Every now and then a man dies and the world praises his name, and men die
every day whose names we never hear.
Why is the one lifted up above the other?
In the case we have in mind it was because the man, when he died, left
several millions of dollars to churches, to charities, and to public
benefactions.
This age honors the accumulation of wealth. It puts its stamp of honor
upon the man who gathers a large fortune into his hands. If this man at
his death bequeathes all of his fortune, or a large portion of it, for
what the world is pleased to call charitable purposes, he is called a good
man, and his name is spoken with pride and praise.
Now, we believe in all the virtues that would make a man wealthy, but not
in the vices: and we believe that a man may have all of these virtues and
not have much money when he becomes old, or when he reaches the banks of
the river of death. We want to praise the man that the world does not
praise, the man who does not live or die for praise, and who does not care
for it. We do not think that death’s philanthropy is as grand and
beautiful as life’s philanthropy.
The man who lives to get money and to keep money, that at the last, when
he can no longer keep it, he may bestow it where it will be a monument to
his name, is not half so noble as the man who lives in such a way that he
makes life easier for his fellow-beings, giving his little every week,
here and there, and letting his gift fall quietly and out of sight of men.
It is the truest philanthropy not to rob man, not to take money from the
world and hold it until the stronger hand of death opens the strong hand
of greed. This is man’s noblest way to live; to take only what can be used
for profit or pleasure. To take more than this is to rob mankind.
What generosity is there in parting with money only when death makes the
fingers let go? Men who carry their millions to the grave would carry them
beyond it, if they could. When only death can conquer selfishness, its
noblest bequest merits but little praise.
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There is no vicarious suffering for the one who has eaten too much.
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The nation that proclaims the right of free speech, but will not protect
that right, has abandoned its principles.