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Hall, Edward B.
The value of a man. a diacourse,

Providence ,1848,

Cbe>3 643

YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

®1)£ talue of a Mm.

DISCOURSE,

OCCASIONED BT THE DEATH OF

HON. HENRTWHEATON

DBLIVEEED

SUNDAY EVENING, MARCH 19, 1848,

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, PJIOVIDENCE, R. I.

BY EDWARD B. HALL,
FASTOB OF THE CHUBCH.

PROVIDENCE:
CHARLES BURNETT, Jr.
1848,

(1\>&2).5^3

DISCOUESE.

Isaiah xiii. 12.

I will make a man more preoioias than fine gold; even a man, than
the golden wedge of Ophir.
By what rule or scale is the value of a man to be
estimated ? A man- — the child and the image of
God ; to whom the inspiration of the Almighty hath
given understanding ; who is placed at the head of
the creation of God, made a little lower than the
angels, and crowned with glory and honor. A man —
for whom God has opened his holy heaven, and
Christ has lived, and died, and risen again. A man —
whose life here is as an hand-breadth, but whose
whole existence is an eternity; whose present strength
is at best weakness, and his wisdom folly, but whose
spiritual power and possible progress, no lines can
limit, or thought conceive. Of such a being, how
shall we determine the value ? Are we most in
danger of taking too high, or too low a standard ?
Should we look to the history of man for an ans
wer, and take his' own estimate and use of himself,
or his estimate and use of other men, there could be

4

little hesitation, and little pleasure in answering.
Man has fallen from his high estate, and lost or dis
regarded the knowledge of his origin and destiny.
Man has bartered himself for gold, and sold his life
for lust, or meat and drink. Man has made himself
a brute, and believed himself a clod, and squandered
his high powers and affections on the veriest trifle
and cheat. Man has weighed his soul against a
crown, a name, a gilded toy, a waving plume, Man
has set himself up as a mark for his fellow-man to
shoot at, and has himself slain myriads of men, as
hostile or worthless. Man has bought and sold his
brother and his children, as chattels. What estimate
does it all show of the value of a man ?
Should we look at the gods which man has made
and worshipped, the idols of his slavish fear or sen
suous love, the chosen masters of his fortune, and
supposed lords of his destiny, the inference would be
no better. And little better, from most of the sys
tems of philosophy, from the theology of the greater
portion of the Christian world, the Catholic, and
much of the Protestant, their views of God's char
acter, and of the nature he has given his children.
A strange error seems to be almost universal — that
of supposing that we exalt the Creator, by dispar
aging the creature ; with the kindred error, that to
magnify the nature and worth of a man, is to laud
his character and flatter his pride. But has not the
effect of the opposite course been this — to hide from
man the mark which God has set for him, and render
impracticable, or merely figurative, the perfection to
which Christ has called us all ?

But this is not my theme, and I leave it. I wish
rather to suggest inquiry and awaken thoughtfulness,
as to the kind of man, which the state, the church,
and the age, raost need ; and the manner in which
they ought to weigh the worth of their teachers and
helpers. This let us attempt to answer in two com
prehensive particulars.
First, we need men of Religious Principle. Let
this be put first, as the foundation, though it is
usually named last, as the crown. It must be the
foundation. On no other can a structure be reared,
which will stand fast amid the storms of human
passion, the winds and waves of human opinion, the
war of ambition and imagined interest. On no
other, indeed, can a structure be reared, which will
secure the confidence, or hold long the admiration,
even of the world. This we are fain to believe,
notwithstanding the perverseness and wickedness of
the world. It is evidence at once of God's will and
man's nature, that man seldom yields spontaneous
and continued admiration, a universal cordial rever
ence, to any thing but religious principle ; or, at
least, to any thing else so absolutely and perma
nently. There is a shout for the warrior, there is a
wreath for the victor, there is a show of homage for
the man of wealth, and a supple knee for the pos
sessor of power, and childish adulation of dazzling
intellect or erratic genius. But none of these are so
deep or abiding, as the respect and regard, if nothing
more, rendered to high and consistent Principle.
Yet though you believe and could prove the opposite
fact, all the more do we need the principle. Show

that there is little of it either in the nature or char
acter of man, show that where it appears it is lightly
valued, you only prove that we must return to it, or
perish. This is a self-evident truth. If there is a
God, supreme, just, and good, obedience to his law
is the only greatness and the only happiness. If any
thing can save us, in this age and nation, from ruin
ous views of greatness and happiness, it is religious
principle, living and acting in public and private men.
Men of truth, we must have ; to whom a lie, of any
shape, color, or purpose, is an abhorrence and an
impossibility. Men of righteousness, we must have ;
to whom a wrong deed, known or unknown, for a
mean or a mighty end, is a sin against God and
humanity. Men of purity, we want ; whose char
acter, in domestic, civil, and, not least, Christian
relations and offices, shall be both unsullied and un
suspected. Men of morality, we want ; of integrity,
sobriety, manly courage, moral independence, impar
tial justice, large but not indiscriminate mercy and
charity, humble but immoveable uprightness. And
with all, perhaps more than all now, we want men
of Christian Moderation, Christian, I say — which
excludes from the idea of moderation all tameness,
supineness, cowardice, and mere policy. Christian
moderation is principle, not policy ; deliberation, not
passion ; temperance, and not violence ; kindness,
never abuse. It supposes patience, perseverance,
meekness, firmness, the temper of justice to all, even
the erring and rash, with the spirit of faith, supreme
and absolute faith, in God and the gospel. We want
reformers, but only as Christian regenerators. We

want patriots, but only as Christian philanthropists.
We want Christians ; disciples of Christ himself, and
of no other, priest, prelate, or pope. We want man
ifest, consistent, fearless followers of Jesus, in prin
ciple and life ; breathing his spirit, obeying as well
as admitting his precepts, applying his law every
where and trusting it always, standing firmly and
serenely on his gospel, though the country, the earth,
and the world, sink beneath their feet.
Again — as the other suggestion, for which alone
we have room — we want men of Mind. It is essen
tial to man's greatness and happiness, that he reli
giously regard, and improve to the utmost of his
power, that faculty, which, in him, and him only, is
improveable without limit. Can the power or value
of a man be estimated, with little or no reference to
mind .'' Can duty, obligation, even salvation, be
viewed as wholly separate from mind .'' Yes, if those
words mean nothing more than the absence of wrong,
and escape from condemnation. Of course there
may be religion in the heart, where there is little in
the understanding. There may be acceptableness
and happiness, wdth no unusual power or culture of
the intellect. This we cannot be supposed to ques
tion. Nor do we deny, that men of ordinary minds,
with no pretension to learning or mental force, but
with decided moral character, may be useful, some
times powerful men. We need such men, and we
thank them. More thanks do they deserve, and a
truer greatness belongs to them, than to those of the
strongest intellect and largest attainment, who do
nothing for others, or nothing for the soul. But no

8
admission of this kind can lessen the duty or glory
of intellectual culture. A man of mind is a man of
power. He holds a sceptre, whose kingdom is the
world and the ages. He fills a throne, before which
all other thrones and sovereigns have trembled. He
speaks — and the multitude are moved and swayed,
as by a mighty wind. He writes — and his thought
goes to every mind, his heart touches every heart, in
the universe. Such an one is a potentate, ordained
of God, holding rule by divine right, and all the
more subject to divine law. In harmony with that
law, his mind is strength, greatness, and blessing
incomparable. In neglect or infraction of that law,
it is a curse immeasurable.
No age, scarcely a land, has needed more than
ours, men of enlightened and enlarged mind. We
need them in every province. We need them in
science ; where so much is yet to be learned, bearing
upon religion and the whole of life. We need them
in literature ; where with much that is instructive
and pure, a great proportion of that which is new,
and we fear most read, is worthless or worse ; show
ing no power of mind in the creation, nor requiring
or strengthening any in the use. We need them in
government; a noble science, calling for intellect,
comprehension, and wisdom, in all its departments ;
whether it pertain to the grandeur of law and jus
tice, to the intercourse of nations, the interests and
conflicts of individuals, the use and abuse of liberty,
or that which is expressed by the dubious term,
politics. This whole province is filled and jostled by
men of mere action, often hasty and angry action.

proverbially selfish and sectional, where we want
reflection, study, maturity, enlargement of view,
soundness and variety of knowledge. Against all
the error and danger of a hard conservatism on the
one hand, and wild fanaticism on the other, nothing
will so surely avail, as the calm power of intelligent,
decided, and elevated minds. Do we need them less
in religion ? Oh, for their presence and power, to
arrest or soften this perpetual war of opinions, this
miserable jealousy and rivalry of sects — enough to
make any one who is half a man, hide his face in
very shame. Let powerful and unsparing minds,
clergy or laity, reprove and lash us into a sense of
the madness of contending for every thing else, in
religion, more than for religion itself in our own
souls and all lives. We want fewer dogmatists, and
more theologians, of every name. We want neither
sectarists nor ultraists ; but Christian scholars, Chris
tian teachers ; apt to teach, and willing to learn ;
men of mind ; giving their high powers to the ac
quiring and difiiising of that knowledge, which will
make wise unto salvation.
Within the space of three weeks, there have
passed from the world three minds, possessing each
some of the traits which we have just drawn. The
close of that day which witnessed the burial of John
Quincy Adams in his native town, witnessed also
the death of Henry Wheaton in a neighboring vil
lage. And on the following day, the spirit of Am
brose Spencer, of New York, took its flight from
its venerable tenement. The first and the last of
2

10
these had lived more than fourscore years, covering
the whole history of our national existence, Thfey
had finished their work, a work of no common mag
nitude ; and calmly they awaited the messenger of
release. With the other, it was differently ordered.
Age had not bowed his frame, nor had he or others
reason to expect his speedy departure. He too had
done a great work ; too great for the feeble body,
until by imperceptible degrees it had worn out, the
springs of life failed, heaviness came upon the spirit,
and silently it departed. Apparently in the midst of
life and usefulness, Henry Wheaton has followed
the many, who, during the present season, have
passed from earthly eminence to the bar of God.
It is fit that he be remembered here. In the place
of his birth, among kindred and friends who loved
and honored him, near the College which nurtured
him as a son and has since conferred upon him its
highest distinction, in a church whose household of
faith he early entered — we cannot do less than offer
a humble tribute to his memory. Other tributes,
more extended and complete, may be expected from
those better acquainted with his life and labors. Yet
I cannot plead the absence of all personal knowledge.
Beside recent opportunities, I had the good fortune,
many years ago, to meet him several times in New
York, and the impression of intellectual and moral
power, which his conversation made upon my mind,
has never faded. Since that time he has become
the servant of the country, and none who have read
the history of its government and growth, can be
ignorant of the places he has filled, or the service he

11
has rendered. In the brief time allowed, I attempt
only to give an outline of his life, and mark the
most prominent features of the man, the scholar, the
diplomatist, the civilian, and the Christian.
Born in Providence, November 27th, 1785, Hen
ry Wheaton passed his childhood here, entered
Brown University at the early age of thirteen, grad
uated in 1802, and engaging in the study of the
law, went soon after to Europe. There he spent
nearly two years in travel and culture, acquiring
languages, enlarging his favorite study of history,
and imbibing tastes, especially in the society of Mr.
Monroe, then Minister in London, which probably
determined his choice of pursuits for life. After his
return, he removed to New York, where in 1812, a
season of foreign and domestic warfare, he became
the editor of the " National Advocate," a popular
journal, which he is said to have conducted with
ability and discretion during three years of peculiar
responsibility. At this time also, he was made one
of the Justices of the Marine Court, and in 1815
issued his first work, a Digest of Maritime Law ;
said to be one of the ablest as well as earliest pro
ductions of the kind in our country, and pronounced
abroad, by the author of a recent work of similar
character in Edinburgh, to be " very superior to any
treatise on this department of the law, which had
previously appeared in the English language," This
is high commendation for one who had been but
thirteen years from college, and had not seen the
works of Kent, Story, and others, who have since
written. In 1816, Mr. Whejaton was appointed

12
Reporter of the Decisions of the Supreme Court of
the United States. This laborious office he held
twelve years, publishing twelve volumes of Reports,
whose fairness as well as thoroughness is acknowl
edged, we believe, by all, and their value enhanced
by copious notes of his own, which he was the first
in this country to append. This work of superero
gation exhibits a trait in the character of his mind,
and shows his love of labor. It appears in many
connections, and remarkably, it is said, in his Des
patches from abroad, of which he wrote one every
week, even when moving from place to place, or
recreating, as with most men it would prove. Not
content with communicating to his own government
the intelligence which official duty required, he often
added comprehensive views of the state and change
of affairs in Europe. This was the great epoch of
his life. He passed to it from the place in which
we have just seen him as Reporter, having previ
ously written, beside his volumes of Reports, an
extended Life of William Pinkney, several discourses
before historical and literary societies, and many
articles in the North American Review ; holding, in
the same period, a seat in the Legislature of New
York, in the Convention for remodeling the Consti
tution of that State, and in a special commission for
revising its statutes. From these multiform labors,
he was called in 1827, by that great man with whom
he is so nearly connected in death, to enter upon his
most public life as Charge d ^Affaires at the court of
Denmark, There he continued seven years, during
which he found time, with lesser productions fi-om

13
his ready pen, to write the " History of the North
men," published both in London and this country in
1831, afterward translated into French with enlarge
ment ; and a still more enlarged edition he was pre
paring for the press when he died. From Copenha
gen, he was transferred by President Jackson, in
1834, to Berlin, as Resident Minister, afterward
raised to the rank of Minister Plenipotentiary, at the
same court, by President Van Buren. Thus from
three Presidents he received signal honors, not with
drawn till 1846, by President Polk. Returning
home the following year, he was gratefiilly welcomed
by the country he had so ably represented, by the
State and City which gave him birth, and by the
Universities which had already distinguished him.
By one of these he was called to his last office, on
whose public duties he was never to enter. Ap
pointed Lecturer on the Civil and International Law
at Harvard University, he was able only to prepare
one lecture for that new and responsible place, when
the hand of disease was laid upon him, and he
rested from his labors. He died in Dorchester,
Massachusetts, on the night of the eleventh of the
present month, in the sixty-third year of his age.
A complete enumeration of his published writings
is not here attempted. In a discourse, not intended
for a regular biography or formal eulogy, but rather
a religious commemoration, it will not be expected
that I should go into a critical review of his writ
ings, or a full delineation of his character. I speak
of him particularly as a man — a true man, a religious
man, an intellectual and faithfiil man. If such he

14
was, we may well recall the expressive words of the
prophet, with which we began: "A man, more
precious than fine gold ; even a man, than the golden
wedge of Ophir," In the Christian view, and in
the truly human, we shrink from the thought of
weighing a man with gold, even the gold of Ophir.
But so long as this shall be the world's great idol,
and the standard by which all else is tried and
stamped, there will be significance and power in the
comparison. Henry Wheaton early recognised the distinctive
faculties of his nature, and sedulously cultivated
them to the last hour of conscious existence. He
was a thinker. As a child, his first and favorite
plaything was a book ; and play and work seemed
always the same to him, inasmuch as reading was
the only sport he wanted, and study was easier than
most men's pastime. In college, he gave less time
to the regular studies, than to general literature ;
not neglecting the former, but less ambitious to excel
in them, than to store his mind with various knowl
edge, particularly in history. Then, and always
perhaps, history may be said to have been his chosen
pursuit ; and it is the judgment of a classmate, than
whom no one knew him better, that when he gradu
ated, at the age of seventeen, not a man there,
student or teacher, was so thoroughly versed in his
torical lore. To the light and passing literature of
the day — for which literature is too good a name —
he never gave his mind. Works of fiction and imag
ination had little charm for him. Speculation and
theory he did not love. For invention or fancy, he

15
was not distinguished. Even in the classics, he
seems to have taken little interest, except as records
of fact and truth. Fact he always sought. Truth
he dearly prized. More precious to him than gold,
he suffered no other wealth to divide his affection
or divert his pursuit. Property, accomplishment, or
fame, cannot be said to have been at any time his
idol. To mere self-aggrandizement, and to all self-
indulgence, he appears to have been as entire a
stranger, as is often found in man, especially in pub
lic life. Many as were his distinctions, no man, we
imagine, supposed he sought them for his own ele
vation, no one, we are sure, ever thought of them in
his presence, unless as setting forth his own modesty
and humility in the more striking relief. Simple in
his manners, unostentatious always, habitually re
served, and more than commonly silent, it was only
when you called out his ready and fiirnished mind,
on his favorite themes, that you felt its peculiar
power, and ceased to wonder at his eminence at
home and abroad. Not a genius, as the world uses
that ill-fated word, not dazzling or eloquent, never
polishing himself or his writings merely to make
them attractive, he was clear, thorough, laborious,
retentive, and ever willing to communicate ; a most
rapid reader,- mastering a book, though to appearance
only turning hastily its leaves ; a rapid writer, be
cause attempting only that to which he was compe
tent, and seeking only to put the truth and fact in
the clearest light. His style was never ornate, but
always lucid. His thought was solid, rather than
brilliant. But whatever may be thought of native

16

power or comparative eminence, he has won for him
self a distinction among the illustrious of the age.
His name is enrolled in places that might satisfy the
highest ambition; it has been familiar in the first
courts and honored by the first minds in Europe ; it
is found in connection with Grotius, Puffendorf, and
Vattel, and it may be seen on the tablet of an Insti
tute in France, which bears but two other American
names ; and what is remarkable, the only question
there raised, is said to have been, in which of two
departments his name should be entered — History or
Jurisprudence. The French " Courier of the United
States," published in New York, speaks of Mr.
Wheaton, in its notice of his death, as a " mind
most active and universal ; one of the best informed
men that the new world has possessed ; a man of
profound knowledge and an indefatigable laborer,
who has died after a life well filled, but too short for
his country and for humanity."
No, not the last. That is more than man may
say. It is more than we feel. His life was not
short, but long, for the very reason that it was well
filled. Too short indeed for friendship and affection,
but not separated from these even now, nor ever can
be. His work was done, and well done. Shall we
say, he could have done much more, had he lived
longer ? How do we know that ? Were it true —
had aught remained to be done essential to him or
to us, he would not have seen yet " the last of earth."
Such a work is never unfinished, save that it is still
going on. How can it stop, when it belongs to the
Mind.? Its sphere is changed by death, its form

17
and application are different, but its nature and real
ity the same. Love of truth, thirst for knowledge,
adoration of God, and the study of his works in all
places of his dominion, can never cease. The good
and the true leave the body, but leave not themselves,
or those who are as themselves. In many ways,
their works do follow them, and contribute still to
their happiness and ours. For the spirit itself, for
God who gave and still feeds it, for all who have
communed with it here and taken it up into their
being, for children and children's children — all that
is true endures, all that is good lives and acts.
He whom we mourn, we believe, was true and
good. With moderation and humility should we
speak, in the house of God or anywhere, of frail
humanity. We bring no panegyric here. From
nothing would he have more recoiled. As we re
member his meekness, as we revere his truthfulness,
as we know that he may hear us now — and that
One who is over all, does hear — let us be moderate.
But we will also be just. We have spoken of him
as a thinker and scholar. It is for others to present
him as a civilian and diplomatist. His two principal
works, on International Law, and the Law of Na
tions, have received the approval of the first minds
in Europe and America, and are regarded as author
ity. The subjects of which they treat are of the
first importance, involving the great questions of
peace and war, the foundation, the necessity, and
the rightfiil extent of government. On aU these
points, we suppose Mr. Wheaton to have occupied
the ground of a wise conservatism, in the spirit of a
3

18
generous freeddtn, and a due regard to popular rights.
Much of his time abroad was passed in France, and
when recalled from Prussia, it was supposed he
would be continued in Paris as minister there. Had
he lived one week longer, the tidings of another
revolution in that fated city and country would have
reached him ; tidings, which have drawn from many
the remark, that no minister in Europe would have
been looked to with greater confidence, or consulted
vdth more deference, in such emergency, than he.
This opinion is confirmed by all we hear of his repu
tation and influence abroad, through the twenty
years of his diplomatic course ; a term of office, long
as it was beyond almost any other, not only sustain
ed and adorned throughout by large learning and
sound discretion, but wholly unsullied by the low
cunning and petty intrigue, which commonly enter
into the idea of diplomacy. We honor the man, who
has both the disposition and the courage to show,
that national honor does not depend on intrigue, that
true patriotism can never require bravado, stratagem,
or the slightest departure from strict veracity. We
thank every countryman, who maintains his purity,
simplicity, and honesty, in foreign courts, and amid
all temptations.
This belongs to the other and last characteristic
of Henry Wheaton, on which we can dwell — the
moral and religious aspect. We have said we would
be just, in this regard, as we desire to be always,
whether for or against. But simple duty requires us
to say, that no observation or inquiry has brought to
our knowledge a single reason for withholding from

19
this part of his character, distinct and unqualified
commendation. On the contrary, there is delightful
testimony to an unusual degree of purity, integrity,
conscientiousness, and unvarying, inflexible truth.
Not a single departure from either of these, his inti
mate associates say, has been known or ever sus
pected. His childhood, his youth, his college life,
seem to have been marked by entire abstinence, as
weU from the follies and vices, as from the sports
and amusements of his age. From the last, his ab
stinence may have been an error and injury. But
from the other, no abstinence can be excessive.
From evil, and all appearance of evil, nature, prefer
ence, and principle withheld him. An impure word
was never heard from his lips, but often restrained
by his presence. A harsh word or unkind, those
who have lived with him most, cannot recall. Of
how many can these things be said, after threescore
years of busy, exposed, anxious, and often troubled
life ? Does it indicate no moral or religious princi
ple .'' Would you place above it, as proof of such
principle, any opinions, in the absence of this pure
morality and scrupulous virtue ?
The religious opinions of Mr. Wheaton were early
formed and never changed. There was a brief
period of his youth, as with many, when he was
perplexed and anxious in regard to Christian evi
dence, doctrine, and duty ; nor were those wanting,
who would have drawn him away from all faith.
But he listened to such whisperers, only to silence or
shun them. He waited, only to examine and decide
for himself. The result was a firm and firmer con-

20
viction of the truth, the beauty, majesty, and neces
sity of religion. Like Adams, in private and public
life, he was a student of the Scriptures. Like
Adams, he was conversant with theology and con
troversy, enough to enlighten and settle his own
convictions. Like Adams, he was a believer in the
simple unity of God, the supremacy of the Father,
the divine mission of the Son, the influence and
need of the holy spirit. He was a Unitarian. He
once said, that he believed he had read almost all
that had been written in support of the opposite
faith, but could not receive it. Yet he was no dog
matist, no sectarian. Respect for all honest opinion,
regard for all Christian believers and good men, were
first principles with him. He obtruded upon none
his own views, he assailed none, nor suspected, be
cause of difference. He could not be guilty of that
pitifiil interference with others' faith, that suspicious
ness and censoriousness, which betoken a small
mind and doubtfiil humility. A founder of the first
Unitarian Church in New York, and a communicant
there, a frequent worshipper and partaker in the
liberal " Reformed Church of Paris," where he be
came strongly attached to that eminent preacher,
Coquerel, he yet looked far more to the religion of
the heart and life, than to that of the creed or form.
In a word, we believe he endeavored, alike in hu
mility and charity, to form in his own soul, and carry
into every part of conduct and character, that Reli
gious Principle, which we have named as the great
element of power, usefulness, and happiness.

21
Why, let us ask in conclusion, why is there so
little of this high principle, in men of public station ?
Why is its prominence, at least, so rare in profes
sional and political life, as to be considered a dis
tinction ? Why are those who are most eminent for
legal, civil, or literary attainments, so seldom found
in the church of Christ — not merely occasional wor
shippers, or pecuniary supporters, or professed admir
ers, but open disciples, and consistent followers, of
the Son of God ? Why are our merchant princes,
and powerfiil capitalists, and prominent legislators,
so little known as prominent Christians ? Are they
ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, or afraid of its
restraint, or doubtfiil of its truth, or indifferent to its
obligation and retribution ? With the widest charity,
and the most generous hope, it is difficult to see, that
Christianity holds any thing like its rightful empire,
in personal, domestic, or public character. The reli
gion of the church is low enough, of professor and
priest. Catholic and Protestant ; but the religion of
the mart and the forum, of the bar and the senate,
of the court and the camp, wears scarcely a faint
resemblance to Christ and the Gospel. The public
mind seems hardly conscious of allegiance to Christ.
Public opinion does not profess to be Christian. The
governments of the earth are as independent of the
government of God, as of each other's rule. The
morality and piety of avowed Christians do not reach,
or often attempt to reach, the prevalent evils, the
fashionable vices, the glaring iniquities of the world.
There is faith among us, but it is timid, silent, and
barren. We suffer, not so much from theological, as

from practical infidelity. In every church, there is
more of truth and duty urged, than the hearers and
members live up to, or even strive to observe. Honor
to the man, of whatever name, who does strive to
be a Christian ! Honor to the civilian, who aims to
bring human law into harmony with the divine !
Honor to the statesman, the magistrate, the minister
of justice, the representative at home, the ambassa
dor abroad, who seeks in all to be a Christian man,
living and dying in the faith and spirit of Jesus !
Friends of Jesus, of every name, come to the
work. We want the spirit and the power of Chris
tianity. We want a public Christian character, and
a private Christian Manliness. We pant for a reli
gion, which, like its God, is no respecter of persons,
nor dwelleth alone in this mountain nor yet at Jeru
salem, but dwelleth everywhere. We ask for a
charity and piety, which shall bind all the good in
one band, and lead them to the spiritual vvarfare.
We pray for a Faith, which shall reach our highest
councils, and sanctify our humblest homes. It was
a saying of Cato, that " he considered an honest
husband, higher than a great senator." And if an
honest husband, how much more a Christian man in
every relation ! O, for men of prayer, of faith, of
religious principle that gold cannot purchase, and
religious speech that fear or power cannot silence.
O, for men of mind and morals, consecrated to truth
and duty, to law and love, to Christ and humanity.
That so, in the words of our departed brother, the
last words of his last public discourse, so ably writ-

23

ten, but feebly uttered, in this city, there may be
seen and cherished, " an ever-growing desire for
happiness, which seeks its gratification, not in the
enjoyments of sense, but in the cultivation of our
intellectual and moral nature."