Xll EULOGY. 



ceived the whig support, as their candidate for the office 

 of Governor of the State of New York. 



On the political course of Judge Buel, I do not de- 

 sign to enlarge. He was a believer in the old fashioned 

 doctrine, that office, instead of being made for men^ 

 should be made hy them ; that it conierred far lesspmi- 

 leges than it imposed duties ; that it was a trust reposed, 

 and the incumbent a trustee^ and responsible for the prop- 

 er performance of the trust ; that, instead of operating as 

 a license to live and fatten on the public spoil, without 

 the necessity of labor, it imposed the severe obligations 

 of more incessant effort, and of acting under deeper and 

 heavier responsibilities ; and that it was no further honor- 

 able, than as an indication of trust and confidence on the 

 part of those, whose intelligence and moral worth were 

 the vouchers for its value. The introduction of many 

 modern improvements is tending to render that doctrine 

 somewhat antiquated, and to diminish the number of its 

 adherents. 



Mere political preeminence is, at best, extremely 

 equivocal. It may be ennobled by the solid qualities of 

 the statesman, or debased by the crafty arts of the poli- 

 tician. Its highest attainable summit has been not in- 

 aptly compared to the apex of a pyramid, which can be 

 reached by the soaring eagle, or the crawling reptile. 

 The durable reputation of .Tesse Buel depends on 

 that, which politics can neither give nor withhold ; which 

 is at a high remove above the little tricks of little men ; 

 which is far beyond the reach of the aristocrat, and above 

 the highest possible conceptions of the mere demagogue. 

 It reposes on that strong sense of obligation, which a 

 people feel themselves under, to a high and gifted mind 

 exerted for their benefit. It is the grateful homage, ren- 

 dered by mind to mind ; the most desirable, the most en- 

 during, the most esteemed, of earthly homage. It arises 

 from the feeling of benefits conferred, on the one side, 

 and received, on the other. It serves to connect the 

 great mass of man with. the few master spirits, who are 

 pioneering onward, in advance of their age. The highest 

 mere political distinctions dwindle into insignificance, 



