Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1893-01-30
A GLOWING TRIBUTE.

Rev. T. t. Munger Reviews the Ca
reer of the Late Phillips Brooks,
Bishop of Massachusetts-A Man of
Great Intellectual Accomplishment
"A Champion of Trnth-rhe work
He Did for Boston-His Brilliant
OratOry-The Apostle of Tolerance.
Rev. DR.. T. T. Munger, pastor of the
United church, paid an eloquent tribute
yesterday morning to the memory of the
late Phillips Brooks, bishop of the diocese
of Massachusetts,. A large congregation
was present and listened with great inter-
est to DR.. Munger's eulogium of one of the
worlds greatest preachers. bespoke from
the words, "And the king said unto his
servants: know ye that there ia prince
and great man fallen this day in Israels"
II Samuel, lii: SO, and "For whether We
live, we live unto the Lord, or whether we
die, We die unto the Lord; whether we live
therefore, or die we are the Lords"
Romans xiv: 8.
There are some men who are 80 thorough
iy human and so great in their humanity
that they resist any classification except
that of simple humanity; they bslong no.
where except in the family of man. They
are found in certain nation, but they are
more than national They may belong to
certain church, but they are more than
their church. Whatever their limitations
they rise above them and stand out simply
as men.
The great man, whose death 20 weighs
US down, was bishop of the Episcopal
church, but he was more than a bishop
and more than an Episc opalisn; these rela-
tions wera simply accidents or incidents in
his history-ehosen and approved indeed,
but they were by no means measures or
even signs of the man. The ordinary man
sinks himself in his profession or occupa-
ton; he is not man who is also bishop
or a minister, but he is also bishop or a
minister and also unfortunately a man.
With Bishop Brooks it is otherwise; and
perhaps there is no better test of greatness
than the fact that man transcends his
limitations Of profession, nationality, place
and stands out simply as a man. The
reason is that great man by virtue Of his
greatness represents some Of the great
common truths Of humanity.
1t Is precisely Ia this way that Bishop
Brooks ia presented to US. We are indif-
ferent to the fact that he was the bishop of
another church than our own, and in this
hour Of loss think of him as one of cur
selves. one Of the great brotherhood of hu-
msnity, who stood foremost in It's ranks
and had US in its conflicts.
1t is not often-hardly once in genera
tion-that the death of public man awak-
ems the sense of irrepsrable loss. Almost
always there is some one ready to take up
b Ii,
or another steps into the vacant place who
fills 1t even bstter. Great men live on
into age and when they die we feel that
their work is done. Or, they have en-
balmed their wisdom and power in books
and do not die. But there is certain
kind of great men whose power lies in
themselves-in their presence and voice
so that when they die all is gone and lost
1t is eminenty go with Bishop Brooks
he Was an immense personality; his power
lay In his presence, in his words, in the
virtue that went cut of him, went touched
by the throng of hearers, in the vitality
| which he threw into truth as he uttered 1t
But this is not the chief occasion of the
sense Of loss which some of Us feel almost TO
| the point of dismay. There are stages In
| great movements when everything seems
| TO depend on certain men; the movement
is gathered up in them, and is turned one
way Or another as ahey move, and if they
fall they also seem to fall. AS there are
strategic points in q campaign, 80 there
| are strategic men-nen who hold critical
| points and determine the issue of import
ant questions.
1t is SO in this case. There is in this
death more than the sealing of q great
fountain of usefulness; there is danger
that important mcvem ents in the theologi-
1 na1 ND ena1asioItioai worlds will ha 81
ID or turned aeide. Internationally ard
almost Unconsciously he became repre-
sentative of certain phases of progress; and
it is on this account that many of US are
weighed down with anxious grief.
Ard yet to the great body of the peopls
the event comes IS a pure and simple
affection. Hardly any public man of the
day was go we'll known; and cannot recall
any-excspt Whittier-who was held in
euch sweet and loving esteem. He literally
bad place in ever. body's heart. Their.
was a general sense of ownership in him
There were no drawbacks to the love in
which be was held He escaped the
~nmities in which Beecher was involved
and even the ecclesiastical criticism of him
was without bitterness. There is a won.
derful capacity in men of loving one who
| truly represents them; and because BishoL
Brooks so truly and fully represented
men-au that was good and high and
noble and true in them, they repaid him in
love. And now, in moment, unduly as
it seems, while iii his full strength, on the
threshold OF great duties. burning with
| and lying 81, ''wantirg to i've" he is taken
away The good laws of God have their
way and the overtaxed powers yield to the
strain of disease and the great life goes out
to mingle with the life of God in higher
| order Il is doubtless we'll; all must be
well where ell has be+n so fair, but for 9
tine orr human hearts must pay theil
tribute of grief.
I speak Of him to day, because we can.
not afford to miss the impression he hal
made upon his generation-an impression
which necessarily must steadily Lessen.
| first refer to his intellectual ability and
| culture. The preacher has often beer
counted great in the degree in which
he showed native gifts Of eloquence
and power without cultivation. Often
there are such cHses, but the power has
gone to feed some ssct, or to support some
DOGMA or to lead crusade against CONS
evil, or to start new denomination. Not
seldom, as much harm az good Is done. In
the man before us there was the oratorica
gift in full measure; then WAS the fervol
and intensity of the reformer and the re
ligtous feeling of the saln.; but slong with
| these gifts th6re was sOjtd ana ROBUST In
telIect, which had submitted itself to the
discipline of education. Hence, his almost
faultless career Of public mac
He never nesitated to take pc
-ition on any question that properly
came before him; he cast himself into the
full stream Of life as it flowed about him
ecclesiastical, theological, social, political
but he seldom made q mistake. His course
was marked by solidity of judgment, by
practically, by breadth and at the came
time by progressive spirit. Almost never
except in a narrow ecclesiastical circle
was he accused of making mistakes, OF
acting on wrong principles, or moving OF
false lines. He thus bore the marks and
gave out the signs Of trained man. Splen
did as are his other gifts, I an
inclined to rank his intelligence
"a large mind trained 10 broad aud thor
ough thought. Sach are the useful men
the men who carry the world along an6
sensibly advance it in the line of prog
ress.
The beet evidences of his intellectua
power that he has left us are his Yale lect
ures on preaching, given in Marquand
chapel in 1876, aud little treatise on toll
erance-unless I except certain passages In
his sermons which have the insight Of in
SEPARATION and philosophy combined. Oper
either Of these books at random and yor
will gee the marks of a vigorous intel
lect. Take this from the first lect
ure on preaching (page 32): "What Ii