LESSON 38

LAFAYETTE AND ROBERT RAIKES

拉法耶特和罗伯特·莱克斯

Thomas S. Grimke, 1786-1834, an eminent lawyer and scholar, was born in Charleston, South Carolina, graduated at Yale in 1807, and died of cholera near Columbus, Ohio. He descended from a Huguenot family that was exiled from France by the revocation of the edict of Nantes. He gained considerable reputation as a politician, but is best known as an advocate of peace, Sunday Schools, and the Bible. He was a man of deep feeling, earnest purpose, and pure life. Some of his views were very radical and very peculiar. He proposed sweeping reforms in English orthography, and disapproved of the classics and of pure mathematics in any scheme of general education. The following is an extract from an address delivered at a Sunday-school celebration.

It is but a few years since we beheld the most singular and memorable pageant in the annals of time. It was a pageant more sublime and affecting than the progress of Elizabeth through England after the defeat of the Armada; than the return of Francis I. from a Spanish prison to his own beautiful France; than the daring and rapid march of the conqueror at Austerlitz from Frejus to Paris. It was a pageant, indeed, rivaled only in the elements of the grand and the pathetic, by the journey of our own Washington through the different states. Need I say that I allude to the visit of Lafayette to America?

But Lafayette returned to the land of the dead, rather than of the living. How many who had fought with him in the war of ’76, had died in arms, and lay buried in the grave of the soldier or the sailor! How many who had survived the perils of battle, on the land and the ocean, had expired on the deathbed of peace, in the arms of mother, sister, daughter, wife! Those who survived to celebrate with him the jubilee of 1825, were stricken in years, and hoary-headed; many of them infirm in health; many the victims of poverty, or misfortune, or affliction. And, how venerable that patriotic company; how sublime their gathering through all the land; how joyful their welcome, how affecting their farewell to that beloved stranger!

But the pageant has fled, and the very materials that gave it such depths of interest are rapidly perishing: and a humble, perhaps a nameless grave, shall hold the last soldier of the Revolution. And shall they ever meet again? Shall the patriots and soldiers of ’76, the “Immortal Band,” as history styles them, meet again in the amaranthine bowers of spotless purity, of perfect bliss, of eternal glory? Shall theirs be the Christian’s heaven, the kingdom of the Redeemer? The heathen points to his fabulous Elysium as the paradise of the soldier and the sage. But the Christian bows down with tears and sighs, for he knows that not many of the patriots, and statesmen, and warriors of Christian lands are the disciples of Jesus.

But we turn from Lafayette, the favorite of the old and the new world, to the peaceful benevolence, the unambitious achievements of Robert Raikes. Let us imagine him to have been still alive, and to have visited our land, to celebrate this day with us. No national ships would have been offered to bear him, a nation’s guest, in the pride of the star-spangled banner, from the bright shores of the rising, to the brighter shores of the setting sun. No cannon would have hailed him in the stern language of the battlefield, the fortunate champion of Freedom, in Europe and America. No martial music would have welcomed him in notes of rapture, as they rolled along the Atlantic, and echoed through the valley of the Mississippi. No military procession would have heralded his way through crowded streets, thickset with the banner and the plume, the glittering saber and the polished bayonet. No cities would have called forth beauty and fashion, wealth and rank, to honor him in the ballroom and theater. No states would have escorted him from boundary to boundary, nor have sent their chief magistrate to do him homage. No national liberality would have allotted to him a nobleman’s domain and princely treasure. No national gratitude would have hailed him in the capitol itself, the nation’s guest, because the nation’s benefactor; and have consecrated a battle ship, in memory of his wounds and his gallantry.

Not such would have been the reception of Robert Raikes, in the land of the Pilgrims and of Penn, of the Catholic, the Cavalier, and the Huguenot. And who does not rejoice that it would be impossible thus to welcome this primitive Christian, the founder of Sunday schools? His heralds would be the preachers of the Gospel, and the eminent in piety, benevolence, and zeal. His procession would number in its ranks the messengers of the Cross and the disciples of the Savior, Sunday-school teachers and white-robed scholars. The temples of the Most High would be the scenes of his triumph. Homage and gratitude to him, would be anthems of praise and thanksgiving to God.

Parents would honor him as more than a brother; children would reverence him as more than a father. The faltering words of age, the firm and sober voice of manhood, the silvery notes of youth, would bless him as a Christian patron. The wise and the good would acknowledge him everywhere as a national benefactor, as a patriot even to a land of strangers. He would have come a messenger of peace to a land of peace. No images of camps, and sieges, and battles; no agonies of the dying and the wounded; no shouts of victory, or processions of triumph, would mingle with the recollections of the multitude who welcomed him. They would mourn over no common dangers, trials, and calamities; for the road of duty has been to them the path of pleasantness, the way of peace. Their memory of the past would be rich in gratitude to God, and love to man; their enjoyment of the present would be a prelude to heavenly bliss; their prospects of the future, bright and glorious as faith and hope.

Such was the reception of Lafayette, the warrior; such would be that of Robert Raikes, the Howard of the Christian church. And which is the nobler benefactor, patriot, and philanthropist? Mankind may admire and extol Lafayette more than the founder of the Sunday schools; but religion, philanthropy, and enlightened common sense must ever esteem Robert Raikes the superior of Lafayette. His are the virtues, the services, the sacrifices of a more enduring and exalted order of being. His counsels and triumphs belong less to time than to eternity.

The fame of Lafayette is of this world; the glory of Robert Raikes is of the Redeemer’s everlasting kingdom. Lafayette lived chiefly for his own age, and chiefly for his and our country; but Robert Raikes has lived for all ages and all countries. Perhaps the historian and biographer may never interweave his name in the tapestry of national or individual renown. But the records of every single church honor him as a patron; the records of the universal Church, on earth as in heaven, bless him as a benefactor.

The time may come when the name of Lafayette will be forgotten; or when the star of his fame, no longer glittering in the zenith, shall be seen, pale and glimmering, on the verge of the horizon. But the name of Robert Raikes shall never be forgotten; and the lambent flame of his glory is that eternal fire which rushed down from heaven to devour the sacrifice of Elijah. Let mortals then admire and imitate Lafayette more than Robert Raikes. But the just made perfect, and the ministering spirits around the throne of God, have welcomed him as a fellow-servant of the same Lord; as a fellow-laborer in the same glorious cause of man’s redemption; as a coheir of the same precious promises and eternal rewards.

【中文阅读】

自从我们在时间的记录上看到最非凡和值得纪念的盛装游行场面以来，仅仅过去几个年头。这次盛装游行要比击败西班牙无敌舰队后横贯英格兰全境的拥护伊丽莎白女王的大游行，要比弗朗西斯一世从西班牙的监狱回到他的家园——美丽的法兰西，要比奥斯特里茨战役后拿破仑率军迅速从弗雷瑞斯回到巴黎更令人赞叹和激动人心。的确，这是一次仅有我们自己的华盛顿率军经过许多州，宏伟和凄惨交织在一起的大行军堪与之相比的盛装游行。我有必要说出我指的是拉法耶特造访美国吗？

与其说拉法耶特回到的是坟场，不如说是一片重新焕发盎然生机的土地。有多少与他在1776年那场战争中并肩作战的将士死于战火中，就埋在士兵或者水手的墓地里！有多少从战场上侥幸得以生还的人，不论在陆地还是在大海上，和平到来之际却成了临终之时，倒在了妈妈、姐妹、女儿和妻子的怀里！那些幸存下来与他一起庆祝1825年的周年纪念的人，都经历了岁月的折磨，一头青丝也早已斑白。其中许多人的健康受到损害，又有许多人死于贫病交加和不幸。那些拳拳爱国的人多么值得敬仰；他们在所有土地上赢得了无尚崇敬；他们的到来受到热烈欢迎，对那个他们深爱的陌生人来说，与他们告别的场景令其何等动容啊！

但是，壮观的场面已经远去，赋予这种场面浓厚兴趣的特别因素也急速消失了。一座不起眼，也许连名字都没有留下的坟墓，里面躺着的是为大革命而牺牲的最后一位士兵。他们会再相逢吗？爱国者和在1776年那场战争中浴血的士兵，作为历史为他们打上烙印的“不朽的一群人”，会在没有丝毫瑕疵的纯粹、极乐和永恒的荣耀的地方，在紫红的庇荫处再度相逢吗？他们会进入基督天国，救世主的王国里吗？那位异教徒表明他那寓言般的极乐世界为士兵和圣人的天国。但是基督徒弯腰屈服，泪流满面，哀叹不止，因为他清楚没有多少爱国者、政治家和基督教勇士是耶稣的门徒。

不过，我们还是要从拉法耶特这位旧世界和新世界的幸运儿，转向仁慈和没有野心的罗伯特•莱克斯。我们不妨设想他还活着，造访我们现在生活的这片土地，与我们共庆今天胜利的情形。没有哪个国家的船只会向他招手愿意载他，从太阳升起的地方明亮的海滨，到太阳下山的地方明亮的海滨，他都作为国宾和星条旗的骄傲。不论在欧洲还是美国，没有哪门大炮会以战场上的严肃语言向他这位自由的幸运捍卫者欢呼致敬。在他们向大西洋推进，号角声回荡在密西西比山谷之时，没有哪首军乐会以暗示俘虏的方式迎接他。没有哪支军旗招展、队伍会在穿过挤满人的街道时为他让道，他们手上军刀耀眼，刺刀瘆人。没有哪座以美和风尚著称的城市，会在舞厅和剧场授予他荣誉。没有哪个州会护送他从一处分界线到另一处分界线，他们的地方长官更不会向他表示敬意。没有哪个国家会慷慨到拨给他领地和王侯般的财富。没有哪个国家出于感激会在国会大厦欢迎他这位国宾，因为这个国家的恩人已经把自己奉献给战舰，以纪念他的伤和勇敢。

在朝圣者和宾西法比亚，在天主教徒、骑士和胡格诺教徒的土地上，是不会这样招待罗伯特•莱克斯的。谁会对这样就无法迎接这位早期基督徒——主日学校的建立者不高兴呢？他的信使都是福音布道者，和虔诚、仁慈而又热心的名人。他的队伍按阶层依次有十字军的信使和救世军的门徒，还有主日学校的教师和穿长袍的学者。最高的圣殿是见证他的胜利的场所。对他的敬意和感激，将是对上帝的赞美诗和感恩。

为人父母们对他不只是像兄弟那样酬之以荣。孩子们对他的尊敬也不只是像对父亲那样。老年人那些支支吾吾的话语，成年人坚定而冷静的声音，年轻人的银铃般的声音，都祝福他为基督教守护神。明智和善良的人在任何地方都会认为他是国家的恩人、爱国者，甚至在陌生人的土地上亦是如此。对和平的土地而言，他就是和平的使者。没有露营，围困和战争场面；没有奄奄一息和受伤的痛苦；没有什么胜利后的欢呼或胜利后的游行，能够混合欢迎他的许多人的回忆。他们会为没有共同的危险、考验和灾难而悲哀，因为对他们来说责任这条道路就是获得愉悦与达成和平的必经之路。他们对过去的回忆在很大程度上就是对上帝的感恩，对人类的大爱；他们现实的欢乐预示着天国的极乐。他们对未来、光明和荣耀的憧憬作为信仰和希望。

这就是拉法耶特这位勇士的欢迎会，也是基督教堂的守护神霍华德——罗伯特•莱克斯的欢迎会。哪一位才是更高尚的捐助者、爱国者和慈善家呢？人们也许会钦佩和赞美拉法耶特是主日学校的创始人，但是宗教、博爱和抱有开明常识的人必定认为罗伯特•莱克斯比拉法耶特更高尚。他的美德、献身和牺牲精神是人类坚忍和崇高的化身。他的忠告和巨大成就与日月同辉。

拉法耶特的声望是这个世界给予的，罗伯特•莱克斯的荣誉是救世主的永恒王国授予的。拉法耶特主要是为他那个时代而活的，主要为他自己和我们的国家；但是，罗伯特•莱克斯为了所有时代和国家而活。也许历史学家和传记作家从不会将他的名字织进国家这块挂毯里，或者归于个人名望。但是，在每个教堂的记录里，都给予他守护神的荣誉；世界上普世教会的记录也将他奉为恩人。

当拉法耶特这个名字终究会被人遗忘，这一天也许会到来；抑或象征他声望的那颗星星不再在顶点闪耀，在地平线的边缘变得暗淡和微明。但是，罗伯特•莱克斯这个名字永远不会被淡忘；象征他荣誉的那闪烁的火焰，是从天堂冲下来吞噬以利亚祭品的永恒天火。一般人赞美拉法耶特并以他为榜样，要胜过对罗伯特•莱克斯。然而，公正才会有完美，上帝宝座周围救死扶伤的圣灵，都把他作为同一上帝的奴仆，作为人类救赎这同样壮丽事业的苦工，作为同样珍贵的承诺和永恒报偿的共同继承人来欢迎。