A Discourse Delivered in the First Church, Dorchester, on the Sunday Succeeding the Funeral of Robert Thaxter M.D (Classic Reprint)

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Excerpt from A Discourse Delivered in the First Church, Dorchester, on the Sunday Succeeding the Funeral of Robert Thaxter M.DThe words foretell and express my theme. I would speak to you of the beloved physician, not him long since of Rome, but him Whom our own eyes have seen, our own hearts have loved whom we are to see, alas, no\ more. He is in all our thoughts to-day: Why, then, should he not be spoken of, even here? Why should not the pulpit accept the theme thus presented in the minds and hearts that have gathered around it, and make it, if it may, a theme for religious instruction and improvement? Such, I feel, it may be made, and that We could not better employ the time before us than in a direct contemplation of the life and cha racter of him, who has just passed, beloved and lamented, from among us. Rarely, indeed - you will bear me Witness - do I allow myself to speakof character here in terms of eulogy. My reve rence for the place and the occasion, my sense of duty and of propriety, forbid it to be otherwise. Imperfect as all are - too sadly so - it were better to look away from men, in our meditations here, to that perfect goodness, which has dwelt but in one on earth, away from the erring, though sincere, disciple, to the immaculate and glorious Master. Still, it may be well for us to contemplate, occasion ally, the goodness that is nearer the level of our own, yet far above it, and which may be to us a more effective rebuke and incentive for the very imperfections that declare it human - human, and therefore attainable: and more especially when that goodness has had its walk among us, has gone out and come in before us, a long honored and familiar presence. Indeed, it seems but grateful to Him who gave and inspired it, to do this. T hen to do it, when Death, in transferring it from the realm of perception to that of memory, has etherealized our conceptions of it, has separated the extraneous from the intrinsic, the interlaying dress of the ¿eshly nature from the pure gold of immortal cha racter. Beautiful office which Death perfonns for human character! Enshrining it where it is thenceforward seen without the infirmities which here attended it, and which so greatly, through our self-love, or otherwise, obscured it to our view.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.