Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

SAMUEL STANHOPE SMITH.

1800.

HISTORIANS shall immortalize their page with the name of Washington; and future orators shall quote it with the names of Epaminondas, of Aristides and of Cato, to illuminate their discourse, and to enforce, by great examples, the virtues of a disinterested and heroic patriotism. But his most lasting, and most noble monument shall be the affections of his countrymen, who will transmit their admiration of him as our increasing inheritance to their latest posterity. * * * *

In whom have ever shone with more splendor the talents of war, in creating an army; in successfully maintaining himself in the face of a superior enemy; in inspiring with courage raw troops; in attaching soldiers to order and their country in the midst of extreme hardships, and the injustice of their country itself; in seizing victories by an enterprising bravery, when enterprise was safe for the republic, or in conducting retreats that gained him no less glory than victories; in vanquishing his enemies by a firm undaunted courage, or consuming and wasting them away by a wise and noble patience? Where can we find a conqueror so humble, so disinterested, so devoted solely to his country-so serene, so sublime in adversity-so modest in the midst of triumphs—in dangers so intrepid and calm-and possessing such control over events by his prudence and perseverance. * * * *

In private life he was as aimable, as virtuous, and as great, as he

appeared sublime on the public theatre of the world. How many conquerors, renowned in history, have been great only while they acted a conspicuous part under the observation of mankind! The soul, in such a situation, perceives an artificial elevation-it assumes the sentiments of virtue corresponding to the grandeur of the objects that surround it. In private, it subsides into itself; and, in the ordinary details of life and conduct, the men, who seemed to be raised above others by the splendor of some rare occasion, now sink below them,— they are degraded by their passions,-those who were able to command armies, have lost the power of self-command-and when they are not heroes, they are nothing. Washington was always equal to himself. There was a dignity in the manner in which he performed the smallest things. A majesty surrounded him that seemed to humble those who approached him, at the same time that there was a benignity in his manners that invited their confidence and esteem. His virtues,

always elevated and splendid, shone only with a milder light by being placed in the vale of retirement. He was sincere, modest, upright, humane; a friend of religion; the idol of his neighbors as well as of his country; magnificent in his hospitality, but plain in his manners, and simple in his equipage. And the motive of these virtues we are not to seek in a vain affectation of popularity which has often enabled the cunning and the artful to make great sacrifices to public opinion, but in the native impulse and goodness of his heart. His emotions, naturally strong and ardent, as they are, perhaps, in all great men, he had completely subjected to the control of reason, and placed under the guard of such vigilant prudence, that he never suffered himself to be surprised by them. Philosophy and religion in his breast had

obtained a noble triumph: and his first title to command over others, was his perfect command of himself. Such a sublime idea had he formed of man, that in him you never detected any of the littlenesses of the passions. His consummate prudence, which was one of his most characteristic qualities, and which never forsook him for a moment, contributed to fix the affections and the confidence of his fellow citizens, which he had acquired by his talents. Eminently distinguished for his conjugal and domestic virtues, the perfect purity of his private morals added not a little to that dignity of character in which he was superior to all men. There is a majesty in virtue, which commands the respect, even of those who do not love it, and which gives to great talents their highest lustre. * * * *

His whole character was consistent. Equally industrious with his plough as with his sword, he esteemed idleness and inutility the greatest disgrace of man, whose powers attain perfection only by constant and vigorous action, and who is placed by providence in so many social relations, only to do good. Every thing round him was marked with a dignified simplicity. While so many affect fastidiously to display their wealth in sumptuous edifices, and splendid equipages, and incur infinitely more expense to be envied and hated, than would be sufficient to make themselves adored, his mansion was as modest as his heart. Strangers from all nations, who visited it, went, not to admire a magnificent pile, but to gratify a noble curiosity in seeing the first man in the world. Palaces, and columns, and porticos, would have shrunk beside him, and scarcely have been seen. Like the imperial palace of Marcus Aurelius, at Rome, the plain and modest walls resembled some august temple, which has no ornament but the deity

that inhabits it. You approached it with reverence as the retreat of a hero, the venerable abode of all the virtues. He had no need to seek a false glory by an exterior display of magnificence, who possessed such intrinsic worth and grandeur of soul. Every where he goes without any attendants but his virtues-he travels without pomp; but every one surrounds him, in imagination, with his victories, his triumphs, his glorious toils, his public services. How sublime is this simplicity! How superior to all the fastuous magnificence of luxury! Thus he lived, discharging, without ostentation, all the civil, social, and domestic, offices of life-temperate in his desires-faithful to his duties retiring from fame, which every where pursued him-living like a beneficent deity in the bosom of his family, its delight, and its glory. ****

Under his administration, the United States enjoyed prosperity and happiness at home, and, by the energy of the government, regained in the old world, that importance and reputation which, by its weakness, they had lost. Arduous was his task-innumerable were the difficulties he had to encounter, from the passions, the conflicting interests, the ambition, and the disappointment of men. His own virtue, and the confidence of the nation, supported him. And amidst all the clamors which the violence of faction, or individual chagrin, have raised against the general administration, none have ever dared to impeach the purity of his patriotism, or his incorruptible integrity. * * * *

Behold then this illustrious man, no less sublime as a statesman, than as a warrior? His character is a constellation of all the greatest qualities that dignify or adorn human nature. The virtues and the talents which, in other instances, are divided among many, are combined in him.

SAMUEL STANHOPE SMITH, D.D., was born at Pequea, Pa., March 16, 1750, and died at Princeton, N. J., August 21, 1819. He graduated at the College of New Jersey in 1769, and after studying theology was ordained in 1774. In 1779 he became professor of moral philosophy at Princeton, accepted in 1783 the additional office of professor of theology, and in 1786 that of Vice-President of the college. In 1795 he succeeded his father-in-law Dr. John Witherspoon as President, resigning in 1812. Our quotation is from "An oration upon the death of General George Washington, delivered in the State House at Trenton, on the 14th of January, 1800; by the Rev. Samuel Stanhope Smith, D.D., President of the College of New Jersey; and published at the desire of the committee of the citizens, etc., of Trenton, at whose request it was pronounced." 8vo, pp. 45. Trenton: 1800. Reprinted 1817. Also reprinted in Washingtoniana, Lancaster, 1802, and in Washingtoniana, Roxbury, Mass., 1865.

« ZurückWeiter »