St. Paul daily globe., 1895-10-11
DR.. JAMES De K0vEN'S LIFE
HIS INTERESTING THEME AT
THE CHURCH OF THE GOOD >.
SHEPHERD.
The Only Father He Knew From
BOyhOod He Was Broad o.
Minded and Liberal.

l.. II
Tennessee, delivered an address at
the Church Of the Good Shepherd
last night on 1.-THE Life of DR.. James
de KoVen," who formerly held the
position of parden of the Episcopal
college at Racine, Wis. There was a
small audience-much smaller than
the theme and the eloquence with
which Bishop Gaylor handled it
merited. Of all the bishops in the
great gathering of divines at Min
neapoliS, none are more fluent than
Bishop Gaylor, and as DR.. de Koven
had, in the days of the bishops
youth, been a father to him, he was
naturally inspired when called upon
to pay a tribute to a life so grand
and noble as that of his kind old
friend, though dead for over fifteen
years, and his description of the
character of that grand old divine
was beautiful in the extreme.
Bishop Gaylor began by quoting
the words of the Scripture: He
that giveth his life for my sake
shall have life everlasting" He
then referred to the Greek civiliza-
ton, and drew a comparison be-
tween the stoicism and materialiSm
of that time and the tendency toward
a like condition at the present time.
Continuing, he said:
'"The Greek began and ended with
himself. Utility for the use of
man was his first thought on looking
at a landscape even. The human body
became the highest degree of perfec-
ton to him. There is something beau
tiful and lovely in this idea of life as
compared with the narrow idea of the
Jew. But it is too earthly. There is
something grander and nobler in the
idea of Immortality. Man finds his
best and his highest life when he loses
himself in the bosom of his God.
''The most wonderful victory in the
physical order is the surrender of that
which seems most precious. What a
grand principle was that inspired by
the two bishops of this church of ours,
who said, while burning at the stake
over 800 years ago: BY the blessing of
God our death shall one day light
fire in England that will never be eX-
tinguished.' He that soweth to the
flesh shall reap corruption, but he who
soweth to the spirit shall reap life
everlasting.
"You are all more or less familiar.
with the life of DIR. James de Koven.
He was regarded as the giant of the
house of deputies in every convention
in which he participated. He was SO
humorous, witty, bright and logical
that he was admired even by his
enemies. He was SO gentle and mag
unanimous that he disarmed his OPP
ponents, and when, by their narrow
ness and prejudices they prevented
him from being crowned bishop, he
did not sulk in his tent, but in his
broad, magnanimous spirit, he con-
tinued his services in the interest of
this great church. He believed in in
divfdual liberty. He never desired to
bind others by his opinions. He
claimed that the church should be
unbound from the traditions of the
past and be conducted as true Amer
lean church. He stood for what he
believed to be an ideal Christian edu-
cation.
He graduated at the head of his
class, and instead of remaining in the
East, where his opportunities were
unlimited, he came out to the North
west so that he might stand for this
broad, liberal principal and have it
founded in the early history of the
people. I know there is a portion of
humanity that look on Christianity as
a sect, and it is a sect when conSid-
cred in the broadest sense. But if the
Christian gospel is true at all, it is
right to teach it when and where we
can, and if our children do not have
these great Christian truths on which
to build their characters, then we are
responsible for it. 1t was for these
great truths that DR.. de Koven stood.
We must distrust this pomp and
pageant that has been returning to us
again from the Greek civilization.
when I look back over a lapse of
fifteen years I well recall the night
on which I received the news that my
kind old friend had fallen asleep. I
read it in a New York paper, and
when I tell you that he was the only
| father 1 knew from the time was a
! child Of tender years, you may realize
| the feeling I had at that moment. /
am not ashamed to say that not a
day passes that I do not pray for
him. Were he here tonight, know OF
no theme on which he would rather
hear discourse than the words: He
that giveth his life for my sake shall
1 find ouorIa