uummvklM‘vuHwvwIu'V»AJ\.AJnmJ'w%#~I\~.%~'\¢\¢N¢Nan¢"vw'uM/«nu

 U R 5% E

 

U

 

am
THE IEE%1§»T.Ei:W W %‘;§?EffEE E¥WN"a T‘£%f]W};‘A\3”WJ‘A!i”E‘de  WE
msm.x"mx:e.za:xm m rzm. ~mr:«:;m«:«z::»:e»: @:4&»2'%2<.zz-m:;v::aVu, mzr

SUNDAYaWWW$m;M&m

 Y E 33 W A R 1;»  15;; ii :32. 

ummmumowmnuwummmmmnnwunommwmmm-wuwlwnml

x»1crm.x2.=sx-mazm mf  «mars:- @m::m;: 21mi>“VIif1t«".1C‘ W.:z.>.=.::~:r«‘:m1~:r .2;e.m0mAmxmw «cw
% ‘3‘a"‘vf.2”9%l;Jiwf."Ev1xIt.3€;‘?.fL~€’. %

m®%W@mz 
WAWPAm&wWM1WT%MORE”
RM W;a.. mm ;m <13} rm m N” sea ‘K’ X5: 11:. IE: tr .. %
_1a$2m

_.....,‘.;._._...!..‘._........ 3, ,_ ,.

 

 

GREAT MEN ARE GOD'S G-IPT.

~l\/\.J'\J\./’\/'8; ’\J\f\a"\/\/‘\.(\/'\/'\a"\.F‘\f\W\I\.f\.f\f\J'\o'\/\0

 

A

DISCOURSE

THE DEATH OF THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER.

DELIVERED IN 1\‘I'I‘. VERNON CIIURCII, ON

SUNDAY,AOCT.31,1852.

BY EDWARD N. KIRK.

PUIBLISIIFJD BY REQUEST OF THIS MOUNI‘ VERNON ASSQCIATION OF’
"YOUNG MEN.

BOSTON:
TAPPAN 85 WHITTEMORE,

114 W.A.SIIING'1‘ON sccxwzstr.

1852.

DISOOURSE.

ISAIAH, XLV. 6, 7.

I AM THE LORD, AND rrrrnrm rs NONE ELSE; I roam: THE LIGHT,
Ann CREATE naammss.

LIGHT and Darkness are among the works of
God’s creative hand. To create them is the pre-
rogative of Him, who is infinitely above all crea-u
tures. He challenges the reverence and homage
of men to Himself, as a personal Deity; the alone
Goo. And light and darkness are hereselected as
the evidences of His Being and Supremacy. This
prediction concerning Cyrus may have been de-
signed to invade the darkness of Paganism; as
certainly were many of the prophecies, and many
of the providential movements toward the Jews.
If this was the design, there was a striking fit-
ness in informing the Persians that Jehovah was
not Light, nor the Sun; but the Creator of both.

That He formed the light, is announced to us
in the very opening page of -Revelation. “And
God said, Let there be light, and there was light;

4

and God divided the light from the darkness.”
This was the first act of distinctive construction,

after matter itself had been created. Then, in the l

fourth period, it is said: “God made two great
lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the
lesser light to rule the night.” This was a still
more specific arrangement, -—-——— distributing the light,
in reference to Man’s necessities. And He created
darkness, too. The return of darkness, though
secured to us by the revolutions of the earth, is an
arrangement having express reference to man, and
to society. It is no accident, nor fortuitous meet-
ing of material forces, that produces these most
beneficent alternations of day and night.l

But light and darkness mean more than this in
the Scriptures, and in the common language of
mankind. The language of poetry, and of com--
mon life everywhere, recognize Prosperity, Know-
ledge, Joy, happy Events, and eminent Men, as
Light; and Calamities, Ignorance, the Death of the
good, as Darkness. In this sense we shall now
consider these words, as employed by the Prophet.

Present circumstances call us particularly to
regard God as creating light and darkness in
human society; as setting great lights in the
heavens, and then extinguishingthem. And I call
you to observe, that —-- i

 Great men are God’s gzfls. He endows, He

5

employs, He bestows them. “I the Lord, form

the Light.”

1. T/zeir endowments are from  To our?
apprehension, Omnipotence is demanded for creat-
ing a grain of sand out of nothing. For the crea-r
tion, of a plant, we demand it more imperiously g and:

still more for the human body, evenin, its rudesti

specimen. But when we contemplate the more
exquisite, structure of that body, in, which a lofty

mind, and a soul of noble endowments, reside, we
see yet more impressively the presence, and will,

and power of the Infinite Creator. It is not in the

style of Scripture to speak, as we do, of the weight
and form of the brain; or to analyze the separate

mental faculties; or else we might have seen in»
thempositive declarations of this. kind; thatl’aul;

had avery large brain, and Isaiah a grand imagina-
tion ; t that the vast storehouse of the mind’s instru—-
ment which was on Paul’s shoulders, the exquisite
organization of David’s poetic faculties, l\/loses’
judgment, Job’s magnanimity, Isaiah’s sublime
fervor, andtDaniel’s capacity for government, were
all gifts from God to his Church. But that is not
their style of speech or thought. They say, when.f-
the Church needed a magnificent structure for;
worship, in her itinerant period, “the Lord called»
Bezaleel by name, and filled him with the Spirit

of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge
1%

6

and in all manner of workmanship ; and to devise
curious works, to work in gold and silver, and in
brass.” Andit is equally true of all those magnifi-
cent mental qualities, and those extraordinary
physical powers, which have enabled men to en-
lighten, rule, guide, and defend communities and
states, that God called the possessors of them by
name, and filled them with the Spirit of God in
wisdom and knowledge, and in all manner of
workmanship. It is equally true of t

2. The means of cultivating t/zose guczZitz'es. Every
great man is much indebted to the circumstances
of his outward life for making him what he is.
Equally endowed men have doubtless died in
obscurity and uselessness, for want of favorable
opportunities of bringing their qualities to maturity.
And this demands an omniscient Providence.
Some persons, indeed, who claim to be reasoners
by eminence, reach conclusions very different from
this. They adopt a kind of reasoning concerning
man, which would be by themselves regarded as
monstrous when applied to any result of man’s
workmanship. Wherever they see causes adapted
to effects, they believe that the causes were chosen
for the sake of the effects. And why do they rea-
son ditferently about God’s works? When, for ex-
ample, it is seen that the circumstances of George
Washi11gton’s early life combined to produce

7

just the character and accomplishments which the
times demanded, why must we believe that Wash-
ington is as accident; or that his native qualities,
or the peculiar circumstances that fashioned his
powers, were the result of chance? Had he been
a poor man, dependent on his labor for his support,
or dependent on the liberality or justice of the
Congress to sustain him; had he in youth chosen
any other occupation than that of surveying;
had he studied books, and become a scholar, -—--—-- no
man can say, that he could possibly have met the
crisis of our Revolution, and carried us through it.
“ I the Lord form the light” is the philosophy and
the theology that the case demands. He creates
the greater light to rule the day; the sun, the
moon, and the stars also. And

3. The opportzzm'ty of e2:e9'cisz'91g their fcwultries is
also from God. The sun would have beenauseless
bauble after being created, if it had not been placed
just where it can “rule the day.” So God called
David from guiding and feeding sheep, to that
position in which he could display his eminent
qualities as a ruler of theitheocratic people. So
Cyrus was formed and called of God to do a work
of eminent difliculty, and equally eminent utility
to the Church, and to marikind. Paul’s natural
talents, and even his conversion, would never have
benefited and blessed the Church and the world as

8

they did, unless he had also had, as he terms it,
“an effectual door opened” to him; not by man,
but by Him whom he served.

But if it is the Lord who creates the great lights
of human society, and sets them in the heavens to
rule the day and the night, it is equally true, that

II. The removat of great men by death is from

God. “I create darkness.” It is so,
1. In view of I-Its general Providence... A hairon

our heads cannot escape his notice ; nor a sparrow

give up its breath Without him. It matters not

what or how" many causes of any death we assign,

we must come back at length to the will of God.
This holds true of every event except the perverse
exercise of freedom in man; and even there, the
purpose of God has its own sphere of action.

2. God has partz'cuZarl_z/ recognized Death as I253
act. “ I kill, and I make alive.” To the righteous
He says: “I will come and take you to myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also.” To the
wicked he declares, that he will cut them off in
their wickedness; not suffering them to live out
half their days. But there are also

3. Specgfic cases, in wltick the removal of great men
is traced to the Lord. Moses he removed, partly as

a chastisement for his impatience at the Rock in
Kadesh; Eli. he removed by death, as a chastise-i

ment for the want of parental fidelity; While he

9

translated Enoch and Elijah without death, as a
reward of their goodness.

But when the blow comes upon a people, who
appreciate their loss, it often creates a secret mur-
muring against God. Feelings of personal regard
blend with patriotic emotions, and a prudent fear
for the public welfare ; and God seems cruel. This
leads me to state, that

III. There are obvious and evflicient veasoizs for
the removal of useful men by death.

1. The services of the best men are necessarily
limited in time and member. In the fondness of our
admiration, we ascribe a kind of omnipotence to
men of great powers. It is true of almost every
eminent man, that he met a crisis. Some new
exigency arose, of shorter or longer duration ; for
which he was specially qualified. I-Ie accomplished
his work; and the crisis passed. To have lived
longer then, he might have outlived his usefulness,
if not his honor. Every period has its peculiar
features ; and requires in its leading mind peculiar-
ities of disposition, of mental faculties, and of edu-
cation. When the new era comes, it may be found
that a totally diflerent class of powers and attain-
ments is demanded; and yet, from the very habit
of controlling events, these men may still attempt
to control. Skilful pilots among the rapids of the

river; they may wreck the ship, when she gets out

10

among the rocks of the coast. Napoleon guided
France amid the turbid waters of the Revolution,
but wrecked her on the rocks of foreign War.

2. Tlzey may also eclipse Goalls glory, by continuing
to live after performing emiaie-net services. Man in his

fallen state, is naturally idolatrous. He transfers A

to created excellence that homage and confidence
which belong to infinite Excellence alone. It is
not improbable that it was necessary for the very
existence of piety in the primitive christian Church,
that the apostles should betalcen prematurely, and

by violent deaths, out of the world. Men 'Wl10.¢

labored with such disinterested zeal, Wrought such
prodigies, shed such light on the minds of men,
and were to the converts as God, might easily be
worshipped by them. In kindness to them, God
took the instruments out of the Way, that the glori-
ous Architect might be seen and known as the
Author of all they enjoyed or hoped for.

3. The 6l6’al]l.S‘ of eminent men in or special mamier
reveal Goal. Their lives ought to reveal him. Men.
should say of them, as the Psalmist says of the
heavenly bodies: “ The heavens declare the glory
of God; and the firmament sheweth his handy
work.” But almost universally men see the created
glory, and are blind to the glory of the Creator.
They should say, “ If the thing made is so beautiful
and grand, how glorious must He he who made it!

11

if the thing created be so useful, how good must
be its Creator! if We depend so much on this

human instrument, how much more on that mighty

Hand which employs it!” But ordinarily we fix
our admiring gaze on What is created, visible and
limited; and overlook that which is Almighty,
Invisible, and Infinite. And if any should plead
in our defence, that we do so just because we can
see the one, and not the other, I would reply, this
is a capital error. Wliat you admire in a good
man, is not what your bodily eye sees; it is totally
the invisible mind. What you lean upon in a great
man, is not the arm of bones and muscles, but the
columnar properties of the invisible soul. And as
you know the presence of that soul by what it does
and makes, so may you know God by his acts and
works. And when men have permitted the crea-
ture to eclipse the Creator, it is time to remove the
opaque body, and let the Sun shine once more
upon them, Without a reflector or an obscuring
medium’. The tendency of such a death is always
to bring the sedate and reflecting back to God.
They see that He abides, When’ men a-re taken

T away; when human supports fail, then they‘ return

totheir Maker, ‘and lean on Him? They check
their idolatrous disposition, and say, “What have I
any more to do with idols? ” “ Thou turnest man
to destruction, and sayest, Return, ye children; but

12

thou, Lord, art from everlasting to everlasting.
Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all genera-
tions.” When George Washington died, the feel-
ings of many persons were precisely those of
children losing a father ; to whom it seems impos-
sible that they can Walk the path of life, deprived
of that arm and that voice. Yet when Washington
died, God lived ; yea, and He lives forever.

And this world will continue to grope, and stum-
ble, and fall, until it has learned this lesson; which
God has been, for thousands of years, teaching it.
When He gives the greater light to rule the day, and
the lesser light to rule the night, then men WOTSl1lp
the sun and the moon. And it requires ages to
chastise them out of that folly. The idol of one
generation is abandoned, only to find that of the
next. So they pass from one creature to another;
still “joined to idols.” And not the least Wicked
of their superstitions is an idolatrous admiration
of great men, and an undue dependence on
them; hero-Worship, truly. The Jews were ad-
dicted to it, as Well as the less favored nations.
And we see by the Prophets, that it was necessary
to give them “line upon line, and precept upon
precept,” on this subject. To prepare them for the
wonderful favor which Cyrus was to confer upon
their nation, and prevent their forgetting God, Isaiah
was commissioned to tell them long before-hand,

13

that God would raise him up for that very purpose.
“Thus saith the Lord to Cyrus, whose right hand
I have holden to subdue nations before him. For
Jacob my servant’s sake, I have even called thee
by thy name. I am the Lord. I girded thee,
though thou hast not known me.” And in like
manner, to break up their idolatrous dependence
on great men and on worldly prosperity, he thus
addresses them: “Behold, the Lord, the Lord of
Hosts doth take away from Jerusalem and from
Judah, the stay and the staff, the whole stay of
bread, and the whole stay of water, the mighty
man and the man of war, the judge and the
prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, the
captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the
counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the
eloquent orator.” And when these are taken
away, there is hope that men will begin to see
Him who is the Unchanged; “the Father of lights,
from whom corneth down every good and perfect
gift.” The language of His entire Providence
seems to be, “I the Lord create light. When,
therefore, you see the brilliant orb of day, or the
milder empress of the night, look through them to
me. Admire them, love me. Recognize their
value; but bestow your thankfulness, and stay
your confidence on ‘me. And when you behold the

glorious luminaries that I set in the firrnament of
2

M

human society, let your adoration, gratitude, and

, confidence pass through them to me.” “ I the Lord

create darkness, too. And when you see the sun
darkened, and the moon turned into blood; the
stars falling from heaven, and its pillars shaken,
then know and honor me. I am the Lord, and
there is none else. I form the light, and create
darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I the
Lord do all these things.”

REMARKS.

Is God thus creates the eminent men of the
earth, thus qualifies them, and thus bestows them
on society, then

1. T/ze Ame-ricczn people should gmtcy’uZZy aclmow
[edge Dame?! I/Veb.s*z‘e'r' as as gzft from God.

That his endownients were eminent, the civilized
World admits. They were qualities of the very
highest order; and of an extraordinary combination.
I am sustained by competent authority in saying,
that he excelled his fellows in two departments at
least; in only one of which do the greatest often
excel. Edmund Burke was an eloquent expounder
of political principles; Henry Brougham is a great
jurist; but Daniel Webster walked in the loftiest
paths, both of legal and political science : nay, was

15

a ruling spirit in the upper spheres of law and
politics. Washington was eminent in war and
statesmanship; but it was rather as a practical
man, as a man of solid judgment, of great sagacity,
and probity, and the purest patriotism, than as an
able expounder. He was not eminently a thinker
and teacher. Webster had not only sagacity and
judgment, but he also brought to the whole subject
of man’s social life, of the organization of States,
and the complicated, profound, and vast principles
which they involve, a vision of extraordinary clear»
ness and comprehensiveness ; an uncommon sound~
ness of judgment; a true heart; and a prodigious
memory. And it is Well for this country that his
was a sound English sense. Had he evaporated
his mighty powers in the abstractions and subtleties
of German philosophy, we might have admired
his movements, as we do those of‘ an aeronaut;
but we should have missed that strong and skilful
hand at the helm, in times of storm and peril. Mr.
Webster’s judgment was solidand practical. He
was a philosopher, not dealing in questions remote
from real life, but searching the principles of human
society, and human rights and duties, law, justice,
and liberty, to their very foundations; and then
embodying them in undying forms of the purest
English, which itself can never perish, until King
James’ version of’ the Bible becomes obsolete. He

16

was a great light in our heavens. But the Lord

formed him; formed him what he was, and trained
him by His own Wonderful processes.

Let us then acknowledge the infinite greatness
of Him who created this finitegreatness.‘ If VVeb-

ster’s intellect is a brilliant planet in our heavens, ,

he but shone in beams that came from the central
Orb.

Let us also acknowledge the goodness and kind-
ness of our Maker in such a gift. The services Mr.
Webster has rendered to this country, and to man-

kind, must be acknowledged to be priceless. This

is not‘ the place to give them their full prominence.
But it is appropriate to this place to say so much
as shall awaken in our hearts a deep sense of in»-
debtedness to our heavenly Father for the bestow»
ment of this gift. Mr. Webster has conferred on
the legal profession of‘ this country invaluable
benefits. Gentlemen of‘ that profession most fully
know what those benefits are. And even the judi-
ciary acknowledges its great indebtedness to his
labors. But it is preenrinently as a statesman that
he has earned a debt too vast for us ever to pay.
We know not the pilot who could have marked
the course for Freedom’s barque, had he not done
it. Our fathers ventured,from the noblest impulses,
and ~deepest conviction of its 11ec.essity, upon the
experiment of‘ a separate existence as a nation, and

17
of a popular government. But the war of freedom
was the least part of the workto be done. Throw-
ing ofi" foreign control was one thing; framing and
working a popular government was quite another.
Consolidating free States under a central power;
balancing State-freedom, and personal freedom,
with federal government; this was a mighty in-
tellectual work; and grandly did they achieve it.
But, as Mr. Calhoun once remarked in the
Senate of the United States, there is even more
wisdom in the Constitution than there was in its
framers. If that remark be just, then even more
wisdom was demanded for the exposition and
application of its principles, than for its construc-
tion. Some man, to guide our steps, must possess
the spirit of personal independence as a profound
sentiment; he must truly desire personal freedom
for his fellow men. These qualifications are pos-
sessed by many. But with these, he that is to
expound that deeper wisdom of the Constitution,
and apply its principles to new exigencies, must
also possess a thorough insight into the funda-
mental principles of human society. The work of
peace was a mightier task than that of war.

i Fighting men were good for nothing there. Hands

unstained by blood must rear that stately temple.
And God who raised up Solomon for Israel, raised

up our Daniel for the United States. He has maps-
2*

18

ped the chart for us, and left the simpler task of
steering to honest and Wakeful helmsmen. We
may remain E Pluribus Ummz now, if we know
the worth of that motto. And then we needed a
hand of peculiar skill to adjust the relations of this
popular government with the monarchies of Europe.
It was no easy task to make those governments,
naturally jealous of our popular institutions, under-
stand our views and intentions ; to show them that
we know our rights, and intend to maintain them ;
that we know the rights of others, and intend to
respect them; that we love peace, and desire to
maintain it; that we seek only an honorable rival-
ship in advancing the human race to perfection
and peace. That was the work. to be done; and
Daniel Webster did it. God bless his fragrant
memory! God be praised for him and his work I
It was great, it was noble ; it is among the greatest,
the noblest of political achievements. Wlien the
Court of Spain saw" the fairness and soundness of
his positions and arguments in the matter of Cuba,
they cordially acquiesced in his decisions, and felt a
new confidence in us; although so much separated
from us by their religious and political principles,
and having with us only a limited commercial
intercourse. A distinguished British arnbassador
recently remarked, that diplomatic negotiation with
Mr. Webster was very agreeable, as it was a plain

19

and direct dealing with facts and rights, without
chicanery or overreaching. He brought to his
negotiations the reputation not only of ability, but
of a pure love of justice. No man entertained
broader views of international Law.

2. The people of America are called to recrogmee z‘/ze
/zcmd of God in the removal of our C/zieflam. “I the
Lord create darkness.” And it is dark, very dark.
We feel it. We look with fear on your little am-
bitious statesmen, that are advertising themselves
for the great posts of power; we feel a sickness at
heart when We think of the silence that reigns at
Marshfield. We look ahead; and it is dark, very
dark. Fishery-questions, boundary-—questi0ns, from
tier-difficulties, nullificationl who is to meet them?
Who is to negotiate for us? who is to breast the
waves, and scatter them in spray? The rock
of Marshfield is removed I

Yes; but God did it. Since Washington left us,
we have never been so tempted to lean on the arm
of flesh, as in this case. And God, in mercy, has
broken the snare. Webster still lives; but we can
no longer pray to him instead of the God of heaven,
if we have heretofore done so. And as We have
infinitely more security in God, than in the strongest
bulwarks, We may see that He in. mercy has re
moved the counsellor and the eloquent orator. But
there are particular results of this death, which

20

clearly reveal to us the hand of God, and some of
His designs in it. There is an immense value in
the arousing of a genuine affection in the human
heart. Our daily cares contract and chill our hearts.
Personal interests degrade us, by absorbing‘ us. And
it is a beneficent shoclr that starts us to look out of
ourselves, forget ourselves, and feel for somebody,
and something entirely apart from ourselves. And
if that object be grand and noble, our interest in it
ennobles us. The interest awakened in our coun-
try by this death, is invaluable. The suspen-
sion of business, the vast attendance at the fu-
neral, the public nteetings, the g1'eat space of
the newspapers occupied by it, is all good. The
tears shed since last Sunday have watered the
roots of precious plants. Weep on, my country-
men! and let no man be ashamed of his tears.
Let go your grasp on the mighty dollar; cease that
earnest political strife; turn your eyes toward
Marshfield, and weep 3

But it is of peculiar importance to us to have a
common chord struck. One political measure of
Mr.” Webster has, indeed, alienated from him a
portion of our countrymen. The alleged betrayal
of infirmities may have prevented an idolatry that
would have cursed us, and injured him. But, it
remains true, that since Washiiigton lived, no man

21

has had such a place in the hearts of the American

people. And it is good for us to love a common .

object. The personal independence we enjoy,
the vastness of our territory, and the consequent
geographical separation of our citizens from one
another; the difference in our local institutions,
habits and notions, tend to prevent the existence
of a truly loyal attachment to each other. And
while Mr. VVebster lived, we hardly knew how
much we felt alike about him. Now, there is one
common sigll swelling from the heart of America.
Yes ! even the neighboring provinces feel the loss
to be theirs ; and utter with us, these notes of la-
mentation. It is good for brethren to dwell together
in unity; and good for them to know that they
are brethren. His genuine patriotism will now be
more fully estimated by us, and more impressive
as an example. Envy and detraction will be silent;
his whole career will manifest the purity and
strength of his patriotism. He was never a tac-
tician; he never stooped to be the people’s man;
he was no proclaimer of his own patriotism ; not
an orator with honeyed words ; not a brawler about
the people’s rights; but an honest lover of his
country, and of all the people that are in it; an
enlightened lover, that knew where our true in-
terests lie ; that would sacrifice our favor, if that was
the price of telling us the truth. He rode no

22

hobby for the sake of gaining him favor or votes.
Principles, eternal principles; truth and justice
ever secured his delighted attention, and occupied
his thoughts. He understood the fundamental
principles of our Constitution in their relations to
ourselves, and to the great human family. The
warmest afifections of his heart, and the strength of
his mind were devoted to the maintenance and
application of those principles. It is a cheering
fact that the Duke of Welli11gto11 and Daniel
Webster are the two most admired men of this
age; and that both of them made the interests of
their country their pole-star. The grandeur of true
patriotism, as illustrated in his course, will now be
brought before the eyes of our young men; and
they will see it in glorious contrast with the petty
selfiseeking that so frequently disg.races political
life.

This death will call forth the kind expressions of
other nations to us. England loves us for VVash~
ington’s sake, though he fought against her; for
he fought honestly and nobly. England loved us
for ‘Webster’s sake. She has no tears of our im-
mense activity and progress, so long as such intel-
ligence, such integrity and such generous man-
liness control our diplomacy. Even Austria will
forget the sting of his pen in the noble uprightness

23

of his policy. Greece will weep, South America
will weep, Hungary will Weep with us.

Fellow citizens, God hath done this, to make us
Weep.

The death of‘ Mr. Webster will increase men’s
respect for the Bible. He is acknowledged to be
a great man, a wise man; a scholar; a learned
man ; a man thoroughly acquainted with the
world ; that is, a man of‘ practical sense. But it will
soon be seen by the world that his 1'eve1'e11ceWfor the
Bible, founded on a most intimate study of it, was
very great. German philosophers appear very
Wise; and so do some of their American imitators.
Many young men regard it as a badge of superior
sense to despise the Bible. The views of Mr. ‘Web-
ster will save many of them from that snare. We
are not called to deterntine how far he regulated
his life by it. I speak; of it simply in an intellectual
point of view; and about that there can be no doubt.
Having noticed that on several occasions gentlemen
have endeavored to show that his religious views
were not definite, but indefinite, or, as some would
term it, liberal, I would here mention an anecdote,
which from his own lips, I am authorized to say, is
authentic. Being asked by a Unitarian gentleman
as he was coming out of an Episcopal Church in this
city, whether he believed that three a11d one are the

24

same thing, he replied in a manner perfectly char-
acteristic, as it. properly disposes of the real difiicu1-
ty of the Trinity; “ Sir, I believe you and I do not
understand the arithmetic of Heaven.”

This instance gives death a prominent place in
men’s thoughts. Death is made here to appear a
stern reality; and an introduction to still sterner re-
alities. Is Daniel Webster annihilated? no! he
lives. But he lives not here- He is gone to the
World where nothing, that men ordinarily prize,
can follow him. He has met his Judge. What a
capacity is in him for Woe or happiness! and all
that is real in destiny he has now experienced. Men
who have thought of death, will from this instance
of it, contemplate it more seriously.

3. The C/zristians of this Zcmcl are called upon to com-
mend their country by especial prayer to God. When
earthly helpers fail, G-od loves us not the less, but
designs to bring Himself more prominently to view,
and to increase our sense of dependence on Him.
A great light has been removed from our firrnament.
The Lord, who created the light, and He alone, can
furnish others suited to our necessities.

Digitization information for the
Daniel Webster Pamphlet Project

University Libraries

University of Missouri——Columbia

Local identifier

web000

Digitization work performed by the
University of Missouri Library Systems Office

Capture information

Date captured
Scanner manufacturer
Scanner model
Optical resolution
Color settings

File types

Source information

Format
Content type
Derivatives — Access copy
Compression
Editing software
Editing characteristics

Resolution
Color

File types
Notes

2004-2005
Minolta
PS7000
600 dpi
Unknown
tiff

Pamphlets
Text with some images

Uncompressed
Adobe Photoshop

600 dpi

Bitonal; images
grayscale

tiff

Pages cropped and
brightened

Blank pages removed

Property marks
removed