his old and worn-out body, his withered corpse, lay pierced with
blows; he appeared then purified, redeemed,--that which he had
been, despite his many stains--the man of humanity." (16) Never
did the great character of William of Orange, surnamed the Silent,
exercise greater power over his countrymen than after his
assassination at Delft by the emissary of the Jesuits. On the
very day of his murder the Estates of Holland resolved "to
maintain the good cause, with God's help, to the uttermost,
without sparing gold or blood;" and they kept their word.

The same illustration applies to all history and morals. The
career of a great man remains an enduring monument of human.
energy. The man dies and disappears; but his thoughts and acts
survive, and leave an indelible stamp upon his race. And thus the
spirit of his life is prolonged and perpetuated, moulding the
thought and will, and thereby contributing to form the character
of the future. It is the men that advance in the highest and best
directions, who are the true beacons of human progress. They are
as lights set upon a hill, illumining the moral atmosphere around
them; and the light of their spirit continues to shine upon all
succeeding generations.

It is natural to admire and revere really great men. They hallow
the nation to which they belong, and lift up not only all who live
in their time, but those who live after them. Their great example
becomes the common heritage of their race; and their great deeds
and great thoughts are the most glorious of legacies to mankind.
They connect the present with the past, and help on the increasing
purpose of the future; holding aloft the standard of principle,
maintaining the dignity of human character, and filling the mind