The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-11-15
spAReo AT COOPER UNION
Delivers Address at dwelling
Spraeue Memorial Tablet.

was the principal speaker Sunday at
the unwilling OF a memorial tablet
to the memory of the late Prof..
Charles Sprague Smith in Cooper
Union. New York. The tablet was
designed by Charles h. Lamb ana
was accepted by Henry De Forest
Baldwin in behalf of the trustees OF
the peoples institute. Mr.. Spargos
address was as follows:
Great men do not need monuments
of hammered brass or sculptoreu
marble to perpetuate their memories
They build their own best and most
enduring monuments OF Vlrtuous
deeds and generous thoughts. And
he whose memory We honor here by
this tablet, our beloved leader and
faithful comrade, needs no monument
other than that which Love, the
greatest artist and builder OF all, has
built in our hearts.
Still, it is a good thing to enlist
the service of art to express our
esteem and honor OF those lives from
which we gather inspiration Tor our
own 1t is fitting that here in this
hall. which is a temple OF civic as
| piration and idealism, near this plat
form, which is a consecrated altar
dedicated to the service OF mankind,
we. believers in human brotherhood,
should raise this memorial tablet TO
the memory of Charles Sprague
Smith.
But it is not as an honor to him
whose eloquent voice we can no long
err hear, and whose comradely hand
clasp we so sorely miss, that the
erection OF this tablet is most sig
| nifcant. Or comradue who is gone
from us to find that rest which our
| trbulent life denied him was always
so modest concerning his own
achievements, shrinking from praise
and hiding the deed of love beneath
the cloak of humility, that our love
which shrank from Offering him
praise while he walked among us
would restrain us from praising him
now. lest by chance our praise should
penetrate the silence of his sleep and
give him pain.
II is not as an act of honor to the
great and tSuitful life of our brother
and the brother of Jesus and Mazzini
and Lincoln, that this service of ours
in raising this craven testimony OF
his worth has any value. Whatever
value il has concerns not his life OF
his fame, but our own lives and oul
relations to our fellow men. By II
we testify not that our brothers life
was noble and helpful to his fellow
men, but that We. through its inspir
alton, have determined that our lives
shall be beautiful and consecrated &c
the service OF our fellow men, as his
life was.
Thus our service is one of comics
sion and conservation. What we un
veil here is only the outward and Wis
ible symbol of our determination e
. carry on with pure and courageous
hearts the work which called forti
, the sacrifice OF our beloved comrade'i
life and made 1t glorious and immor
tai Our service and the table
/ which we unveil are vain and mean
) ingless unless they mean this. Ever
, though we erected monument mOr'
lasting than the pyramids, and mor'
beautiful than those carved by thu
inspired chisel of Praxiteles, that o
itself would be a vain thing. II on
tribute TO the life which was spen
: in gladdening the hearts of men b.
fellowship and service is sincere. vi
. talized by living faith, and not
piece of dead Journalism, we shall fee
p II to be a pledge to ourselves and I,
!. each other
/. And this is our pledge AS h
4 scorned to live for himself, so will
\ we scorn to live selfish lives; as h
2 found his greatest joy in the servic
A OF others, so will We rejoice in shaI
q ing the burdens which crush tn
|. weak, lifting the fallen, lighting tn
2 dark Tecesses OF human despair. b
the light OF love and kindling hop
Q and faith In the hearts of men. An
, above all, as he bore aloft the tore
r. Of truth, and pressed on with dauni
/. less courage, turning not aside TO
the hosts OF error, so We, inspired b
o his example. will take the torch froT
h where he bore It, and carry IL onwar
and upward. until In our turn W
hand II on to those who will follo'
: us.
Likewise, what We shall say OF on
A. brother who sleeps while his wor
goes on. because the deeds h
wrought with his hand and hear
II have rooted and are blossomng /
other lives. we shall say for inspir,
y ton and not for praise. When "
7, who loved him say that he was grea
and that he wore the white Aowe
= OF stainless life and the red badg
y OF courage with the faith and glor
v OF great leader. we do not say
with .he hope that our praise ca
y soothe the wounds OF sorrow whic
y the hearts of those nearest him mus
!, bear Rather. we set for our ow
81 lives standard, and build for on
N own souls an altar
81 Charles Sprague Smith was or,
Di phet And like all great prophets. h
y found life and Joy through saorlac
H. Nature layished her gifts upon hin
q He was lowered with strong kee
" mind, with indomnltable couraf
and with a passionate love for beaut
whlch knew no bounds. and fortu
ately these gifts were planted In n
SOIL OF favorable environment; a
20 that education and culture could q
VI fer were added to his heritage.
% Even as a little child wanders 10
. lngly and wonderingly among Il
=" flowers OF the garden, whispering
the blossoms and revealing in the
: beauty. so Charles Sprague Smi
4. wandered amid the flowers OF a
Al and literature, glorying in the bea
" OF the great masterpieces of
W lands aud all ages. Those of us wi
~ knew how keenly sensitive he w