Life of Oliver Wendell Holmes Part 21

In the many heartfelt tributes to Doctor Holmes, it is interesting to note that his spiritual character was appreciated and approved by men differing from him very widely in religious belief. Indeed, it would be impossible for any one to hold communion with him through his writings without growing more kindly, more loving toward his fellow-men, and more reverent, more filial, towards his Heavenly Father.

"And personally," remarked an intimate friend, "Doctor Holmes was as delightful a character as he is in his books. His best thoughts came full flood, as it were, from a richly stocked mind. His most characteristic traits were his extreme kindliness and his animation. The mirth and vivacity which bubble forth from his books was the same which came spontaneously from his lips in conversation. He was a delightful companion, and a true friend to those who were so fortunate as to know him and be known by him."

Oliver Wendell Holmes taught that life is good and sweet, and worth the living. There is not in all his writings a single morbid note. The world is brighter and happier and better for the rare gift of such a life.

His wit has been the solvent of bigotry. He has done for the religious thought of the century what Whittier did for the political; and his bright optimism has pierced many an old-time error with the potency of the sunbeam.

"It is clearly seen in the perspective," says Charles Dudley Warner, "that Doctor Holmes' life gives us the kind of reputation that is of value to one's native land, and shows us that, after all the parade of official station and the notoriety of politics and money, those names only endure in honor and love which are borne by men of high intellectual and moral qualities. When we sum up all our sources and achievements, it is to him and his few compeers that we must point for our distinction."