Way land 
 A Discourse in Commemoration 
 
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 services of Wm. 
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 DISCOURSE 
 
 IN COMMEMORATION OF 
 
 THE LIFE AND SERVICES 
 
 ' 
 
 OF 
 
 WILLIAM G. GODDARD, LL. D. 
 
 f ' 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE REQUEST OF THE FACULTY, 
 
 MARCH 12-TH, 1846. 
 
 BY FRANCIS WAYLAND, D. D. 
 
 PRESIDENT OF BBOWM UNIVERSITY. 
 
 PROVIDENCE : 
 
 B. CRANSTON AND COMPANY. 
 1846.
 
 BOSTON: 
 PRESS OF THCRSTOW, TORRY AND COMPART, 
 
 31 Devonshire Street.
 
 DISCOURSE. 
 
 I RISE, this afternoon, to perform one of the sad- 
 dest duties to which 1 have ever been appointed. 
 My colleagues have requested me to deliver a dis- 
 course, in commemoration of the life and services of 
 one very dear to us all, but, if I may be allowed to 
 say it, specially dear to me. He was the first officer 
 of this institution with whom I had the honor to be- 
 come intimately acquainted. Our friendship has con- 
 tinued, without interruption, from its commencement 
 until the day of his death. During the whole period, 
 within which we were associated as officers of in- 
 struction, we were in the habit of meeting daily, and 
 many times in the day. The various plans, which, 
 since my knowledge of this institution, have been 
 laid, for the improvement either of its course of ed- 
 ucation or manner of discipline, have all received the 
 benefit of his wise and thoughtful consideration. 
 The principles on which they depended were devel- 
 oped by mature reflection, and the measures which 
 resulted from them were carried into effect by our 
 mutual labor. And when, in consequence of ill
 
 4 
 
 health, he retired from the duties of that chair which 
 he had filled with equal honor to himself and advan- 
 tage to the University, we all considered his separa- 
 tion from us to be rather in form than in fact. We 
 unanimously invited him to be present at all the 
 meetings of the faculty, assured that his interest 
 remained unabated in the prosperity of the institu- 
 tion, on whose reputation his labors had conferred so 
 much additional lustre. We felt that his talents, and 
 labor and fame, were as much as ever the property 
 of the University. For myself, I may truly say, that, 
 for nearly twenty years, I have taken but few im- 
 portant steps the reasons for which I have not dis- 
 cussed in the freest manner with him, and in which, 
 also, I have not been in a great degree either guided 
 by his counsel or encouraged by his approbation. 
 There is scarcely a topic in religion or morals, in 
 literature or social law, on which either of us has 
 reflected, that we have not discussed together. 
 Neither of us was fond of disputation, but both of us 
 loved exceedingly the honest and unstudied inter- 
 change of opinions. It so happened, that our views 
 upon most of these subjects were, in an unusual 
 degree, identical. The very last conversation in 
 which we were engaged related to those great truths 
 revealed to us by Jesus Christ, in the belief and love 
 of which all his spiritual disciples are one. A few 
 days previously, I had requested his advice upon a 
 matter of some importance to myself, some of the 
 facts in connection with which I then submitted to 
 him, while the farther consideration of them we de- 
 ferred to another occasion.
 
 In a moment, and all this interchange of thought, 
 and all this concert of action, have ceased, and, so far 
 as this world is concerned, have ceased forever ; and 
 while the living image of our associate and friend 
 seems yet to walk among us, in all its freshness, I am 
 requested to commemorate the services of the dead. 
 You will all, I very well know, sympathize in the 
 emotions with which I undertake this solemn service. 
 It is almost as if he of whom I speak were in the 
 midst of us, to be the hearer of his own eulogy. We 
 have been so long accustomed to his presence on 
 every collegiate occasion ; so few days have elapsed 
 since he occupied his wonted seat in this sanctuary ; 
 that we are unable to realize the melancholy truth, 
 that we shall see his face no more. And besides this, 
 the deep feeling, which pervades every bosom, leads 
 us instinctively to distrust our own judgments. On 
 the one hand, we fear lest the full utterance of our 
 sentiments should seem like panegyric ; and on the 
 other, we are troubled lest eulogy, too much chas- 
 tened, should do injustice to the memory of the dead. 
 And yet more is this embarrassment increased by the 
 recollection, that the occasion necessarily awakens, of 
 those inimitable delineations of character, which so 
 often flowed from the pen of him whose sudden de- 
 parture we are now assembled to deplore. 
 
 Under such circumstances, 1 know full well that I 
 must fail to present the portraiture of the late Profes- 
 sor Goddard, as he now reveals himself to your 
 memory, and stands embodied before you in your 
 conceptions. I know, however, that I am surround- 
 ed by his friends, who will readily complete the
 
 6 
 
 sketch, no matter how imperfectly executed, which I 
 may offer for their contemplation. I know, moreover, 
 that you will all appreciate the difficulty of my task, 
 and pardon the indistinctness with which my thoughts- 
 reflect the beauty and the symmetry which you have 
 so frequently admired in the honored and beloved 
 original. 
 
 William Giles Goddard was born in Johnston, Rhode 
 Island, January 2d 1794. His father was William 
 Goddard, Esq., the son of Dr. Giles Goddard of New 
 London, Connecticut. His mother was the daughter 
 of James Angell, Esq., a descendant of one of the 
 companions of Roger Williams in the settlement of 
 Rhode Island. Both the parents of Mr. Goddard, as 
 well as his paternal grandmother, were distinguished 
 for great intelligence, ardent patriotism, and unusual 
 love of letters. His father conducted a newspaper 
 with distinguished ability, either in Providence, Phila- 
 delphia, or Baltimore, during the whole period of the 
 revolutionary war, and for many years subsequently. 
 He was also the first Comptroller of the Post Office, 
 and it is to his talent and skill that we are indebted 
 for the commencement of our present post office es- 
 tablishment. 
 
 The first nine years of Mr. Goddard's life were 
 spent upon the farm in Johnston, to which his father 
 had retired when he relinquished his business in Bal- 
 timore. The family, in 1803, removed to Providence, 
 where they have ever since resided. His first teacher 
 in this city was the Rev. James Wilson, late pastor 
 of the Beneficent Congregational Church. In due 
 time he was prepared for admission to college, and,
 
 in the year 1808, in the fourteenth year of his age, 
 entered the freshman class in this University. I have 
 heard him frequently mention, with peculiar pleasure, 
 that one of his classical instructors was the Rev. 
 Adoniram Judson, D. D., missionary to Burmah, at 
 present visiting this country for the recovery of his 
 health. 
 
 In college, Mr. Goddard was remarkable for his 
 love of classical literature, but especially for his skill 
 in English composition. For the Latin language he 
 retained his fondness through life. At our regular 
 term examinations he frequently discovered a most 
 delicate appreciation of the beauties of Horace, and 
 detected, with instinctive tact, any deviation, in trans- 
 lation, from the meaning of that author, who was his 
 special favorite of all the poets of antiquity. For the 
 mathematics he had no fondness, but rather, I think, 
 a positive dislike. This did not, however, arise from 
 any failure to appreciate the value of the exact 
 sciences, either as an instrument of discovery, or a 
 means of intellectual discipline. He was by far too 
 wise a man to undervalue a branch of knowledge in 
 which it was not his good fortune to excel. I appre- 
 hend the fact to .have been, that in consequence of 
 some mental idiosyncrasy, he was unable to compare 
 the mathematical relations. He has frequently observ- 
 ed to me, that geometrical figures never conveyed any 
 idea whatever to his mind ; and still more, that he 
 could form no conception of the interior of a build- 
 ing, from any plan of it that was ever presented to 
 him. I have mentioned this little peculiarity, be- 
 cause, as it seems to me, every original feature of
 
 8 
 
 minds of a high order deserves to be particularly re- 
 corded. 
 
 In September 1812, in the eighteenth year of his 
 age, Mr. Goddard was admitted to the first degree 
 of the arts, and shortly afterwards proceeded to Wor- 
 cester, Mass., to enter upon the study of the law. 
 He was there the pupil of the late Hon. Francis 
 Blake, in whose office he remained for about a year, 
 and of whose legal ability and conversational elo- 
 quence he always spoke with the highest admiration. 
 While prosecuting his legal studies, he devoted a por- 
 tion of every day to labor for the press. He became 
 a regular contributor to the columns of the Massa- 
 chusetts Spy, if not the avowed editor of that paper ; 
 and at this early age distinguished himself for the 
 brilliancy of his thought, as well as for the rare fe- 
 licity of his style. 
 
 Until this period of his life, his health had been 
 uninterrupted. At this time, however, he was at- 
 tacked by a malignant fever, from which, after almost 
 all hope had been abandoned, he slowly and with 
 difficulty recovered. The injury, which his nervous 
 system received from this shock, was never repaired. 
 Ever afterwards, he suffered, almost daily, all the 
 pains which embitter the life of an invalid. Unusual 
 mental exertion was almost always succeeded by 
 febrile paroxysms, which threatened alarming injury, 
 sometimes to the brain, and sometimes to the vital 
 organs of the chest. These attacks were always sud- 
 den, and frequently so violent as to render him, for 
 several days afterward, incapable of mental exertion. 
 Hence, while those, who only saw him abroad, in the
 
 daily intercourse of life, might have wondered that, 
 with his unusual powers, he accomplished no more ; 
 those who knew him at home were well aware that 
 it was only by resolution and self-government, to 
 which common men are strangers, that he was en- 
 abled to accomplish so much. 
 
 While the principles of social and constitutional 
 law were always among the most interesting subjects 
 of study to Mr. Goddard, the practice of the legal 
 profession could never have been congenial to his 
 tastes. With lungs permanently enfeebled by sick- 
 ness, he was unfitted for the labors of the forum ; 
 while his soul was too sensitively alive to the beauti- 
 ful, to become wedded to an intellectual pursuit of 
 which the pervading element is logic. He, there- 
 fore, in the year 1814, relinquished the study of the 
 law, and, having chosen the profession of an editor, 
 as his occupation for life, returned to Providence and 
 purchased the Rhode Island American, a paper which 
 he conducted until the year 1825. During a part of 
 this period he was associated with Mr. James D. 
 Knowles, afterwards a distinguished clergyman of the 
 Baptist persuasion, and, at the time of his death, 
 Professor of Pulpit Eloquence in the Theological 
 Seminary at Newton, Mass. For by far the greater 
 part of the time, however, the duties of editor and 
 publisher were discharged wholly by Mr. Goddard 
 himself. 
 
 Mr. Goddard had formed very just conceptions of 
 the moral and social obligations devolving upon the 
 conductor of a public press. He believed it to be 
 the duty of an editor not merely to abstain from out-
 
 raging the moral sentiment of a community ; but, 
 still more, by holding forth examples of preeminent 
 virtue, and inculcating the principles of everlasting 
 truth, to elevate the standard of public manners, and 
 teach the wayward passions of men obedience to con- 
 science and reverence for law. He believed, that by 
 constantly presenting, to the eye of the public, images 
 of beauty, the press might exert a powerful influence 
 in forming and purifying the national taste. He 
 thought it incumbent upon him, on all suitable occa- 
 sions, to arouse the spirit of the State, to combine 
 together good men of every name, in the promotion of 
 every enterprise by which the ignorant might be en- 
 lightened, or the vicious reclaimed ; by which vice 
 might be deprived of its means of fascination, or vir- 
 tue endowed with new elements of attractiveness ; 
 by which the intelligent and the wealthy might be 
 excited to beneficence, and the poor and uncultivated 
 be encouraged to self-dependence. 
 
 In conformity with these views, the press, under 
 Mr. Goddard's superintendence, was ever conducted. 
 The columns of his paper were always enriched with 
 the choicest gems of English literature. His editorial 
 writings were remarkable for the high spirit of indi- 
 vidual and social morality, which breathed in every 
 line, no less than for the pure, yet sparkling and epi- 
 grammatic English, in which every sentiment was 
 clothed. Though he espoused with youthful ardor 
 the political opinions he ever afterwards professed, 
 yet, as 1 have been informed, he never in a single 
 instance forfeited the personal respect of his warmest 
 opponents. To every judicious effort to promote the
 
 11 
 
 welfare of his fellow citizens, he gave his willing and 
 earnest support ; and some of our most valuable pub- 
 lic charities owe their origin to the editorial labors of 
 this portion of his life. Of this number is the 
 Providence Institution for Savings, the objects and 
 advantages of which he first laid before the public 
 in this city, and to the establishment of which, his 
 efforts contributed more than those of any other in- 
 dividual. 
 
 While Mr. Goddard was employed in conducting a 
 public press, he yet found leisure for extensive and 
 varied literary acquisitions. The remark made re- 
 specting the late Lord Holland, that "you could never 
 call upon him without finding him with a good book 
 in his hand," might, with singular truth, be applied 
 to our lamented friend. Though emphatically a lit- 
 erary man, there are few men whose reading was 
 selected with more severe discrimination. For ordi- 
 nary fictitious literature he seemed to me to have 
 scarcely any fondness. The lighter forms of poetry 
 had but few attractions for him, while of the gems of 
 verse he was a fervent yet discriminating admirer. 
 He most delighted in the classical English authors on 
 religion and morals, on general politics, social order, 
 and the progress of civilization. On the latter sub- 
 ject he was accustomed to reflect with enthusiastic 
 pleasure. Among political authors, I think that his 
 favorites were Burke, Hamilton, and Madison. His 
 chosen divines were Barrow, South, and, in later 
 years, Whately. Of the metaphysicians he preferred 
 Dugald Stewart, and derived great pleasure from 
 contemplating the vigorous thought, and tracing the
 
 12 
 
 masterly generalizations of that accomplished phi- 
 losopher. At the time of his death he had com- 
 menced the reperusal of Lord Bacon. 
 
 Pursuing such courses of reading, it is obvious that 
 Mr. Goddard was unconsciously preparing himself for 
 a different sphere of usefulness from that which he 
 had thus far occupied. The opportunity for a change 
 presented itself in the year 1825. At this time, the 
 Rev. Calvin Park, D. D. resigned the professorship 
 of Moral Philosophy and Metaphysics, in this Uni- 
 versity ; and Mr. Goddard was elected to the vacant 
 chair. He relinquished, at once, all other employ- 
 ment, arid entered immediately upon the duties of his 
 new situation. It was in the second year of his pro- 
 fessorship that our acquaintance commenced. 
 
 Professor Goddard occupied the chair of Moral 
 Philosophy and Metaphysics, in this University, from 
 the year 1825 to the year 1834. At the commence- 
 ment of the latter year, in compliance with his own 
 request, the duties of the Professor of Moral Philoso- 
 phy and Metaphysics were assigned to the President, 
 and he became Professor of Belles Lettres. He held 
 this latter professorship until the year 1842, when, in 
 consequence of ill health, he resigned all connexion 
 with the instruction of the University. In fact, for 
 several years previous to his resignation, he had 
 declined all regular and daily service, and had, in 
 consequence, refused the compensation which was 
 annually voted to him by the corporation. 
 
 It became the duty of Professor Goddard, imme- 
 diately after his appointment, to conduct the studies 
 of the senior and junior classes in moral and intel-
 
 13 
 
 lectual philosophy, and in some portions of our usual 
 course in rhetoric and belles lettres. For the former 
 of these departments he felt that he had no peculiar 
 aptitude, and very soon, by mutual arrangement with 
 his colleagues, he was relieved from the labor of 
 this branch of instruction. He was thus enabled, 
 with great advantage to the University, to devote 
 
 / * 
 
 himself to those studies to which he was ardently 
 attached, and for the instruction in which he pos- 
 sessed peculiar and acknowledged ability. It hence 
 happened, that during the greater portion of his 
 connexion with the University, he gave instruction 
 mainly in the principles and practice of rhetoric, the 
 evidences of natural and revealed religion, and the 
 constitution of the United States. 
 
 The success, to which Professor Goddard attained 
 as an instructor, did not result from rigid analysis 
 of a science, or minute and critical acquaintance with 
 an author. His mind rather reluctated from those 
 forms of intellectual labor on which such knowl- 
 edge depends. He excelled rather in unfolding 
 such general views as illustrate the principles of 
 a science, by tracng their effects upon the condi- 
 tion and changes of society, and by exhibiting their 
 influence in the formation of individual character. 
 He labored to enkindle in the bosoms of his 
 pupils a love of truth, of virtue, and of good- 
 ness. He was also preeminently successful in crea- 
 ting in the minds of the undergraduates a just ap- 
 preciation of the beauties of English composition. 
 His correction of their class-papers was elaborate 
 almost beyond belief ; so that every dissertation,
 
 14 
 
 as it was returned from his hands, presented to the 
 student a model of finished excellence with which 
 his own rude and imperfect attempt could be plainly 
 and visibly contrasted. Whatever be the improve- 
 ments which our undergraduates of the present day 
 may have made upon the attainments of their pre- 
 decessors, let it never be forgotten that this im- 
 provement was commenced, and for many years 
 carried forward, solely by the labors of Professor 
 Goddard. Perhaps, however, in no department did 
 he so much excel, as in his prelections upon the 
 constitution of the United States. With the his- 
 tory of the formation and adoption of this instru- 
 ment he was minutely familiar. Each one of its 
 provisions had, at various times, been the object of 
 his careful examination and laborious thought. His 
 pursuits had rendered him accurately acquainted 
 with the political history of our country, from 
 the adoption of the constitution to the present mo- 
 ment. His recitations thus assumed the form of 
 an extemporaneous lecture, or commentary upon the 
 text, in which a marvellous acuteness of discrimina- 
 tion was illustrated by the results of extensive and 
 accurate research ; while both were rendered at- 
 tractive by rare felicity of diction, and the charms 
 of an animating eloquence. 
 
 When Professor Goddard relinquished his connex- 
 ion with the duties of instruction, he by no means 
 intended to wear out his life in indolent leisure. He 
 encouraged himself in the hope that he should be 
 enabled to devote himself to the composition of some 
 work of permanent value to the cause of morals
 
 15 
 
 and good learning. The opportunity, however, was 
 never granted to him. His fellow citizens, as though 
 it were a matter of course, seemed to expect his 
 assistance, whenever any good design required that 
 an appeal should be made to the public, or when- 
 ever the management of an important trust demand- 
 ed the skill of a cultivated intellect, and the impulses 
 of a benevolent heart. There is scarcely an institu- 
 tion among us, devoted to the promotion of general 
 intelligence, or the relief of suffering humanity, which 
 has not enjoyed the benefit of his counsel and ad- 
 vice. Immediately after he resigned his professor- 
 ship, he was chosen a trustee of this University. In 
 the year 1843, he was elected a member of the Board 
 of Fellows, and Secretary of the Corporation. He 
 was also a member of our library committee, and 
 of several of the committees of examination. He 
 was a member of the board of directors of the 
 Providence Athenaeum, and, until the year before 
 his death, when he resigned the office, the vice 
 president of that institution. He was a member of 
 the school committee of the city, a director of the 
 Rhode Island Historical Society, for many years a 
 warden of St. John's Church, and at the time of his 
 death a representative of this city in the General 
 Assembly of the State. It is, moreover, deserving of 
 special remark, that he always refused to hold an 
 office as a matter of form. It was his rule to decline 
 an appointment, whenever he found himself unable 
 to perform the duties which it imposed. I presume 
 that his associates in the several boards of which he 
 was a member will testify, that they rarely embarked
 
 16 
 
 in any important undertaking without seeking his 
 advice ; and that, from the advice which he gave, 
 they very rarely found it wise to dissent. Such 
 was certainly the case in all the instances in which 
 I had the honor to be associated with him. 
 
 On the occasion of the death of President Har- 
 rison, Mr. Goddard was chosen by the municipal 
 authorities of this city to deliver the address on the 
 day of public humiliation. When the government 
 of the State was organized under the new constitu- 
 tion, he was also selected to pronounce a discourse, 
 in commemoration of that event, in the presence of 
 the governor and both branches of the legislature. 
 In the year 1843, the corporation of Bowdoin Col- 
 lege conferred upon him the honorary degree of 
 Doctor of Laws. 
 
 The death of Professor Goddard was awfully sud- 
 den. In the enjoyment of rather more than his 
 usual measure of health, he sat down at his dinner 
 table, on Monday, the 16th of February last. Very 
 soon he arose in the agony produced by strangulation ; 
 and, in a few moments, surrounded by his family, 
 who were incapable of rendering him any assistance, 
 he expired. On the 2d day of the preceding Jan- 
 uary he had completed his fifty-second year. 
 
 If I have correctly estimated the character of Mr. 
 Goddard, its most remarkable feature was delicate 
 and discriminating sensibility. I have already re- 
 marked that he possessed neither taste for the math- 
 ematics nor aptitude for tracing the relations which 
 they discover. This observation might with truth 
 be more widely extended. He had no fondness for
 
 17 
 
 abstruse reasoning of any kind ; and I presume rarely 
 followed the successive steps of an intricate meta- 
 physical argument to its conclusion. But it was 
 equally true, that by a sort of instinctive sensibility, 
 he seemed to arrive at precisely the same result 
 which minds differently endowed apprehended only 
 by the slower process of ratiocination. His criti- 
 cal perceptions were more exquisitely delicate than 
 those of any man whom I have ever known. His 
 friends never ceased to admire his unsurpassed power 
 of discerning the most microscopic want of adjust- 
 ment between a thought and the language in which 
 it was clothed. He saw intuitively the precise form 
 which an idea should assume, in any portion of a 
 discourse, and the very tinge and junction of words 
 which would most clearly and happily develop it. 
 He frequently could not give the reason for his 
 choice of an expression, and he might sometimes 
 ask the reason of others ; but the reason always 
 existed, and bore testimony to the accuracy of his 
 judgment. Hence the study of the science of rhe- 
 toric produced but little effect upon his style. It 
 seemed not to teach him to write, in any respect, 
 either with greater accuracy or elegance, but only to 
 give him firmer confidence in the decisions of his 
 own sensibility. He learned from the study of rules 
 to write with less anxiety, and to correct with greater 
 rapidity, inasmuch as he thus knew that he was right, 
 when before he had only felt it. 
 
 The oration which he pronounced before the Rhode 
 Island Society of the Phi Beta Kappa, at the com- 
 mencement in 1836, furnishes a favorable specimen of
 
 Mr. Goddard's literary ability. The reader will im- 
 mediately perceive that no labor has been expended, 
 either upon the general plan of the discourse, or upon 
 the separate arrangement of its parts. The course of 
 thought is not confined by the pressure of any general 
 and all pervading idea. The several paragraphs, like 
 handfuls of pearls, are rather grouped together by 
 feeling, than marshalled by the understanding. And 
 yet it seems to me that few tracts are to be found in 
 our language, in which so much manly and ' large 
 round about sense' is clothed in a style at once so 
 negatively faultless, and so positively beautiful. Every 
 sentence seems a maxim of unquestioned authority ; 
 and yet there is nothing either startling, labored, or 
 out of keeping. It all seems the spontaneous effusion 
 of a mind of which such things were the ordinary pro- 
 duct. I have read this discourse lately, and was 
 struck with the similarity of its thoughts to those of 
 Lord Bacon's Essays, a book which I had but just laid 
 down ; while the exquisite finish of the style some- 
 times reminded me of the vigor of Johnson, and, at 
 others, of the splendor of Burke. 
 
 But it was not in the department of literature alone, 
 that this delicate and discriminating sensibility pre- 
 dominated. The same peculiarity might be observed 
 in Mr. Goddard's studies, when they partook of a 
 severer character. He was, as I have said, a diligent 
 and profound thinker upon all subjects of religion, 
 morals, general politics, and human civilization. But 
 even here, he appeared to arrive at the result in which 
 he rested, rather by a moral intuition than by any 
 process of reasoning. His spiritual discernment seem-
 
 ed to indicate to him what the law should be, and, 
 upon investigation, he found his opinions confirmed by 
 the highest authorities. Hence, in his reading, he 
 rather sought for the truths which our great teachers 
 have discovered, than for the processes by which their 
 discoveries have been effected. To theological con- 
 troversy he paid but little attention ; but of sermons, 
 or other religious writings, which lay bare the human 
 heart, or reveal to us the precepts of duty, or present 
 the scriptural motives for well doing, he was a diligent 
 and earnest student. Of the various theories of social 
 order, he knew but little, and he cared even less. 
 Let a case, however, be presented, which involved the 
 essential principles either of individual or social right, 
 and he would seize upon it in an instant ; and it 
 would not be long before he had formed a definite and 
 earnest opinion in respect to it. He might not be 
 able to give a logical reason for his opinion ; but the 
 opinion would be, with singular certainty, correct, 
 and he would so present it to the public as to leave an 
 impression which no argument could readily efface. 
 
 As a specimen of Mr. Goddard's habits of thought 
 on the grave questions of social right, I would refer 
 to his discourse on the occasion of the change of the 
 civil government of Rhode Island. In this address, 
 after glancing at some of the more prominent facts in 
 the early history of his native State, he proceeds to 
 explain and illustrate the principles involved in the 
 constitution under which she was henceforth to be 
 governed. His style becomes at once grave, simple 
 and earnest; abjuring all ornament, and appealing 
 directly to the reason and the conscience of his hear-
 
 20 
 
 ei's. The whole discourse, replete with the most im- 
 portant maxims on the science of government, clearly 
 indicates a mind in which a knowledge of the theo- 
 retical and practical is happily blended ; a mind accus- 
 tomed to contemplate truth, both in its widest gener- 
 alizations, and in its minutest applications ; that could 
 discover the unchangeable principles on which social 
 law is founded, and at the same time acknowledge 
 the modifications which that law must assume, when 
 it is brought into contact with the passions and sel- 
 fishness of our imperfect nature. I do not remem- 
 ber any commentary upon the nature of our free 
 institutions, which, in so few pages, contains so much 
 that is of permanent value. 
 
 It might seem the result of a studied reserve, were 
 I, in this connexion, to make no reference to the 
 writings of Professor Goddard, during the political 
 agitations of this State, a few years since. It is well 
 known, that as soon as any serious danger to our 
 institutions was apprehended, he stood forth the un- 
 wavering advocate of justice and truth, of liberty and 
 law. His essays for the daily press, during this period 
 alone, would fill a moderately sized volume. Day 
 after day, he explained to his fellow citizens the 
 principles of rational liberty ; he laid bare, with a 
 masterly hand, the distinction between liberty and 
 licentiousness; and when at last the crisis arrived 
 with an eloquence that fired the soul of every true 
 hearted man, he urged us all to unite in defence of 
 that heritage of civil and religious liberty which God 
 had bestowed upon our fathers. In this cause he labor- 
 ed on, amid sickness and infirmity, through good report
 
 21 
 
 and through evil report, until the efforts of patriotism 
 were crowned with triumphant success. And he 
 labored, as every one of you knows, from the pure 
 love of right. All the ends he aimed at, were his 
 country's, his God's, and truth's. He desired noth- 
 ing, either for himself or his friends, which he did not 
 equally desire for the humblest citizen amongst us. 
 He labored to sustain a government which should 
 secure to every citizen the rights conferred upon him 
 by his Creator, and which should guard those rights 
 with equal vigilance, both against the oppressions of 
 the many, and the tyranny of the few. It is in no 
 small degree owing to his labors, that the success of 
 these principles in our little State may be attributed. 
 
 The manners of Professor Goddard were courteous 
 and refined. His personal habits, without being pain- 
 fully exact, were scrupulously neat, and in perfect 
 harmony with the character of a literary citizen. His 
 conversation, sometimes playful, never frivolous, was 
 always instructive, and at times singularly forcible, 
 captivating and eloquent. His tastes were simple 
 and easily gratified ; and I think that he preferred a 
 book in his study, or a conversation at the fireside 
 with a friend, to any form of more exciting and out- 
 door enjoyment. He was, both from nature and prin- 
 ciple, eminently, but with discrimination, charitable. 
 To the judiciously benevolent institutions of our city 
 he was a liberal and frequently an unsolicited contrib- 
 utor. Nor did his charity exhaust itself in making 
 others the almoners of his bounty. He sought out 
 the poor and infirm, the disconsolate and the forgot- 
 ten, and specially those who in age were suffering
 
 22 
 
 from the mutability of fortune ; and, while he re- 
 lieved their wants by pecuniary aid, soothed their 
 sorrows by his sympathy, and animated their hopes 
 by his cheerful encouragement. One of his last visits, 
 only a few days before his death, was made to an 
 aged widow, who has since followed him into eter- 
 nity, to whom he communicated alms ; while, as she 
 herself told me, he consoled her sinking spirit by the 
 humble piety of his conversation. 
 
 The religious opinions of Professor Goddard were 
 those of the divines of the English reformation. He 
 believed most fully in those doctrines which teach 
 the moral corruption of the human heart, the necessity 
 of the influences of the Spirit to our moral transfor- 
 mation, and that our only hope of salvation rests upon 
 the atonement by Jesus Christ. He was conscien- 
 tiously attached to the Episcopal Church ; but, mak- 
 ing a wise distinction between spiritual religion and 
 the various modes in which it may be manifested, he 
 loved true piety, wherever he discovered it, ' with 
 a pure heart fervently.' He carried into daily prac- 
 tice the sentiment which he uttered only a few days 
 before his death. 'The longer I live,' said he, ' the 
 more dearly do I prize being a Christian ; and the 
 more signally unimportant seem to me the differences 
 by which true Christians are separated from each 
 other.' I do not remember to have known a person 
 who, with so ardent an attachment to the truths 
 which he believed, combined so fervent and compre- 
 hensive a charity for all that loved the Lord Jesus 
 Christ in sincerity. 
 
 I have been informed that, in youth, Mr. Goddard
 
 23 
 
 was as thoughtless as other men, in respect to his 
 relations to God. In early manhood, however, a 
 change in his religious views was known by his 
 friends to have taken place. More than twenty years 
 since, he wrote thus concerning himself : ' My inter- 
 est in the one thing needful is becoming a deeper and 
 more habitual sentiment of the soul. At all times, I 
 have a powerful conviction of the utter worthlessness 
 of earthly things compared with the enjoyments and 
 consolations of Christianity. The fruits of a various 
 experience, the warnings and the chastisements of 
 heaven, I would hope, have not been lost upon me ; 
 and amid the trials and contests of life, the hopes of 
 my spirit are centered upon that peace which the 
 world cannot give. 1 have a deep and abiding con- 
 viction of the sinfulness of my nature ; but my con- 
 science often chides me for the languor of my ap- 
 proaches towards Him, who has given to every sinner 
 the most winning assurances of pardon and accept- 
 ance through the merits of His Son. My feelings 
 will never permit me to discourse familiarly on these 
 subjects ; but I do not despair of attaining, through 
 divine assistance, that full hope of immortality, which 
 can alone give dignity to the pursuits of existence, 
 and impart joy and peace at the hour of death.' I 
 hang my trembling hope on the cross of Christ alone.' 
 From this time, his friends observed that religious 
 truth was gradually obtaining a more controlling influ- 
 ence over his opinions, his affections and his practice. 
 As he grew older, his love for piety, simple, obscure, 
 unadorned piety, became more ardent and reverential. 
 His charity was more earnestly directed to the spirit-
 
 24 
 
 ual wants of man. His conversation, especially of 
 late years, seemed to me to move in constant parallel- 
 ism with religious ideas ; and it spontaneously turned 
 towards them, as if his mind dwelt in habitual con- 
 templation of the vanities of time and the realities of 
 eternity. He became more prompt in avowing his 
 religious sentiments on all occasions, and in their 
 relation to every subject. His reading became more 
 exclusively religious. Sermons of the English divines, 
 especially those of a practical character, became his 
 constant study. He more frequently made religion 
 the subject of conversation in the domestic circle. On 
 Sunday, the day before his death his family having 
 been detained from public worship in consequence of 
 a violent storm after family prayers were concluded, 
 he read for their instruction some interesting passages 
 which he had selected from the sermons of Arch- 
 bishop Whately ; interspersing them with impressive 
 remarks of his own, on the subject of the importance 
 of religion. These were his dying counsel. It is by 
 such precept and example that ' he, being dead, yet 
 speaketh.' 
 
 It is, however, proper for me to add, that though 
 exhibiting such evidence of piety, Mr. Goddard never 
 united himself with a Christian church, by a public 
 profession of his faith. I can in no manner so forcibly 
 or so beautifully express what seem to me the senti- 
 ments appropriate to such an announcement, as by 
 quoting a paragraph, written by Mr. Goddard himself, 
 in relation to the late Honorable Nicholas Brown. 
 ' Mr. Brown, it is somewhat remarkable, never made 
 any public profession of that faith in Christ, which,
 
 25 
 
 from the tenor of his life, was seen to be the ani- 
 mating motive of his conduct, the fountain of his 
 highest consolation, the ground of his everlasting 
 hopes. What withheld him from the discharge of 
 this duty, it would not now be pertinent to inquire. 
 It ought, however, in this connexion to be added, that 
 few men exhibited on all occasions a pro founder reve- 
 rence for Christianity, a more devout attention to its 
 simple and venerable forms, or a more fervent desire 
 that himself and others might be filled with its life- 
 giving spirit. He read the Holy Scriptures with pious 
 diligence, and he was extremely familiar with works 
 on didactic theology and practical piety. He read, 
 moreover, in a thoughtful mood, the lessons of mor- 
 tality which are taught by the daily experience of 
 life ; and, foreseeing that the days of darkness, which 
 had come to others, must also come to him, he looked 
 beyond himself for light to cheer the path of his pil- 
 grimage ; for an almighty arm to sustain him amidst 
 the swellings of Jordan.' 
 
 The death of such a man, at any time, is always 
 felt to be an irreparable loss. I, however, remember 
 no instance, since my residence in this city, in which 
 this sentiment has been so deep and universal. The 
 sphere of eminent usefulness, which Mr. Goddard 
 filled, was peculiar and uncommon. It rarely happens 
 that affluence is granted to men of so varied learning, 
 so cultivated taste, and so elevated moral principle. 
 Still more rarely are these advantages combined with 
 the leisure and the will to use them with disinterested 
 zeal for the benefit of the community. But it was 
 while thus employing his varied talents, that Mr. God-
 
 26 
 
 dard was so suddenly removed from the midst of us. 
 At no time of his life had his influence been so widely 
 acknowledged and so beneficially felt, as at the very 
 moment when it all ceased forever. When we think 
 of the intellectual and moral light which he diffused, 
 of the trusts which he held, of the courses of thought 
 and action which he directed, we seem to look in 
 vain, I do not say for the man, but for the men, by 
 whom his place is to be supplied. Our only hope is 
 in God. * Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth ; 
 for the faithful fail from among the children of men.' 
 
 But what, let us inquire, are the sentiments which 
 it is becoming in us to cherish on the occasion of so 
 mournful a bereavement ? In the first place, let us 
 bow in submission before the face of our Father in 
 heaven, who, in inscrutable wisdom, and yet paren- 
 tal goodness, has inflicted upon us this sore calamity. 
 He endowed our departed associate and friend with 
 the intellectual powers and the spiritual graces which 
 made him, for many years, a burning and a shining 
 light. At the time which He had chosen, and in 
 the manner that He himself had selected, He has re- 
 moved him from this world of trial, and raised him to 
 his sanctuary of rest. 'The Lord gave, and the Lord 
 hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the Lord.' 
 
 A high-minded and public spirited citizen, who 
 has, for many years, devoted a large portion of his 
 eminent ability to the promotion of every design by 
 which we and our children could be rendered wiser 
 and better, has ceased from his labors. A more sol- 
 emn and urgent responsibility is devolved upon every 
 one of us who remains. Let us cheerfully assume
 
 27 
 
 those public burdens which our associate and friend 
 laid down only with his life. Let his example teach 
 us that the cause of truth and justice, the cause of 
 liberty and law, of charity and piety, are well worth 
 living for. Highly as we esteem the various gifts of 
 our lamented friend, it is for the use which he made 
 of them, that now we chiefly venerate him. Though 
 we may not be able to supply the loss which the com- 
 munity has sustained in this calamity, yet if each 
 one of us labors with an honest and earnest spirit, 
 our humble offering will be acceptable to the Mas- 
 ter. 
 
 And lastly, how solemn an admonition does this 
 event bring home to the bosom of each one of us. 
 We are most impressively reminded, that no preemi- 
 nence of usefulness, no ties of affection, no gifts of 
 nature or advantages of fortune, can offer to us the 
 least assurance of length of days. The sun of Mr. 
 Goddard went down while it was yet high noon. Nay 
 more ; how solemnly are we taught, that every one 
 of us is walking upon the borders of eternity, and 
 that the very next footstep may be planted within 
 the limits of the world unseen. We commence a 
 week in health, but where shall we be at the end of 
 it ? We rise in the morning, buoyant with hope, but 
 God only knows who of us shall look upon the sha- 
 dows of the evening. We arrange our plans for the 
 hour, but ere they are half completed, we are num- 
 bered with the dead. We commence a conversation, 
 but while the words yet linger on our lips, we are in 
 eternity. Can there be one among us who mistakes 
 the lesson which these conditions of our being are
 
 28 
 
 intended to inculcate ? They surely teach us that 
 we can only live wisely as we live in habitual pre- 
 paration for death. Let us then give all diligence to 
 make our calling and election sure, for so an en- 
 trance shall be abundantly ministered to us, into 
 the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior 
 Jesus Christ.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The following are the resolutions adopted by several of the public bodies with which 
 Mr. Goddard was connected at the time of his death. 
 
 At a meeting of the Faculty of Brown University, held February 
 17th, 1846, the President announced the death of WILLIAM 
 GILES GODDAED, formerly Professor of Moral Philosophy and 
 Metaphysics, and more recently of Belles Lettres, in the Uni- 
 versity, and at the time of his death a member of the Board of 
 Fellows, and Secretary of the Corporation. 
 
 Whereupon, the following preamble and resolutions were unani- 
 mously adopted, and ordered to be entered upon the records of 
 the Faculty : 
 
 IT having pleased Almighty God to remove from this life 
 WILLIAM GILES GODDARD, LL. D. a distinguished Alumnus of this 
 University, for many years one of its most successful instructors, 
 and through life one of its most efficient friends, a gentleman 
 eminent alike for rich and varied learning, elegant scholarship and 
 refined taste, as well as for high attainment in all the graces of 
 pure Christianity and enlarged philanthropy ; 
 
 Resolved, That we cherish a profound veneration for the talents, 
 virtues and services of our late associate and friend. 
 
 That we tender to the family of the deceased the expression of 
 our sincere sympathy on the occasion of their irreparable loss. 
 
 That, as a Faculty, we will attend the funeral solemnities, and 
 that the exercises of the College be suspended on the afternoon of 
 the day on which they take place. 
 
 That the President of the University be requested to deliver a 
 discourse in commemoration of the life and services of Professor 
 Goddard ; and
 
 30 
 
 That a copy of these resolutions be presented to the family of 
 the deceased, and published in one of the papers of this city. 
 
 F. WAYLAND, President. 
 GEORGE I. CHACE, Secretary. 
 
 At a meeting of the School Committee of the city of Providence, 
 holden at the City Council Chamber, on Friday, the 20th of 
 February 1846, the President having announced the death of 
 William G. Goddard, a member of this Committee, which mel- 
 ancholy event occurred at his residence on Monday the 16th 
 instant, the following preamble and resolutions were unani- 
 mously adopted and ordered to be placed upon the records : 
 
 WHEAEAS, it has pleased the Disposer of all events suddenly to 
 remove from this life WILLIAM GILES GODDARD, Esq. who has 
 been for the last nine years a member of this body ; who cherished 
 with equal ardor the interests of popular education and those of 
 refined literature ; and who was ever ready with his matured coun- 
 sel, his liberal hand and his gifted pen, to cooperate with his fellow 
 citizens in every enterprise for the advancement of good morals 
 and social improvement ; therefore, 
 
 Resolved, That in the death of Mr. Goddard, this Committee has 
 lost one of its most judicious and efficient members, the city one 
 of its worthiest and most accomplished citizens, and elegant learn- 
 ing one of its greatest ornaments. 
 
 Resolved, That we tender to the family of the deceased our 
 unaffected sympathy and condolence in this their most afflictive 
 bereavement. 
 
 Resolved, That as a tribute of respect to the memory of our 
 lamented associate a tribute demanded alike by his eminent 
 private virtues and public worth we will, in a body, attend the 
 funeral solemnities, which are to take place this day. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions, signed by the Presi- 
 dent and Secretary, be communicated to the family of the de- 
 ceased, and that the same be published in the newspapers of this 
 
 city. 
 
 THOMAS M. BURGESS, President. 
 EDWARD R. YOUNG, Secretary.
 
 31 
 
 At a meeting of the Directors of the Providence Athenseum, 3d Mo. 
 2d, 1846, the death of William G. Goddard, since the last meet- 
 ing of this Board, having been announced by the President, the 
 following preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted : 
 
 WHEREAS, an inscrutable Providence has suddenly removed from 
 among us WILLIAM G. GODDARD, a member of this Board, and 
 from its organization, until his recent resignation, the Vice Presi- 
 dent of this institution, and one of its principal founders ; therefore, 
 
 Resolved, That we deeply lament the loss which we have sus- 
 tained in the death of one whose enlightened zeal and liberal and 
 active exertions contributed to lay so broad and deep the founda- 
 tion of this institution, and whose continued care and labor have 
 been unceasing for the promotion of its usefulness and prosperity. 
 
 Resolved, That in placing upon record an expression of our sor- 
 row at this afflictive bereavement, we cannot do justice to our feel- 
 ings by a mere compliance with the forms which custom has 
 prescribed. Such an expression would be far too inadequate to the 
 occasion. Whilst we mourn the loss of a founder and a benefactor, 
 we feel that by his death this community has lost one of its most 
 valuable and patriotic citizens, a firm friend of constitutional free- 
 dom, whose mind, of rich scholarship, rare accomplishments and 
 practical wisdom, was ever devoted to the cause of literature and 
 science, and to the great work of social improvement. 
 
 Resolved, That the Secretary be directed to communicate a cer- 
 tified copy of these resolutions to the family of the deceased, as 
 expressive of our sympathy in their deep affliction. 
 
 Resolved, That these resolutions be entered upon the records of 
 this Board, and be published. 
 
 A true copy Attest. 
 
 SAMUEL AUSTIN, Secretary.
 
 W 
 
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