the American continent; and is fixing and shaping such institutions wherever civilization is found; that hindrances, delays, and reactions of political progress, are nevertheless unavoidable, but that they also have corresponding benefits; that it is our duty to labor to advance that progress, chiefly by faith, constancy, and perseverance—virtues which can only be acquired by self-renunciation, and by yielding to the motives of the fear of God and the love of mankind. Come forward then, ye Nations, States, and Races—rude, savage, oppressed and despised—enslaved, or mutually warring among yourselves, as ye are— upon whom the morning star of civilization hath either not yet dawned or hath only dimly broken amid clouds and storms, and receive the assurance that its shining shall yet be complete, and its light be poured down on all alike. Receive our pledges that we will wait and watch and strive for the fullness of that light, by the exercise of faith, with patience and perseverance. And ye reverend men, whose precious dust is beneath our unworthy feet, pilgriips and sojourners in this vale of tears no longer, but Kings and Princes now at the right hand of the throne of the God you served so faithfully when on the earth—gather yourselves, immortal and awful shades, around us, and witness, not the useless honors we pay to your.memories, but our resolves of fidelity to truth, duty, and freedom, which arise out of the contemplation of the beneficent operation of your own great principle of conduct, and the ever-widening influence of your holy teachings and Godlike example.
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