YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Brovm, 'David Paul \^ ''W'^"'^F'^**^y jiXilogiu).! upon iilliij'' 1.^ ]e... 'l^lj^^^^^M Philiidelpliia, I's'^V .'?*. t ^; ¦¦ YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 1IDFIL(Q)(^]I¥M UPON WILLIAM RAWLE, L. L. D. DELIVERED ON THE 31ST OF DECEMBER, 1836. BY DAVID PAUL BROWN. PHILADELPHIA: PUBLISHED BY E. L. CAREY & A. HART, T. K. & P. G. COr.LINS, mlNTEBS. 1837. 1^0 EULOGIUM The merciful Creator, it has been said, and truly said, though bountiful to his creatures in all other respects, is nevertheless sparing in that of time. He never allows one moment to be enjoyed until another is past, while he holds the third in his hand. To-morrow, a new week — a new month — a new year — a new Sabbath shall dawn upon a slumbering and sinful world. We stand now on the grave of the year. How fruitful of reflection then is the present! How applicable to the occasion which assembles us together. Death — death in virtuous old age furnishes a striking analogy to the close of the dying year. All the seasons of life have passed away — ^the spring in its seed time — ^the summer in its bloom — ^the autumn with its harvests, and the winter with its storms. Time has gradually sunk into eternity, and with all its fear ful, faithful, records been gathered to its God. If we have lived well every fleeting moment shall bear tes- 4 EUIiOGlUM UPON timony to our claims to endless happiness ; if we have lived ill, it were better, much better, that we had never lived, that we had never been born. If time prove not for us, the decision of eternity must be against us; and it is, therefore, at this period peculiarly becoming that we should resolve to repent of all past errors, and im prove our future lives. As an incentive to this great work, apart from the reward of an immortal crown, " a throne not made with hands, eternal in the hea vens" — it may not be improper or unprofitable occa sionally to contemplate those bright examples of human excellence which point and lead the way to unfading glory. " The chamber where the good man meets his fate is privileged beyond the common walk of ordinary life." If there ever were an instance to which this beautiful and pious sentiment was peculiarly appropri ate, it is that which we have here assembled to deplore and to commemorate — nay, not to deplore, for what was there in the rare and harmonious, moral, and in tellectual accomplishments of the departed to stimu late the heart to grief .? Nothing — nothing but their loss. Not to commemorate — for but a moment to doubt the dear remembrance of departed worth, is to stigmatise and defame the reputation of the living. We have rather assembled to commune together, to unite in contemplating a lofty and sublime monument WILLIAM RAWLE. of moral grandeur, and thereby to elevate our o^ thoughts from the grovelling and sordid scenes of t transitory world to the refined and endless enjoymei of the world tp come. If the rewards of Heaven were, as some infid suppose, restricted to the comparatively narrow Iim of this sublunary sphere, the triumphs of virtue, though incomplete, would, nevertheless, be so sigi and so apparent, as that even "the devils themseb must believe and tremble." It is a mistake to suppo as some would seem to suppose, that because shado-^ clouds, and darkness may rest upon the path of virti and temporarily obscure her starry step, that therefi she is debarred of her consolations and reward. A it is a still greater mistake to imagine, that becai vice may appear for a time to prosper and revel in the outward gratifications of sense, and loll in gorgec ease upon the lap of afiluence, that therefore the c( dition of the latter is often preferable to that of t former. Never — never — never ! The virtuous m; depend upon it, enjoys within himself a solace whi worldly pleasures can neither impart nor destroy. ] moves as angels move, in their own, pure, heaver light; his sufierings are blessings in disguise; the me eye of the worldling cannot penetrate or comprehe: them; — in his view they are unalloyed and insu portable afilictions; but when it is remembered th 6 EULOGIUM UPON " whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth," and that those afilictions which come from Heaven are marks of our interest in that eternal kingdom, and not evidences of the displeasure of an overruling Deity ; they are borne as the crucifix was borne by the Saviour of mankind, as necessary to the fulfilment of destiny, and the great work of salvation. " Whatsoever is brought upon thee, take cheerfully, and be patient when thou art changed from a high to a low estate; for gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity." The vicious, upon the contrary, however they may be surrounded by splendour — however they may be lulled by fiattery, or soothed by the acclamations of tributary thousands — can never know repose. The grave yawns before them in their daily walks — the sword of Damocles, suspended by a single hair, hangs above them in their nightly slumbers — the ghosts of departed hours, departed never to return, dedicated as they may have been to selfish aggrandisement, to un holy exactions, to cruelty and oppression, Flit through the fevered brain in endless horror, Till nought remains of life but fear of death, And all of death is suffered but the name. And yet the world, which is still deceived by orna ment, rests and expatiates on circumstances like these as affording an argument and evidence of prosperous WILLIAM RAWLE. 7 vice and oppressed virtue. That very prosperity, is too often either the temptation to infamy, or the result of infamy, and that very suffering is the guerdon, and, if I may use the phrase, the pride and shield of virtue. It mellows down the affections, it refines the sensibilities of our nature, it teaches us the vanity and folly of those sources of comfort which spring not from the heart, and which tend not towards the benificent Creator of Earth and Heaven. But why should we endeavour by mere language to enforce this principle. It is recorded on every page of human life, it throbs in every pulse, it breathes in every breath. It is rather, therefore, to its practical examples we should refer. Had you heard, as I have, the venerated spirit, now translated to its kindred skies, dwelling, while among us, not upon temporal griefs, but upon the boundless blessings of exhaustless love, while " truths divine came mended from his tongue" — ^had you seen as I have, the meekness and resignation with which he reve rentially bowed to each successive blow of fate, and kissed the rod that smote him, you would then have enjoyed the ocular proof of how a Christian lives, and be at no loss to understand how a Christian should die. You would then comprehend what no other lesson so well could teach — the inestimable treasures and triumphs of a conscience void of all ofience — of a hope, not founded upon the fallacious and illusory 8 EULOGIUM UPON assurance of this visionary scene, but built upon the eternal rock of ages, and mounting to the skies. Such was the man, in humble tribute towards whom we have here assembled ; and it is my proud though me lancholy duty to employ that tongue which almost first lisped under his direction, in honour of his departed worth. None, I am compelled to say, can be less ca pable of doing justice to this exalted theme, and none, I may be permitted to add, can feel more deeply the bereavement which we all so deeply deplore. William Rawle was born on the twenty-eighth day of April, 1759, of honourable and distinguished parentage, of the society of Friends ; yet their proudest distinction, I say it with no disparagement, was in giving birth to such a son. The earlier years of his life were passed in the acquisition of the rudiments of education, and those sublime principles of elevated morality and religion, which were, in after times, ma tured into the most devout and exemplary piety. At the age of nineteen, having passed through the various stages of preliminary instruction in his native land, and having for some years been engaged in prosecut ing his legal studies under Counsellor Kemp, a learned and distinguished jurist of our sister city of New York, just before the conclusion of the American Revolu tion, he visited the mother country for the purpose of perfecting himself in the arduous duties of the pro- WILLIAM RAWLE. 9 fession for which he was designed. In London he w^as regularly installed a Templar, and there pursued his studies with that untiting assiduity which ever signally marked his career through a subsequent bril liant practice of more than half a century. Had he remained in Europe what scope is there for specula tion as to the heights he would have realised ! In such a realm, is it venturing too far to say that a coronet was not above his grasp .? What was there in the pre tensions of a Copley, and many others, who have been raised to the peerage as the reward of merit, beyond the compass of his mind.? What was there in their birth or early hopes that lent stronger claims to ad vancement.-' What was there in their morals or their manners more exemplary or resistless.? After completing his legal studies, and visiting most of the cities of Europe, in the year 1783 he returned to this country, full of zeal and hope, a most thorough and accomplished gentleman, a ripe and elegant scho lar, an artist, a poet, a philosopher ; and, without which, all other accomplishments are but dross — a Christian. What a beautiful moral and intellectual picture does such a man at such an age present? " How must his worth be seeded in his age. When thus his virtues bud before their spring." In person he was rather above the middle height, 2 10 EULOGIUM UPON yet SO symmetrical in his proportions as by no means to produce that impression in a casual beholder. In his early life he must have been eminently handsome, for even at the age of seventy-seven years, when he died, his features, and the whole contour and expression of his face were such as to inspire every one with the strongest veneration and regard. The formation of the upper part of his head, which rose like a tower, was such as might delight and fascinate the Phrenologist; but it is to the internal structure of the man that our attention is to be directed, and that all must rejoice to turn. He returned to his home — his native land — ^with the fidelity of an untravelled heart. He launched at once into the busy and tumultuous tide of a diversified professional life. He took his post where nature and education both placed him, in the very front rank of the profession. He maintained his ground with such men as Lewis, and Wilson, and Tilghman, and Inger- soU, and Dallas, and gathered, in his forensic career "golden opinions from all sorts of people." There never was a more enlightened and unblemished advo cate, or a more conscientious and valuable citizen than the subject of this memoir. It is a remarkable and beautiful indication of the urbanity of his deportment, and the affectionate regard entertained for him by the members of the bar, that WILLIAM RAWLE. 11 in fifty years, during which time he was engaged m every court, and in almost every important cause, he appears never to have had a personal difference oi angry dispute with any of his professional brethren. The courtesy and native dignity of his demeanour, while they forbade any invasion of the respect due tc others, charmed and subdued those around him, and taught them by example, the advantages arising from kindness and unity. Towards the bench he was al ways conciliatory and respectful ; and, whatever might be the result of a cause, having faithfully discharged his duty in its management, he was neither elated bj success, nor dejected by defeat. This was the more extraordinary, as his feelings and temper were natu rally excitable and enthusiastic ; but to him, as to Socrates, divine philosophy had imparted such seli possession and control, that amidst scenes the most turbulent and tempestuous, he never for a single mo ment lost his serenity and composure. With a spirit that would have done credit to the best ages of chivalry, tempered, as has been said, hy the most bland and courteous manners, with a princely income, derived from his private fortune and profes sional emoluments, and wuth a soul alive to all the sympathies and charities of life, surrounded, in the progress of time, by a large, devoted, and lovely family, he stood the very centre of the social circle, and his 12 EULOGIUM UPON infiuence radiated to the extremest verge of usefulness and hospitality. In his social intercourse no stranger would have supposed him to be a lawyer. So nicely blended were all the accomplishments of this great man with each other, that while the combination was per fect, each integral part of his character was so beautiful in itself as to impart loveliness to all around it, and thereby lose every thing like distinctive or individual claims to our attention. Like the grouping of the statuary of Phidias or Praxiteles, each particular figure would seem to lose its individuality in its contribution to the general beauty of the design; or, still more clearly to express the idea, in the language of one that never fails, " His life was gentle, and the elements So mixed in him, that nature might stand up And say to all the world — this was a man." The life of a professional man is like the waves of the ocean — a scene of constant agitation — ever chang ing, and still ever the same. To day the tempest may rage, and the sea run mountain high; to-morrow it may be as smooth and placid as ere winds began to blow ; but the eternal depth of waters ever remains the same. So with professional life. In ordinary pur suits the cares of men may be considered as limited to their own immediate concern, and although in a WILLIAM RAWLE. 13 state of society no one can be perfectly free from, or independent of, a participation in the common liabili ties of the community, yet the very vocation of a lawyer, in extensive practice, and properly alive to his duties, renders him peculiarly the depository of the cares and anxieties — the fame and the fortune — the liberty and lives of thousands, who may have con fided in his integrity and talents. The bosom of an afiectionate family may afibrd relief for private care, for private suffering, and sympathy by sharing in our auctions, alleviates the load ; but the griefs and penal ties of a lawyer are to be borne by himself alone. He has not even the melancholy privilege of imparting them to others; even the client who consults with him discharges his own sorrows upon the bosom of his professional adviser ; and, strange as it may appear, really enjoys a comparatively happy and enviable po sition. The doctor, perhaps, more nearly approaches to the feelings and condition of the lawyer than the professor of any other science. But even he is far — very far removed from the anxieties of the legal profes sion. Under the effect of bodily pain, and the grievous loss of relatives and friends, most men groan alike, but how various and diversified are the manifestations of the afilictions of the mind. There are mental suffer ings that far exceed the most poignant pains of the body, and which would willingly be exchanged for 14 EULOGIUM UPON even the horrors of death itself. These, for the most part, form the business, nay, the very life of a lawyer, and especially the advocate. The legal sanctity of his office is more than equal to that of the confessional itself. Necessity here rends the mask from hypoc risy — and grief and penitence, remorse and shame assume their true features. How much reputation, how many fortunes — how many lives depend upon the fidelity of counsel. Bear ing with him through life the consciousness of the weight of this responsibility, occupied and distracted by a thousand cares, subject to daily competition, and liable to daily defeats, is it not truly wonderful that the subject of this hasty sketch, should, nevertheless, have possessed the power, which he did in an eminent degree, of abstracting the mind from these annoyances of life, and adapting himself to all the phases and varieties of social and familiar intercourse.? This may be considered an almost infallible test of true greatness of soul. Proficiency in any art or science is more than counterpoised if it result, in divesting the heart of those social and affectionate properties which endear mankind to each other, and constitute the chief charm of human life. By an exclusive devotion to theology, medicine, or law, almost any one may become a great divine, an eminent physician, or a distinguished jurist, but still be unmeasureably removed from a great WILLIAM RAWLE. 15 man. True greatness cannot exist without sympathy between head and heart, and their reciprocal contribu tion to the support and enjoyments of each other. It was thus that the beautiful and harmonious combina tion was found in the character of the deceased. In 1791, he was appointed District Attorney of the United States, by the father of his country; from which post, shortly after the election of Mr. Adams, he resigned, having continued in office about eight years. The situation of Attorney General was more than once tendered to him by Washington, but as often declined, as being calculated to interfere with those domestic enjoyments for which no public preferment or profit could furnish an equivalent — and the President was himself too much alive to the infiuence of retirement and domestic virtue, to demand a sacrifice from another, which he himself so reluctantly made. An appoint ment to so high a trust, and from so pure a source, and at the age of thirty years, when most men are unknown, is an abundant indication of extraordinary merit; and the fidelity and ability displayed by him during the continuance of office, more than confirmed the exalted expectations which gave rise to the ap pointment ; and in cold modesty it may be said, that never before nor since that time have the interest and dignity of the United States been more signally represented, or more scrupulously maintained. 16 EULOGIUM UPON He, as has been said, was not simply a lawyer. A mere lawyer is at most but the moiety of a man — heartless and soulless ; his exclusive devotion to a stern and unfeeling science blunts all the finer emotions of his nature, and at length he becomes, like Coke, the scourge of his own family, and the relentless and ferocious adversary of genius and generosity. With Eawle, the Law was but one of the elements in the proud structure of his eminence. The whole circle of the arts and sciences was tributary to his formation. In painting and sculpture his taste had been modelled by the best standards, and in the former of those arts there were but few amateurs that could excel him. Of poetry he was a devoted admirer, and at times he himself wooed the muses, with all the grace and success of a legitimate suitor. In philosophy he was a zealous disciple, and his beautiful translation from the Greek, of the Phaedon of Plato, with his own practical commentary, would, in themselves alone, suf fice to protect his name against oblivion. Among the most cherished and the most valuable of his works, however, and which I trust will not be withheld from the world, are those pertaining to the subject of reli gion. His Essay upon Angelic Influences is replete with the most fascinating speculation, and the soundest reflection. Nor is his discussion of the subject of Original Sin, and the Virtue of Baptism, although cer- WILLIAM RAWLE. 17 tainly less elaborate, undeserving of the highest regard and encomium. Added to these, there is to be found among his manuscripts an argument of the most po lished and cogent character, the object of which is tc show that there is sufiicient proof of the Truth oj Christianity, to be derived from the parables of oui Saviour alone. Time will not allow, nor does the nature of this address require, that I should enter into a critica dissertation upon the merits of these works; a iew extracts, calculated to impart a knowledge of the cha racter of the author's mind, will suffice for the presen' purpose. In the Treatise upon Original Sin, aftei having carefully considered the various doctrines o: Ashmead, Townsend, the Bishop of Rochester, Dod dridge, Wilberforce, and others, he thus concludes "But I have sometimes asked myself, of what use arc these speculative inquiries ? Is it of any consequence t( a practical Christian whether punishable sin proceed; from Adam or ourselves .? whether future punishmen is to be temporary or eternal? Is not the duty o every individual the same ? Is it not his duty to ac justly — to abstain from all crime, to repent of formei offences, to believe in Christ, to observe and fulfil hi: precepts, to worship, love, and fear God ? In all thes( every sect concurs." 3 18 EULOGIUM UPON The translation of Phaedon, which has been re ferred to, is incomplete. It seems to have been com menced purely with reference to the doctrine of Plato, upon the " Immortality of the Soul ;" but, to use his own language, the translator, upon a careful examina tion, found so much of it directed to points below what he expe(Jted from the high interest of the sub ject, that after a time he relinquished the undertaking. Even in its present imperfect condition, however, it is a treasure that ought not to be withheld from the public. His notions on the subject of religion were, in some respects, singular, but at the same time so simple and so pure, as to bear conclusive evidence of the simplicity and beauty of his mental structure. He was an unqualified admirer of the service of the church of England, but at the same time expressed his doubts as to the efficacy of its formal regular daily repetition. To use his own language — " The congregation comes forward mechanically, to repeat the same thoughts in the same words. The sweet infiuence of Jesus as applicable to our individual conditions, our afilictions or our causes for thanksgiving, is absorbed in one general mass ; if we join in it we may lose sight of ourselves ; if our hearts do not join in it we are de ceivers. We are hurried on too rapidly for reflection WILLIAM RAWLE. 19 without time for internal communion with the divine Being, who is invisibly present, we accept and use the work of man instead of that spiritual co-operation which we are instructed by his own words to expect from Him. Nor, although he preferred, did he entirely approve the mode adopted in the worship of the Friends, of which religious persuasion he was born, and long con tinued a member, and always a strict adherent. He inclined to the opinion that some appropriate passage from those inexhaustible sources of light and love — the Old and New Testament, should be introduced into their service, upon the assemblage of the congre gation, in order that they might be solemnly and sacredly impressed with the importance of the sub ject in reference to which they had convened: in other words, that they might be brought into tone and keeping with the occasion. To remedy this de fect in the form of worship, for many years of his life, as appears from his journals, it was his habit, before attending the house of God, to read some portion of holy writ, and to engage deeply in " felt but voiceless prayer" before the throne of the Most High. The favourite theory of this extraordinary man was that which related to Angelic Influences, and the immediate agency of the Deity, in all the concerns of his fallen creatures. After infinite feading, as his 0 EULOGIUM UPON otes and commentaries show, upon these subjects, his lind settled down upon the conviction, that in all ur walks through life we were accompanied by good od bad angels ; and that the Almighty and the Saviour f the world were every where present — all pervad- ig, not only in the churches where two or three ersons had assembled together in their holy name, ut in the seclusion of the study, and the more active ursuits of public life. He thus concludes his elabo- ate examination into the truth of this doctrine: — Awful, but most consolatory thought! wherever I m, God is ; wherever I am, Jesus also is ; here, then, a my chamber where I sit, is God ; here also is Christ. .