The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-02-09


this paragraph I have read Mr.. Emmon's
estimate OF Lincoln In the remarks made
at the funeral services held ait Concern ON the
HE Gincoln) is the true history of the
American people In his time. Step by step
he walked before them: slow with their slow
true representative Of this continent; an en-
tirely public man; father of his country; the
pulse Of 20,000,000 throbbing in his heart;
the thought Of their minds articulate In his
tongue"
l repeat my statement that under any anal
ysis Of greatness which recognizes authority,
our age will rank as one OF the masterful
ages. Examples OF this compelling force are
too many to waken surprise. 1t has been the
method of the age. No result has been
achieved In the subjugation Of nature. or
massing Of men under the spur of sentiment
or conscience, which has not borne witness
to it.
In passing now to consider the benefcent
element in Contemporary greatness, we are at
once impressed with the fact that the other
elements Of greatness have tended TO Den-
eficence. Originality in the form OF research
and investigation has left an appreciate re-
suit Of physical and social good. Authority
has been the instrument of public gain lar
more than of personal ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. NO
political movement of our time has culml-
mated in the fame of one man like Napoleon,
but all have reached their end in the advance
ment OF a nation or race. The only man1fest
exception to the benefcence of this type Of
greatness has been the combination of capital
for speculative purposes. Here the m0tnod
has often been ruthless, carried out in the
subversion or in defiance Of public right, and
resulting in grievous losses to individuals and
to communities, for the enrichment or the
few.
But we are now concerned not SO much with
that benefcence which is the result of other
forms of greatness, as with that benefcence
which is in itself a motive and an incentive
to greatness. The greatness OF many men can
be traced directly to the benefcent motive.
thav have
the commonplace. Neither the originating
nor the authoritative element would nave
been sufficient. Such was the origin OF the
greatness of Howard, Wilberforce and
Shaftesbury. Such the origin Of the great
ness of Samuel J. Mills and the early mis-
si0naries. Such the origin of the greatness
Of The majority of the antt-slaVery aS1LaUors
and reformers.
Is the spirit of beneficence still at work
with sufficient intensity and conStancy 10
produce greatness? l wish that 1t were posi-
bic to give a clear and unhesitating answer.
A great deal depends upon the power OF the
causes which appeal to US in the name OF
humanity to excite the imagination. The
imagination is quite as necessary an agent
in beneficent action as the emotions. The
realistic often fails to make an impression in
any proportion to the reality. 1t is the
wrong or the need, over which the imagina-
ton can brood, which cGmpels to sacrifice
and heroism. There can never come again to
our age such call as that which came to
Mills and his young comrades from unknown
heather lands. There Is no more mystery
about the lands or races of the earth. The
world lies open to our view, exposed In Its
want and evil. Can the imagination come
to the aid Of the heart, vivify the familiar
knowledge, idealize the hard, dull life Of worn
and weary peoples, and prophesy the new
creature restored to the image Of God? That
is form Of the question.
And another, hardly less vital, is this: Will
the conception of humanity, as not only
capable of development, but as actually in the
process, press the urgency of personal en-
GaPrifiPn2 There 61nOnr
we defy progress, the human form Of evolu-
tion forgetting that progress is nothing but
the steady, patient, persistent endeavor and
struggle OF all better souls working in har-
mony with the purpose of God. If the
scious and intelligent sacrifice Of the world
shall not match the unconscious and blind,
but effective suffering which is going on
throughout the ranks Of life below man, there
will be nc gain on the upper range. But
if the higher and diviner part in the great
process is not stunned or denied, if the So
cial obligation is accepted and cherished, II
the victim of the suffering, redeeming, con-
quering Christ is not lost or obscured, the
beneffcent motive may impel to heights Of
greatness which are yet unreached.
In the uncertainty about the actual force of
the benefcent or heroic impulse Of our time,
one thing SENS to be clear. Christianity is
acting under the combined impulse of religion
and patriotism. AS Phillips Brooks declared
in his Fourth of July sermon in Westminster
Abbey, the cry CT one nation to another is,
Show us your man.
No more honorable ambition can fill the
mind OF any man than to make his city the
city OF God, his country the republic of God.
We are coming to see that what we have
called the world is more than the aggregation
of individual lives. The world is that organic
life into which the individual is cast, and
which he can never escape. Saving men is
one way of saving the world and saving the
world is one way of saving men. Methods
may vary. The beneicent motive always has
its opportunity. and the opportunity well
taken. the result is greatness.
said that 10 NrhI va
nave Deen considering are present in each
type. But the quality which gives the i'm
pulse names the type. Thus we have without
conflict or rivalry, originative, authoritative
and beneflcent greatness
1t may not be superfuous for me to remind
you that the discussion Of the hour has turned
upon the idea Of greatness in distinction from
tnat OF genius. Genius John Foster says
lights its own fire. There is an independent
and incalculable element in it which forb:ds
classification. We cannot arrange genius in
types. 1t illustrates nothing except itself.
1t enters an age, but leaves no open door
behind it; Genius IS without companionship,
save IN the universal heart. and is above The
erect of enmlties. We are moved by it. en-
iightened, stimulated. but 1t can tell US lit
Tie or nothlng OF itself, and It cannot help us
TO interpret ourselves or our times.
Greatness is appreciate. 1t can be under
stood and utilized. There are gradations which
Lead up step by step from the common to
[ne great. We may not be able to take them
Great men were not always great They had
beginning, and a growth, and a consuanra-
ton of power. Genius is the same from the
BEGINNING to the end. We cannot trace its
source, nor define it's limits. The effect of
genius LASTS from age to age but we are
moved by contemporary greatness as we are
not moved by the greatness of other times.
dc not forget, as l say this, the mythical
element Wn1ch time contributes to great deeds
and great men. They are beyond the reach
OF criticism. But with this ADVANTAGE. thew
DO not greatly affect Us. Unconsciously, it
may De; put hardly with an exception we
allowance of
turn to those Of like passions with ourselves
In eliminating faults we eliminate life. Our
contemporaries may suffer from underestima-
blood. 49, ~ ''iA"