The record-union., 1899-10-22

@NO lIldIl was ItlOIC SCIlcAlINC " Pb0
lie opinion than Lincoln, and no man
had more courage to stand against 1t
when he thought public opinion in err
ror. IT was his genius that enabled him
to surround himself with the ableSt
men in the land and, by and through
them, to raise and equip the greatest
armies and navies the world has known,
which stamped him as a wonderful man
Of action and made plain that he like
wise possessed, in a most eminent de-
gree. the three qualities which Emer-
son tells us are most admired by the
world-unselfishness. courage and the
power of action.
1t has often been said that the Amer
leans are a nation of hero worshipers;
that We are people who set up hui
man idols and worship them; that, in
our eyes, our heroes lose all their
faults and failings, all their vices and
weaknesses; that we place them on a
pedestal SO high as to make of them
supernatural rather than natural be-
ings.
1t may be true that the American
character is prone to exaggeration; that
it enlarges on mans virtues and mag
we have forgotten that Washington
and Jefferson, Lincoln and Grant were
human and, being human, had their
fullest share of human frailties and hu-
man weaknesses. But what of it? Is
it not infinitely better that we shall
have forgotten their failings than to
have forgotten their virtues? Is it not
better that we shall dwell on their ex-
cellences rather than on their short
comings?
If we are extremists. let us be CRATE
full that it is in the direction of over
valuing rather than of under Valuing
the goodness of our great men.
But, are we really hero worshipers?
Do we really set up human idols and
worship them? The careful student
of the American character would soon
find grave doubts arising in his mind
as to the justice of this charge. He
would find that after all, it is not the
man we worship but his qualities of
heart and mind. 1t is not the body of
Washington or the flesh and blood of
a Lincoln that commands our admira-
tion. We do not bend the knee to the
magnificent physique of the first Presi-
dent of the republic, but what we ad-
mire and worship in him is the unset
hshness, the courage and the magnifi-
cent manhood of Washington; his re-
markable achievements his lions heart
as soldier, his fortitude and his wis
dom as a statesman, his virtue as a
man. The student of American char
acter would find that we do not wor-
ship. the gigantic physical structure of
ha iln Il, r~I~
but what we do bow to and love and
revere are his noble qualities, his broad
and generous sympathies, his kindly
and loving character. his heart of oak
in time of trouble and his magnanimous
spirit in time of victory. 1t is not the
men we worship, but their splendid
characters. 1t is not what they accom-
plished for themselves that makes their
memories dear to us, but what they
achieved for others. 1t is not that
Washington commanded an army or
was the President of the United States
that makes him an object of hero wor-
ship, but that he played so heroic a
part in securing civil liberty for untold
millions yet to come.
1t is not the fact that Lincoln was
great orator, a great lawyer, or that
he occupied the White House. that has
enshrined his name within millions of
hearts; others have been greater ora
tors and greater lawyers and have like
wise occupied the White House: but
their names will barely be remember
ed when Lincoln's will stand out in bold
relief. 1t was Lincoln's achievements
for others which will make his name
endure; it was his power to hold the
Union together and thus to preserve
civil liberty; his courage to set mill
ions of bondmen free and to forever
wipe out the disgraceful blot of slav-
cry from American soil which have i'm
mortalized him
If we cannot all be heroes, we can
all be hero worshipers. If we do not
all possess the qualities of unselfsh-
ness, of courage and the power of ac-
ton, we can at least admire and honol
them. If we do not possess the three
qualities that go to make the hero. we
can at least strive to cultivate some of
them.
We need not altogether rely Opon the
great names of history for examples Of
heroism; if we will but look about US.
We shall be surprised how many OBJ
scure4 men and women, living in the
humblest sphere. are heroes and hero
ines. All heroes and heroines do not
attain fame and do not want fame.
I have met numbers of men and wo-
men who have never been known be-
yond the narrow limits of their narrow
neighbOrhood and who have provert
themselves possessed of the most herclc
qualities. l have met men and women
who have toiled and slaved: who have
worked early and late; who have
pinched and starved; who have given
their lives, their energies and their very
beings TO the welfare Of others, and who
have never looked for reward beyond
the consciousness of having served
their fellows. l have known poor, hum
bic, obscure men and women who have
had the courage to do the right as they
saw the right. when it meant hunger
and cold and suffering; when it meant
being misunderstood and scorned. ridi-
culed and laughed at; when to do the
wrong meant, for a time at least, COM
fort and profit and convenience
Look around you and see the mothers
who are tOiling and working for their
fatherless children, pinching and sacri-
ficing themselves, giving their days
and their nights. their thoughts and
their energies, their very existence TO
their children, so that they may not be
thrown upon the charity of the world.
but may grow up self-reliant, self-re-
specting. self-helDful men and women
Who will tell me that women such as
these, exercising as they do unselfsh-
ness and courage and the power of ac-
tiO0 are NOT baroi,ac