28 Life and Character of Nathaniel Boivditch. 



My other remark is, that this item in his Will is an indication 

 of a very prominent feature in his character, namely, his grateful 

 and generous spirit. Dr. Bowditch never forgot a favor ; length 

 of time did not obliterate it from his memory. The kindness 

 shown him when a poor boy he remembers and repays by a lib- 

 eral legacy. The Salem Marine Society, a mutual charitable in- 

 stitution, which had aided his father in his straits by the small an- 

 nual stipend of fifteen dollars, he repays, and wipes off the obli- 

 gation, though not his sense of the benefit, by a similar bequest 

 of a thousand dollars. And the East India Marine Society, whose 

 peculiar and splendid collection of curiosities is so well known, 

 receives a legacy of the same amount. And let it be remembered 

 that these were not the donations of a rich man. He was far 

 from being one. These three legacies constituted one tenth part 

 of his whole personal property. Others sometimes give to such 

 institutions from their abundance — he from his comparative pen^ 

 ury. Let the deed be an example and an incitement to our v/eal- 

 thy men ! 



Dr. Bowditch combined, in a very remarkable degree, qualities 

 and habits of mind which are usually considered incompatible 

 and hostile. He was a contemplative, recluse student, and at the 

 same time, an active, public man. He lived habitually among 

 the stars, and yet, I doubt not, he seemed to many never to raise 

 his eyes from the earth. He was a profound philosopher, and at 

 the same time, a shrewd, practical man, and one of the most skil- 

 ful of financiers. Judging from his published works, you would 

 suppose that he could have no taste nor time for business or the 

 world ; and judging from the large concerns which he managed, 

 and the vast funds of which he had the supervision,— involving the 

 most complex calculations and the most minute details,— you would 

 say that he could have no taste nor time for study. His exam- 

 ple is a conclusive proof and striking illustration of the fact, that 

 there is no inherent, essential, necessary incompatibility between 

 speculation and practice— that there need be no divorce between 

 philosophy and business. The man most deeply engaged in af- 

 fairs need not be cut off from the higher pursuits of intellectual 

 culture ; and the scholar need not be incapacitated by his studies 

 from understanding and engaging in the practical details of com- 

 mon life. In fact, they should be blended in order to make up 

 the full, complete man. Contemplation should be always united 



