loved to describe him, to others among the millions of preachers who have followed him in his work, is hardly less than to him a reproach or to them a

sarcasm.

Of course it was not given to men in that time, any more than in ours, to be equally great in all the powers which belong to humanity, or in all the offices which these may fulfil. It is as a resplendent preacher that John of Antioch has held so long his superb preeminence. In other relations he was doubtless surpassed by two, at least, of his Western contemporaries. Ambrose of Milan, born and dying a few years before him-who had also, like him, been trained to the law and exercised in it, and who, almost against his consent, was suddenly placed by the unanimous and imperative voice of rulers and people in his high Archbishopric-was not of more zeal and self-forgetfulness in his work for the Master, or of more unflinching and vehement purpose to further and exalt the authority of righteousness; but he had a greater capacity, no doubt, for organization, and the maintenance of discipline; and he fronted the threats of imperial displeasure, when imperial power had reached its climax, with a more commanding magisterial will. Augustine, born and dying a little later than Chrysostom, was a profounder theologian, and left unquestionably a deeper impression on the subsequent conviction and thought of Christendom. He is to-day more widely known among the thinkers and the peoples who rule the world, and his power upon them is more vividly recognized.

But the genius of Chrysostom had its peculiar and fascinating splendor. There was not only a corusca

ting sparkle upon it. It had a variety and exuberance in it, surpassing that of either of the others. It was more subtle, stimulating, various, eager, outflowing more naturally into graceful, fervent and picturesque speech. He touches hearts more tenderly still, where his life is recalled, or his sermons are read. Men feel to-day, as far as they know him, an enthusiasm for him, hardly equaled, certainly not surpassed, by the reverent respect which they pay to the others. The threads of gold interwoven by him with the Christian history of the first four centuries, add more of luster, I am not sure that they add less of strength, to that entangled and complex fabric, than do the tougher iron fibers inserted by the others. And it may be doubted whether to the ultimate culture of Christendom his contribution will not prove as large.

At any rate, both they and he illustrate in common, though with differences belonging to their respective personalities, the intensity of faith in that earlier time, and the immortal supremacy of spiritual forces over everything physical. Antioch now, as I said at the outset, is a town of ruins; its superb architecture despoiled and destroyed; with frequent mosques rising in it, but no evident Christian temple; its commerce dead, its scanty population cowering in mean houses, rudely built from ancient remains of palace and fortress. Emperor, Empress, and the empire which they governed, have equally gone from the shores of the Bosphorus, and the Moslem power, fierce and sullen, rules where Constantine founded New Rome. The great eastern metropolis of Chrysostom's day has almost disappeared, and a new city has, during the centuries, risen in its place. But the eager,

faithful, inspiring spirit of him who spoke so long ago, at Antioch and Byzantium, still addresses the world. His fame is as firm as the mountains around Antioch, and as fresh as the spring-grass climbing their slopes. His influence is to-day as unwasting as the mingled waters on which looks the city, which he hallowed at last by eloquence and by suffering. His name is among the great lights of History; one of the stars which shall not set, or lose their radiance, in that serene, illuminated arch which bends forever over the kingdom of God on earth!

XII

COMMERCE AN EDUCATOR OF

NATIONS

A Speech made at the One Hundred and Twelfth Anniversary Banquet of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, in New York City, May 11, 1880, in response to the Toast: Commerce, an educator of nations and a constant minister of civilization; whatever contributes to extend its activity furthers the permanent interests of mankind.