The record-union., 1896-05-31
HEROISM OF THE PRESENT
Compared With That Of Generations in
the Past.
An Eloquent Memorial Day Address
by Rabbi Simon Of the Jewish
Congregation.

gogue on Friday evening Rabbi Simon
delivered an eloquent, scholarly and pa
| triotic address appropriate to Memo
rial Day, which was listened to by q
large delegation of Grand Army veter-
ans. The subject chosen was, Hero
| ism, Past and Present"
| Gratitude, said the speaker is the
fragrant flower of life-the fairest bios
som which springs from the soul. In
itself it is a prayer The greatest dan
ger to gratitude is sudden wealth,
which is productive of selfishness, pride
and base ingratitude. Wealth and
Thanksgiving seldom go hand in hand.
In the heyday of prosperity the quality
and quantity of the benefits we enjoy
are forgotten; not until we are de-
prived of them do we realize how much
cause we had for gratitude. Is it any
| different with nations?
History furnishes us with numerous
examples Of ungrateful nations, grown
| naughty and selfish through excessive
! wealth and consequent luxury. Our
| nation, after an existence Of a CEN
| tury, has become one Of the most pow
| erful under the sun. Unto her coasts
! flows the wealth of continents. Into
| her Golfers is poured the gold Of other
| lands. Mining, agriculture, manufact-
ures, render her richer still. And yet
1 believe she has not stumbled in her
prosperity. Her wealth has not made
her inappreciative.
What a beautiful and inspiring sight
| it is to see a nation of seventy millions
| bowling hurnbly in grateful praise and
acknowledgment of the work and worth
| of her heroesi A nation mourns, weeps
over the graves of buried soldiers,
| streWing with flowers and bedewing
with tears the swollen mounds of earth
that incase the remains of her saviors.
A nation mourns, and yet withal, mani
tests deep sense of gratitude to God
for having blessed her with martyrs,
the light of whose heroism shall shine
on unto the end of time. This, say, is
a beautifully noble picture.
Ye sublime spirits for whom this
grateful nation mourns; ye brilliant
stars in the galaxy Of the immortals;
ye that sacrificed that we might en-
joy; ye that died that we might live;
ye are still with us. We revere your
memory; we sing your praises; we laud
your heroic devotion to duty; we are
thankful that God has so bountifully
given us such band of soldierly saints:
we think Of you lovingly. About your
name we weave wreath of ever fresh
and green immortelles. Upon your
graves we deposit the laurel Of a life
well lived and of acts that cannot die.
Treasured up in the hearts of this
grateful nation are your deeds as in
centives for US ALL 1- r.
Dear souls, benefactors of mankind,
strugglers for freedom, builders Of the
immortal edifice Of justice and right,
we remember you tonight. Ye that
loved this Republic dearer than life
itself; ye that left home and dear ones
with a farewell kiss on your lips to
welcome the hiss of the whizzing bull
let, we revere you. Into our children s
ears shall we din your praises. To the
hearts of millions yet unborn shall we
hand down the beauty Of your lives
and the nobility Of your souls. AS long
as this nation lasts and is able to ex-
press even its faintest appreciation, 81
long and even longer shall the stories
of your martyrdom be rehearsed and
rehearsed. What We have done par
takes of eternity. u
And you, sole survivors of that God
like band of saviors, we welcome you
heartily to this house of worship. Your
| presence here is an inspiration to US.
The sight of your SCARED faces, your
wrinkled brows, your bodies still dis
playing evidences Of the deadly con-
flict, is the mightiest lesson Of loyalty
and the truest guide of patriotism.
Members of the Grand Army of the Re
public, while our hearts overflow with
delight to see you here after the roar
of battle has been hushed for thirty
years, we cannot but raise our prayer
full souls to God in thanks for having
| spared you to see the fruits of your
heroism, this fair Republic which you
| helped to save. Your ranks are thin
ming out. Slowly, one by one Is gath
cred to join the liberated souls on high
In few years God grant that they be
many all will have joined their broth
ers in the realms of eternity. That God
may give you many, many more years
of useful life, for your sakes and ours.
is our earnest prayer. We assure you
we feel honored by your presence. You
are doubly welcome
My friends, our memorial service is
a species of idolatry. We call it hero
worship, not in its pagan, supersti-
tious sense, but man-exalted and puri-
fed form. We are thinking tonight of
a noble army of heroes. We respect
them; we love them; we reverence
them. We hold them up as patterns for
us and our children. We revere them
for what they were and for what they
have done. This is a refined hero
worship, and it is perfectly natural.
At no time has man stood irreverent
before human greatness. At all times
no he
loyalty in it's presence This is not a
deification, but an idealization Hero
worship is thus fact in human nature.
and will not die out
Heroism is the highest form Of hu-
manity, the truest and noblest express
sion of soul life. Emerson has defined
it as the warlike attitude of the soul -
This does not mean a "pugilistic atti-
tude." strutting about on the streets
in bravado fashion, or the daredevil
defiance of danger. All heroes are
| fighters, fighters against the feroci-
ties of nature and of man; fighters
against tyranny and oppression; fight
ers for truth and justice; champions of
freedom, leaders of progress, captains
of right, soldiers in the ranks of pulpit,
press and platform. Hence prophets.
warriors, poets, philosophers, inventors
all of them are different types of he
roes of thought and action; fighters in
the ranks of God and man.
The history of these heroes is the his
tory Of mankind These few have led
the world. All others have followed
They made the initiative; we have
walked in their footsteps About them
we group the facts of history Wipe
them from civilization. and civilization
is unintelIigible-aye q blank Things