It is better to try and fail than not to endeavor. Champlain never felt that he was called—he just went. He never worried about prosperity. He framed his opinions without asking himself whether he was in the majority or not. It is better to practice one commandment and forget the other nine than have all of them committed to memory as a rhetorical exercise.
It is a great thing to have a man’s memory remain 300 years without tarnish—or even 300 days without it. It is a wonderful thing to be great and not know it. Champlain could have closed his eyes forever at the end of any twenty-four hours of his life and have said, “I have done the best I could.” (Applause.)
Benediction was then pronounced by the Rt. Rev. Monsignor M. J. Lavelle, Vicar General of New York, as follows:
Father of Bounty from Whom all blessings flow, we thank Thee from the inmost recesses of our souls for the blessings bestowed upon our country and the human race, through the courage and self-sacrifice of Samuel Champlain. This monument dedicated to his memory to-day, is a token, primarily, of our gratitude to Thee for the favors Thou hast granted us through Thy servant. Teach us all to be like him, intrepid in danger, indomitable in trial, undismayed in failure and unspoiled in success. May everyone who has participated in the erection and dedication of this monument have the grace to direct his own life in the way of happiness and virtue, and also to be a source of benediction unto generations yet unborn.
We pray Thee, O Father of Might, Wisdom and Justice, through Whom alone authority is rightfully administered, laws enacted and judgment decreed, assist with Thy Holy Spirit of Counsel and Fortitude, the President of these United States, that his administration may be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides, by the encouragement of virtue and religion, by wise enforcement of the laws in justice and in mercy, and by repressing vice and immorality. Let the Light of Thy Divine Wisdom shine upon the deliberations of Congress, and manifest itself in all the laws framed for our government, that these regulations may tend to the preservation of peace, the extension of National prosperity, the increase of industry, sobriety and useful knowledge, and may perpetuate amongst us the boon of equal liberty.
We pray also for the Governors of these two states, for the members of the Legislatures, for all judges and magistrates and other officials appointed to guard our political welfare. Aid them with Thy guiding hand, that they may be able to discharge the duties of their several offices with honesty and ability.
We pray also for all our brethren and fellow-citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge, and sanctified in the performance of Thy Holy Will. Preserve us in unity, and in that peace which the world cannot give. And after having tasted Thy bounty here below, may we be admitted to the joys that are eternal.