Human virtue ought to be equal to human calamity.' It will live
forever.

"General Lee died at the right time. His sun did not go down in the
strife of battle, in the midst of the thunder of cannon, dimmed by the
lurid smoke of war. He survived all this: lived with so much dignity;
silent, yet thoughtful; unseduced by the offers of gain or of
advancement however tempting; disdaining to enter into contests for
small objects, until the broad disk went down behind the Virginia
hills, shedding its departing lustre not only upon this country but
upon the whole world. His memory is as much respected in England as it
is here; and at the North as well as at the South true hearts honor
it.

"There is one thing I wish to say before I take my seat. General Lee's
fame ought to rest on the true base. He did not draw his sword to
perpetuate human slavery, whatever may have been his opinions in
regard to it; he did not seek to overthrow the Government of the
United States. He drew it in defence of constitutional liberty. That
cause is not dead, but will live forever. The result of the war
established the authority of the United States; the Union will
stand--let it stand forever. The flag floats over the whole country
from the Atlantic to the Pacific; let it increase in lustre, and let
the power of the Government grow; still the cause for which General
Lee struck is not a lost cause. It is conceded that these States must
continue united under a common government. We do not wish to sunder
it, nor to disturb it. But the great principle that underlies the
Government of the United States--the principle that the people have
a right to choose their own form of government, and to have their
liberties protected by the provisions of the Constitution--is an
indestructible principle. You cannot destroy it. Like Milton's angels,
it is immortal; you may wound, but you cannot kill it. It is like the
volcanic fires that flame in the depths of the earth; it will yet
upheave the ocean and the land, and flame up to heaven.

"Young Emmett said, 'Let no man write my epitaph until my country is
free, and takes her place among the nations of the earth.' But you may
write General Lee's epitaph now. The principle for which he fought
will survive him. His evening was in perfect harmony with his life. He
had time to think, to recall the past, to prepare for the future. An
offer, originating in Georgia, and I believe in this very city, was
made to him to pla