A SUBLIME PARALLEL LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY MEMORIAL the Class of 1901 founded by HARLAN HOYT HORNER and HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER A SUBLIME PARALLEL BY LESTER O. SCHRIVER PEORIA, ILLINOIS IN THE YEAR 1945 COPYRIGHT 1945 LESTER O. SCHRIVER ^ 1 3 n L U 3 3>4 5ch DEDICATED in grateful and loving memory to The Reverend Doctor Spencer E. Evans For thirty-seven years Minister of the Congregational Church of Terryville, Connecticut. To Doctor Evans, and to his de- voted wife Mary Francis Evans, I owe my interest in many of the best things in life. For more than a quarter of a century they lavished their friendship upon me, and for several years I lived in their home. It was a blessed experience. I therefore deem it appropriate to reproduce on the following pages the pictures of two Shrines. One is the Congregational Church of Terryville, Connecticut. The other is the place where Abraham Lincoln first saw the light of day. LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF HU^tS Congregational Church, Terryville, Connecticut, where Rev. Spencer E. Evans, D.D., was Minister from Oc- tober 12, 1902 to January 1, 1939. PHOTOGRAPHED BY G. E. BURRILL . . . BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT Memorial Building built of Stony Creek Connecticut granite which en- shrines the Cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky, in which Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809. PHOTOGRAPHED BY LAWRENCE B. LOCKWOOD . . . CLEVELAND, OHIO Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://www.archive.org/details/sublimeparallelOOschr INTRODUCTION For more than thirty-five years I have tried to be a student of the life of Abraham Lincoln. Probably I shall retain my interest in the subject as long as I live. I am very sure I shall never be an authority. No one, unless he makes Lin- colniana his vocation, can hope to be so regarded. The bibliography is too vast, the schools of thought are too nu- merous, and the legends are too persistent. I say legends advisedly because there are undoubtedly many false theories regarding Lincoln which will live as long as the things about him which have a basis in fact. One of the most persistent superstitions regarding Lincoln is the fact that he was an ignoramus prior to his arrival in New Salem at the age of 21. Another superstition is the notion that Lincoln was an infidel. It is this untruth particularly that I have tried through the years to destroy. That is why I have spent much time in trying to establish the fact that Lincoln pos- sessed profound religious convictions and his mind and heart were capable of deep spiritual penetration. In this monograph I have attempted to be factual, although it must be admitted that it is also sentimental. As the title implies, it compares the lives of two great characters in history. I hope no one will accuse me of being irreverent. A SUBLIME PARALLEL YOU need not take my word for it that Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest personalities in all history. A number of years ago Mr. H. G. Wells, the English historian, who is no sentimentalist but a collector of facts, stated that the six greatest men who ever lived were JESUS OF NAZARETH BUDDHA ASOKA ARISTOTLE ROGER BACON ABRAHAM LINCOLN I take it that Mr. Wells arrived at his conclusion after considerable thought. Isn't it significant that this historian, as he stood on the circle of eternity and looked about him to find the six peerless personalities of all time, should have selected this particular group? Not one of them is remembered primarily because he founded an empire, or led an army, or amassed a fortune. But each of these men, separated as they were in time and in space, and differing in their heredity and environmental back- ground, will be remembered for time and eternity because the compelling purpose of their lives was service to their fellow men. It is about the star- tling parallel in the lives of the first and last of these men that I would direct your attention. The points of similarity in the life stories of these two sublime figures are the most striking in history. Both Were Humbly but Well Born You do not need very much imagination, as you stand beside the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln at Hodgenville, to reconstruct in fancy the conditions under which the Son of Man first saw the light of day. Both were from sturdy, humble stock, and of wholesome, worthwhile parentage. Both were the logical product of their heredity and environ- ment. Fairly recent research has rather definitely put the lie to Herndon's statement that Lincoln sprung from a "stagnant putrid pool." Lincoln was the seventh generation of American Lincolns, and his ancestry goes back to England to a sturdy and honorable line. children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not know- ing when or whether ever I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the as- sistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail. Trusting in him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To his care com- mending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell." Even Their Gethsemenes Were Almost Identical The Master of Men prayed all night in the garden. He prayed a prayer of intercession — that is, he prayed for others. That was a terrible night for the Master of Men because the future was fraught with such uncer- tainty. But was that night so much different from the night about which Carpenter tells us after the first day's battle at Gettysburg? If we can place any credence on what is generally a reliable source, the night after the first day's battle at Gettysburg was the Gethsemene of the sad and lonely man from the Sangamon. We are not certain that he spent "all night on his knees" but we have every reason to suppose that all during that night, when he was not either receiving or sending messages, he was in the attitude of prayer before the throne of grace, asking for guidance and leadership in the hour of the nation's travail. Yes, these two Gethsemenes, separated by nearly two thousand years, were almost identical in the measure of heartache and heartbreak which came to these two men who had upon their hearts the burdens of their day. Both Were Unjustly Persecuted. Both Had to Contend With Disloyalty and Betrayal Jesus had his Pilate and his Judas; Lincoln his McClellan and his Booth. God Raised Up Both to Meet a Crisis in the Lives of the Children of Men Jesus came in a religious crisis to save men from empty formalism. Lincoln was raised up to meet a political crisis involving the bondage of a race and the future of a nation. Even the Utterances of Both Have Become Immortal Above everything else, both these lonely souls knew that the most soul-stirring speeches ever uttered were simple parables told to the plain people, and that the undying illustrations are drawn from daily life. As long as the symbols of human speech shall be remembered by man, the Sermon on the Mount and the Gettysburg Address shall stand as models of thought and feeling and devotion to a cause. To me the most significant statement ever made about Lincoln's speeches was by Lord Gurzon — no mean authority, for he was Viceroy and Governor General of British India, a Member of the House of Lords, a Member of the British Cabinet, and in 1907 made Chancellor of Oxford University. He is quoted as saying: "The three greatest utterances in the Anglo-Saxon Tongue are: 1. Toast of Wm. Pitt after Trafalgar. 2. Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech. 3. Lincoln's Second Inaugural." Yes, the utterances of these two matchless lovers of mankind will be re- membered as long as language is employed to convey human thought. Both Were Lovers of Children Perhaps the measure of a man can be more accurately determined by his attitude toward children than in any other fashion. One day some foolish young mothers came to see Jesus — and you all know there is nothing more foolish in the world than a young mother, particularly if it is her first child. Yes, they would see Jesus in order that he might admire their children. The Disciples were horrified. "Don't you know that the Master is tired, that he has had a busy day, that he has no time for mothers with their babies?" And what did Jesus say? "Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." By that act the Master of Men tore a hole in the skies that day and carried childhood to the very throne of God. Lincoln loved children. You may remember the story of the little girl at Metamora who lost her dolly in the mud. Lincoln was attending court there. Passing by, he saw the distressed little mother who to all intents and purposes had lost her dolly, for she could not retrieve it. At some inconvenience to himself he rescued the doll and restored it to the little mother. Would one of the leading attorneys of Illinois have done such a thing if he had not loved children? Even Herndon asserts that Lincoln loved children and that he spoiled his own. Whether or not he spoiled them is a matter of conjecture but at any rate it is a well known fact that he loved them. Where Else Would You Find the Magnanimity Possessed by These Two Souls? The sad and lonely man from Nazareth said: "Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you. Pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you." Even in his greatest extremity, when he was surrounded by his tormentors who had nailed him to a cross and who reveled in his death, he said : "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." Not much different, is it, from the words of Lincoln, "With malice toward none; with charity for all . . ." And his magnanimity was perhaps his greatest weapon. At least it was his most effective means of winning men to his cause. Do you recall that Stanton, who at times reviled him, and who sometimes referred to him in most uncomplimentary terms, was finally won by his magnanimous spirit? This same Stanton stood in the Peterson boarding house that night when Lincoln was dying, with the tears running down his face as though his heart would break, and said to those who were crowded into the room: "There lies the greatest ruler that ever ruled a people. Now he belongs to the ages." Each Triumphed the Week Before His Death The week before his death the Son of Man rode into Jerusalem amid the hosannas of the populace. In like manner, only a week before his death, Abraham Lincoln walked into Richmond amid the plaudits of the populace. Indeed the attitude of the humble folk of the city of Richmond was essentially the same as the attitude of the humble folk of the city of Jerusalem. Each Foretold His Death in a Strikingly Similar Manner The Master of Men said: "I go up to Jerusalem to be delivered into the hands of sinful men." Lincoln, in a strikingly similar way, foretold his own death only a few days before it occurred. Good Friday And to carry the amazing parallel to its ultimate consummation, Lin- coln passed into his eternal sleep on Good Friday, the day all Christendom observes as the one on which the Man of Nazareth surrendered his earthly life. For the Healing of the Nations The very life blood of each cemented together the hearts of friend and foe alike. Even the centurian, as he stood under the cross, said: "Surely he was the Son of God." And in those awful days following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln many who had espoused the cause of the Confederacy were desolated by grief, and were heard to say, "He was the best friend the South ever had." Eternal Life Perhaps the greatest miracle of all is the manner in which both these magnanimous personalities live in the hearts of their fellow men — for time and eternity. Two milleniums have not dimmed the matchless personality of the Son of Man. He has become the Rozetta Stone of all our Christocentric Theology. For myriads of people he makes religion and even God intelli- gible. Isn't it a significant and compelling fact that after two thousand years the most adequate and satisfying concept of God to millions of people is that he is a Christ-like God; that the ultimate reality back of the Universe is friendly — benevolent — kind — fatherly? Indeed the life of the Son of Man has become the folk song of generations of the Sons of Men. Abraham Lincoln, not less rugged and simple than his Judean coun- terpart, peopled American skies with the noblest ideals, and these should be reflected in the lives and character of every citizen of our country. I shall never forget the first time I stood in the tomb of this son of Illinois. I saw among other relics a blood-stained bit of silk worn by one who supported the head of the martyred President while the tide of life ebbed and flowed. And as I gazed upon it I said sadly: "Abraham Lincoln is dead." But when I remembered the influence he yet exerts with ever increasing power, I felt that this great man is more alive today than ever in The Splendid Example of His Rugged Physical Strength No student of the times of Lincoln will deny that his physical prowess was among the first things that gave him leadership among the young men of his day. Young America will do well to remember the temperate habits and vigorous activities that preserved and developed that powerful body, and made it possible for him to be physically a man among men, and enabled him to bear upon his broad shoulders the great burdens he was called upon to carry. Gazing again at that delicate bit of blood washed silk, I felt that Lincoln still lives in The Glorious Influence of His Absolute Honesty He lived in an era when men were resorting to every trick and fraud that their ingenuity could devise. This epoch of our national history brought out the most desperate efforts of political wire-pullers on either side, and often men, usually sincere and upright, forgot their integrity and under the dire stress of unusual necessity, counseled compromise and indirection. But Lincoln stood solid as a rock upon the strong foundation of absolute honesty and from this he could neither be shaken by violence or opposition; nor wooed by the winsomeness of treacherous flattery. He believed that a house divided could not stand and he dared, against strong opposition, to express the faith that was in him. Again it seemed to me that Abraham Lincoln is still alive in The Human Sympathy and Forgiveness That Filled His Loving Heart It was Lincoln, with his "Malice toward none, with charity for all," who more than any of his contemporaries displayed the spirit of the Man of Nazareth in dealing with the beaten South. High above the surging sea of human passion his spirit of sympathy and forgiveness hovered like a benediction, and until the lengthening shadows wrote the epitaph of his dying day, Abraham Lincoln's great heart yearned for his misguided countrymen. Again as my tears fell upon that blood-stained silken frag- ment I felt that the greatest of Americans still survives in His Unselfish Loyalty to the Best Interests of His Native Land His patriotism did not consist in noisy declarations of regard for the flag. He knew it is possible to honor the "Star Spangled Banner" and at the same time dishonor all that it represents. Many a man has shouted at the sight of "Old Glory," while recreant to the commonest duties of good citizenship. But this sad and lonely soul from the Sangamon, dis- daining the noisy protestations of loyalty common to smaller souls, in the time of his country's danger, stood like a lighthouse upon the rock bound shore of national destiny and guided the storm-tossed ship of state into the harbor of peace. And so, because Abraham Lincoln lived and died for a mighty principle, "this Nation under God, of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth" t N