoralization behind? Has it not thus always proved dangerous to the purity of 5 republican governments? Is not this our own experience? And as to awakening the heroic spirit — does it not, while stir- ring noble impulses in some, excite the base passions in others? And do not the young Cushings among us find opportunities for heroism in the life of peace, too? Would it be wise, in the lo economy of the universe, to bring on a war, with its bloodshed and devastation, its distress and mourning, merely for the purpose of accommodating our young braves with chances for blowing up ships? The old Roman poet tells us that it is sweet and glorious to die for one's country. It is noble, indeed. 15 But to die on the battlefield is not the highest achievement of heroism. To live for a good cause honestly, earnestly, un- selfishly, laboriously, is at least as noble and heroic as to die for it, and usually far more difficult. 15. I have seen war. I have seen it with its glories and 20 horrors; with its noble emotions and its bestialities; with its exaltations and triumphs, and its unspeakable miseries and baneful corruptions; and heard flippant talk of war, as if it were only a holiday pastime or a mere athletic sport. We are often told that there are things worse than war. Yes, but not 25 many. He deserves the curse of mankind who, in the exercise of power, forgets that war should be only the very last resort, even in contending for a just and beneficent end, after all the resources of peaceful methods are thoroughly exhausted. As an American, proud of his country and anxious that this 30 Republic should prove itself equal to the most glorious of its opportunities, I cannot but denounce as a wretched fatuity that so-called patriotism which will not remember that we are the envy of the whole world for the priceless privilege of being exempt from the oppressive burden of warlike preparations; SCHURZ 305 which, when it sees other nations groaning under that load, tauntingly asks, "Why do you not disarm?" and then insists that the American people too shall put the incubus of a heavy armament on their backs ; and which would drag this Repub- lic down from its high degree of the championship of peace 5 among nations, and degrade it to the vulgar level of the bully ready and eager for a fight. 16. We hear much of the necessity of an elaborate sys- tem of coast fortifications to protect our seajDorts from assault. How far such system may be desirable, I will not here discuss. 10 But I am confident our strongest, most effective, most trust- worthy, and infinitely the cheapest coast defense will consist in " Fort Justice," '' Fort Good Sense," " Fort Self-respect," " Fort Good Will," and if international differences really do arise, " Fort Arbitration." ' 15 17. Let no one accuse me of resorting to the claptrap of the stump speech in discussing this grave subject. I mean exactly what I say, and am solemnly in earnest. This Republic can have no other armament so effective as the weapons of peace. Its security, its influence, its happiness, and its glory 20 will be the greater, the less it thinks of war. Its moral authority wall be far more potent than its intercourse with foreign nations, be best maintained by that justice which is the duty of all ; by that generous regard not only for the rights, but also the self-respect of others, which is the distinguishing 25 mark of the true gentleman ; and by that patient forbearance which is the most gracious virtue of the strong. 18. For all these reasons, it appears to me this RepubHc is the natural champion of the great peace measure, for the furtherance of which we are met. The permanent establish- 30 ment of a general court of arbitration to be composed of representative jurists of the principal states, and to take cog- nizance of all international disputes that cannot be settled by ordinary diplomatic negotiation, is no doubt the ideal to be 306 INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION aimed at. If this cannot be reached at once, the conclusion of an arbitration treaty between the United States and Great Britain may be regarded as a great step in that direction. 19. I say this, not as a so-called Anglomaniac, bowing 5 down before everything English. While I admire the magnifi- cent qualities and achievements of that great nation, I am not blind to its faults. I suppose Englishmen candidly expressing their sentiments speak in a similar strain of us. But I believe that an arbitration agreement between just these two countries 10 would not only be of immense importance to themselves, but also serve as an example to invite imitation in wider circles. In this respect, I do not think that the so-called blood relation- ship of the two nations, which would make such an arbitration agreement between them appear more natural, furnishes the 15 strongest reason for it. It is indeed true that the ties binding the two peoples sentimentally together would give to a war between them an especially wicked and heinous aspect. But were their arbitration agreement placed mainly on this ground, it would lose much of its important significance for the world at large. 20 20. In truth, however, the common ancestry, the common origin of institutions and laws, the common traditions, the common literature, and so on, have not prevented conflicts between the Americans and the English before, and they would not alone be sufficient to prevent them in the future. 25 Such conflicts may, indeed, be regarded as family feuds ; but family feuds are apt to be the bitterest of all. In point of fact, there is by no means such a community or accord of inter- est or of feeling between the two nations as to preclude hot rivalries and jealousies on many fields which might now and 30 then bring forth an exciting clash. We hear it said even now, in this country, that Great Britain is not the power with whom to have a permanent peace arrangement, because she is so high-handed in her dealings with other nations. I should not wonder if the same . thing were said in England about the SCHURZ 307 United States. This, of course, is not an argument against an arbitration agreement, but rather for it. Such an arrangement between nations of such temper is especially called for, to prevent that temper from running away with calm reason. Between perfect angels from heaven an arbitration treaty 5 would be superfluous. 21. The institution of a regulated and permanent system of arbitration between the United States and Great Britain would, therefore, not be a mere sentimental cooing between loving cousins, nor a mere stage show gotten up for the amusement 10 of the public, but a very serious contrivance intended for very serious business. It will set to mankind the example of two very great nations, the greatest rivals in the world, neither of them a mere theorist or sentimental dreamer, both intensely practical, self-willed, and hard-headed, deliberately agreeing 15 to abstain from the barbarous ways of bygone times in adjust- ing the questions of conflicting interest or ambition that may arise between them, and to resort, instead, in all cases of difficulty to the peaceable and civilized methods suggested by the enlightenment, the moral sense, and the human spirit of 20 our age. If these two nations prove that this can be done, will not the conclusion gradually force itself upon other civi- lized nations that, by others too, it ought to be done, and finally that it must be done? This is the service to be ren- dered, not only to ourselves, but to mankind. 25 22. While the practicability of international arbitration, by tribunals established in each case, has been triumphantly proved, there is some difference of opinion as to whether a permanent tribunal is possible, whether it can be so organized as to be fit for the adjustment of all disputes that might come 30 before it ; and whether there would be any power behind it to enforce its adjudications, in case one party or the other refused to comply. Such doubts should not disturb our purpose. Similar doubts had to be overcome at every step of 308 INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION the progress from the ancient wager of battle to the present organization of courts of justice. I am sanguine enough to believe that, as soon as the two governments have once resolved that a fixed system of international arbitration shall 5 be established between them, the same ingenuity which has been exerted in discovering difficulties will then be exerted in removing them, and most of them will be found not to exist. The end to be reached in good faith determined upon, a workable machinery will soon be devised, be it a permanent 10 arbitration tribunal, or the adoption of an organic rule for the appointment of a special tribunal for each case. We may trust to experience to develop the best system. 23. Neither am I troubled by the objection that there are some international disputes which, in their very nature, cannot 15 be submitted to arbitration, especially those involving ques- tions of national honor. When the habit of such submission is once well established, it will doubtless be found that most of the questions now thought unfit for it are entirely capable of composition by methods of reason and equity. And as to so- 20 called questions of honor, it is time for modern civilization to leave behind it those mediaeval notions, according to which personal honor found its best protection in the dueling pistol, and national honor could be vindicated only by slaughter and devastation. Moreover, was not the great Alabama case, which 25 involved points very closely akin to questions of honor, settled by international arbitration, and does not this magnificent achievement form one of the most glorious pages of the com- mon history of America and England ? Truly, the two nations that accomplished this need not be afraid of unadjustable 30 questions of honor in the future. 24. Indeed, there will be no recognized power behind a court of arbitration, like an international sheriff or other executionary force, to compel the acceptance of its decisions by an unwilling party. In this extreme case there would be, SCHURZ 309 as the worst possible result, what there would have been with- out arbitration — war ! But in how many of the fourscore cases of international arbitration we have witnessed in this century, has such an enforcing power been needed ? In not a single one. In every instance the same spirit which moved 5 the contending parties to accept arbitration moved them also to accept the verdict. Why, then, borrow trouble where experience has shown that there is no danger of mischief? The most trustworthy compelling power will always be the sense of honor of the parties concerned, and their respect for 10 the enlightened judgment of civilized mankind which will watch the proceedings. We may therefore confidently expect that a permanent system of arbitration will prove as feasible as it is desirable. Nor is there any reason to doubt that its general purpose is intelligently and warmly favored by the best public 15 sentiment both in England and in the United States. The memorial of two hundred and thirty- three members of the Brit- ish House of Commons which, in 1887, was presented to the President and the Congress of the United States, expressing the wish that all international differences be submitted to arbitra- 20 tion, was, in 1890, echoed by a unanimous vote of our Congress requesting the President to open negotiations, in this sense, with all countries with which we had diplomatic relations. Again this sentiment broke forth in England as well as here, on the occasion of the Venezuela excitement, in demonstra- 25 tions of the highest respectability. Indeed, the popular desire, as well as the argument, seems to be all on one side. I have heard of only one objection that makes the slightest pretense to statesmanship, and it needs only to be stated to cover its supporters with confusion. It is that we are a young and 30 aspiring people, and that a binding arbitration treaty would hamper us in our freedom of action ! 25. Let the light be turned upon this. What is it that an arbitration treaty contemplates? That in all cases of dispute 3IO INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION between this and a certain other country, there shall be an impartial tribunal regularly appointed to decide, upon principles of international law, equity, and reason, what this and what the other country may be justly entitled to. And this arrange- 5 ment is to be shunned as hampering our freedom of action ! - 26. What will you think of a man who tells you that he feels himself intolerably hampered in his freedom of action by the ten commandments or by the criminal code? What respect and confidence can a nation claim for its character that rejects 10 a trustworthy and well-regulated method of ascertaining and establishing right and justice, avowedly to preserve its freedom of action? Shame upon those who would have this great Republic play so disreputable a part 1 I protest that the Ameri- can people are an honorable people. Wherever its interests or 15 ambitions may lead this great nation, I am sure it will always preserve the self-respect which will prompt it to court the search light of truth and justice rather than, by skulking on dark and devious paths, to seek to evade it. 27. Therefore, I doubt not that the patriotic citizens assem- 20 bled here to promote the establishment of a permanent system of arbitration between this country and Great Britain may be confident of having the warm sympathy of the American peo- ple behind them, when they knock at the door of the President of the United States, and say to him : " In the name of all 25 good Americans we commend this cause to your care. If carried to a successful issue, it will hold up this Republic to its noblest ideals. It will illuminate with fresh luster the close of this great century. It will write the name of the American people foremost upon the roll of the champions of the world's peace 30 and of true civilization." OPPORTUNITY John Lancaster Spalding An address delivered at the opening of Spalding Institute, Peoria, Illinois, December 6, 1899 INTRODUCTION John Lancaster Spalding, writer, preacher, and orator, a descend- ant of an old English Catholic family, was born in Lebanon, Ken- tucky, June 2, 1840. He was educated at the Mount St. Mary's College, Cincinnati, Ohio, and at the University of Louvain, Bel- gium, where he was ordained priest in 1863. In 1865 he entered upon his priestly career at the Cathedral of Louisville. In 1872 he was selected to write the biography of his distinguished uncle, Martin John Spalding, formerly Archbishop of Baltimore, — a work which has been accepted as the best biography in Catholic literature. Father Spalding was consecrated Bishop of Peoria, Illinois, May I, 1877, and his work has since been centered in this field. Along with the work in his diocese, he has taken a prominent part in various educational and social mqvements, and his position as ap authority in the latter class of questions was recognized by his appointment in 1902 as a member of the President's commission to investigate the coal strike. He early attracted attention as a pulpit orator. " Priests and people flocked to hear the orator who could make men think." Of late years he has been in constant demand as a speaker for various occasions. A man of strong mentality, he has a happy faculty of crystallizing his thought in brilliant expression. In the vol- ume commemorative of Bishop Spalding's Silver Jubilee in 1899, — the occasion that called forth the address in this volume, — one writer says : 3" 312 OPPORTUNITY " America has no finer type of the cultured Christian gentleman ; an uncynical sage, a thinker unafraid, a churchman without cant, an unselfish patriot, a large-minded, genuine, reverent man. . . . At the beginning of this new century Bishop Spalding stands prophet-like apart to remind men of the nobler purposes of living." I . How shall I live ? How shall I make the most of my life and put it to the best use? How shall I become a man and do a man's work? This, and not politics or trade or war or pleasure, is the question. The primary consideration is not 5 how one shall get a living, but how he shall live ; for if he live rightly, whatever is needful he shall easily find. Life is oppor- tunity, and therefore its whole circumstance may be made to serve the purpose of those who are bent on self-improvement, on making themselves capable of doing thorough work. Oppor- 10 tunity is a word which, like so many others that are excellent, we get from the Romans. It means near port, close to haven. It is a favorable occasion, time, or place for learning or saying or doing a thing. It is an invitation to seek safety and refresh- ment, an appeal to make escape from what is low and vulgar 15 and to take refuge in high thoughts and worthy deeds, from which flow increase of strength and joy. It is omnipresent. What we call evils, as poverty, neglect, and suffering, are, if we are wise, opportunities for good. Death itself teaches life's value not less than its vanity. It is the background against 20 which its worth and beauty stand forth in clear relief. Its dark form follows us like our shadow, to bid us win the prize while yet there is time ; to teach that if we live in what is permanent, the destroyer cannot blight what we know and love ; to urge us, with a power that belongs to nothing else, to lay the stress 25 of all our hoping and doing on the things that cannot pass away. "Poverty," says Ouida, "is the north wind that lashes men into Vikings." " Lowliness is young ambition's ladder." What is more pleasant than to read of strong-hearted youths, who, in the midst of want and hardships of many kinds, have SPALDING 313 clung to books, feeding, like bees to flowers ? By the light of pine logs, in dim-lit garrets, in the fields following the plow, in early dawns when others are asleep, they ply their blessed task, seeking nourishment for the mind, athirst for truth, yearning for full sight of the high worlds of which they have 5 caught faint glimpses ; happier now, lacking everything save faith and a great purpose, than in after years when success shall shower on them applause and gold. 2. Life is good, and opportunities of becoming and doing good are always with us. Our house, our table, our tools, our 10 books, our city, our country, our language, our business, our profession, — the people who love us and those who hate, they who help and they who oppose, — what is all this but oppor- tunity? Wherever we be there is opportunity of turning to gold the dust of daily happenings. If snow and storm keep 15 me at home is not here an invitation to turn to the immortal silent ones who never speak unless they are addressed ? If loss or pain or wrong befall me, shall they not show me the soul of good there is in things evil? Good fortune may serve to per- suade us that the essential good is a noble mind and a con- 20 science without flaw. Success will make plain the things in which we fail ; failure shall spur us on to braver hope and striving. If I am left alone, yet God and all the heroic dead are with me still. If a great city is my dwelling place, the superficial life of noise and haste shall teach me how 25 blessed a thing it is to live within in the company of true thoughts and high resolves. 3. Whatever can help me to think and love, whatever can give me strength and patience, whatever can make me humble and serviceable, though it be a trifle light as air, is opportunity, 30 whose whim it is to hide in unconsidered things, in chance acquaintance and casual speech, in the falling of an apple, in floating weeds, or the accidental explosion in a chemist's mor- tar. Wisdom is habited in plainest garb, and she walks modestly. 314 OPPORTUNITY unheeded of the gaping and \<^ondering crowd. She rules over the kingdom of Httle things, in which the lowly minded hold the places of privilege. Her secrets are revealed to the care- ful, the patient, and the humble. They may be learned from the 5 ant, or the flower that blooms in some hidden spot, or from the Hps of husbandmen and housewives. He is wise who finds a teacher in every man, an occasion to improve in every happen- ing, for whom nothing is useless or in vain. If one whom he has trusted prove false, he lays it to the account of his own lo heedlessness and resolves to become more observant. If men scorn him, he is thankful that he need not scorn himself. If they pass him by, it is enough for him that truth and love still remain. If he is ^thrown with one who bears himself with ease and grace, or talks correctly in pleasantly modulated tones, or 15 utters what can spring only from a sincere and generous mind, — there is opportunity. If he chance to find himself in the com- pany of the rude, their vulgarity gives him a higher estimate of the worth of breeding and behavior. The happiness and good fortune of his fellows add to his own. If they are beauti- 20 ful or wise or strong, their beauty, wisdom, and strength shall in some way help him. The merry voices of children bring gladness to his heart ; the songs of birds wake melody there. Whoever anywhere, in any age, spoke noble words or performed heroic deeds, spoke and wrought for him. For him Moses led 25 the people forth from bondage ; for him the three hundred perished at Thermopylae ; for him Homer sang ; for him De- mosthenes denounced the tyrant ; for him Columbus sailed the untraveled sea ; for him Galileo gazed on the starry vault ; for him the blessed Saviour died. He knows that whatever dimin- 30 ishes his good will to men, his sympathy with them, even in their blindness and waywardness, makes him poorer, and he therefore finds means to convert their faults even into opportunities for loving them more. The rivalries of business and politics, the shock of conflicting aims and interests, the prejudices and SPALDING ' 315 perversities of men, shall not cheat him of his own good by- making him less just or kind. He stands with the Eternal for righteousness, and will not suffer that fools or criminals divert him to lower ends. If we have but the right mind, all things, even those that hurt, help us. " That which befits us," says 5 Emerson, " embosomed in beauty and wonder as we are, is cheerfulness and courage, and the endeavor to realize our aspirations. The life of man is the true romance which, when it is valiantly conducted, yields the imagination a higher joy than any fiction." May we not make the stars and the moun- 10 tains and the all-enduring earth minister to tranquillity of soul, to elevation of mind, and to patient striving? Have not the flowers and human eye and the look of heaven when the sun first appears or departs, power to show us that God is beautiful and good? 15 4. Since life is great, nay, of inestimable value, no oppor- tunity by which it may be improved can be small. Higher things remain to be done than have yet been accomplished. God and His universe still wait on each individual soul, offer- ing opportunity. In the midst of the humble and inevitable 20 realities of daily life each one must seek out for himself the way to better worlds. Our power, our worth will be propor- tionate to the industry and perseverance with which we make right use of the ever-recurring minor occasions, whether for be- coming or for doing good. Opportunity is not wanting — there 25 is place and means for all — but we lack will, we lack faith, hope, and desire, we lack watchfulness, meditation, and earnest striving, we lack aim and purpose. Do we imagine that it is not possible to lead a high life in a lowly room? That one may not be hero, sage, or saint in a factory or a coalpit, at 30 the handle of the plow or the throttle of the engine? We are all in the center of the same world, and whatever hap- pens to us is great, if there be greatness in us. The disbelievers in opportunity are voluble with excuses. They cannot ; they 3l6 OPPORTUNITY have no leisure ; they have not the means. But they can if they will; leisure to improve oneself is never wanting, and they who seek find the means. There is always opportunity to do right, though he who does it stand alone, like Abdiel, 5 Among innumerable false, unmoved, Unshaken, unseduced, unterrified. 5. Let a man but have an aim, a purpose, and opportunities to attain his end shall start forth like buds at the kiss of spring. If we do not know what we want, how shall anything 10 be made to serve us? The heedless" walk through deserts in which the observant find the most precious things. Little is to be hoped for from the weavers of pretexts, from those who tell us what they should do, if circumstances were other. What hinders helps, where souls are alive. Say not thou lackest 15 talent. What talent had any of the great ones better than their passionate trust in the efficacy of labor? 6. The important thing is to have an aim and to pursue it with perseverance. What is the aim the wise should propose to themselves ? Not getting and possessing, but becoming and 20 being. Man is not only more than anything that can belong ta him : he is greater than planets and solar systems. We easily persuade ourselves that were circumstances more favor- able we should be better and happier. It may be so, but the mood is weak and foolish. There is never a question of what 25 might have been where true men think and act. The past is irrecoverable. It is our business to do what we can here and now, and regrets serve but to enfeeble and distract us. The boundless good lies near each one, and though a thousand times it has eluded us, let us believe that now we shall hold it 30 fast. From failure to failure we rise toward truth and love. The ascent is possible even for the lowliest of God's creatures. When, indeed, we look backward through long years of life, lost opportunities rise before us like mocking fiends crying, SPALDING 317 "Too late, too late ! Nevermore, nevermore ! "; but the wise heed no voice that bids them lose heart. They look ever forward, they press toward the mark, knowing that the present moment is the only opportunity. Now is the day of salvation, now is the day of doom. The individual is but as a bubble that rises 5 from out the infinite ocean of being and bursts in the inane ; but his life is nevertheless enrooted in the Absolute, and all the circumstances by which his existence is surrounded and attended are but meant to awaken in him a knowledge and appreciation of his abiding and inestimable worth. They all, 10 therefore, are or may be made opportunities. The paramount consideration is not what will procure for him more money, finer houses, better machines, more rapid or more destructive engines, but what will make him wiser, stronger, holier, more loving, more godlike. 15 7. What innumerable blessings we miss through lack of sen- sibility, of openness to light, of fair-mindedness, of insight, of teachableness, — virtues which it is possible for all to cultivate ! The best is not ours, not because it is far away and unattain- able, but because we ourselves are indifferent, narrow, short- 20 sighted and unsympathetic. To make our world larger and fairer it is not necessary to discover or acquire new ob- jects, but to grow into conscious and loving harmony with the good which is ever-present and inviting. How much of life's joy we lose from want of a fearless and cheerful spirit ! 25 The brave and glad-hearted, like the beautiful, are welcome in all companies. 8. It is our own fault if beauty is not ours. A fair and luminous mind creates a body after its own image. With health and a soul, nor man nor woman can be other than 30- beautiful, whatever the features. The most potent charm is that of expression. As the moonlight clothes the rugged and jagged mountain with loveliness, so a noble mind transfigures its vesture. 3l8 OPPORTUNITY 9. The man himself is the best part of the opportunity. The starHt heaven is not sublime when there is no soul capable of awe ; the spring is not fair where there is no glad heart to see and feel. Opportunity is living correspondence with one's 5 environment. Where there is no correspondence there is no opportunity. For ages the exhaustless resources of America lay unknown and unutilized because the right kind of a man ! was not here. The Kimberley diamonds were but worthless \ pebbles, the playthings of the children of savages, until it \ 10 chanced that they fell under the eye of one who knew how ] to look. ... i 10. Here in America, above all, the new age approaching offers opportunity. Here only a beginning has been made ; ; we have but felled the forest, and drained the marsh, and i 1 5 bridged the river, and built the road ; but cleared the wild- ; wood and made wholesome the atmosphere for a more fortu- ; nate race, whom occasion shall invite to greater thoughts and more godlike deeds. We stand in the front rank of those who ! face life, dowered with all the instruments of power which ■ 20 the labors of the strongest and wisest in all time and place \ have provided. ; 11. We might have been born savages or slaves, in a land of cannibals or tyrants ; but we enter life welcomed by all I that gives worth and joy, courage and security to man. There | 25 is inspiration in the air of America. Here all is fresh and i young, here progress is less difficult, here there is hope and { confidence, here there is eagerness to know and to do. Here j they who are intelligent, sober, industrious, and self-denying j may get what money is needed for leisure and independence, \ 30 for the founding of a home and the right education of children, t — the wealth which strengthens and liberates, not the excess ' which undermines and destroys. The material is good but in so far as it is a means to spiritual good. The power to think and appreciate the thoughts of others, to love and to be happy SPALDING 319 in the joy, the courage, the beauty, and the goodness of others, lifts us above our temporal environment, and endows us with riches of which money can never be the equivalent. A great thought or a noble love, like a beautiful object, bears us away from the hard and narrow world of our selfish interest, dips us 5 in the clear waters of pure delight, and makes us glad as children who lie in the shade and catch the snowy blossoms as they fall. 12. No true man ever believes that it is not possible to do great things without great riches. When, therefore, we say with Emerson, that America is but a name for opportunity, we 10 do not emphasize its material resources or the facility with which they may be made available. He who knows that the good of life lies within and that it is infinite, capable of being cherished and possessed more and more by whoever seeks it with all his heart, understands that a little of what is external 15 is sufficient and is not hard to acquire. He, therefore, neither gives himself to the pursuit of wealth or fame or pleasure or position, nor thinks those fortunate who are rich in these things. He feels that the worst misfortune is not the loss of money or friends or reputation, but the loss of inner strength and whole- 20 ness, of faith in God and man, of self-respect, of the desire for knowledge and virtue. The darkened mind, the callous heart, the paralytic will, — these are the root evils. Is man a real being, with an element of freedom, responsibility, and perma- nence in his constitution, or is he but a phantom, a bubble that 25 rises and floats for a moment, and then bursts in the boundless inane, where all things disappear and are no more? This is the radical question, for if the individual wholly ceases to be at death, the race jtself is but a parasite of a planet which is slowly perishing ; and life's formula is, — from nothing to 30 nothing. But nothingness is inconceivable, for to think is to be conscious of being ; something exists ; therefore something has always existed. Being is a mental conception ; and when we affirm that it is eternal we affirm the eternity of mind, that 320 OPPORTUNITY mind is involved in the nature of things. It is the conscious- ness of this that makes it impossible for the soul to accept a mechanical theory of the universe or to rest content with what is material. It is akin to the infinite Spirit, and for man oppor- 5 tunity is opportunity to develop his true self, to grow in wisdom and love. What he yearns for in his deepest heart is not to eat and drink, but to live in ever-increasing conscious com- munion with the vital truth which is the soul's nourishment, the element in which faith and hope and freedom thrive. The lo modern mind, having gained a finer insight into the play of the forces of nature, which are ceaselessly being transformed into new modes of existence, seems threatened with loss of the power of perceiving the Eternal. But this enfeeblement and perturbation are temporary, and on our wider knowledge we 15 shall build a nobler and more glorious temple wherein to believe and serve, to love and pray. That man, who lives but a day and is but an atom, should imagine that he partakes of the attributes of the eternal and absolute Being, would seem to be absurd. None the less all that is most real and highest in him 20 impels to this behef . To lose it is to lose faith in the meaning and worth of life ; is to abandon the principle that issues in the heroic struggles and sufferings by which freedom, civiliza- tion, art, science, and religion have been won and secured as the chief blessings of the race. It is not possible to find true 25 joy except in striving for the infinite, for something we have not yet, which we can never have, here at least. Hence, what- ever purpose a man cherish, whatever task he set himself, he finds his work stretching forth endlessly. The more he attains the more clearly he perceives the boundless unattained. His 30 success is ever becoming failure, his riches poverty, his knowl- edge ignorance, his virtue vice. The higher he rises in power of thought and love, the more what he thinks and loves seems to melt away and disappear in the abysmal depths of the All- perfect Being, who is forever and forever, of whom he is born. SPALDING 321 and whom to seek through endless time were a blessed lot. It is the hope of finding Him that lures the soul to unseen worlds, lifts it out of the present, driving it to the past and the future, that it may live with vanished saints and heroes, or with the diviner men who yet shall be. 5 13. It is only when we walk in the spirit and follow in the footsteps of the Son of God that we come to understand that life is opportunity, rich as earth, wide as heaven, deep as the soul. We weary of everything, — of labor, of rest, of pleasure, of success, of the company of friends, and of our own, but not 10 of the Divine Presence uttering itself in hope and love, in peace and joy. They who live with sensual thoughts and desires soon come to find them a burden and a blight ; but the lowly minded and the clean in heart, who are busy with whatsoever things are true and fair and good, feel themselves in a serene world 15 where it is always delightful to be. When we understand that all is from God and for Him, and turn our wills wholly to Him, trouble, doubt, and anxiety die away, and the soul rests in the calm and repose that belong to whatever is eternal. He sees all and is not disturbed. Why should we be filled with appre- 20 hension because there are ripples in the little pond where our lifeboat floats? 14. The followers of the Divine Master best know that true men need not great opportunities. He himself met with no occasions which may not be offered to any one. His power 25 and goodness are most manifest amidst the simplest and lowliest surroundings. To beggars, fishermen, and shepherds he speaks words which resound throughout the ages and still awaken in myriad hearts echoes from higher worlds. Whether He walks amid the cornfields, or sits by the well, or from a boat or a 30 hillside speaks to the ' multitude ; whether He confronts the elders who bring Him the guilty woman, or stands before Pilate, or hangs on the cross. He is equally noble, fair, and Godlike. The lesson He teaches by word and deed is that we 322 OPPORTUNITY should not wait for opportunity, but that the secret of true life and best achievement lies in doing well the thing the Heavenly Father gives us to do. He who throws himself resolutely and with perseverance into a course of worthy action will at last 5 hear the discords of human existence die away into harmonies ; for if the voice within whispers that all is well, it is fair weather, however the clouds may lower or the lightning play. What we habitually love and Hve by, will, in due season, bud, blossom, and bear fruit. 10 15. Opportunity in the highest sense of the word is oppor- tunity for education, for making ourselves men. This end every occasion should serve, since for this we are born. " We should as far as it is possible," says Aristotle, " make ourselves immor- tal, and strive to live by that part of ourselves which is more 15 excellent." Now, the testimony of the wise of all ages agrees that a virtuous life is the best and the happiest. Choose and follow it then, though thou find it hard ; for custom will make it easy and pleasant. Piety nourishes faith, hope, and love, and therefore sustains life. If thou seekest for what is new and also 20 permanently interesting, live with the old truths, until they strike root in thy being and break into new light and power. The happenings of the day and year are but novelties, but bubbles that burst in the vacant air ; that which is forever new is ancient as God. It is that whereby the soul lives. It was 25 with the first man when first he blossomed forth from eternity ; it is with thee now and shall be with all men until the end. It is the source whence thy being springs; its roots dip into infinity; its flowers make the universe glad and sweet; it is the power which awakens the soul to the consciousness of its 30 kinship with Him who is all in all, who is life and truth and love, who the more He is sought and loved doth seem to be the more divinely beautiful and good. Learn to live with the thoughts which are symbols of His Eternal Being, and thou shalt come to feel that nothing else is so fresh or fair. As a SPALDING 323 sound may suggest light and color, a perfume recall forgotten worlds ; as a view, disclosed by a turn in the road, may carry us across years and oceans to scenes and friends long unvisited ; as a bee, weaving his winding path from flower to flower, may bring back the laughter of children, the songs of birds, and the 5 visionary clouds fallen asleep in the voluptuous sky of June; so the universe will come to utter for us the voice of the Creator, who is our Father. Nothing touches the soul but leaves its impress, and thus, little by little, we are fashioned into the image of all we have seen and heard, known and medi- 10 tated ; and if we learn to live with all that is fairest and purest and best, the love of it all will in the end become our very life. SALT Henry van Dyke Baccalaureate sermon, Harvard University, June, 1898 INTRODUCTION Henry van Dyke, preacher, author, and educator, was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1852. He graduated from Prince- ton University in 1873, from the Princeton Theological Seminary in 1877, and from Berlin University in 1878. From 1878 to 1882 he was pastor of the United Congregational Church of Newport, Rhode Island, and then of the Brick Presbyterian Church, New York, till 1900, when he accepted a professorship of English literature at Princeton. His works include : The Reality of Religion (1884) ; The Story of the Psalms (1887) ; The Poetjy of Tennyson (1889, 1895); The Christ Child in Art (1894) ; Little Rivers (1895) ; The Gospel for an Age of Doubt (1896); The Other Wise Man (1896); The Builders and Other Poejns (1897); The Gospel for a World of Sin ( 1 899) ; The Toiling of Felix ^ and other Poems ( 1 900) ; Tlie Ruling Passion (1901) ; and The Blue Flower (1902). Dr. van Dyke combines the highest degree of intellect with the highest felicity of literary expression. No modern writer has been so frequently quoted for his short, pithy proverbs. He is also one of the most successful preachers of to-day. In his pulpit discourses there is marked breadth, but also marked decision and definite- ness ; the vagueness that often characterizes sennons is wholly absent from his preaching. As a pulpit orator, Dr. van Dyke enjoys a reputation second to none in America ; and an address on " Christianity and Literature," delivered before the Pan-Presbyterian Alliance in Liverpool, Eng- land, was declared by the British Weekly (London, July 7, 1904) , 325 326 . SALT to have touched " the oratorical high-water mark " of the conven- tion. His oratory, with no effort to produce artificial effects, is characterized by a strong virility, and by a certain moral vivacity and dash which makes it peculiarly effective in college chapels. " His thought is not only strikingly objective in statement, but has in it the resonant quality of a conviction which enlists the imagi- nation and the emotions as well as the intellect. . . . The secret of his power lies in the prime qualities of the man : his courage, loyalty, sincerity in life and art ; above all, his tireless pursuit of complete and adequate self-expression." Ye are the salt of the earth. — Matthew v. 13. 1 . This figure of speech is plain and pungent. Salt is savory, purifying, preservative. It is one of those superfluities which the great French wit defined as " things that are very neces- sary." From the very beginning of human history men have 5 set a high value upon it and sought for it in caves and by the seashore. The nation that had a good supply of it was counted rich. A bag of salt, among the barbarous tribes, was worth more than a man. The Jews prized it especially because they lived in a warm climate where food was difficult to keep, and ID because their religion laid particular emphasis on cleanliness, and because salt was largely used in their sacrifices. 2. Christ chose an image which was familiar when He said to His disciples, " Ye are the salt of the earth." This was His conception of their mission, their influence. They were to 15 cleanse and sweeten the' world in which they lived, to keep it from decay, to give a new and more wholesome flavor to human existence. Their character was not to be passive, but active. The sphere of its action was to be this present life. There is no use in saving salt for heaven. It will not be 20 needed there. Its mission is to permeate, season, and purify things on earth. 3. Now, from one point of view, it was an immense compli- ment for the disciples to be spoken to in this way. Their VAN DYKE 327 Master showed great confidence in them. He set a high value upon them. The historian Livy could find nothing better to express his admiration for the people of ancient Greece than this very phrase. He called them sal gentium^ " the salt of the nations." 5 4. But it was not from this point of view that Christ was speaking. He was not paying compliments. He was giving a clear and powerful call to duty. His thought was not that His disciples should congratulate themselves on being better than other men. He wished them to ask themselves whether they 10 actually had in them the purpose and the power to make other men better. Did they intend to exercise a purifying, season- ing, saving influence in the world? Were they going to make their presence felt on earth and felt for good? If not, they would be failures and frauds. The savor would be out of them. 15 They would be like lumps of rock salt which has lain too long in a damp storehouse ; good for nothing but to be thrown away and trodden under foot ; worth less than common rock or common clay, because it would not even make good roads. 5. Men of privilege without power are waste material. Men 20 of enlightenment without influence are the poorest kind of rubbish. Men of intellectual and moral and religious culture, who are not active forces for good in society, are not worth what it costs to produce and keep them. If they pass for Christians they are guilty of obtaining respect under false pre- 25 tenses. They were meant to be the salt of the earth. And the first duty of salt is to be salty. 6. This is the subject on which I want to speak to you to-day. The saltiness of salt is the symbol of a noble, power- ful, truly religious life. 30 7. You college students are men of privilege. It costs ten times as much, in labor and care and money, to bring you out where you are to-day as it costs to educate the average man, and a hundred times as much as it costs to raise a boy without 328 SALT any education. This fact brings you face to face with a ques- tion : Are you going to be worth your salt? 8. You have had mental training and plenty of instruction in various branches of learning. You ought to be full of intel- 5 ligence. You have had moral discipline, and the influences of good example have been steadily brought to bear upon you. You ought to be full of principle. You have had religious advan- tages and abundant inducements to choose the better part. You ought to be full of faith. What are you going to do with your 10 intelligence, your principle, your faith? It is your duty to make active use of them for the seasoning, the cleansing, the saving of the world. Do not be sponges. Be the salt of the earth. 9. I. Think, first, of the influence for good which men of intelligence may exercise in the world if they will only put 15 their culture to the right use. Half the troubles of mankind come from ignorance — ignorance which is systematically organized with societies for its support and newspapers for its dissemination — ignorance which consists less in not knowing things than in willfully ignoring the things that are already 20 known. There are certain physical diseases which would go out of existence in ten years if people would only remember what has been learned. There are certain political and social plagues which are propagated only in the atmosphere of shal- low self-confidence and vulgar thoughtlessness. There is a 25 yellow fever of literature specially adapted and prepared for the spread of shameless curiosity, incorrect information, and complacent idiocy among all classes of the population. Per- sons who fall under the influence of this pest become so trium- phantly ignorant that they cannot distinguish between news 30 and knowledge. They develop a morbid thirst for printed matter, and the more they read the less they learn. They are fit soil for the bacteria of folly and fanaticism. 10. Now the men of thought, of cultivation, of reason in the community ought to be an antidote to these dangerous VAN DYKE 329 influences. Having been instructed in the lessons of history and science and philosophy they are bound to contribute their knowledge to the service of society. As a rule they are willing enough to do this for pay, in the professions of law and medi- cine and teaching and divinity. What I plead for is the wider, 5 nobler, unpaid service which an educated man renders to society simply by being thoughtful and by helping other men to think. 1 1 . The college men of a country ought to be its most con- servative men ; that is to say, the men who do most to conserve it. 10 They ought to be the men whom demagogues cannot inflame nor pohtical bosses pervert. They ought to bring wild theories to the test of reason, and withstand rash experiments with obsti- nate prudence. When it is proposed, for example, to enrich the whole nation by debasing its currency, they should be the men 1 5 who demand time to think whether real wealth can be created by artificial legislation. And if they succeed in winning time to think, the danger will pass — or rather it will be transformed into some other danger requiring a new application of the salt of intelligence. For the fermenting activity of ignorance is 20 incessant, and perpetual thoughtfulness is the price of social safety. 1 2 . But it is not ignorance alone that works harm in the body of society. Passion is equally dangerous. Take, for instance, a time when war is imminent. How easily and how wildly the 25 passions of men are roused by the mere talk of fighting. How ready they are to plunge into a fierce conflict for an unknown motive, for a base motive, or for no motive at all. Educated men should be the steadiest opponents of war while it is avoid- able. But when it becomes inevitable, save at a cost of a fail- 30 ure in duty and a loss of honor, then they should be the most vigorous advocates of carrying it to a swift, triumphant, and noble end. No man ought to be too much educated to love his country and, if need be, to die for it. The culture which leaves 330 SALT a man without a flag is only one degree less miserable than that which leaves him without a God. To be empty of enthu- siams and overflowing with criticisms is not a sign of culti- vation, but of enervation. The best learning is that which 5 intensifies a man's patriotism as well as clarifies it. The finest education is that which puts a man in closest touch with his fellow-men. The true intelligence is that which acts, not as cayenne pepper to sting the world, but as salt to cleanse and conserve it. 10 13. 11. Think, in the second place, of the duty which men of moral principle owe to society in regard to the evils which corrupt and degrade it. Of the existence of these evils we need to be reminded again and again, just because we are compara- tively clean and decent and upright people. Men who live 15 an orderly life are in great danger of doing nothing else. We wrap our virtue up in little bags of respectability and keep it in the storehouse of a safe reputation. But if it is genuine vir- tue it is worthy of a better use than that. It is fit, nay it is designed and demanded, to be used as salt, for the purifying 20 of human life. 14. There are multitudes of our fellow-men whose existence is dark, confused, and bitter. Some of them are groaning under the burden of want ; partly because of their own idleness or incapacity, no doubt, but partly also because of the rapacity, 25 greed, and injustice of other men. Some of them are tortured in bondage to vice ; partly by their own false choice, no doubt, but partly also for want of guidance and good counsel and human sympathy. Every great city contains centers of moral decay which an honest man cannot think of without horror, pity, and 30 dread. The trouble is that many honest folk dishke these emotions so much that they shut their eyes and walk through the world with their heads in the air, breathing a little atmos- phere of their own, and congratulating themselves that the world goes very well now. But is it well that the things which VAN DYKE 331 eat the heart out of manhood and womanhood should go on in all our great towns? Is it well that while we range with science, glorying in the time, City children soak and blacken soul and sense in city slime ? There, among the glooming alleys, progress halts on palsied feet ; 5 Crime and hunger cast our maidens by the thousand on the street. There the smoldering fire of fever creeps across the rotted floor, And the crowded couch of incest, in the warrens of the pooi:. Even in what we call respectable society, forces of corruption are at work. Are there no unrighteous practices in business, no 10 false standards in social life, no licensed frauds and falsehoods in politics, no vile and vulgar tendencies in art and literature and journalism, in this sunny and self-complacent modern world of which we are apart? All these things are signs of decay. The question for us as men of salt is : What are we 15 going to do to arrest and counteract these tendencies? It is not enough for us to take a negative position in regard to them. If our influence is to be real, it must be positive. It is not enough to say " Touch not the unclean thing." On the contrary, we must touch it, as salt touches decay to 20 check and overcome it. Good men are not meant to be simply like trees planted by rivers of water, flourishing in their own pride and for their own sake. They ought to be like the eucalyptus trees which have been set out in the marshes of the Campagna, from which a healthful, tonic influence is said 25 to be diffused to countervail the malaria. They ought to be like the tree of paradise, '' whose leaves are for the healing of nations." 15. Where good men are in business, lying and cheating and gambling should be more difficult, truth and candor and 30 fair dealing should be easier and more popular, just because of their presence. Where good men are in society, grossness of thought and speech ought to stand rebuked, high ideals and courtliness and chivalrous actions and " the desire of fame and 332 SALT all that makes a man " ought to seem at once more desirable and more attainable to every one who comes into contact with them. 1 6. There have been men of this quality in the world. It is 5 recorded of Bernardino of Siena, that when he came into the room, his gentleness and purity were so evident that all that was base and silly in the talk of his companions was abashed and fell into silence. Artists like Fra Angelico have made their pictures like prayers. Warriors like the Chevalier Bayard and lo Sir Philip Sidney and Henry Havelock and Chinese Gordon have dwelt amid camps and conflicts as Knights of the Holy Ghost. Philosophers like John Locke and George Berkeley, men of science like Newton and Herschel, poets like Words- worth and Tennyson and Browning, have taught virtue by their 15 lives as well as wisdom by their works. Humanitarians like Howard and Wilberforce and Raikes and Charles Brace have given themselves to noble causes. Every man who will has it in his power to make his life count for something positive in the redemption of society. And this is what every man of 20 moral principle is bound to do if he wants to belong to the salt of the earth. 1 7 . There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher. There is a nobler character than that which is merely incor- 25 ruptible. It is the character which acts as an antidote and preventive of corruption. Fearlessly to speak the words which bear witness to righteousness and truth and purity ; patiently to do the deeds which strengthen virtue and kindle hope in your- fellow-men ; generously to lend a hand to those who are trying 30 to climb upward ; faithfully to give your support and your personal help to the efforts which are making to elevate and purify the social life of the world, — that is what it means to have salt in your character. And that is the way to make your life interesting and savory and powerful. The men that have been VAN DYKE 333 happiest, and the men that are the best remembered, are the men that have done good. 1 8. What the world needs to-day is not a new system of ethics. It is simply a larger number of people who will make a steady effort to live up to the system that they have already. There is 5 plenty of room for heroism in the plainest kind of duty. The greatest of all wars has been going on for centuries. It is the ceaseless, glorious conflict against the evil that is in the world. Every warrior who will enter that age-long battle may find a place in the army, and win his spurs, and achieve honor, and 10 obtain favor with the great Captain of the Host, if he will but do his best to make his life purer and finer for every one that lives. 19. It is one of the burning questions of to-day whether university life and training really fit men for taking their share in this supreme conflict. There is no abstract answer; but 15 every college class that graduates is a part of the concrete answer. Therein lies your responsibility. Gentlemen. It lies with you to illustrate the meanness of an education which produces learned shirks and refined skulkers ; or to illumi- nate the perfection of unselfish culture with the light of devo- 20 tion to humanity. It lies with you to confess that you have not been strong enough to assimilate your privileges ; or to prove that you are able to use all that you have learned for the end for which it was intended. I believe the difference in the results depends very much less upon the educational sys- 25 tem than it does upon the personal quality of the teachers and the men. Richard Porson was a university man, and he seemed to live chiefly to drink port and read Greek. Thomas Guthrie was a university man, and he proved that he meant what he said in his earnest verse, — 30 I live for those who love me, For those who know me true, For the heaven that bends above me, And the good that I can do ; 334 SALT For the wrongs that need resistance, For the cause that lacks assistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that I can do. 5 20. III. It remains only to speak briefly, in the third place, of the part which religion ought to play in the purifying, pre- serving, and sweetening of society. Hitherto I have spoken to you simply as men of intelligence and men of principle. But the loftiest reach of reason and the strongest inspiration of 10 morality is religious faith. I know there are some thought- ful men, upright men, unselfish and useful men, who say that they have no such faith. But they are very few. And the reason of their rarity is because it is immensely difficult to be unselfish and useful and thoughtful, without a conscious faith in God, 15 and in the divine law, and in the gospel of salvation, and in the future life. I trust that none of you are going to try that desperate experiment. I trust that all of you have religion to guide and sustain you in life's hard and perilous adventure. If you have, I beg you to make sure that it is the right kind of 20 religion. The name makes little difference. The outward form makes httle difference. The test of its reahty is its power to cleanse life and make it worth living ; to save the things that are most precious in our existence from corruption and decay ; to lend a new luster to our ideals and to feed our hopes with 25 inextinguishable light ; to produce characters which shall ful- fill Christ's word and be the salt of the earth. 21. Religion is something which a man cannot invent for himself, nor keep to himself. If it does not show in his con- duct it does not exist in his heart. If he has just barely enough 30 of it to save himself alone, it is doubtful whether he has even enough for that. Religion ought to bring out and intensify the flavor of all that is best in manhood, and make it fit, to use Wordsworth's noble phrase, For human nature's daily food. VAN DYKE 335 Good citizens, honest workmen, cheerful comrades, true friends, gentle men, — that is what the product of religion should be. And the power that produces such men is the great antiseptic of society, to preserve it from decay. 2 2. Decay begins in discord. It is the loss of balance in an 5 organism. One part of the system gets too much nourishment, another part too little. Morbid processes are established. Tis- sues break down. In their debris all sorts of malignant growths take root. Ruin follows. 23. Now this is precisely the danger to which the social 10 organism is exposed. From this danger religion is meant to preserve us. Certainly there can be no true Christianity which does not aim at this result. It should be a balancing, compen- sating, regulating power. It should keep the relations between man and man, between class and class, normal and healthful 15 and mutually beneficent. It should humble the pride of the rich, and moderate the envy of the poor. It should soften and ameliorate the unavoidable inequalities of life, and transform them from causes of jealous hatred into opportunities of loving and generous service. If it fails to do this it is salt without 20 savor, and when a social revolution comes, as the consequence of social corruption, men will cast out the unsalted religion and tread it under foot. 24. Was not this what happened in the French Revolution? What did men care for the religion that had failed to curb 25 sensuality and pride and cruelty under the oppression of the old regime, the religion that had forgotten to deal bread to the hungry, to comfort the afflicted, to break every yoke, and let the oppressed go free? What did they care for the religion that had done little or nothing to make men understand and 30 love and help one another? Nothing. It was the first thing that they threw away in the madness of their revolt and trampled in the mire of their contempt. 2 5 . But was the world much better off without that false kind of religion than with it? Did the Revolution really accomplish 35 336 SALT anything for the purification and preservation of society? No, it only turned things upside down, and brought the ele- ments that had been at the bottom to the top. It did not really change the elements, or sweeten life, or arrest the processes of 5 decay. The only thing that can do this is the true kind of religion, which brings men closer to one another by bringing them all nearer to God. 26. Some people say that another revolution is coming in our own age and our own country. It is possible. There are 10 signs of it. There has been a tremendous increase of luxury among the rich in the present generation. There has been a great increase of suffering among the poor in certain sections of our country. It was a startling fact that nearly six millions of people in 1896 cast a vote of practical discontent with the 15 present social and commercial order. It may be that we are on the eve of a great overturning. I do not know. I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet. But I know that there is one thing that can make a revolution needless, one thing that is infinitely better than any revolution, and that is a real revival 20 of reHgion — the religion that has already founded the hospital and the asylum and the free school, the religion that has broken the fetters of the slave and lifted womanhood out of bondage and degradation, and put the arm of^ its protection around the helplessness and innocence of childhood, the religion that 25 proves its faith by its works, and Hnks the preaching of the fatherhood of God to the practice of the brotherhood of man. That religion is true Christianity, with plenty of salt in it which has not lost its savor. 27. I believe that we are even now in the beginning of a 30 renaissance of such religion. I believe that there is a rising tide of desire to find the true meaning of Christ's teaching, to feel the true power of Christ's life, to interpret the true signifi- cance of Christ's sacrifice for the redemption of mankind. I believe that never before were there so many young men of VAN DYKE 337 culture, of intelligence, of character, passionately in earnest to find the way of making their religion speak, not in word only, but in power. I call you to-day, my brethren, to take your part, not with the idle, the frivolous, the faithless, the selfish, the gilded youth, but with the earnest, the manly, the devout, 5 the devoted, the golden youth. I summon you to do your share in the renaissance of religion for your own sake, for your fellow- men's sake, for your country's sake. On this fair Sunday, when all around us tells of bright hope and glorious promise, let the vision of our country, with her perils, with her opportunities, 10 with her temptations, with her splendid powers, wdth her threat- ening sins, rise before our souls. What needs she more, in this hour, than the cleansing, saving, conserving influence of right religion? What better service could we render her than to set our lives to the tune of these words of Christ, and be indeed 15 the salt of our country, and, through her growing power, of the whole earth ? Ah, bright will be the day, and full of glory, when the bells of every church, of every schoolhouse, of every col- lege, of every university, ring with the music of this message, and find their echo in the hearts of the youth of America. 20 That will be the chime of a new age. Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand ; Ring out the darkness of the land. Ring in the Christ that is to be. 25 NOTES CONCILIATION WITH THE AMERICAN COLONIES — BURKE Bibliography. Prior, Life of Burke ; John Morley, Burke, in the English Men of Letters Series, and in the Encyclopaedia Britannica ; William Hazlitt, " The Character of Burke," in his Essays, pp. 408- 426; Boswell, Life of Johnsoti (see Index); Leslie Stephen, History of English Thoicght in the Eighteenth Century, Vol. II ; Green, Short History of the English People ; Buckle, History of Civilization in Eng- land, Vol. I, pp. 326-338 ; Fiske, The Americaji Revolntioji, Vol. I, Chaps. I, II. To the article on Burke in the Dictionary of National Biography a valuable bibliography is appended. Chronology of A/ore Notezvo7'thy Writings and Speeches. 1756 — A Vindication of Natural Society ; Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful ; Hints on the Drama ; An Abridgment of the History of England ; and An Account of the European Settlements. 1759 — A thirty-years con- nection with the Annual Register began. 1766 — Speech on the Repeal of the Stamp Act. 1770^ — Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Dis- contents. 1774 — Speech on American Taxation. 1775 — Speech on Conciliation with the American Colonies. 1777 — Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol on the Affairs of America. 1785 — Speech on the Nabob of Arcot's Debts. 1 788 — The Impeachment of Warren Hastings. 1 790 — Reflections on the Revolution in France. 1 794 — Letter to a Noble Lord. In the study of this speech, whatever may be the method of approach by the individual student or teacher, some time, certainly, should be devoted to the argumentative structure. And although a laborious and time-taking process, the best way for the student to get a thorough grasp of the argument as a whole is to write a brief of it. The preferred form of a brief has the following characteristics : Each heading is in the form of a complete sentence and contains but a single argument. The main arguments are stated in a series of propositions which read as reasons for the conclusion to be reached, or the main proposition. Then under each proposition of the first rank are such subheadings as support such proposition. These subheadings may themselves be supported by sub-subheadings, and so on. Every subhead must always read as a reason for the heading under which it stands. All subheadings of the same rank should be regularly indented, so that the reader may see at a glance the place of any heading in the argument. Below is a skeleton brief of the speech as a whole (a few minor arguments being omitted). The main arguments — the propositions of first rank — are given, but most of the arguments in support of the 339 340 NOTES main propositions are left for the student to discover and insert. Bear in mind that each heading should be stated in the form of a complete sentence. Use Burke's own words, wherever practicable. In many of the paragraphs will be found a key-sentence which contains the gist of the whole paragraph ; in all such cases, simply copy such key-sentences for the required heading. The arable numerals in parentheses are paragraph-references. Introduction I. By the return of the Grand Penal Bill from the House of Lords, we are now in a position to determine de novo upon a definite policy regarding the American colonies, (i) II. Having studied the subject, I have arrived at certain fixed con- clusions. (2, 3) III. My attitude toward America has not changed, while Parliament has pursued a policy of shifting experiments. (4) IV. The policy that I desire to urge must stand or fall solely on its merits. (5) V. My proposition is to remove the grounds of difference between England and the colonies and thereby establish permanent peace. (6, 7) VI. My plan has certain presumptions in its favor, because A. By accepting Lord North's plan, the House has conceded that the idea of conciliation is admissible. (8) B. The House has declared conciliation admissible previous to any submission on the part of America. (9) C. The House has admitted that the colonists' complaints regarding taxation were not unfounded. (9) VII. The proposal of conciliation should come from us (10), for, A. England is the superior power. (10) B. The concessions of the weak are the concessions of fear. (10) VIII. The two main issues are : First, Ought you to concede ? Second, "What ought your concession to be ? (11) Argument 1. Circumstances in the American colonies demand conciliation (11), for A. (12, 13) — \^Put the gist of paragraphs 12 andij tn a single sentejtce, making it read as a reason for the above propo- sition. Follow this same plan in filliiig out all the succeed- ing blank headings^ B. (14-25) C. (26) D. (27) II. The temper and character of the Americans demand conciliation (28), for, A. (29), for, 1- (30) 2- (3O BURKE 341 B. (32) C. {33) III. Our experiments in governing the colonists have proved unsuc- cessf ul (34, 35) , for, A. (35) B. (35) C. (36) IV. Of the three proposed plans (37) for governing the colonies, we must adopt that of conciliation, for, A. (38), for, I. 2. 3- 4- (39), for, a. Ik (42) (44) (45) (39) (40) • B. (46), for, I. 2. 3- (47) (48) (49) c. (51) V. The measures for conciliation should satisfy the colonists' com- plaint regarding taxation, for, A. (52) B. (53) C. (54) VI. The argument that the grievance of taxation extends to all legis- lation, and that by conceding this grievance the supremacy of Parliament would be threatened, cannot stand (58), for, A. (59) B. (60) C. (61) D. (62) VII. My plan for conciliating the colonies is better than Lord North's (63), for. A. (64) B. (65), for, I. (65) C. D. (66), (67), for, I. for, I. 2. 3- 4- (66) (67) (68) (69) (70) 5- (71), for, a. (71) E. (72) F. (73) G. (76) 342 NOTES Conclusion I. The American colonists must be governed, not by arbitrary laws, but by their interest in the British Constitution. (77) II. Magnanimity in dealing with the colonies is the truest wisdom. (79) III. English privileges have made America what it is ; English privi- leges alone will make it all it can be. (79) 111 austerity of the Chair : the dignity and impartiality of the speaker. Hazlitt says that " most of Burke's speeches have a sort of parliamen- tary preamble ; there is an air of affected modesty and ostentatious trifling in them." Does the criticism apply to this speech? — 8 grand penal bill : this bill, which originated with Lord North, was passed by the House of Commons in 1775. It restricted the trade of the New England colonies to England and her dependencies, and practically pro- hibited those colonies from the use of the Newfoundland fisheries. The Lords returned the bill with a savage amendment making it apply to all the American colonies. The amendment was afterwards withdrawn. 1219 At that period: the repeal of the Stamp Act, in 1766. The vote stood 275 for repeal to 161 against. Burke made a strong speech in favor of the repeal, he having entered Parliament the previous year. — 34 continual agitation: for a period of nearly one hundred years the affairs of the colonies had been intrusted to a standing committee called " The Lords of Trade." To them the colonial governors, who were appointed by the king, gave full accounts of the proceedings of the colonial legislatures. These reports, often colored by personal prejudice, did not always represent the colonies in the best light. It was mainly through the influence of one of the former Lords of Trade, Charles Townshend, who afterwards became the leading voice in the Pitt ministry, that the Stamp Act was passed. — Everything administered as remedy : the Tea-tax, Boston Port Bill, Massachusetts Colony Bill, Transportation Act, and Quebec Act. Note the "shifting experiments " argument in the word-expression throughout this paragraph. 14 1 unsuspecting confidence: a term used by the Philadelphia Con- gress in 1774 to express the state of feeling in the colonies after the repeal of the Stamp Act. — 17 the project : (not to be confused with the " grand penal bill ") is referred to in the Introduction to this speech. On February 27, 1775, the House passed resolutions brought in by Lord North, entitled " Propositions for Conciliating the Differences with America," which provided that any colony which voluntarily con- tributed its proportionate share for the common defense and support BURKE 343 of the English government, and in addition made provision for the support of its local government, should be exempt from taxation, except such as was necessary for the regulation of commerce. It has been declared by some that the measure was meant in good faith. Burke argued that the intention was to cause dissension and divi- sion among the colonies. (See 47 20-24.) — 18 the noble lord in the blue ribbon: Frederick North, Prime Minister from 1770 till 1782, and largely responsible for the separation of the colonies from England. A broad, dark blue ribbon worn across the breast is the badge of the famous Order of the Garter, a decoration rarely conferred upon com- moners, and therefore often mentioned by Burke in speaking of Lord North. — 20 colony agents: the colonies, not having direct representa- tion in Parliament, engaged agents to watch their interests there. Burke himself was such an agent for New York for a short time. — mace : the symbol of the authority of the House of Commons. When the ordinary call for order is ineffective to quell disturbance, the ser- geant-at-arms, at the speaker's direction, takes up the mace and con- fronts the disorderly members. There is in the speaker's power but one last resource more dreaded, and that is to "name" the disorderly member. — 31 menacing front of our address: on February 9, 1775, Parliament had presented an address to the king declaring that no part of his authority over the colonies should be relinquished. The imme- diate cause of this address was the Boston Tea Party. 16 15 lay before you: transition to the next main division of the speech, — the Statement of Facts. 17 9 minima: trifles. De minimis non acrat lex, the law takes no account of trifles. — 25 person at your bar : this was a Mr. Glover, esteemed a poet in his day, who presented a petition from the West India planters, praying that peace might be made with the American colonies. The "bar" is a movable rail in the main aisle, beyond which none but officers and members are allowed to pass. All other persons, if permitted to address the House, must do so standing outside this barrier. 18 21 African: the slave trade, principally. The exports from Eng- land to Africa consisted almost wholly of articles used in barter for slaves, who were shipped thence to the colonies ; hence rightly regarded by Burke as a branch of England's export trade to the colonies. 20 1(5 Lord Bathurst : born 1684 ; took his seat in Parliament in 1705 ; died September, 1775. His name has become a synonym for longevity. The argumentative value of Burke's exairsics at this point, and espe- cially its adaptability to the needs of a business speaker in a delib- erative body, may be questioned, but the attempt is carried out with 344 NOTES characteristic opulence and splendor. — 18 acta parentum, etc. : to read about the deeds of his forefathers, and able to comprehend what virtue is. Adapted from Virgil, Eclogues, IV, 26. 22 18 Roman charity : according to an old Roman story, a father condemned to die by starvation is visited in prison by his daughter, who secretly nourishes him from her own breasts. 26 12-18 I have been told ... I hear . . . General Gage : note the relative value of the authorities cited, — 21 successful chicane: "Bos- ton held a town-meeting. Gage reminded the selectmen of the act of Parliament restricting town-meetings without the governor's leave. ' It is only an adjourned one,' said the selectmen. 'By such means,' said Gage, ' you may keep your meeting alive these ten years.' He brought the subject before the new council. 'It is a point of law,' said they, ' and should be referred to the Crown lawyers.' " (Bancroft, IV, 49.) — 26 learned friend on the floor: Thurlow, the attorney-general, w^ho as a member of the cabinet was sitting on the lowest tier of benches. — 33 Abeunt stadia in mores : studies become a part of character. (Ovid, Heroides, XV, 83.) 30 5 abrogated the ancient government of Massachusetts : by a law passed May 10, 1774, which vested in the Crown the selection of the council, or higher branch of the legislature, prohibited public meet- ings without the king's consent, and gave to the royal governor power to appoint and remove all judges. The law was practically ignored. 31 7 three ways of proceeding: here is begun an argument by exclu- sion, or the Method of Residues. (See 37 23.) — 14 giving up the colo- nies : this was seriously proposed and ably defended by Dr. Tucker, Dean of Gloucester, on the ground that England would have the trade of the colonies whether she ovmed them or not, if she offered them the best markets. In the light of subsequent history, Tucker's argument, as Goldwin Smith points out, deserved more serious consideration than Burke accorded it. 34 28 If then, Sir, etc. : note here, and throughout the speech, how the summary, and the transition to the next line of argument, aid in following the argument as a whole. 35 16 Sir Edward Coke : attorney-general in 1603, when Raleigh was tried for treason, who assailed the defendant in most unjust and brutal terms: "Thou hast an Enghsh face, but a Spanish heart, and thyself art a spider of hell ! " 36 3 ex vi termini : from the force of the term. 38 25 Serbonian bog, etc. : Paradise Lost, II, 592-594. WEBSTER 345 40 2 grant: voluntary contribution of the colonies. — imposition: a tax imposed by Parliament. — 14 temple of British concord : an allusion to the Temple of Concord at Rome. 44 17 Experimentum in corpore vili : experiments should be tried on objects of no value. 47 9 Treasury Extent : a summary process to recover debts due the Crown, differing from an ordinary writ of execution in that under it the body, lands, and goods of a debtor may all be seized at once. — 33 Com- pare the two : note the convincing force of balancing the two plans, (paragraph 72), by way of summary. 48 31 Posita luditur area : the treasure-chest is staked on the game. 50 28 For that service : begins the peroration, which, with its com- bined summary and appeal, its strength and passion, is in Burke's best style, and has long been admired as a classic model. This speech shared the fate of most of Burke's efforts. It com- manded universal admiration, but was ineffective in bringing about what he desired. At the conclusion of the speech, the previous question (which in English parliamentary practice is a back-handed method of tabling) was moved, and the resolutions were lost by a vote of 270 to 78. The speech was ineffective in Parliament for three main . reasons : (i) the inability of the king and the king's advisers, who based their policy on the eports of the colonial governors, to understand the colo- nists ; (2) the obstinacy, and also the political motives, of George III, who was impatient of any opposition to the royal prerogative, and W'ished to strengthen the monarchical power; and (3) Parliament was not a truly representative body. Out of 8,000,000 people, only 160,000 voted at elections. Besides there were many " rotten boroughs," the members from which gained their seats through corruption. Although the battle of Lexington w'as fought within a month after the delivery of this speech, how history might have differed had Eng- land, even at the eleventh hour, followed Burke's counsels ! Says Mor- ley : " The war of Independence was virtually a second English civil war. The ruin of the American cause would have been also the ruin of the constitutional cause in England ; and a patriotic Englishman may revere the memory of Patrick Henry and George Washington not less justly than the patriotic American. Burke's attitude in this great con- test is that part of his history about the majestic and noble wisdom of which there can be least dispute." THE MURDER OF CAPTAIN JOSEPH WHITE — WEBSTER Bibliography. There are many " Lives " of Webster, that of George Ticknor Curtis (1870) being standard. Other biographies that may be mentioned are : Lodge, in American Statesman Series (1S83) ; Scudder (18S2); and McMaster (1902). Harvey's Reminiscences of Daniel IVeb- ster is a most readable book. Webster's works have been issued in 346 NOTES six volumes, with a memoir by Edward Everett. A later edition (1903), in sixteen volumes, includes many early addresses and legal arguments hitherto unpublished. For the general reader the most usable edition of his speeches is a single volume — Webster^ s Gj^eat Speeches — with an introductory essay by Edwin Whipple on " Daniel Webster as a Master of English Style." Various magazine articles, on special topics, will be found listed in Poole's Index. Chronology of Principal Speeches. 181 8 — The Dartmouth College Case. 1820 — Plymouth Oration. 1824 — The Revolution in Greece; Argument in the case of Gibbons vs. Ogden. 1825 — First Bunker Hill Oration. 1826 — Oration on Adams and Jefferson. 1827 — Argument in the case of Ogden vs. Saunders. 1830 — Reply to Hayne ; Jury Address in the White Murder Case. 1832 — Oration on Washing- ton. 1833 — The Constitution not a Compact between Sovereign States. 1843 — Oration on the Pilgrims; Second Bunker Hill Oration. 1848 — Exclusion of Slavery from the Territories; Eulogy of Jeremiah Mason. 1849 — Eulogy of Kossuth. 1850 — The Constitution and the Union (the " Seventh of March " Speech). A cursory reading of this address will at once reveal its coherency and logical sequence. The argument proper is based on two main propositions : (i) The murder was in pursuance of a conspiracy, and the prisoner was one of the conspirators (paragraph 20) ; (2) the prisoner was present at the murder, aiding and abetting therein (paragraph 51), and is therefore guilty as a principal. In support of these two proposi- tions, the circumstantial and direct evidence is reviewed in detail, the inferences therefrom are deduced from time to time, followed by a gen- eral summary at the close (paragraph 123), the speech being concluded with a brief, strong appeal (paragraphs 124, 125). Let the student, if time permits, make a brief of the speech, following the form given in the notes on Burke. 67 10 Moloch : the chief god of the Phoenicians, frequently mentioned in Scripture as the god of the Ammonites,whose worship consisted chiefly of human sacrifices. See Jeremiah xxxii. 35 ; 2 Kings xvii. 31 ; Paradise Lost, I, 392-398. By extension, the word means any baneful influence to which everything is sacrificed ; as, the guillotine was the Moloch of the French Revolution. — 19 spread out the whole scene before us : Webster gets many of these details from Joseph Knapp's previous con- fession. What is gained by thus detailing the horrors of the crime ? Mr. Lodge says that " Webster's description of the White murder, and of the ghastly haunting sense of guilt which pursued the assassin, has never been surpassed in dramatic force by any speaker, whether in debate or before a jury." 71 18 "Goodridge robbery": Webster was the principal "counsel for the prisoner " in this case, and succeeded in unraveling a compli- cated set of facts, demonstrating that the accuser, one Goodridge, was himself the guilty party. WEBSTER 347 73 5 the late Chief Justice : Judge Parker of the Supreme Court. A special session of this court was ordered by the legislature for the trial of the prisoners at Salem, in July. At that time Frank Knapp was indicted as principal in the murder, and George Crowninshield and Joseph Knapp as accessories. On account of the death of the Chief Justice on July 26 the court adjourned to August 3, when it proceeded in the trial of Frank Knapp. Hence it will be seen how Webster's allusion to Judge Parker added force to the refutation at this point. 77 23 The letter from Palmer. . . . The fabricated letters from Knapp : see 86 13 to 88 13 inclusive. 90 2 He was there : this accords with the confession of Joseph Knapp. See note following. 94 1 His being there is a proof, etc. : the presence of Frank Knapp in Brown Street for the purpose of aiding and abetting the assassin — and even his presence there at the time the murder was committed — seems to have been the weak part of "Webster's case. The motive of curiosity, which Webster calls " absurd," was, if Joseph Knapp's con- fession is to be credited, the true explanation. He said that Crownin- shield and Frank Knapp met about ten o'clock in the evening, in Brown Street, and stood some time in a spot from which they could observe the movements in the house ; that Crowninshield, w^hen he started to commit the murder, requested Frank to go home ; that Frank did go home, retired to bed, but soon after arose and secretly left his father's house ; and that when Crowninshield came from Mr. White's house he met Frank in Brown Street, waiting to learn the event. 100 15 made more impression on the minds of the court than on my own mind : this suggests an oft-told incident in the celebrated Smith Will trial, when the opposing counsel, Mr. Choate, quoted a decision of Lord Chancellor Camden. In his reply Webster argued against its validity as though it were a proposition laid down by Mr. Choate. "But it is not mine, it is Lord Camden's," was the instant retort. Webster paused for half a minute, and then, with his eye fixed on the presiding judge, he replied, "Lord Camden was a great judge, . . . but, may it please your honor, / differ from my Lord Camden." " There was hardly a lawyer in the United States who could have made such a statement w'ithout exposing himself to ridicule, but it did not seem at all ridiculous when the / stood for Daniel Webster." 103 29 Another Lear, etc. : Webster's handUng of the father's testi- mony is worthy of note. The masterful advocate learns to avoid bristling at all opposing testimony. 348 ' NOTES 107 32 a Hale or a Mansfield: Sir Matthew Hale (1609-1676), a cele- brated English jurist ; William Murray, Earl of Mansfield, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, 17 56-1 788, who has been called " the founder of English commercial law." 110 27 rope-walk: a long covered walk. 116 10 putting these considerations together: note the general sum- mary of the argument up to this point. 118 10 The general rule of law: at common law confessions made to clergymen or physicians, in their professional capacity, were not "privileged communications," and hence were admissible as evidence. In some of the states such communications are privileged by statute. 127 30 do your duty, etc. : though worn threadbare in declamation service, this eloquent peroration may well be carefully studied for those merits alluded to in the Introduction. The simplicity of diction is not 'more notable than the self-restraint and poise. There is no violent denunciation of the prisoner, no effort to confuse or mislead, or to sway the decision by unwholesome pathos. " It is for the jury to say under their oaths " is an ever-recurring phrase in all of Webster's jury addresses. The result was that he appeared not so much as the mere partisan advocate bearing down upon the jurymen with his argument, but rather as a "thirteenth juryman," who continued to argue the case with them after they had retired for consultation among themselves. A HOUSE DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF CANNOT STAND — LINCOLN Bibliography . The standard work on Lincoln and his times is that of Nicolay and Hay, in ten volumes, — Abi'ahani Lincoln: A History. Other biographies have been written by Herndon and Weik, Lamon, Ida M. Tarbell, Noah Brooks, Arnold, Raymond, Hapgood, Morse (in American Statesman Series), and W. E. Curtis, respectively. The Century Company publish the complete works of Lincoln. Other help- ful authorities are: Qx2S\.\., Memoirs; Greeley, The American Conflict; A. H. Stephens, History of the War betzaeen the States; and Blaine, Tzuenty Years of Congress. Mr. A. S. Boyd has a full bibliography in the " Lincoln Memorial " volume. Chronology of Principal Speeches and Papers. 1832 — Address to the People of Sangamon County. 1837 — The Perpetuation of our Political Institutions : An Address before the Young Men's Lyceum of Spring- field, Illinois. 1852 — Eulogy of Henry Clay. 1854 — Origin of the Wilmot Proviso. 1857 — Discussion of the Dred Scott case. 1858 — The "Divided House" Speech; and the seven joint Debates with Douglas. 1859 — Speeches at Columbus and Cincinnati, i860 — Cooper LINCOLN 349 Institute Speech. 1861 — First Inaugural Address. 1863 — Proclama- tion of Emancipation and the Gettysburg Address. (In the following notes no attempt is made to explain many of the historical allusions. Such topics as the Nebraska Bill, the Ured Scott case, etc., may be reviewed, when necessary, in any standard American history.) First note the argumentative structure of this speech as a whole, its organization and orderly development. The argument is largely induc- tive, — the conclusions not being stated until after adducing the proof to sustain them. Let the student make a brief of the speech, putting the conclusions first, that is, in deductive form. 133 2 If we could first know where we are, etc. : compare with Web- ster's opening in his Reply to Hayne. — 11 half slave and half free : the same idea found expression in the Richmond Enquirer, May 6, 1856, quoted by Von Hoist, VI, 299, also referred to by Lincoln. On October 25, 1858, Seward made the speech at Rochester, New York, which con- tained the famous sentence : " It is an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces, and it means that the United States must and will, sooner or later, become either entirely a slave-holding nation or entirely a free-labor nation." 134 8 Congressional prohibition: the Missouri Compromise. — 31 "let us amend the bill " : the amendment w^as offered by Senator Salmon P. Chase. This question continued to be a bone of contention in the Lincoln-Douglas debates. In his speech at Ottawa, August 21, 1858, Douglas replied to Lincoln on this point as follows: " Chase offered a proviso that they might abolish slavery, which by implication would convey the idea that they could prohibit by not introducing that insti- tution. General Cass asked him to modify his amendment so as to provide that the people might either prohibit or introduce slavery, and thus make it fair and equal. Chase refused to so modify his proviso, and then General Cass and all the rest of us voted it down." 135 21 The outgoing President: Franklin Pierce. — 33 The reputed author of the Nebraska bill: in the first joint debate at Ottawa, Douglas says that he introduced the bill. 136 2 the Silliman letter : a letter addressed to President Buchanan by the " electors of the State of Connecticut " in regard to the situation in Kansas. In reply, the President made the following reference to the Dred Scott case : " Slavery existed at that period [when Kansas was organized as a territory] and still exists in Kansas, under the Consti- tution of the United States. This point has at last been finally decided by the highest tribunal known to our laws. How it could ever have been seriously doubted is a mystery." — 8 Lecompton Constitution: formed 350 * NOTES by the proslavery men of Kansas in 1857, the antislavery men having withdrawn from the Convention because of alleged frauds in the selec- tion of delegates by the opposition. Douglas believed that there was not a "fair vote," and so opposed the adoption of the Constitution by Congress. For this stand he seems to have deserved more credit than Lincoln here gives him. 138 10 the niche for the Dred Scott decision: " It was popularly believed that the whole case was made up in order to afford an opportunity for the political opinions delivered by the Court. This w^as an extreme view not justified by the facts. But in the judgment of many conservative men there was a delay in rendering the decision which had its origin in motives that should not have influenced a judicial tribunal. . . . Mr. Buchanan imprudently announced in his Inaugural Address that ' the point of time when the people of a Territory can decide the ques- tion of slavery for themselves will be speedily and finally settled by the Supreme Court.'" (Blaine Twenty Years of Congress, I, 132.) — 34 Stephen and Franklin and Roger and James : Senator Stephen A. Douglas, ex-President Franklin Pierce, Chief-Justice Roger B. Taney, and Presi- dent James Buchanan. 139 21 McLean . . . Curtis: Associate Justices of the Supreme Court who dissented from the majority opinion. — 29 Nelson: another Associate Justice, who concurred with the majority on the main issues, but made a separate statement of some points. 140 27 quarrel: see 136 8, note. Douglas's stand in opposing the Lecompton Constitution led many of the more conservative Republi- cans, notably Horace Greeley and Schuyler Colfax, openly or secretly to favor his election over Lincoln. — 31 "A living dog," etc.: Ecclesi- astes ix. 4. THE SCHOLAR IN A REPUBLIC — PHILLIPS Bibliography. Two biographies of Phillips have appeared, neither of them final books : Austin's Life and Times of Wendell Phillips, and Martyn's Wendell Phillips, the Agitator (American Reformer Series). His Lectures and Addresses have been published in tw^o volumes. An excellent article on Phillips will be found in the Natioji, XXXVIII, 1 16, and other articles will be found cited in Poole's Index. Chrojiology of Principal Speeches and Orations. 1837 — Speech on the Murder of Lovejoy. 1838-1839 — The Lost Arts. 1840 — Cotton, the Corner Stone of Slavery. 1851 — Woman's Rights ; Eulogy of Kossuth. 1852 — Public Opinion. 1853 — Philosophy of the Abolition Movement. 1855 — ^^^ Boston Mob; Capital Punishment. 1859 — Lecture on Idols ; Harper's Ferry ; the Puritan Principle and John Brown ; The PHILLIPS 351 Education of the People, i860 — Lincoln's Election; Mobs and Edu- cation; The Pulpit. 1861 — Disunion; Progress; Under the Flag; The War for the Union ; Toussaint L'Ouverture ; Suffrage for Woman. 1863 — The State of the Country. 1865 — The Maine Liquor Law; The Assassination of Lincoln. 1869 — Christianity a Battle, not a Dream. 1871 — The Foundation of the Labor Movement. 1872 — The Labor Question. 1875 — Eulogy of Daniel O'Connell. 1879 — Eulogy of William Lloyd Garrison. 1881 — The Scholar in a Republic. 159 1 4> B K (Phi Beta Kappa) : a literary society established in sev- eral American colleges, to v^-hich students of high scholarship are ad- mitted. It was founded as a literary and debating society at William and Mary College, Virginia, in 1776. Its original purpose was the encouragement of patriotism and scholarship. The Harvard Chapter has enjoyed a particularly successful career, Phi Beta Kappa Day being the greatest public literary day of the college year. 160 8 Roger Williams (1600-1684) : the founder of Rhode Island, and apostle of religious toleration in New England. — Sir Harry Vane (161 2-1662) : an English Puritan, statesman, and patriot. Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636, failing of reelection on account of siding with Anne Hutchinson. — 21 Fenelon (1651-1715): a celebrated French prelate, author, and orator. — 22 Somers (1652-1716): an Eng- lish statesman and jurist. — John Marshall (1755-1835) : Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, 1801-1835. — Carnot (1801-1888) : a French politician and publicist. 161 8 Charles Chauncey (i 592-1672) : the second president of Har- vard College. As a preacher in England, he came into frequent con- flict with the ecclesiastical authorities on account of his liberal views. — Brattle Street Church protest : a manifesto issued in 1699 by the founders of this church in Boston, declaring in favor of a more liberal creed than the Congregational organization had previously adopted. 162 2i) One such journal nightmares New England annals : nightmare as a verb is unusual. The journal referred to is probably that of John Winthrop, governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was published by James Savage as a History of N'ew England, i6jo-i64g. 165 8 Wycliffe (1324-1384): a celebrated English religious reformer, called "the morning star of the Reformation." 166 20 Lord Brougham (1778-1S68) : an English lawyer, statesman, and reformer. — 21 Romilly (1757-1818) : an English lawyer and phil- anthropist, famous from his labors for the reform of the criminal law. 167 18 Selden (i 584-1 654) : an eminent English jurist and author. — 33 Melanchthon (1497-1560): a German reformer, famous as the collaborator of Luther. 352 NOTES 168 2 Erasmus (1465-1536): a famous Dutch theologian and clas- sical scholar. He aimed to reform without dismembering the Roman Catholic Church, and at first favored, but subsequently opposed, the Reformation. — 5 college-graduate . . . against Lincoln: see 198 8-13. Compare Curtis's oration on " The Leadership of Educated Men." In this oration Curtis said : " A year ago I sat with my brethren of the Phi Beta Kappa at Cambridge, and seemed to catch echoes of Edmund Burke's resounding impeachment of Warren Hastings in the sparkling denunciation of the timidity of American scholarship. . . . But the scholarly audience of the scholarly orator, with an exquisite sense of relief, felt every count of his stinging indictment recoil upon Tiimself." {Orations and Addresses, I, 320.) — 21 Professor Peirce : both he and his father have held the chair of Mathematics and Astronomy at Harvard. — 28 Scire ubi aliquid, etc. : a large part of education is to know where you may find anything. Note the thought-echo from the preceding paragraph. 169 18 Niebuhr (1776-1831): a celebrated German historian, philol- ogist, and critic. His principal work was his Roman History, in three volumes. 173 18 triple crown (or tiara) : worn by the pope as a symbol of his threefold sovereignty. — 25 Credit Mobilier: a corporation chartered in Pennsylvania in 1863, named after a banking corporation in France. It developed into a company for building the Union Pacific Railroad. In 1872 it was found that certain congressmen secretly possessed stock in the company. — 28 The railway king: William K. Vanderbilt. 176 2 Sir Robert Peel (1788-1850): a noted English statesman, for some time Prime Minister. He first opposed, and later favored, Catho- lic emancipation and the repeal of the Corn Laws. — 12 Disraeli : Earl of Beaconsfield (i 804-1 881) : an English statesman and novehst ; for some time Prime Minister. — 18 Wilberforce (1759-1833) = ^n English philan- thropist, statesman, and orator; famous as an opponent of the slave trade. — Clarkson (i 760-1846): an English abolitionist. — 19 Rowland Hill (i 744-1 833) : an English preacher and dissenter. 178 7 Rantoul (1805-1852): an American politician, lawyer, and re- former ; an opponent of slavery. In his lecture on " Idols," Phillips pays him an eloquent tribute {First Series, 254). — 8 Beccaria (Bek-ka-re-a) (1738-1794) : anitalianeconomist, jurist, and philanthropist. One of the earliest opponents of the death penalty. — Livingston : the reference is probably to Edward Livingston (1764-1836), an American jurist and statesman, who prepared a code of criminal law and procedure. — Mackintosh (1765-1832) : a Scottish philosopher and lawyer. — 10 single exception : Horace Mann is probably meant. CURTIS 353 180 26 Crillon (1541-1615) : a celebrated French general, also called '■'■ U Hojnnie sans peiir,''^ — the fearless. 182 15 righteous and honorable resistance: of Phillips's plea for nihil- ism Colonel Higginson writes : " Many a respectable lawyer or divine felt his blood run cold the next day when he found that the fascinating orator whom he applauded to the echo had really made the assassina- tion of an emperor seem as trivial as the doom of a mosquito." Recent developments in Russia, however, lend new interest to Phillips's point of view. 183 14 Lieber (i 800-1872) : a German- American publicist. 184 10 Macchiavelli (1469-1527) : a celebrated Italian statesman and author, — 13 Faneuil Hall (fun'el or fan'Tl) : a market-house in Boston, containing a hall for public assemblies. It was built in 1743 by Peter Faneuil, an American merchant. It was the meeting place of American patriots in the Revolutionary period, and is therefore called " The Cradle of Liberty." — 33 Pecksniff: a notorious hypocrite in Dickens's Alar tin Chnzzlezvit. 185 24 Beckford (i 759-1844) : an English man of letters, connoisseur, and collector ; best known as the author of Vathek, an Eastern romance. 186 18 Richter, "Jean Paul" (1763-1825): a celebrated German humorist. THE PUBLIC DUTY OF EDUCATED MEN — CURTIS Bibliography. Curtis's orations, lectures, and speeches have been published in three volumes, — Orations and Addresses. Edward Cary, in the American Men of Letters Series, treats of his career in a some- what rambling fashion. An address by Parke Godwin, contained in his Commemorative Addresses^ is the tribute of a life-long friend. An appre- ciative article entitled " George William Curtis : Friend of the Repub- lic," by Carl Schurz, appeared in McChire's Magazine for October, 1904, and various articles on Curtis will be found in magazines soon after the date of his death ; see Poole's Index. Ckro/iology of More Notable Orations and Lectures. 1856 — The Duty of the American Scholar to Politics and the Times. 1859 — The Present Aspects of the Slavery Question. 1862 — The American Doctrine of Liberty. 1865-1866 — The Good Fight (a lecture). 1869 — Civil vService Reform. 1870 — Fair Play for Women. 1874 — Eulogy of Charles Sumner. 1875 — Oration at the Centennial Celebration of Concord Fight. 1877 — The Public Duty of Educated Men. 1880 — Eulogy of Robert Burns. 1882 — The Leadership of Educated Men. 1S84 — Eulogy of Wendell Phillips. 1885 — The Puritan Spirit. 1888— The Reason and the Result of Civil Service Reform. 1890 — The Higher Education of Women. 1892 — Eulogy of James Russell Lowell, 354 NOTES This oration is so clear and simple in its plan and development that the student may easily and profitably write an outline of it, employing the usual threefold division of Introduction, Discussion, Conclusion. On analysis, it will be found that the thought as a whole revolves around two main propositions: (i) An active interest and practical par- ticipation in politics is the duty of educated men ; (2) in the performance of this duty, party loyalty should be made subservient to conscience and patriotism. Having narrowed his general subject to a more definite one, Curtis develops his theme by a varied repetition and reenforcement of the two foregoing propositions. He does not deal in " glittering gen- eraUties," but in clear, plain specifications. He evidently did not con- sider that a scholarly address is measured by the number of ideas suggested, but rather by one or two central ideas lodged in the minds of the hearers. The logical development of the theme, the natural and easy transitions, the paragraph and sentence structure, the pure and force- ful diction, and the distinctively oratorical qualities of recapitulation, direct address, figures of speech, and climaxes, — will of course be seen and appreciated more fully than could be pointed out in these notes. 192 2 the music of these younger voices : what characteristic of a good Introduction ? Point out other instances in the first two para- graphs. 194 11 venerated teacher: Dr. Tayler Lewis, for thirty-eight years Professor of Greek at Union College. He died a short time prior to the delivery of this oration. The " clear voice of patriotic warning " refers to his work. States Rights a Photograph 0/ the Ruins of Ancient Greece, published in 1864. 195 3 By the words " public duty," etc. : note the method of reaching a definition, — negation and antithesis, linked to the theme of the dis- course as a whole, 196 4 Jeremy Diddler : a character in Kenney's farce, Raising the Wind. He is a clever vagabond and artful swindler. — Dick Turpin : a notorious English highwayman, executed in 1739. — 9 Jonathan Wild : an English robber and receiver of stolen goods, hanged in 1725. The allusion is to William M. Tweed who, as head of the " Tweed Ring," robbed New York City of millions of dollars. He was arrested in 1871, tried, and convicted. He died in Ludlow Street jail in 1878. 197 27 Agamemnon : in Greek legendary history, the king of Mycenae, the most powerful ruler in Greece. Homer calls him " the king of men." 198 26 Faneuil Hall: see 184 13, note. 201 3, 7 a rat and a renegade ... a popinjay and a visionary fool : what power over words is shown in these expressions? — 33 Golden Age: this same idea is amplified in the Concord oration. 202 7 Jacobins : a society of French revolutionists organized in 1789, and so-called from the Jacobin convent in Paris, in' which they met. GRADY 355 The violent members, led by Robespierre and Marat, eventually gained control, and the club supported them in measures that led to the Reign of Terror. — 24 Castor and Pollux: in Greek and Roman mythology, twin brothers who were placed in the heavens as a constellation called the Gemini, or Twins. 203 30 The ordeal of last winter: the contested presidential election of 1876, when Hayes was finally declared elected by a Commission created by an act of Congress. The gravity of the situation is not exaggerated by Curtis. On December 22, 1876, he made a speech on " The Puritan Principle : Liberty under the Law," at the annual dinner of the New England Society, New York, advocating a non-partisan settle- ment of the dispute. In this speech, says Edward Everett Hale, who was present, "Curtis spoke the word which was most needed to save the country from terrible calamity." 205 13 Captain Kidd : a notorious pirate who was hanged in London in 1 701. — 21 nasty: what is gained by the repetition of this word.'' 207 22 every sign encourages and inspires : why is a forward-looking Conclusion appropriate ? 208 10 Such was the folly, etc. : note how the antithesis is main- tained. 209 13 Bolingbroke (i 678-1 751) : an English statesman and political writer. He wrote, among other things, Idea of a Patriot King. — 14 patriot president : note how skillfully a general summary and an appeal are combined; the "patriot president" is confronted with the same problems, and to him is ascribed the same virtues, that Curtis has throughout the oration expounded and urged. THE RACE PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH — GRADY Bibliog7'aphy. Two collections of Grady's works have been published. The better, though incomplete, edition is edited by Joel Chandler Harris: Henry IV. Grady, His Life, Writings, and Speeches (1890). Another edition is the Life and Labors of Heftry W. Grady. Four of his orations have been edited by Edna H. L. Turpin, in Maynard's English Classics Series. Articles on Grady by his associate editor on the Constitution, Mr. Clark Howell, will be found in the C/iantauquan, XXI, 703, and in the Arena, II, 9. For other magazine articles, consult Poole's Index. Chronology of Published Speeches and Orations. 1886 — The New South. 1887 — The South and Her Problems; The "Solid South"; Prohibition in Atlanta. 1889 — Against Centralization ; The Farmer and the Cities ; The Race Problem in the South ; Speech before the Bay State Club, Boston. 356 NOTES 215 8 Happy am I that this mission, etc. : note the skillful transition. — 28 I spoke some words, etc. : the speech on the " New South," referred to in the Introduction to the speech in this volume. 216 16 the fairest and richest domain of this earth, etc.: Mr. Marion J. Verdrey says, " Grady could invest the most trifling thing with pro- portions of importance not at all its own. He could transform a homely thought into an expression of beauty beneath his wondrous touch." Find examples here and elsewhere in this speech. 217 14 El Dorado: a fabulous region of South America, abounding in gold and gems. By extension, any country rich in natural resources. 2211 The President: Benjamin Harrison. — 22 enormous crop: the cotton crop of 1905 was over 12,000,000 bales. 224 15 Regulators : members of unauthorized associations formed for carrying out a rough substitute for justice in the case of heinous or notorious crimes. 227 23 "forty acres and a mule": at the close of the war the negro vote was solicited by the " carpet-baggers," who quoted Lincoln as say- ing that if the Republican party were kept in power, each negro should have "forty acres and a mule." 228 9 as Elisha rose, etc. : 2 Kings ii. 9-1 2. — 24 force bills : the semi- military government during the Reconstruction period. A proposed " Federal election law " was pending before Congress at the time this speech was delivered. This " Force Bill " provided that Federal troops might be used to prevent the intimidation of negroes at the polls. The bill was so palpably a partisan measure that the opposition to it was largely responsible for the election of Mr. Cleveland as President for a second term. 23115 Cyrenian : Luke xxiii. 26. — 18 "And suddenly Ethiopia," etc. : Psalms Ixviii. 31. 232 1 Hamilcar : the famous Carthaginian general (third century B.C.) who made his young son Hannibal swear eternal hostility to Rome. Queries. Is this speech logical as a whole ? Considered as an argu- ment, what is the main issue ? Is any solution of the race problem offered ? Is the speech, as a whole, primarily an argument or a plea ? THE PURITAN AND THE CAVALIER — WATTERSON Mr. Watterson's publications are mentioned in the Introduction. One or two magazine articles on phases of his life and work will be found cited in Poole's Index. Chronology of Principal Addresses. 1 870 - — Eulogy of George Denni- son Prentice. 1873 — '^^^ American Newspaper. 1874 — A Plea for DANIEL 357 Provincialism. 1877 — The South in Light and Shade (a lecture) ; The Nation's Dead; The Electoral Commission Bill. 1883 — The New South. i888 — Money and Morals (a lecture). 1891 — Let Us have Peace. 1892 — Our Expanding Republic (at the World's Fair, Chicago). 1894 — Compromises of Life (a lecture). 1895 — Abraham Lincoln (a lecture) ; a Welcome to the Grand Army. 1896 — England and America. 1897 — The Puritan and the Cavalier. 1898 — The Reunited Sections ; Eulogy of Francis Scott Key. 1899 — God's Promise Redeemed. 1901 — The Man in Gray; Reciprocity and Expansion. 1902 — Eulogy of John Paul Jones; Heroes in Homespun. 1903 — The Hampton Roads Conference ; The Ideal in Public Life ; Blood Thicker than Water. 1906 — Speech of Welcome, Old Home Week, at Louisville, Kentucky. 237 1 Eleven years ago ... a young Georgian, etc. : Grady in his " New South" speech, 1886. — 31 ate no fire in the green leaf, etc.: compare Luke xxiii. 31. 238 4 " A plague 0' both your houses " : Rofneo and Juliet, III, i. 239 13 The ambassador : James B. Eustis, of Louisiana. — 20 Custer : a Union officer in the Civil War ; Rupert : fought in the English Civil War against Cromwell. — 26 Ethan Allen . . . John Stark . . . Wayne . . .Putnam. . . Buffalo Bill : all from the North, but possessing Cavalier characteristics. 240 5 Scarlet Woman: a common designation of the Church of Rome, symbolizing its vices and corruption. — mailed hand : military rule. — 21 Cavalier sprays and Puritan branches : on his father's side, Lincoln w^as descended from a Quaker family, of English origin, residing in the middle of the eighteenth century in Berks County, Pennsylvania. His mother, Nancy Hanks, belonged to a Virginia family. — 34 this noble city . . . redeemed from bondage : the anti-Tammany rule of Mayor Low. 241 4 Smithfield: formerly a recreation ground in London, north of St. Paul's. It was noted in the time of Queen Mary as the place for burning heretics at the stake. — 9 Hester Prynne : the principal charac- ter of Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter. — 13 Endicott: governor of Massa- chusetts Colony 1 649-1 665 ; a zealous Puritan and persecutor of the Quakers, four of whom were executed under his administration. — 14 Winthrop : predecessor of Endicott as governor of Massachusetts. He opposed Vane, Anne Hutchinson, and the Antinomians. (See 160 8 and 162 29, notes.) — 27 Cotton Mather ( 1663-17 28) : took an active part in the persecutions for witchcraft. EULOGY OF ROBERT E. LEE — DANIEL Mr. Daniel's speeches and orations have not as yet been put into permanent form. The occasion of the oration in this volume, with a historical sketch of the Lee Memorial Association, is described in a pamphlet published by Washington and Lee University, 1883. 358 NOTES 244 7 Arlington : during the Civil War the property was seized by the government, for which compensation has since been made to Lee's heirs. The estate is now the site of a national cemetery — one of the largest and most beautiful in the United States. The old Lee mansion, with its stately portico, is a fine specimen of colonial architecture. — 28 fierce love of liberty: see 28 7, where Burke speaks of the "fierce spirit of liberty" in the colonies. In a minor argument (omitted from the text of this volume) Burke contends that the spirit of liberty is the more "high and haughty" in Virginia and the Carolinas because of slavery. With the Southern colonists, he says, "freedom is not only an enjoyment, but a kind of rank and privilege." 245 5 Home: anticipatory of 251 11-24. 248 25 Francis Preston Blair : bom in Virginia, but an active Union man. The Hampton Roads Peace Conference of February 3, 1865, was a result of his labors. 253 29 Islands of the Blest: also called the Fortunate or Happy Islands. They were originally imaginary isles in the western ocean where the souls of the good are made happy. With the discovery of the Canary and Madeira islands the name became attached to them. 255 25 " On this green bank," etc. : inexactly quoted from Emerson's hymn at the dedication of the Concord Monument. — 31 Valentine: a distinguished Virginian sculptor. — 33 "Joyous Gard": "La Joyeuse Garde," in mediaeval romance, was the castle of Lancelot of the Lake, given him by Arthur for his defense of the queen's honor. EULOGY OF ULYSSES S. GRANT — PORTER Bibliography. Some of the best of General Porter's numerous after- dinner speeches are contained in Reed's Modern Eloquence, III, 897-943 inclusive, and articles on and by him will be found in the files of the magazines and reviews. General Porter is the author of Campaigning with Grant and West Point Life. Besides the oration in this volume, his other notable orations and speeches have been : as orator at the inauguration of the Washington Arch, New York, May 4, 1895; at the dedication of Grant's Tomb, New York, April 27, 1897 ; at the inauguration of the Rochambeau Statue, Washington, May 24, 1902; and at the centennial of the foundation of the West Point Military Academy, June 11, 1902. The speech may well be viewed as a model of the briefer form of eulogy. Senator Daniel's oration is an example of the more formal and elabor- ate eulogy, his address as a whole (which is here considerably abridged from the original text) being an exhaustive biographical review of Lee's life, with a sort of running commentary thereon. General Porter, it will be seen, eliminates the biographical method altogether, and confines PORTER 359 himself to the lessons of Grant's life. The main facts of his life are incidentally alluded to, by way of illustration, but the theme is. What were the qualities which made Grant a great man ? By way of intro- duction, the speaker presents for consideration the fact that Grant's life is unique in its striking contrasts (paragraph 2) ; then considers his soldierly qualities (paragraphs 3 and 4) ; then his loyalty (paragraph 5) ; he next shows that it required great emergencies to call forth his powers (paragraph 6) ; then follows a summarizing eulogy, with the equestrian statue as a text (paragraph 7) ; and the Conclusion shows the devotion of the old soldiers by an incident of their General's last sickness. Thus are the really essential facts of Grant's life woven into the fabric of the speech with consummate skill, yet all the while the warp of the thought- fabric is the aforementioned theme. 259 9 the heavy columns in the center : an allusion to the large col- umns in the room in which he was speaking. — 18 the tragedy on Mount McGregor : on June 16, 1885, Grant was taken to the Joseph W. Drexel cottage at Mount McGregor, near Saratoga, New York, as to a sana- torium, and died there on July 23. — 31 striding through the palaces of the Old World, etc. : after retiring from the presidency, General Grant made a tour around the world, and was received at foreign courts with honors reserved for sovereigns. Note how well the antithetical sen- tences correspond to the central thought. 261 9 " Let us have peace " : Grant made use of this famous phrase in his letter of acceptance of his first nomination for the presidency (May 20, 1868). — 12 Gobelin tapestries: the Gobelins were a family of dyers, who introduced the manufacture of tapestries in the fifteenth century, at Paris. Their manufactory was changed to a royal establish- ment under Louis XTV, about 1667. — 22 this trait ... led him to make mistakes : the allusion is to Grant's career as President, which, in the common judgment, cannot be said to have been brilliant. He had a soldier's directness and honesty, while to political arts and chicanery he was a stranger. He strove to put the civil service on a meritorious basis, but the politicians would not sustain him, and he abandoned the effort. During his second term there were many frauds perpetrated on the government, and his Secretary of War resigned to escape impeach- ment for peculation. But no one believed the President in any way implicated in these dishonest schemes. It was felt that his own trust- fulness and loyalty to men in whom he confided made him an easier victim of artful and unscrupulous schemers. 262 3 variableness, nor shadow of turning: see James i. 17. — 4 the toga of Nessus : Nessus, in Greek legend, was a centaur slain by Her- cules. He attempted to run away with the latter's wife, Dejanira, but was shot by Hercules with a poisoned arrow. Nessus, in revenge, gave 360 NOTES Dejanira his tunic, declaring that the one to whom she gave it would love her exclusively. Dejanira gave it to her husband, who was de- voured by poison as soon as he put it on ; the garment clung to his flesh, which was torn off with it. Query. Is the simile an apt one ? — 22 State paper: a message by President Grant accompanying his veto of the so-called " Inflation Bill." This bill, passed by Congress in 1874, provided for an increase of the currency of the country. — 26 Alabama claims: see 308 24, note. — 27 the miscreants who robbed him in Wall Street : after returning from his trip around the world, Grant, finding his income insufiicient for his family's support, became, a partner in a banking house bearing the name of Grant and Ward. He took no part in the management. In May, 1884, the firm, without warning, suspended. It was found that two of the partners had been practicing a series of unblushing frauds, and had robbed Grant and his family of all they possessed. 263 6 that magnificent tribute, etc. : an equestrian bronze statue, surmounted upon a granite base, in Lincoln Park, Chicago. — 21 an indescribably touching incident : why is the incident described a fitting Conclusion ? Compare Blaine's oft-quoted Conclusion, in his eulogy of Garfield. THE IMMORTALITY OF GOOD DEEDS — REED No life of Reed, or collection of his speeches, has as yet been pub- lished. His speeches were for the most part on political questions, delivered in Congress and during political campaigns. During his later life Mr. Reed wrote frequently for the leading reviews, usually on polit- ical subjects, and published Reed's Rules. Magazine articles on and by him may be found by consulting Poole's Index. In the study of this oration, the student should note first the wisdom shown in the choice of a subject. Mr. Reed took a single, definite theme — which might otherwise be called a " Noble Use of Wealth " — as a moral to be drawn from Girard's life, and did not dissipate the force of a single impression by including such topics as the Life of Girard, the History of Girard College, etc. ; these are alluded to, but only so far as they aid in enforcing the main line of thought. The following outline facts regarding Girard's life and Girard Col- lege will assist in understanding many of the allusions in the address as a whole. Stephen Girard was born May 24, 1750, at Bordeaux, France. When eight years old he met with an accident by which the sight of his right eye was destroyed. At the age of thirteen, following the custom of the Girard family generally, he commenced life as a sailor, and was so assiduous and successful that he became master and cap- tain of a vessel at the early age of twenty-three. His first mercantile REED 361 venture was to Santo Domingo in 1774, whence he proceeded to the then colony of New York. After trading with marked success for two years between New York, Port au Prince, and New Orleans, he went to Philadelphia in May, 1776, and gave up the sea for a mercantile career, though he continued in the shipping business. In 1793, while he was engaged most successfully in the prosecution of an extensive trade, an epidemic of yellow fever broke out in Phila- delphia, sweeping away one sixth of its population. A reign of terror, suffering, and desolation prevailed throughout the city. When, during its height, a hospital was established, for which it seemed almost im- possible to secure competent management, Girard devoted himself per- sonally, fearless of all risks, to the care of the sick and the burial of. the dead, not only in the hospital, of which he became manager, but throughout the city, supplying the poorer sufferers with money and provisions. Two hundred children, made orphans by the ravages of the fever, were in a great measure thrown upon his care. From this period his success, commercially and financially, was unexampled. He gave a portion of his time to the management of municipal affairs for several years, and served as director of many public institutions. On the dissolution of the Bank of the United States he instituted what is known now as the Girard Bank. During the War of 181 2 he rendered valuable services to the government by placing at its disposal the re- sources of his bank, subscribing to a large loan which the government had vainly sought to obtain. Mr. Girard was married in 1777 to Mary, or '"Polly," Lum, the daughter of a Philadelphia shipbuilder. She was distinguished for her personal beauty and her noble virtues. About three years after the marriage she became insane, and was placed in the Pennsylvania Hos- pital. There she gave birth to a child, which died in a few months. Mrs. Girard remained an inmate of the hospital for twenty-five years, and died there in 181 5. Mr. Girard was a man with a strong will and indomitable energy, somewhat eccentric, but a man " whose word was as good as his bond." " By residence he belonged to Philadelphia, by faith to the Roman Catholic Church ; but in a truer, wider sense he belonged to no city, to no sect, but to the people, to the cause of the greatest good for all men. . . . Poor, struggling, full of ambition, full of hope in his youth; active, determined, enterprising, and charitable in the prime of life ; mourned and regretted in his death, — such was the life of the most eminent philanthropist of his time." He died December 26, 1831, leaving a fortune of about seven and a half millions of dollars, he being the first millionaire that this country had produced. Girard College was founded by him for the education and support of the poor white orphans of his adopted city. After various specific annuities and bequests to relatives, charities, and the city of Philadel- phia, he bequeathed the residue of his estate to the city of Philadelphia for the founding and maintenance of the college. In his will the most minute directions are given in regard to the buildings to be erected, and the admission and management of the students. He specifically requires that the orphans be instructed in the purest principles of mo- rality ; that there be formed and fostered in their minds an attachment 362 NOTES to our republican institutions; and that "no ecclesiastic, missionary, or minister of any sect whatsoever, shall ever hold or exercise any station or duty in said college ; nor shall any such person ever be ad- mitted for any purpose, or as a visitor, within the premises appropriated to the purposes of said college." This last-named provision gave rise to the famous Girard Will contest, instituted by the heirs-at-law in 1836, and argued in 1844 before the United States Supreme Court by Daniel Webster as leading counsel for the contestants. Webster knew that he had a weak case in point of law, so he w^ent boldly outside the law and made "an impassioned appeal to emotion and prejudice." His plea was for the Christian religion, but the Supreme Court decided unani- ,mously in favor of the college, Chief-Justice Story holding that an institution may be Christian without being sectarian, and that there could be religious instruction even though the minister, missionary, and ecclesiastic be excluded. 266 4 the two great universities : Cambridge and Oxford, situated on the banks of the Cam and the Isis (local name for the Thames), respectively. 267 23 endowment income : the endowment of Girard College, which included considerable real estate in and about Philadelphia, increased in value from ^5,260,000 in 183 1, to ^26,925,000 in 1898 (when this address was delivered), or a fivefold increase. — 29 mariner and mer- chant : Mr. Girard so describes himself in the first sentence of his will. 268 1 facts and things, etc. : Mr. Girard says in his will, " I would have them taught facts and things, rather than words and signs." 269 25 named his vessels after the great French authors : four fine trading vessels, the pride of Philadelphia in their day, were respectively named by Girard the Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesqicieu^ and Helvethis. 270 13 the man who was so unworthy to write his first biography- the allusion is to one Stephen Simpson, who wrote the first biography (1832) of Mr. Girard. — 24 Colonel Charters: Francis Charters (1675- 1732) — also Chartres and Charteris — was a notorious English gambler and profligate. By a combination of skill, trickery, and effrontery he ■ acquired large sums of money by gambling; and by loaning the money thus obtained at exorbitant rates of interest he amassed a large for- tune. In Pope's verses Charters's name is frequently introduced as a synonym of depravity and deviltry. When he knew that he was dying he expressed his w^illingness to give ;/!^30,ooo to be assured that there was no hell, remarking at the same time that the existence of heaven was to him a matter of indifference. Following his death the April number of the Gentleman^ s Magazine (II, 718) contained the pungent epitaph by Dr. Arbuthnot, the concluding lines of which are : " Think not his life useless to mankind. Providence connived at his execrable BEVERIDGE 363 designs to give to after ages a conspicuous proof and example of how small estimation is exorbitant wealth in the sight of God, by His bestow- ing it on the most unworthy of all mortals." — Pope's lVo7-ks, III, 129. 272 6 the siege of Zutphen . . . death of Sir Philip Sidney : Zutphen is a fortified town of Holland. Sidney was an officer in the English expedition to the Netherlands (i 585-1 586). Certain historians (for reasons best known to themselves) have questioned the truth of the famous incident at the battle of Zutphen (September 26, 1586), when Sidney, mortally wounded, passed a cup of water to a dying soldier. It is unquestioned, however, that he owed his death to an impulse of romantic generosity. The lord marshal happening to enter the field of Zutphen without greaves, Sidney cast off his also, to put his life in the same peril, and thus exposed himself to the fatal shot. — 13 the charge of Balaklava : during the Crimean war a series of engagements between the Russians and the Allies took place near Balaklava, October 25, 1854. Through a misconception of the general-in-chief's order the English Light Brigade was ordered to charge the Russian artillery. With a battery in front and on each side the Brigade hewed its way past the guns in front and routed the enemy's cavalry. Of 670 horsemen 198 returned. This charge has been immortalized by Tennyson in his " The Charge of the Light Brigade." — 23 the tablet: a marble sarcophagus and statue of Girard stand in the vestibule of the main building of Girard College. — 27" sent forth a venture : note the appropriateness of the figure used. Queries. Does the Conclusion (paragraph 25) violate the law of sequence ? Is it closely related to the four preceding paragraphs ? Is the transition too abrupt ? TRIBUTE TO MARCUS A. HANNA — BEVERIDGE A few of Mr. Beveridge's speeches have been issued in pamphlet form, and these are political discussions, — except an address delivered at the dedication of Indiana's monuments on the battlefield of Shiloh, Tennessee, April 6, 1903, which resembles closely the address in this volume. 274 9 on and up . . . the true, the beautiful, and the good : is the use of these trite phrases justifiable ? The origin of the latter phrase is probably to be found in Victor Cousin's book, Du vrai^ du beaic, etdii bicn. 276 20 roof trees : a roof tree is the beam in the angle of a roof; hence the roof itself. — 27 Antaeus : a mythological giant who was invisi- ble so long as he was in contact with the earth. 277 1 Villon (1431-14S4): one of the earliest French poets. 3^4 NOTES MARSHALL AND THE CONSTITUTION — COCKRAN Bibliography. No books on or by Mr. Cockran have as yet been published. Most of the speeches by him that have appeared in print are newspaper reports. A few speeches have been issued in pamphlet form. A speech on the Negro Problem is published in the report of the proceedings of the Negro Conference, at Montgomery, Alabama, 1898. The oration in this volume is included in a work of two volumes, — Joh7i Marshall : His Life, Character, and Judicial Services (1903). Chronology of Principal Orations and Speeches. 1895 — The Tariff; The Currency. 1896 — Honest Money (in answer to Mr. Bryan) ; The Irish Question (at a celebration of Robert Emmet's birthday)'. 1898 — The Negro Problem. 1900 — Labor and Capital; Expansion and Wages; Imperialism. 1901 — John Marshall and the Constitution. 1904 — The American Merchant Marine ;" The Issue of 1904 ; Executive Usurpation. 281 21 the battered gateways of Far Cathay: the invasion of China by the allied armies during the Boxer uprising of i960. 283 10 Danton (i 759-1 794) was thrown into prison by Robespierre, his rival as leader of the French Revolution. Five days afterwards he was condemned by a revolutionary tribunal, and executed the same day. 284 22 the greatest Englishman of modern times: Gladstone. — 24 Marshall found a plan, etc. : compare this sentence with Webster's saying of Hamilton : " He smote the rock of our national resources, and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth ; he touched the corpse of our public credit, and it sprang upon its feet." 286 29 United States against Fisher: 2 Cranch 358. 287 12 mandamus to Judge Peters : 5 Cranch 115. — 21 case of Hunter's Lessee: 3 Dallas 305. — 33 Marbury against Madison : i Cranch 115. 288 6 Gibbons against Ogden : 9 Wheacon i. — 9 Brown against the State of Maryland: 12 Wheaton 419. — 24 Dartmouth College case: 4 Wheaton 518. 289 1 to summarize, etc. : see 285 6-15. INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION — SCHURZ Bibliography. Mr. Schurz wrote one of the best biographies of Henry Clay, for the American Statesmen Series, and also a biography of Lincoln, for the Chautauqua Series. His Autobiography was running in McClure's Magazine at the time of his death. A volume of his most important speeches on slavery and the Civil War was published in 1865. After that date his principal public addresses w^ere those in the Senate, — on the annexation of Santo Domingo, the sales of arms, the currency, and general amnesty in the South ; his eulogy on Charles SCHURZ 365 Sumner; his speeches in the presidential campaign of 1884, in support of Mr. Cleveland, and in the campaign of 1896, in opposition to Mr. Bryan's monetary theories ; and his addresses on civil service reform and international arbitration. The oration in this volume may well be studied primarily as an argu- ment, — for such it is, — and to that end the student should make a brief of it, following the plan outlined in detail under the notes on Burke. Such a brief will show' at a glance the way in which the ideas and arguments are marshaled under the different divisions, — the logi- cal sequence and clearness of the thought-expression, the unity in para- graph structure, the plain, direct style, and the unity, coherency, and convincingness of the oration as a whole. 296 II... address you, etc. : note how the speaker plunges at once into his argument. Why was a further Introduction (which might be considered as ending with the first sentence) unnecessary .-' — 11 Hugo Grotius's time : Grotius (i 583-1645) was a celebrated Dutch jurist, theo- logian, statesman, and poet, the founder of the science of international law. His chief work, published in 1625, is De jure belli et pads. 2.97 6 preclude war : the general line of argument here advanced is expressed by David Starr Jordan, in his customary epigrammatic style, as follows : " The day of the nations as nations is passing. National ambitions, national hopes, national aggrandizements : all these may become public nuisances . . . The men of the world as men, not as nations, are drawing closer together. The needs of commerce are stronger than the will of nations, and the final guarantee of peace and good will among men will be not ' the parliament of nations,' but the self-control of men." 300 23 Venezuela message: on December 17, 1895, Tiesident Cleve- land submitted to Congress a special message concerning a long- standing dispute between Venezuela and Great Britain over their respective boundaries in South America. In 1887 the dispute had resulted in the breaking off of diplomatic relations between the two countries. On February 20, 1895, ^^ the suggestion of the President, Congress, by joint resolution, recommended to Great Britain and Vene- zuela the reference of their dispute to friendly arbitration, but Great Britain refused. Then followed the message referred to, in which the President said : " If a European power, by an extension of its boundaries, takes pos- session of the territory of one of our neighboring republics against its will, . . . this is the precise action which President Monroe declared to be ' dangerous to our peace and safety.' . . . Having labored faith- fully for many years to induce Great Britain to submit this dispute to 366 NOTES m impartial arbitration, and having been finally apprised of her refusal to do so, nothing remains but to accept the situation, . . . and to deal with it accordingly .... It is now incumbent upon the United States to determine . . . what is the true divisional line between the republic of Venezuela and British Guiana. ... I suggest that the Congress pro- vide for a commission to make the necessary investigation and report. When such report is made and accepted, it will, in my opinion, be the duty of the United States to resist by every means in its power . . . the appropriation by Great Britain of any lands which of right belong to Venezuela." In England the publication of the message caused profound agita- tion and amazement, and aroused no little resentment. In Congress the message was received with approval, and the press, for the most part, applauded it as American, vigorous, and just. But there were men of influence in and out of Congress w^ho questioned the President's inter- pretation of the Monroe Doctrine, and the wisdom of confronting Great Britain with an implied threat of war before the merits of the dispute were determined. The following year, however, Great Britain receded from her former refusal (Secretary Olney having promised that undisputed possession of any territory for fifty years should be con- clusive evidence of title, thus giving Lord Salisbury an opportunity for a graceful withdrawal) and the dispute was happily settled by arbitra- tion. On January 2, 1896, before the New York Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Schurz delivered a strong speech on this question, deprecating the prevailing "jingoism" and favoring arbitration, — pursuing the same general line of argument found in the oration in this volume. 303 24 Gushing (1842-1874): an American naval officer, noted on account of his exploit in blowing up the Confederate ironclad ram Albe77iarle at Plymouth, North Carolina, on the night of October 27, 1864. He attacked her in a small launch carrying a torpedo. Forcing his way within the chain of logs which formed part of her defense, he exploded the torpedo under the ram's overhang. — 28 what a mocking delusion : what kind of argument is here employed ? Mr. Schurz's refu- tation of alleged reasons for w^ar suggests also the assertions frequently heard immediately following our war with Spain, — which occurred two years after this address was delivered, ^- that the war had aroused the spirit of national patriotism, and had been especially helpful in reuniting the North and the South. 304 19 I have seen war : Mr. Schurz's war record is one of which he may well be proud. In the spring of 1863 he was commissioned a major-general, for meritorious services. Soon thereafter, President SPALDING 367 Lincoln, reviewing the army of the Potomac, pronounced Schurz's division the most soldierly in the Une. His troops, at a heavy loss, checked the advance of Jackson at Chancellorsville ; and at Gettysburg, in the defense against the world-famed charge of Pickett, his artillery was used with fearful effect. In concluding a review of Schurz's mili- tary career, Dr. A. Jacobi, who participated with him in the revolution- ary movement for constitutional liberty in Germany, says : " Thus closed the military career of a man who, at the outbreak of the war, mastered the problems of strategy and tactics, who was rapid in com- binations under fire, who, as his men often boasted, was always himself seen 'on the firing line,' who was wise in counsel, magnanimous in vic- tory, the friend of the fallen foe, and among the first to hold forth the hand of reunion and fellowship." 308 24 Alabama case : the Alabajna w^as a wooden steam-sloop built for the Confederate States at Birkenhead, England. Her commander was Captain Semmes, of the Confederate navy. Her crew and equip- ment were English. She cruised from 1862 to 1864, destroying American shipping, and was sunk by the A'earsarge, off Cherbourg, France, June 10, 1864. Claims for damages were preferred against Great Britain by the United States for the losses caused by this and other ships which were fitted out or supphed in British ports under the direction of the Con- federate government. Thereupon each countiy appointed a commission of representatives for the adjustment of such claims. The commission met at Washington, and on May 8, 187 r, concluded a treaty, known as the "Treaty of Washington," which referred the claims to a tribunal to be composed of five members, named respectively by the govern- ments of the United States, Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, and Brazil. The United States claimed, in addition to direct damages, con- sequential or indirect damages ; while Great Britain contended against any liability whatever, and especially against any liability for indirect damages. The tribunal awarded a gross sum of $15,500,000 in gold to the United States in satisfaction for all claims. 310 10 Therefore, etc. : note the impact of the brief Conclusion, and the effectiveness of the direct address. Would a general summary of the arguments at the opening of paragraph 27 strengthen it ? OPPORTUNITY— SPALDING Bibliography. Bishop Spalding has written : Essays and Revie^os ; The Religiojis Mission of the Irish People ; America and Other Poerns ; Songs: chiefly from the German; Aphorisms atid Peflections. His ora- tions and addresses are included in a series of six volumes dealing with 368 NOTES educational, sociological, and religious topics, as follows : Education and the Higher Life ; Things of the Mind ; Thoughts and Theories of Life and Education ; Opportttnity , and Other Essays and Addresses ; Religion, Agnosticis7n, ctfid Education ; Socialism and Labor and Other Arguments. A memorial volume, commemorative of the opening of Spalding Institute, 1898, treats of Bishop Spalding and his work. Chronology of Principal Addresses. 1899 — Empire or Republic; The University and the Teacher ; The University : a Nursery of the Higher Life ; Opportunity ; The Patriot ; Woman and the Highei Education. 1901 — Assassination and Anarchy. 1902 — An Orator and Lover of Justice (eulogy of John P. Altgeld). The oration, which, as will be seen, is essentially a sermon, is a good example in the handling of a subject which is old, yet ever new, of truths often presented yet eternally true, and hence always of present interest. Such a subject, however, would rarely be a desirable one for a student to attempt, for to say anything new or original on it would be well-nigh impossible. The originality must consist alone in original treatment, — in the new light thrown upon it, and in the fresh manner of expressing familiar truths, — and in this regard Bishop Spalding's style will repay careful study. 312 26 Ouida (1840- ) : Louise De la Ramee : an English novel- ist of French extraction. 316 4 Abdiel : the only servant in " Paradise Lost " (v. 896) who remained loyal when Satan incited the angels to revolt. 318 8 Kimberley : the center of the South African diamond fields. — 10 one who knew how to look: Cecil Rhodes. SALT — VAN DYKE Bibliography. Two small volumes, containing some of Dr. van Dyke's sermons and addresses, have been published : The Open Door and foy and Power. A centennial oration, delivered at the University of Georgia, entitled " Ruling Classes in a Democracy," was published in the Outlook of November 23, 1901. References to magazine articles on Dr. van Dyke as a writer and preacher will be found in Poole's Index. In striking contrast to many sermons, even a cursory reading of Dr. van Dyke's address will show its unity, clearness, cogency, and con- creteness. The Introduction (paragraphs i to 8 inclusive) consists of an exposition of the text and its application. In the threefold division of the Discussion, as indicated by the Roman numerals, the initial sen- tence in each division is a key-sentence which contains the central thought of that division, to wit : I. Men of intelHgence may exercise an influence for good in the world, if they will put their culture to right use (paragraph 9) ; II. Such men owe a duty to society in regard to the evils which corrupt and degrade it (paragraph 13) ; and III. In perform- ing this duty, religion is essential (paragraph 20). The Conclusion is a strong, direct appeal to his hearers to do their part in the performance of such duties (paragraph 27). )Y^ VAN DYKE 369 332 5 Bernardino of Siena (1380-1444) : an Italian Franciscan friar and famous preacher. — 8 Fra Angelico (1387-1455) : one of the most celebrated of the early Italian painters. His works were made the models for religious painters of his own and succeeding generations. — 9 Chevalier Bayard (1475-1524) : a French national hero, called "the knight without fear and without reproach." — 10 Sir Philip Sidney : see 272 (), note. — Henry Havelock (1795-1857) : an English general in India, famous in the relief of Lucknow, 1857. — Chinese Gordon (1833-1885): an English soldier who acted as adviser of the Chinese government in its relations to Russia in 1800. He was killed at the storming of Khartoum, Egypt. — 11 Knights of the Holy Ghost: VOrdre dii Saint- Esprit (The Order of the Holy Ghost) W'as an order of knighthood founded in 1578 by Henry III, king of France. — 1(5 Howard (1726- 1790) : an English philanthropist, best known for his work in behalf of prison reform. — Wilberforce : see 176 18, note. — Raikes (1735-1811): an Englisher publisher, noted as a philanthropist. He was the founder of the modern Sunday school. — Charles Brace (1826-1890) : an Ameri- can author and philanthropist, associated in the early work of the " New York Children's Aid Society." 333 27 Richard Porson (i 759-1808) : an English classical scholar, famous for his know^ledge of Greek. — 28 Thomas Guthrie (1803-1873) : a Scottish clergyman, orator, and philanthropist. 336 14 cast a vote, etc. : in favor of Mr. Bryan for president. 337 22 Ring in the valiant man and free, etc.: from Tennyson's " In Memoriam." ANNOUNCEMENTS THE PRINCIPLES OF ARGU MENTATION REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION By GEORGE P. BAKER, Professor of English in Harvard University, and H. B. HUNTINGTON, Assistant Professor of English in Brown University l2mo. Cloth. 677 pages. List price, ^1.25 j mailing price, jJJ 1.40 IN the ten years since " The Principles of Argumen- tation" first appeared the argumentative work in our colleges has so developed that the author, assisted by Professor H. B. Huntington of Brown University, has thoroughly revised the old book and enlarged it. The most important changes are in the treatment of persuasion and analysis, the former subject being pre- sented in a manner which is entirely new in text-books, but has been tested by some years of use in Harvard classes. The treatment of this difficult subject is in- tended to apply not only to courses in written argument but also to those in oratory and debate. 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