The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1872-12-17
James Freeman Clark Oh Horace Cree
ley.

ley.
From Rev. james Freeman Clarke's sermon on
the Justice of God delivered, December 1872,
in the Church of the Disciples in ston.l
A man has died this last week, wh1
has been conspicuous during forty years
since he eutered New York 10 l-3t. with
all his goods tied up in his bandserchct.
lill within month he hJ3 been ,Gore
abused aud ri1icued than snv other III ~
in the country. lie die, aud roF, in.ac
who were 50 loud Ia hi- ccnsure eau hiri-
" say enough 10 his prai.c. Nov he Il
"thc great editor" an upr,sh;, generous,
cure aud usually sigaci"us inlu; almost
always right, aud with az energy of cnar-
acter aud force Of will .whlcn, as vs. lid
oi Howard, "the natute Of the human
mind forbade to be mure, anl tha cn ifac.
ter OF the indIvidui II prevented from Jcn!
less" Horace Grorley was one Of our
very great men, and Que of tue uatiou'.
great oeneIactor4. / am GAL thai /, ior
one, am not obliged to-day to take back
anything ever said OF han. |, ior one
never forgot his great services, in his
frequent iaiiiugs. / remembered always
that, during some twenty years, the New
York Tribune was the only conspicuous
platform from which any distinct word
on behalf of universal justice and freedom
aud humsuity could get itself heard by
the patton. His paper, conducted with
such eminent ability and power, was al
ways hospitable to every plea in behalf of
down.trodden justice. When all other
leading whig and democratic papers sneef-
ed at human rights, and made their sill
ly Jesis at the aDti-savery movement,
Horace Grecley's Tribune was always
rea dy to give that cause an audiences
He fought on that unpopular side like
an hero, during twenty long years, ard
tell AT Last, still soiled with the noble
du,i a. hat struggle. He had the defects
OF NJ Itnitie.; his faults came from
exceeding strength of will, which often
became willfulness, and SO "topplcd Ger
on the other side - for will, when it is
too strong,is the source of many weakness.
ses. A wilful man is the fool of his own
caprice, and the cunning of others Now,
when the man is dead, all his merits are
recognized, and his defects are no longer
exaggerated, but are seen in their real
perspective, Man for moment becomes
just to his brother, and this is better than
mercy or charity, in such case. 81
implore peace" says the pathetic ins.
cription on an Italian tombstone, 81
ask for justice" is nobler demand.
70 tTnT maj B." ''"""" ;'--;
Man becomes Just at such times, and
anticipates the revelation of the righteous
Judgment of God. But happy is he vino
can find just judgment in this world
Happy is he who can find friend who is
capable not only of affection, but justice
Did you ever have such a friend-capa-
bic OF understanding your good and your
evil, Of recognizing your honest purpose
amid all your faults, one large enough
to see both sides Of your charicter, with
its evil and its good, its generous seeking
and its imperfect attainment who never
excused your faults, and yet loved you
in spite OF them, who knew you better
than you knew yourself, and fulfilled the
duty Of Schiler's friend aud foe both in
one, telling you what you ought to DO
and showing you that you had ;he Iovcr
to do it, who enabled you to have faith
in your5ef,and yet to rise above yourself?
Such large aud deep friendship is the
highest justice, aud only the greater na-
ture who sees both sides oil our charac-
ter, aud ull round our life is able to be
tnus generously just to US.
Aud shall mortal mdu he more Just
than God?" Ii sonnet mes We can { nd a
friend. who, seeing US as We are, III d i
standing our faults, not excusine our IT,
cors, eau yet make allowance, for u, and
till hope for Us, and recogniz, the rnoi
dnder the evil, shall not God be as Just
IS this to the creatures He has made?
Shall not He who mad, these human
nearts of ours, with all their hopes sud
tears, lougings aud aspirations their
ull notes aud half notes, aud shades of
emotion-each chord, with its vyrious
toue--each string, with its separate
bias--shalI not He be as just to'es as
man?