their last rewards, but their
works have survived. The Phoenician galleys and the civilization which
was born of their commerce have perished, but the alphabet which that
people perfected remains. The shepherd kings of Israel, the temple and
empire of Solomon, have gone the way of all the earth, but the Old
Testament has been preserved for the inspiration of mankind. The ark of
the covenant and the seven-pronged candlestick have passed from human
view; the inhabitants of Judea have been dispersed to the ends of the
earth, but the New Testament has survived and increased in its influence
among men. The glory of Athens and Sparta, the grandeur of the Imperial
City, are a long-lost memory, but the poetry of Homer and Virgil, the
oratory of Demosthenes and Cicero, the philosophy of Plato and
Aristotle, abide with us forevermore. Whatever America holds that may be
of value to posterity will not pass away.

The long and toilsome processes which have marked the progress of the
past cannot be shunned by the present generation to our advantage. We
have no right to expect as our portion something substantially different
from human experience in the past. The constitution of the universe
does not change. Human nature remains constant. That service and
sacrifice which have been the price of past progress are the price of
progress now.

This is not a gospel of despair, but of hope and high expectation. Out
of many tribulations mankind has pressed steadily onward. The
opportunity for a rational existence was never before so great.
Blessings were never so bountiful. But the evidence was never so
overwhelming as now that men and nations must live rationally or perish.

The defenses of our Commonwealth are not material but mental and
spiritual. Her fortifications, her castles, are her institutions of
learning. Those who are admitted to the college campus tread the
ramparts of the State. The classic halls are the armories from which are
furnished forth the knights in armor to defend and support our liberty.
For such high purpose has Holy Cross been called into being. A firm
foundation of the Commonwealth. A defender of righteousness. A teacher
of holy men. Let her turrets continue to rise, showing forth "the way,
the truth and the light"--

"In thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars,
And with their mild persistence urge man's arch
To vaster issues."

XXXIX

REPUBLICAN STATE CONVENTION, TREMONT TEMPLE