ORATION, 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
 
 WASHINGTON BENEVOLENT SOCIETY 
 
 IN THE CITY OF NEW-YORK, 
 
 AT ZION CHURCH, 
 
 ON THE TWENTY-SECOND OF FEBRUARY, 1809. 
 
 BY SAMUEL M. HOPKINS, ESQ. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 
 
 THERE shall be an annual Oration delivered before the Society, in commemoration of 
 the virtues and services of that great and good Patriot, GEORGE WASHINGTON", OB 
 the 22d day of February, each year, being the Anniversary of his Birth-day." 
 
 Constitution of the Society. 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 Printed by j. seymour, and sold by hopkins and bayarb. 
 
 at Washington's head, 
 N°. 118, Pccrl-strect. 
 
i£x ICtbrts 
 
 SEYMOUR DURST 
 
 When you leave, please leave this book 
 
 Because it has been said 
 "Ever thing comes t' him who waits 
 
 Except a loaned book." 
 
 AT a stated meeting 1 of the M Washington Benevolent Society,'' held at 
 Harmony -Hall, on the 28th day of February, 1809— the following Re- 
 solution was unanimously adopted : 
 
 " fiesolved, That the President present the thanks of the Soci ty to Sa~ 
 mi el Miles Hopkins, Esq for his eloquent and patriotic Oration 
 (in commemoration of the virtues, talents, and achievements of the 
 illustrious Washington,) delivered in Zion Church, on the 22d inst. 
 tmd request a copy for publication at the expense of the Society." 
 Extract from the Minutes, 
 
 G. C. VERPLANCK, Secretary. 
 
AN I 
 
 ORATION, 
 
 It is now nine years since the death of Wash- 
 ington. Upon that event our orphan nation throng- 
 ed into public assemblies, to deplore the loss of our 
 father and chief. Now we meet to celebrate his 
 fame. 
 
 The history of Washington, for more than forty 
 years, was the history of our country. It was the 
 peculiar felicity of this man, to have laid in early 
 youth, the foundation of our national greatness; to 
 have conducted through life the great work of ouf 
 independence; and when he died, to have left a young 
 empire, wide-extended, united, respected abroad, and 
 happy at home, as the fruit of his labours. 
 
 Of such a man, and of such a work, who shall 
 presume to pronounce the eulogium ? — This country 
 itself — its independence, liberty, and union, form tiie 
 fair, and, we hope, the everlasting menu, rial ot his 
 virtues and services. He first taught the inlant co- 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 lonies their strength ; he led our armies through the 
 war of independence ; he finished the " building of 
 our nation"' by his civil administration. 
 
 I shall not attempt to detail events which are well 
 known to every American. I presume not to draw 
 a character, to which perhaps no pen has done com- 
 plete justice. Yet, without arrogance, I may ask your 
 attention to a few of the extraordinary qualities 
 with which providence endowed your hero. 
 
 It has been nobly said of Washington, " that 
 his master-passion was the love of country." He 
 gave to it the best affections of his heart, and the 
 toils and dangers of a long and glorious life. This 
 virtue in him, was mixed with no selfish considera- 
 tions, no aim at emolument ; no motive of personal 
 vanity, or false glory. Its ardour was never cooled 
 by causes which in others would have produ- 
 ced disgust. It was neither limited by local views, 
 nor temporary advantages. His country was Ameri- 
 ca. On one hand it did not embrace the whole 
 world, nor on the other was confined to his native 
 state. iS'o party contest ; no state cabals ; no lures 
 for popular favour; neither ambition in the field, 
 nor duplicity in the cabinet, " sunk him to the vul- 
 var level of the <jreat." Patriotism assumed a new 
 and more august character, when exhibited in the 
 life ot Washington. He looked not to the present 
 
( * ) 
 
 time only, but to all futurity ; his eye glanced down 
 the descent of ages; and while he surveyed as far as 
 mortal ken can do, the present and the future, his 
 hopes and affections were fixed on that great whole^ 
 which is embraced in the history of an empire. ^ 
 
 Among the virtues of Washington, none perhaps 
 was more remarkable than his fortitude. But in 
 naming this, I do not descend to speak of personal 
 courage, nor even of military ardour and enterprise. 
 To meet with naked breast the weapons of war — to 
 rush on death in the field of battle ; — most men can 
 do this ; w is no uncommon praise. The conduct 
 of the war required virtues of a very different .order. 
 View your General supported by the slender resour- 
 ■ces of this young country, advancing to assert its in- 
 dependence. He intrepidly takes the field, and waits 
 the foe witli a few undiciplined and ill-provided 
 troops. But Britain is upon-thee, Washington, with 
 all her force ; with her thousand ships and veteran 
 armies. Undismayed at the invader's power, ho 
 maintains the conflict. Sometimes he is compelled to 
 a reluctant retreat ; sometimes forced to hazard his 
 country and his fame (for he thought not of life) in 
 unequal combat. At length the states are exhaust- 
 ed ; the people desponding ; his brave soldiers sink- 
 ing around him with sufferings and want. In the 
 midst of these accumulating difficulties, he is unap- 
 plied and serene ; unbroken by adverse fortune. 
 
( 6 ) 
 
 he calmly surveys the portentous scene, and smo- 
 thers in his own great bosom cares dangerous to ut- 
 ter, or too mighty for utterance. View this in the 
 character of Washington, and contemplate an exam- 
 ple of fortitude which has never been exceeded. 
 
 It has been said by moralists, that it is more eas^ 
 to bear bad fortune with equanimity than good. Per- 
 haps temperance is a virtue more rare than fortitude ; 
 and it is certain that great prosperity will often in- 
 toxicate the man whom adversity could not depress. 
 What then must have been the emotions of Wash- 
 ington, when at length he turned the tide of war and 
 repelled the invader ; and from the midst of sur- 
 rounding and impending dangers led us safe and tri- 
 umphant to peace and independence ? He retired 
 from the coaamand of armies to the cultivation of his 
 farm, followed by the benedictions of grateful mil- 
 lions. The literary world was filled with his praise. 
 Kings and conquerors hastened to present tributes of 
 respect to the farmer of Mount- Vernon. Again he 
 was called from retirement by the acclamations of 
 a nation, to direct the administration of the govern- 
 ment he had formed. Placed in this high station by 
 the unanimous suffrage of his own country, and ad- 
 mired by the most distant civilized nations ; a lot. 
 more flattering to human pride never fell to r um 
 But did Washington betray a weakness ? — No effu- 
 sion of vanity or joy ? neither arrogance nor pride 
 
( I ') 
 
 afrccted the steady grandeur of his mind. Such was 
 his self command that he bore the weight of success, 
 of universal admiration and unrivalled fame, as he 
 bore the prospect of defeat and ruin. From his own 
 high sphere he could look down upon adversity — 
 and upon glory also. 
 
 To such qualities w^re joined an enlightened un- 
 derstanding, a penetrating and profound judgment, 
 and consummate prudence. He distinguished with 
 peculiar sagacity the true from the false ; the spe- 
 cious from the solid ; the agreeable from the useful"; 
 the illusions of theory, from the demonstrations of 
 experience. Having no vanity to gratify, he never 
 staked either the dignity of government, or the pub- 
 lic interest upon the issue of new projects. His ob- 
 ject was not only the utmost possible good, but the 
 greatest certainty of obtaining it. The success of his 
 country, and her unrivalled prosperity, till his prin- 
 ciples were abandoned, form a magnificent commen- 
 tary upon the value of such qualities, in a General 
 and a Statesman. 
 
 Nor were any of the great endowments of his 
 soul more conspicuous than his justice and probity 
 of character. In the ordinary scenes of life, this is 
 no uncommon virtue. But in the conduct of go- 
 vernments, there are occasions where to be just, im- 
 plies that magnanimity, that noble and elevated 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 impartiality which gave such a cast of grandeur 
 to the character of Washington. He was supe- 
 rior to resentment and revenge, and the spirit of 
 persecution. The collisions of political sects could 
 never reach him. Still less could he be made the 
 partizan of one foreign nation, or retain personal 
 hatred to another. He had no enemies but the ene- 
 mies of the republic ; no political attachments but 
 . to his country. 
 
 Such were some of the virtues which centered in 
 a form not unworthy of them. God gave to this fa- 
 voured instrument the visible ensigns of authority. 
 He had a dignity of person, a natural majesty of 
 deportment and mien, which, while they inspired con- 
 fidence and affection, taught mankind that he was 
 made to guide, to command, and to save. 
 
 A man who possesses any distinguished virtue is 
 an ornament to the world. He who possesses many 
 such virtues, and throughout a long life devotes him- 
 self to the practice of them, is among the rarest gilts 
 of Heaven. Yet there have been such men, who 
 were also stained by signal detects or vices. What 
 then shall be said of one, who, uniting in himself 
 this assemblage of great and good qualities, passed a 
 life in scenes of unparalleled trial and difficulty, and 
 fitoishfd that iile scarcely tarnished by a foible? 
 
( y ) 
 
 Had he been only a brave General, our cause 
 would have been jeopardized, and, perhaps, lost in 
 unequal battle ; and yet, without his qualities as a 
 military chief, we should not have succeeded. As a 
 mere Statesman, he could never have obtained 
 the ascendency which times required. Had he 
 wanted fortitude, or prudence, or self-command, or 
 that consummate impartiality and integrity of cha- 
 racter, which inspired universal confidence, we 
 should have been a conquered or a divided people. 
 Had he been venal or ambitious, where had been 
 our liberty? It was only that wonderful assem- 
 blage of qualities, which made a character at once 
 great and faultless, that could exclude all compe- 
 tition, unite all hearts, and combine all efforts in 
 one common cause. r 
 
 Yet, great and good as he was, his qualities were 
 so peculiar as to be almost singly adapted to the cir- 
 cumstances in which he lived. Without America, 
 he might not have appeared great : America without 
 him, might not have been an independent nation. 
 
 Too elevated for courts; too honest for a courtier ; 
 too independent to be the instrument of power; too 
 humane for a military destroyer; he was adapted and 
 ?iven to the wants of his country, at the precise 
 
 n 
 
( io ) 
 
 epoch, when all his useful and great qualities were 
 necessary tor her preservation. 
 
 Let those who believe and trust in providence ; 
 those who doubt not but the events of time are ac- 
 complished according to some fixed design, and tend 
 to certain and eventual good; let such remember how 
 Washington was formed for his country's salvation, 
 and then cease to despair of her future happiness. 
 
 Among the ancients, no honours were too great 
 for the man who, in any one instance, saved the state. 
 The names of a few who more than once preserved 
 their country, have beeu transmitted to all posterity 
 with increasing honours. But history furnishes no 
 other example of a man like Washington, on whose 
 conduct or decision the fate of a nation was so often 
 suspended. Almost every period of the war was 
 full of those delicate conjunctures, in which it was 
 dangerous not to act, and where a single error might 
 have ruined the country. At Trenton, Princeton, 
 Monmouth, and Yorktown, his consummate milita- 
 ry conduct turned and decided the fortune of the war. 
 
 He saved his country by his aid, in forming her 
 constitution, and still more by the authority of his 
 opinion in favour of that form of government. By 
 his civil administration, he saved the constitution* 
 
C 11 ) 
 
 and witb it the union. In a most illustrious exam- 
 ple of wisdom and firmness in the cabinet, he saved 
 us from French domination. 
 
 France, under all her forms of despotism — royal, 
 constitutional, Jacobinic, directorial, consular, impe- 
 rial ; — France still nourished her destructive am- 
 bition. But that passion became peculiarly dan- 
 gerous to the liberties of mankind in the progress of 
 her revolution. 
 
 Very soon after our government was organized, 
 appeared on earth the revolutionary demon of 
 France. His birth shook and terrified the nations. 
 His young efforts covered one country with sorrow 
 and blood, and threatened ruin to surrounding states. 
 Cities are sacked, countries laid desolate; the youth 
 of Furope are driven, bound, to the field, to waste 
 each others blood ; nations are filled with the cries of 
 aged parents, defenceless women, suffering infants. 
 At the distance of twenty years we behold him grow- 
 ing stronger and more cruel : dangerous to enemies, 
 fatal to friends. Still unsatisfied with tears and 
 blood, he advances over prostrate Europe. He 
 breaks with scorn, barriers hitherto impregnable. He 
 tramples with iron feet upon laws and liberty, and 
 social institutions. Force and fraud, oaths and bribes, 
 fraternity, assassination and poison, are equally his 
 instruments. 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 Such and so terrible was the power which begau 
 its career by a professed opposition to kingly go- 
 vernment. But not to enumerate hostile monar- 
 chies invaded, nor friendly kingdoms overthrown, 
 where are the republics of Europe? Where are 
 Switzerland, Genoa, Venice, and Holland? Where 
 had been America, but for Washington? 
 
 An embassy came from France, with secret in- 
 structions to involve us in the war ; with public pro- 
 fessions that she did not wish us to take part in it. 
 The enthusiasm in favour of her cause was univer- 
 sal. Every sentiment, every honest sentiment of an 
 American heart, favoured a people who appeared to 
 be contending for their liberties. We heard, en- 
 chanted, the syren song of equal rights ; of just go- 
 vernments, founded on the public will, and to be 
 administered tor the general good. We kindled with 
 indignation when told of armies slaughtered, and 
 countries laid waste, to gratify the ambition of kings. 
 We glowed with enthusiasm, when we learned that 
 a great nation had broken the yoke of despotic au- 
 thority, and willed to be free. We called for arms 
 to support her cause. Blind and deluded, we were 
 rushing into the abyss of French fraternity. 
 
 Now, for the first time, was the father of his coun- 
 try to oppose the wishes of his people. The inces- 
 
( 13 ) 
 
 sant cares of his life had hitherto been soothed by 
 the public sympathy. He had often before hazard- 
 ed his tame upon the chance of events. Now he 
 was to meet the attacks of malignant calumny. 
 
 But what could the wiles of foreign intrigue: 
 what could envy, or disappointed ambition, or the 
 low calculations of venal patriotism; what impres- 
 sion could these make upon the colossal and ada- 
 mantine column of his fame ? He had trLmphed 
 over calamity; he had risen superior to ambition; 
 now he soared above detraction. 
 
 lie met and repelled the machinations of France. 
 He proclaimed and preserved our neutrality. — - 
 Young and feeble as we were, encompassed by diffi- 
 culties without, and distressed by internal taction, 
 still Washington was at our head, and France never 
 dared to tell him " that she would have no neutrals." 
 Under another sage and patriot the same policy go- 
 verned our councils and preserved our prosperity. 
 In the venerable repose of age, Washington again 
 consented to assume arms for our protection : but his 
 name alone was a shield to the country. 
 
 To those who but imperfectly remember the situa- 
 tion of our country twenty years ago, it \\ ill be im- 
 possible to describe with justice the benefits of the 
 
( 14 ) 
 
 civil administration of Washington. My audience 
 will not easily realize the contrast between the years 
 1788 and 1797; nor well comprise in one view the 
 mass of external and domestic difficulties which were 
 surmounted, and of benefits secured. 
 
 Imagine, however, that we were without a govern- 
 ment: no revenue nor force : neither trade nor ma- 
 nufactures. Private distress and poverty were uni- 
 versal : taxes heavy : credit and confidence gone : 
 civil war impending. Indian hostilities distressed the 
 frontiers : our citizens enslaved in Algerine captivity. 
 England first menacing our frontiers, next attacking 
 our commerce on the ocean : France assailing the 
 independence of our government, and alluring our 
 people to join in her flagitious conspiracy against 
 libertv, laws, and society. The claims of Spain up- 
 on the Missisippi distracted the western country, 
 and endangered the union. At home and abroad 
 there was but one prospect of distress and ruin at 
 the beginning, and afterwards of danger and embar- 
 rassment in the public affairs. 
 
 The rev erse of this picture you better know. Un- 
 der the auspices of Washington, aided by Hamil- 
 ton's reforming genius, and by that of other distin- 
 guished men in the , cabinet, an abundant revenue 
 was provided ; public credit was established, and 
 
( 15 ) 
 
 private confidence followed. Honest industry took 
 courage, for hope redoubled its efforts and an ample 
 reward crowned its labours. We became prosperous 
 and happy. 
 
 When England assailed our commerce, we made 
 an actual, not a pretended preparation for defence ; 
 but we negociated with candour. And Jay, a states- 
 man illustrious for talents, integrity, and public ser- 
 vices, concluded a treaty, not more remarkable for the 
 malignity with which it was assailed by faction, than 
 for the undivided opinion how entertained of its sig- 
 nal benefits. 
 
 Ample reparation w as obtained from Britain : the 
 Missisippi opened ; the union strengthened ; the 
 Indians subdued : our brethren returned from eas- 
 tern captivity to their native soil with songs of joy : 
 we reposed in peace and glory. When Washington 
 left the earth, he left America with a name then un- 
 polluted ; a name beloved and revered among allied 
 nations, and held illustrious throughout the world. 
 When he had accomplished the most glorious of all 
 destinies, it w as the last felicity of his fortune, that he 
 lived not to see his works tarnished by a successor. 
 Happy fate ! — Happy country ! if she would follow- 
 his counsels, or know the worth of his example. 
 
( 16 ) 
 
 It is scarcely possible to avoid looking into futu- 
 rity to ask what is to be the issue of an example so 
 perfect, exhibited on so great a theatre of action. 
 The country for which Washington fought and toiled, 
 is our country ; here we shall leave our children to 
 do and suffer whatever may be the will of Heaven. 
 Is an empire commenced under such auspices to ex- 
 hibit the same scenes of treachery and taction, vi- 
 olence and blood, which others have done? Or shall 
 the bright example, and the precepts of our chief, 
 introduce anew aera in the affairs of men and lead to 
 happier times ? We must conless that political history 
 exhibits for the most part, but a melancholy spectacle. 
 Faction will sometimes reign with intemperate sway. 
 Political persecution may be reduced to system. 
 The government itself may become the degraded in- 
 strument of a party, or be unhinged by the experi- 
 ments of moon-struck statesmen. At some dis- 
 graceful moment it may be at once the subservient 
 agent of a foreign despot, and the ignoble object of 
 his insult and contumely. 
 
 If then it is decreed that this union shall be dis- 
 solved ; our strength annihilated ; our independence, 
 and with it our liberty, lost; that this great edifice of 
 free government shall crumble and fall, when no long- 
 er supported by the hand of Washington ; how mag- 
 nificently great, how awful hereafter, will appear the 
 
( 17 ) 
 
 rains of such an empire and of its liberty — the ruin* 
 ol * 1 empire which he reared; the ruins of liberty 
 which could not survive him. 
 
 But no ! for in all former times, and in circumstan- 
 ces of much greater danger, has a protecting and sa- 
 ving spirit interfered for the preservation of our 
 country. It has been our peculiar character to ga- 
 ther strength from adversity, and after every fall to 
 rise with renewed and augmented vigour. 
 
 " Fond impious Man ! think'st thou yon sanguine cloud, 
 a Rais'd by thy breath, has quench'd the orb of day ? 
 
 " To mo; row he repairs the golden flood, 
 
 " And warms the nadons with redoubled ray." 
 
 We who are here, occupy that middle space in 
 rime which connects the cotemporaries of Washing- 
 ton with tiicir successors. We begin, as to him, the 
 age of history. Hence, my brethren of the Wash- 
 ington Benevolent Society, we have sought to esta- 
 blish an institution, in which a perpetual succession 
 of men should preserve the memory of our hero, and 
 hold up his example for imitation and instruction to 
 each passing age. Be it ours to give an admiring 
 posterity a just conception of what he was ; to show 
 them we are not wholly ungrateful, and to consecrate 
 to fame and to glory a day which hereafter will be 
 distinguished in the annals of the benefactors of 
 mankind. 
 
 c 
 
( 18 ) 
 
 Another duty also claims our attention. We have 
 seen that some who passed their youth in the field 
 with Washington, pass their age in misery. Some- 
 times we see the w reck of an American soldier ; he 
 whose heart once beat hi«;h with the love of li: 
 berty and the hope of fame ; he who, proud of the 
 array of splendid war, marched in the front and 
 panted for the conflict ; he who braved the battle 
 and the storm, the summer s heat and the winters 
 frost; all ardour and emulation in. the public cause : 
 see him now broken with misfortune, bowed down 
 with grief, despoiled of the sword and the plume of 
 war, and forgetful of the pride of victory : see him 
 feeble and desponding, perhaps asking a pittance 
 from a country which he so honourably defended ; 
 and like Washington, ready to breathe his last sighs 
 in prayers for her safety. Can we, who enjoy the 
 fruit of his toils, be indifferent to his sufferings ? To 
 you, my brethren of the Washington Benevolent So- 
 ciety, the appeal was not made in vain ; you provid- 
 ed relief for the war-worn veteran ; you lighted up 
 a smile on the brow of despondency ; you have bes- 
 towed a blessing upon the last hours of him, whose 
 youth was spent in procuring blessings for you. 
 
 The age of the cotemporaries of our hero is rapidly 
 passing away. The next generation will search with 
 wonder and delight into history, for scenes which 
 many of us have personally witnessed. Succeeding 
 
( 19 ) 
 
 ages, as they roll on, will more and more develope 
 the importance or the present This broad conti- 
 nent will one day be covered with populous cities 
 and civilized inhabitants ; navies will tloat upon the 
 Missisippi and the lakes ; neighbouring empires 
 will speak the same language, and recognize a com- 
 mon origin and kindred institutions. These they 
 will trace back to our age, and to Washington, the 
 founder of our policy. The character of nations 
 has at all times been influenced by that of their foun- 
 ders. See Rome, fired by a public ambition to sub- 
 due and sway the world, a passion derived from the 
 personal character of a few men ; for ages together 
 see her exalting her early heroes inhistory and song; 
 and, citing the examples of her fathers, see her as- 
 sume the high prerogative to humble the pride of 
 every other power, and give laws to kings and de- 
 pendant nations. 
 
 Yours, Americans, be a different character : here, 
 let justice and temperate liberty reign, and the proud 
 unconquerable spirit of independence, alike unwill- 
 ing to invade the rights of others, incapable of yield- 
 ing your own ; reluctant to assume arms ; resolved 
 never to lay them down till your rights are vindicat- 
 ed : prefering justice to violence — liberty to peace 
 — death and ruin to slavery, or the loss of honour. 
 Such was the mind of Washington ; such, Americans, 
 be the maxims of your republic. 
 
 How vast is the space which the character of tliis 
 
( ao ) 
 
 man is destined to fill. Rising up in a polished age, 
 and under the light of science and religion, his ex- 
 ample will be imitated on a much broader field than 
 that of the Grecian legislators or Roman fathers. 
 Nations yet unborn, senates in future ages, when 
 they ponder the fate of those nations, and seek in 
 antiquity tor examples of illustrious deeds in the 
 field or cabinet, will point almost with adoration to 
 the revered precedents of his actions, and exclaim, 
 " thus did Washington /" 
 
 Yes! our empire and our freedom shall survive. 
 Guided, great Washington, by thy example, and 
 warned by thy precepts, we shall learn to extend the 
 reign of peace and liberty ; to consolidate the union; 
 to repel with scorn the attacks of foreign and domes- 
 tic i action, and in the prosperity and glory of our 
 country, to raise a firm and everlasting monument 
 to thy fame. 
 
 When the traveller therefore in ages to come, 
 Shall inquire for the monument of Washington, the 
 answer will be, " behold the empire which he found- 
 ed." What other can we raise? Shall perishable 
 marble ; shall columns of brass ; shall Pantheons, or 
 triumphal arches, affect to add to the durability of 
 his fame ? Presumptuous piles of dust ! His example 
 shall stand a light and a consolation to man, when 
 statues, and monuments, and arches, and temples, 
 shall have crumbled into ruins. 
 
 finis. '