The Washington herald., 1907-04-07
ALAY SERMON.
The sYil that men do lives after them the
coed is oft inferred with their bones SHAKES
pEARE.

good Il OH inferred Win their bones. -oiiahAo-
PEARE.
Is this statement strictly true?
It seems TO me that the tendency and
practice now is not TO hold out and call
attention to the evil deeds done by the
dead, but rather to follow the maxim,
de mortuis nil nisl bonum'' fspeak
nothing OF the dead unless Il be good.
While this is the more charitable and to
be preferred method, it seems to have its
abuses. In many cases we 80 too far,
not only speaking good, but ignoring the
idea of any evil whatever.
This leads me TO speak OF the modern
habit Of delivering eulogies on so many
occasions that they become meaningless.
The modern resolutions OF respect seem
to be all alike. These meaningless and
stereotyped panegyries are used on the
death Of any person, no matter how OBJ
scure. who happened at the time Of his
death to be connected with some society
or association, or a member OF some trade
or profession. II is not enough that
friendly and benevolent societies, military
companies, baseball clubs, and other or
CARNATIONS must pass resolutions which
would mean a great deal If they meant
anything az all, but a man cannot be a
doctor. lawyer. bank director, Mason or
Odd Fellow but after his death he Is made
the subject Of a set OF resolutions almost
invariably beginning with. Whereas Il
has pleased Almighty God" and ending
with a resolve Of resignation TO bow to
His ipscrutible will. and directing
that the resolutions be published ana
transmitted TO his afflicted family The
intermediate space between the where
as" and the last resolve Is occupied In
setting forth what a remarkably excep.
tional person was "our departed friend
and what general grief there is at his
loss. Now, seriously. Is not all this very
absurd? Why cannot some enterprising
man get up a formula entirely void Of the
hackneyed phrases. so that the resolu-
tons OF so-calied respect on the death Of
the Hon. Uriah Shocks, a member Of the
Nip and Tuck Society, should not be so
exact copy (name and date only ex-
cepteO Of the profound expression Of
feeling By the Society for the Prevention
Of Humbugs on the melancholy occasion
OF the death of Col Theophilus Thimble-
rigger2 1t. certainly ought not to be in
ferred that membership IN a boat club,
trades union, or Masonic society. or
any other organization, carries with 1t
social and preferred conditions Of friend
ship and admiration
Il may be safely admitted that a ma
jority Of lawyers. doctors, merchants.
Masons, &c. are honest men. hut it can
not be doubted that there are some black
sheep among them. and as there is only
one form OF resolution alike FOR good and
bad, is not the force Of them lost when
We contemplate the Identical sentiments
remodeled and made to do service IN cases
where their only effect Is 20 call atten-
ton 10 the notorious contrast between the
original and the Portrait 1t certainly
presents a serious objection 70 this worse
than meaningless custom that compH-
mentary resolutions are expected on the
death Of every member OF particular
society, without any regard 90 his merit
and they therefore become useless 70
those who really deserve them.
This custom is not in accord with the
cid maxim DE mortuis nil nisi bonum. 0"
for 1t goes to the extent not Of RETAINING
from speaking at all of the dead unless
We speak good, but 10 speaks good of
every man who dies "a member of the
particular association or society. with
out regard 10 race. morals. or previous
condition OF rascalfty.
In 1ne. Il IS fair 10 conclude that it is
very certain that every lawyer. doctor
actCr merchant, editor bank director.
and, in fact all must eventually die
and as we can neither say that an OF
them came up 20 the conditions demand
ed by the rhetoric Of the ordinary reso-
buttons, nor draw the line between those
who deserve the tributes Of praise and
those who do not. the suTest course would
seem 10 refrain from ford piatitudes.
which are alike superfiuous. meaningless.
and impertiuent. and instead Of seeking
occasions for exhibiting our grief TO the
world, resolve 70 wait Until a public and
un4uestioned demand 81 propriety re-
quires IT,