USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > Biographical and genealogical history of the city of Newark and Essex County, New Jersey, V. 1 > Part 4
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But sweet, above all sweetest things Creation can afford, That sweetness which His presence brings, The vision of the Lord.
Sweeter than His dear Name is nought; None, worthier of laud, Was ever sung, or heard, or thought, Than Jesus, Son of God.
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Thou hope to those of contrite heart! To those who ask, how kind!
To those who seek how good Thou art! But what to those who find?
No heart is able to conceive, Nor tongue nor pen express; Who tries it only can believe How choice that blessedness!
The New Jersey Historical Society at- tended in a body. James Russell Lowell, in a sympathetic note, one of the last he wrote, said: "I regret very much I can- not share in the sad function of pallbearer, but my health will not permit it." The pall- bearers were: Vice-Chancellor Abram V. Van Fleet, Judge David A. Depue, ex- Chancellor Theodore Runyon, Hon. Amzi Dodd, Hon. Thomas N. McCarter, Hon. Cortlandt Parker, Hon. A. Q. Keasbey, Hon. Frederick W. Ricord, Noah Brooks, Alexander H. Ritchie, Spencer Goble, James W. Schoch, William Rankin, Charles Kyte, Edmund C. Stedman, Dr. Ezra M. Hunt, Dr. A. W. Rogers, Dr. S. H. Pennington, Dr. B. L. Dodd, Dr. J. C. Young. and Dr. T. H. Tomlinson. His
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body was laid to rest by the side of that of his wife, in Willow Grove Cemetery, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
"Dr. Coles' style," says Ezra M. Hunt, M. D., Sc. D., LL. D., "has individuality as much as that of Samuel Johnson or Thomas Carlyle. One certainly sees how thoughts sublime find expression in terse and stately sentences, and how words are chosen, such as come out of the depth of inspiration and genius. There is not con- formity to the style of any favorite author, or to the modes of thought of any favorite logician, but a forging of weighty words wrought out from the depth of quiet inner feelings and conceptions." "Dr. Coles' re- searches," says Edmund C. Stedman, "made so lovingly and conscientiously in the special field of his poetic scholarship, have given him a distinct and most envi- able position among American authors. We of the younger sort learn a lesson of reverent humility from the pure enthusi- asm with which he approaches and handles his noble themes. The 'tone' of all his works is perfect. He is so thoroughly in sympathy with his subjects that the lay reader instantly shares his feeling; and there is a kind of white light pervading the whole prose and verse which at any time tranquilizes and purifies the mind."
Noah Brooks, LL. D., author and edi- tor, said: "Dr. Coles, although playful and mirthful in some phases of his disposi- tion, was never trivial, and the most of his work which he has left us is an indication of the seriousness, even solemnity, with which he regarded human existence, its necessities, its responsibilities, and its fu- ture. He had no time to devote any part of his commanding talents to daintiness or superficialities. 'Christ and His Cross are
all my theme' was evidently his maxim in life. His poetry was suffused with love and admiration of Christ's character and at- tributes, and he never saw man without be- holding in him the image of the Master."
Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, speaking of Dr. Coles, says: . "I have always consid- ered it a great privilege to enjoy the friend- ship of so pure and lofty a spirit,-a man who seemed to breathe holiness as his na- tive atmosphere, and to carry its influences into his daily life." As regards his writ- ings, he says: "There was no line which, dying, he could have wished to blot, and there was no line which the purest of God's angels, looking over his shoulder, would not have looked upon approvingly. *
* His memory will long be cherished as one of our truest and sweetest singers."
In addition to his published works, Dr. Coles left, at his death, in manuscript, translations of the whole of Bernard of Clairvaux's "Address to the Various Mem- bers of Christ's Body Hanging on the Cross;" the whole of Hildebert's "Address to the Three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity;" selections from the Greek and Latin classics, and various writings on liter- ary, medical and scientific subjects.
The titles of Dr. Coles were: A. M., from Rutgers College; Ph. D., from Lewis- burg (now Bucknell) University, Pennsyl- vania; and LL. D., conferred in 1871, by the College of New Jersey at Princeton.
"In the presence of several thousand people, an heroic bronze bust of the late Dr. Abraham Coles, by John Quincy Ad- ams Ward, with its valuable and unique pedestal," says the New York Herald, "was formally unveiled in the city of New- ark, New Jersey, July 5, 1897.
"In deference to Mr. Ward's correct,
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classical taste, a bust of Dr. Coles was de- cided upon in preference to a full-length statue. The base of the bust represents two large folio volumes, bearing the titles of the published works of Dr. Coles. These rest upon the capstone of the pedestal, con- sisting of a monolith from the Mount of Olives, which, in turn, rests on one from Jerusalem, beneath which are two from Nazareth of Galilee, resting on two stones from Bethlehem of Judea.
"The stones are highly polished on three sides, and are very beautiful. This is es- pecially true of the monolith from Solo- mon's quarry, under Jerusalem, believed to be like unto those used in the construction of the Temple, and to which Christ's atten- tion was called by one of His disciples, as He went out of the Temple on His way to the Mount of Olives. (Mark, xiii., I). The fourth side, or back of each stone, has, for geological reasons, been left rough, as it came from the hands of the Judean or Gali- lean workmen.
"The foundation stone is a huge bowlder of about seven tons weight, brought from Plymouth, Massachusetts, the homeland of the Pilgrim Fathers; combined with this is a portion of one of the monoliths of Che- ops, the great pyramid of Egypt. The memorial is surrounded by monoliths of Quincy, Massachusetts, granite, each four- teen feet long, bolted into corner stone posts, quarried not far from Mount Tabor, nigh unto Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee.
"Cast in solid bronze on the front of the pedestal is a copy of Dr. Coles' well known national song of praise, 'The Rock of Ages,' while riveted to Plymouth rock is a solid bronze tablet containing an oft-re- peated extract from a treatise by Dr. Coles on law in its relation to Christianity.
"The song inscribed on the bronze tablet is as follows :
THE ROCK OF AGES.
(Isaiah xxvi., 4.) A National Song of Praise.
Let us to Jehovah raise Glad and grateful songs of praise! Let the people with one voice, In the Lord their God rejoice! For His mercy standeth fast, And from age to age doth last.
He, across untraversed seas, Guided first the Genoese, Here prepared a dwelling-place
For a freedom-loving race; For His mercy standeth fast, And from age to age doth last.
Filled the land the red man trod With the worshipers of God; When Oppression forged the chain Nerved their hands to rend in twain. For His mercy standeth fast, And from age to age doth last.
Gave them courage to declare What to do and what to dare; Made them victors over wrong In the battle with the strong. For His mercy standeth fast, And from age to age doth last.
'Midst the terror of the fight,
Kept them steadfast in the right; Taught their Statesmen how to plan To conserve the Rights of Man; For His mercy standeth fast, And from age to age doth last.
Needful skill and wisdom lent To establish Government; Laid foundations resting still On the granite of His will; For His mercy standeth fast, And from age to age doth last.
Wiped the scandal and the sin From the color of the skin; Now o'er all, from sea to sea, Floats the Banner of the Free; For His mercy standeth fast, And from age to age doth last.
Praise the Lord for freedom won And the Gospel of His Son; Praise the Lord, His name adore All ye people, ever more! For His mercy standeth fast, And from age to age doth last. Abraham Coles, July 4, 1876.
"The tablet on the Plymouth rock reads as follows :
" 'The State, although it does not formu- late its faith, is distinctively Christian.
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Christianity, general, tolerant Christianity, is a part of the law of the land. Reverence for law is indissolubly interwoven with rev- erence for God. The State accepts the Decalogue, and builds upon it. As right presupposes a standard, it assumes that this is such a standard, divinely given and accepted by all Christendom; that it under- lies all civil society, is the foundation of the foundation, is lower than all and higher than all; commends itself to reason, speaks with authority to the conscience; vindicates itself in all government, giving it stability and exalting it in righteousness .- Abra- ham Coles, Memorial Volume, p. xxxvi.'"
The stones of Palestine were secured through the agency of the Rev. Edwin T. Wallace, A. M., our consul at Jerusalem.
The foundation bed is composed of Palestine, Egyptian and Newark broken stone, bound together with Egyptian ce- ment, taken from the Pyramid of Cheops, mixed with American cement. Imbedded beneath the stones are a copy of the Bible; a complete list of the passengers of the Mayflower, with a sketch of their lives, from the Boston Transcript; the Declara- tion of Independence, with the signers thereof; the Constitution of the United States of America; a list of the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution; the new constitution and list of members of the New Jersey Historical Society; list of the members of the American Medi- cal Association; all the published works of Dr. Abraham Coles; some water taken from the Dead Sea by Dr. Coles; a stone ornament from Cæsar's palace at Rome, and other objects of local, state and national interest. Mindful of the services rendered the state by the late Dr. Abraham Coles, Dr. J. A. Coles, in a letter, dated
June 16th, to the Hon. John W. Griggs, governor of New Jersey, had offered to give the bronze and its pedestal to the state, provided it could be located at New- ark.
The Governor, in a friendly reply, and at a subsequent personal interview, explained to Dr. Coles, that, if given to the state, the memorial would, like the Doctor's recent gift of the famous painting of "The Good Samaritan," by- Daniel Huntington, have to be located at Trenton, in order that the state might have the care and custody of the same, which it would not have if placed in the city of Newark. It being, therefore, left to Dr. Coles to choose between Tren- ton and Newark for the location of his gift, he decided in favor of his native city.
"That the unveiling might occur on July 5th, the Newark board of works," says the New York Tribune, "held a special meet- ing on June 22d, to consider the matter. The letter written by Dr. J. Ackerman Coles to Mayor Seymour, proffering the bronze bust of the late Dr. Abraham Coles, by J. Q. A. Ward, and its pedestal, to the city of Newark, was read, as was the mayor's communication on the subject. Commissioner Van Duyne then offered a resolution that the gift be accepted, and that Dr. Coles be authorized to place the same in Washington Park. The resolu- tion was unanimously adopted."
The 4th of July occurring on Sunday. twenty thousand copies of a little book. consisting of patriotic songs, by the late Dr. Abraham Coles, set to music, were pre- viously printed and given to the school children throughout the city; these were used in the Sunday schools and churches on July 4th, and on the occasion of the un- veiling of the bronze.
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"On the afternoon of July 5th, Mayor Seymour presiding, the exercises in Wash- ington Park were begun," says the Newark Daily Advertiser, "by the band playing and the large assemblage singing Dr. Coles' na- tional hymn, 'My Native Land,' the music being under the direction of John C. Day, of St. Luke's Methodist Episcopal church. Letters were received from President and Mrs. William McKinley, executive man- sion, Washington, D. C .; from Vice-Presi- dent Garret A. Hobart, president of the United States senate; from Governor John W. Griggs, of New Jersey; from Bishop John H. Vincent, chancellor of Chautau- qua University, and from others prominent in political and literary circles."
After prayer by the Rev. Dr. Robert Lowry, the large American flag surround- ing the bronze bust and its pedestal was un- furled by President William A. Gay, of the board of education, revealing, amid hearty cheers, the benignant and classical features of the late Dr. Abraham Coles.
Dr. Jonathan Ackerman Coles, the donor, then made the address of presenta- tion. "In recognition and appreciation," said Dr. Coles, "of the bond of fellowship that existed between the people of Newark and my father, the late Dr. Abraham Coles, on account of his active efforts in the pro- motion of the physical, religious, educa- tional and scientific development of this city, it is with civic pride and pleasure I now present to your Honor the pedestal and bronze just unveiled by the president of the board of education,-an historic memorial different and distinctive from that possessed by any other city or nation, and, in editorial language, 'in harmony with the life career of the physician and scholar it commemorates.'"
The statue was formally accepted on be- half of the city by Mayor James M. Sey- mour. The Mayor said :
On behalf of the people of this city it gives me great pleasure to accept from our respected fellow citi- zen, Dr. J. Ackerman Coles, this fine memorial of that distinguished gentleman, Dr. Abraham Coles. Noth- ing could be more appropriate on this spot, opposite our new free public library, than this bust.
Dr. Coles was one of America's greatest scholars. His cultured mind roamed through many fields and gave to the world some of its choicest treasures in lit- erature, poetry and art. He was a scholar, a statesman, and a physician. He found time in his busy life to do and know many things, and do and know each better than most men know one. When on yonder plot of ground our new building shall have been erected and stored with the learning of all lands, there will stand in proximity an invitation and an object lesson to the youth of our city; yonder the offer of intellectual wealth; here a monument to its attainment; there the seeds of knowledge; here the emblem of its fruition.
Dr. Coles spent the greater part of his life in New- ark. Here were his friends, of whom I am proud to have been one, his home and his family. His books and writings are known and read over all the world, but here we knew the pleasant, courteous, kind-heart- ed gentleman. His personality is still so fresh and strong in my remembrance that in offering this verbal. testimony to his fame, I cannot forget that, like many other great men in all ages, he was greatest in meek- ness, charity and kindness of heart.
It is eminently fitting that this memorial should be- surrounded by and mounted upon these tokens indica- tive of the bent of his mind. His predilections from his youth were toward religion, and whether engaged in the relief of his fellow men, through the medium of medicine, or surgery, penning those beautiful lines "Rock of Ages," or delving among the dead tongues of bygone days, it is easy to find in all his work a pre- dominating desire to serve, as best he knew how, his God.
On behalf of the city of Newark I accept this bust, and though it cannot last as long as the memory of him whom it memorializes, let us hope that while it stands here in this public park it will have a wide- spread influence upon our young men, and incite them to emulate Dr. Coles' useful, studious, earnest life.
In accepting the statue on behalf of the board of works, President Stainsby said :
There is little that I need say at this time. It is a pleasure to commend both the filial and public spirit which prompted this donor. The men of means of Newark have not hitherto permitted their public spirit to take shape for the beautification of the city. With good streets and elaborate parks should come beauti- fying statuary, and all that speaks for culture and pride in our public men and the perpetuation of objects of interest in our city.
In this park now stand two monuments: One speaks for the foundry and the mechanic, the foundation of this city's strength. The other speaks of the profes- sional man and the man of literature, made possible by our material greatness. The foundation stone will recall to all passers the sterling worth and fixity of principles of the Puritan fathers, and the superstruc- ture bearing the bust will bring to our minds the reli- gious in man, and both will be found typified in the. life and character of Dr. Coles.
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Mr. Stainsby was followed by the Rev. Dr. A. H. Tuttle, who delivered a review of the works of "Abraham Coles, the Phy- sician-Poet." Dr. Tuttle said :
Dr. Abraham Coles is called the physician-poet, not because he is the only one of his profession who has put great thoughts into immortal verse, but because of a single work in which he has sung, with genuine poetic genius, of the organs and functions of the human body.
"Man, the Microcosm," is a perilous theme for a poet. It awakens the scientific rather than the poetic faculty. Nothing of the kind had appeared before in our speech. Armstrong's "The Art of Preserving Health," published over one hundred and fifty years ago, can hardly be called an exception. Only one with the daring of Lucretius and the genius of Pope, both of whom in many respects the Doctor resembled, could so set scientific and philosophic facts as to make them sensitive to the breath of the Muse.
Usually scientific accuracy is the death of poetry. Darwin laments that he, who, in the beginning of his studies, took the greatest pleasure in Shakespeare, in later years lost all relish for the great dramatist. On the other hand, a glowing imagination is apt to wing its flight beyond the sphere of proven facts which ac- curate science demands.
But this poem, which is an address delivered before the Medical Society of the State of New Jersey, illumes the theme of a learned profession with the sacred speech of Polyhymnia. It at once commanded the attention and commendation of both physicians and artists; and from the time of its delivery its author has been known as the physician-poet.
This characterization, however, does not do him jus- tice. We might with equal inaccuracy speak of David as the "warrior-psalmist," because the divine bard was a soldier and sometimes sang of war.
"The Microcosm" is but one of the many products of Dr. Coles' lyre, and the spirit that breathes here, as in them all, is not anatomy, but divinity. Correct as is his science, this is the spirit that pervades his song.
"For such as this, did actually enshrine
Thy gracious Godhead once, when thou didst make Thyself incarnate, for my sinful sake.
Thou who hast done so very much for me, O let me do some humble thing for Thee! I would to every organ give a tongue,
That Thy high praises may be fitly sung; Appropriate ministries assign to each,
The least make vocal, eloquent to teach."
Though the learning is that of the physician, the language and the spirit are those of a seraph. We must place our author among the sacred poets.
We cannot pause to consider at length the perplex- ing question, What is sacred poetry? We are among those who believe in the sanctity of the art, altogether aside from the theme in which it is employed. It is the voice of the soul's innermost life, expressing itself in form of creative speech, which kindles the feeling while it carries the thought. To turn such a gift to unholy uses is like turning the language of prayer into profanity. But in order to fix our author's place in the sacred choir, we accept the common thought that sacred poetry is that which treats of sacred things.
It may be epic, as in Job and Milton, or dramatic, as in the Song of Solomon and Bach's "Passion," or lyric, as in all the Psalms and hymns.
The most copious of our sacred poetry is the lyric. It is distinguished from others not by its metrical forms, nor altogether by the material it fashions, but by its personal thought or passion and its easy adap- tation to song.
There are four distinct grades of lyric poetry by which the rank of the poet is determined. The first is what we may call the natural, and is characterized by the outburst of impassioned personal experience; the second is artistic, and is distinguished by the ex- quisite finish of its structure; the third is didactic, and is differentiated by its aim, which is to teach cer- tain truths and facts. There are doubtless poets of high merit in this class, but its dominant motive is sure to give it the air of the school room, and these lyrics are often only doctrine in rhyme. The fourth class is the liturgical. It is arranged for a service already prepared, and is set to music already com- posed. It is usually characterized by poverty of ideas, wearisome repetitions and a fatal lack of passion.
The foremost poet of the natural order is David, the creator of the Hebrew lyric, who, at the very begin- ning, gave to the world the very finest specimens of the art. There is in all his songs a spontaneous out- pouring of the passion of the moment. Every creation only images the soul of the poet, and his utterance is an elegy or an idyl, according as he is grave or gay. To this class belong also many of the old Latin hymns, as those of Thomas of Celano; Bernard of Clairvaux, and Francis Xavier. They utter the soul's innermost consciousness.
Measured by this standard, Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley are highest in the first rank of English hymn- ists. The doctrines of saving truth had become veri- ties in their experience; and they poured them out in rushing torrents of song. Their hymns are their own souls' biography.
Dr. Coles has written more than fifty original poems, many of which merit a place high, in the first class of lyrics. Some of them have the intuition, the pas- sion, the imagery which remind us of Cowper.
In a poem entitled "Prayer in Affliction," he de- scribes himself as bowed in sorrow in his home, made desolate by the death of his wife. But in his grief his faith discovers the promise of good out of ill. Then he cries:
"O, that my smitten heart may gush Melodious praise-like as when o'er Æolian harp strings wild winds rush, And all abroad, sad music pour, So sweet, Heaven's minstrelsy might hush Brief time to listen, for I know, The hand that doth my comforts crush, Builds bliss upon the base of woe."
The whole poem is wondrously suggestive of the genius of him who wrote the immortal, "My Mother." Some of his hymns throb with a spirit so akin to that of the matchless Wesley that we could readily believe they came from the Methodist's pen. Such is the following:
"Upon His bosom thus to rest, I cannot ask to be more blest; To know my sins are all forgiven, For Jesus' sake, O, this is heaven.
While I love Him and He loves me, I care no other heaven to see; And if there be some higher bliss, I am content while I have this."
But the Doctor did not devote his strength to the product of original hymns. He deliberately chose to turn masterpieces of ancient tongues into English
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Verse. Accordingly we are compelled to rank him in the second order of lyrists. He is "a poet of culture," whose aim is perfect, artistic expression.
What determined his choice was partly his scholar- ship, partly his intensely spiritual nature, and partly
The vastness of his learning gave him such ample material for his verse that his poetic passion made no imperious call for the invention of the intuitive faculty.
We cannot think of him as we do of Burns, walking
BRONZE BUST OF ABRAHAM COLES. Washington Park, Newark, N. J.
the elegant refinement in which he was born and lived. His learning was varied and accurate. He was a recognized authority in his profession, an accomplished linguist, a master of the classic and Sanskrit tongues, and a critical writer on the profoundest theological themes.
out under the stars, writhing in pain for some ade- quate form in which to embody the tumultuous pas- sion he must express. He had but to lift his eyes, and select from his calm, wide vision the form he needed. Had he been an unlettered peasant, the poetic gift would probably have travailed in birth of song, which
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would have come forth in varied and original imagery. His poems would have shouted and danced like the Psalms of the Maccabees. But wealth of advantage is oftentimes poverty of invention.
As it was, his imagination was constructive rather than creative. Its images are more remarkable for their exquisite finish than for the original boldness of their conception. It was a fortunate thing for the world, and probably for the fame of our author, that he devoted his superb gift to rendering the best of the Hebrew and classic lyrics into English verse. He is not alone among the seraphs who have made the attempt, but is conspicuous in this goodly company as the recognized chief.
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