The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-05
PETERS BORRowS OF MOTT.
A EULoGT OF GEORGE THAT DID
SERVICE FOR HAMILTON IN

Pnstor OF the BieominEdnie Reformed Church
Thinks fe May HIVE Read Dr. Nets Piece
Sonic Time ma UncsnsciousIy Remembered
h-hccnsed Once Berore OF Plagiarism.
Tho Rev. Madison C. Potors. pastor OF the
Bloomingdale Reformed Church, at Sixty-cighth
street and the Boulevard. has been accused
once moro OF plagiarism. Mr.. Peters Is a sensa-
tonal preacher who makes a specially OF abusive
sermons on current topics. Last Sunday night
he had a eulogy OF Henry George for n change.
Somebody in the congregation thought he had
hoard the eulogy before. Finally, he became
sure that tho culogy as n whole, or in part, had
been delivered by the Rev. DIR. Eliphalet Mott,
President Of Union College from 1904 to 1866,
DIR. Motifs subject being Alexander Hamilton
This eulogy attracted wide attention and was
printed. A comparison Of what DR.. Mott said
and what Mr.. Peters said, as given by the Press,
shows the following:
pR. MOTT. Or, PETERS.
he who ia the occasion OF Henry george. the mag.
mont OF his country. lie sere friend OF man, the
stood on an cminoncc. and pure soul, stood on an
that cminence he has glory. in the zenith Of his
fallen. His intercourse Tomorrow In the grave.
with the living world is cold and If less. Will. TO
now ended; and those who tho heart which a few
would hereafter md him days ago was the seat of
must seek him in the friendship for man; dim
just now was the scat OF iivening orb b,amed with
Friendships; there. dim intelligence: the lips that
whose radiant and eniiv. ing arc forever sealed, -.
ening orb beaned with Approach and behold
intelligence; and there, while l lift from the Sc.
lips on whose persuasive admirers OF hs courage.
accents we have so ofteniye emulous OF his fame,
and so lately hung with ye covetous OF his man.
Approach. and behold, How pale. how iientl No
while I lift from his martial bands admire the
sepuichre It's covering Yc, adroi;ness OF his move.
admirers OF his greatness. ments; no hats wave; no
We emuious OF hs talents shouts sound at the men.
and his fame, approach tton OF his name, Ainaz'
AND behold HIM now How Ing e change, a shr ro%as1 a
tini bands admire the ranean cnbin-is this all
ments; no fascinating George No. He who now
trem6ic at his rluqucncc. with new influence. Dead.
Amazing change: A yet alive. he speaks to
subterraneous cabin!-this listen to what before they
Is all that now remains Of closed their cars to.
Hamilton, Ana IA this all
that remains Of Hamilton2I
When Mr.. Pcters's attention was called to the
similarity between his cnlogy and DR.. Motifs
1.-The report Of my eulosy, on Henry George
is correct. That's what l said. At the, time
wrote those words l did not know that they had
ever been uttered in that form before; The fig;
urc OF lifting the, veil from the sepnlchre and
raneous cabin are as old as the language, andI
claim that no one has a patent on them. pre-
ing a work called the Great Hereafter
lIh OIlthlI ~ NV W wv ~
thinkers and writer's on the subject. In compil.
ing that work l got together n lot of stuff that
l did not use. 1t may be that | compiled some
thing from DIR. Mott. If did l did not use II in
my book and l do not recollect. ! am an omniv-
! orous reader. and l have n retentive memory.
It is quito probable that in nv reading i have
run across DR.. Motifs eulogy nd remembered u
portion of it. You can see that only little bits of
the two culogics are alike: l have never been
accused of being lacking in words. md no one
who knows me will think me guilty of direct
plagiarism.
II believe in making use OF all you read; else
why readi 1t is Legitimate TO use whatever you
find in literature that is helpful to you or to
others, but. of course giving credit, as l always
do, when l am conscious that l am using another
mans form of expression. or course, ideas are
common property. There nre. l know, those
who believe In shutting themselves up to the
barren field of their own notions and are sterile
enough in consequence. don't believe in that.
l believe in fructifyinE and fertilizing ones
mind with all the ideas that one can get into 1t
out of the riches OF literature
Soon after MIR. Peters came to New York as
the pastor of the BloOmingdale Church it was
charged that he had borrowed n sermon which
he prea ched in Philadelphia a short time before
leaving that city. Mr.. Peters said last night
that at the time that charge was made he proved
his innocence by showing that, the sermon he
was accused of stealing had been written by
him several years before and had been published
in a book called Empty Pews' two years be-
fore somebody else delivered IL.