This Republic, the greatest and the most liberally advanced which the world has ever seen, is seldom appreciated by those who pride themselves upon a long line of American ancestors.

Little do we realize to what an extent the ideals, the deeds, and the words of our patriots inspire those of foreign birth who seek citizenship in the same spirit which prompted our Revolutionary ancestors to lay the foundation of those institutions so much cherished by liberty-loving people.

At our Feb. 16th meeting a most remarkable example of this spirit was revealed, when our esteemed associate Judge Donald Littlefield Morrill, in the Round Table Talk, called attention to the utterances of one of his friends of Greek birth who certainly possesses all the attributes which the most exacting votary of Americanism might demand.

The speaker said in part: "Each succeeding anniversary of the birth of the great 2Emancipator causes all patriotic citizens of our Republic and all lovers of real democracy, wherever situated, to give renewed consideration to his ideals and public services. The study and analysis of his public life have been so extensively pursued that his utterances have become the Gospel of political thought and patriotic endeavor. This is particularly true of his famous Gettysburg address, which has been emblazoned upon memorial tablets, declaimed by schoolboys, and accepted as the guide of statesmen, so that the words have become familiar to all the world, and their author has been raised to the rank of an immortal.

"On this particular anniversary we owe to one of our adopted citizens, who yields to none in his devotion to the ideals of Lincoln, a thoughtful interpretation of these historic words. I refer to Mr. Peter S. Lambros, editor of the Greek Star, a real student of history, who has shown that the underlying thought which prompted the words of the Gettysburg address is the same as that which has actuated the exponents of democracy in all ages. This is demonstrated by an analogy which he has drawn between the Gettysburg address and the famous funeral oration delivered by the great Pericles two thousand years ago. The comparison is based not upon any similarity of the words employed, but rather upon the basic 3thought which prompted their utterance on occasions widely separated in point of time,but under like conditions and for the same purpose. A certain psychological undercurrent seems to connect these two great men, so far apart in the history of civilization.

"The funeral oration was delivered by Pericles in honor of the Athenians who perished in the Peloponnesian War. This was a civil war between two Greek states, Athens in the north and Sparta in the south.

"The Gettysburg speech was in memory of the fallen soldiers of our Civil War, in which the North struggled against the South. Both were wars which advanced the cause of democracy and civilization.

"Both Pericles and Lincoln eulogized the founders of their respective nations, Lincoln by saying, 'Our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty.'

"Both commented upon the nature and the purpose of those wars, Pericles by declaring 4that 'the country was brought to a test by the Peloponnesian War and had to prove superior to its fame,' and Lincoln in the words, 'Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure.'

"Continuing, the Greek orator said: 'It was for such a country that these dead heroes nobly resolved to fight and fell fighting for freedom.'

"Expressing a similar thought, the words of Lincoln were: 'We have come to dedicate a portion of this field as a final resting-place for those who gave their lives that that nation might live.'

"The Grecian heroes were eulogized in these words: 'When men have shown themselves brave by deeds, they should also be honored by deeds... I shall not offer condolence so much as consolation. Happy are these men who by dying for freedom have attained the most glorious death,--whose fortune has been so justly measured that they lived in happiness and died in glory.'

"Of similar import were the words of the American statesman, who said: 'The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here,have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract... From these honored dead we take increased devotion to the cause to which they gave the last full measure of devotion.

"As to the place in history to be accorded to the honored dead, the Athenian said: 'The bravery of great heroes is a great historical event which will attain such renown that it will never grow old,' and the American declared, 'The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.'

"There is inspiration in realizing that the thoughts of these two great exponents of democracy, whose earthly careers were twenty centuries apart, were so nearly identical when they expressed their honor for the dead, their love of country, and their devotion to humanity and democracy. Lincoln's oft-quoted words were that government of the people, for the people, and by the people shall not perish from the earth,' and the sentence of Pericles, containing the seeds of democracy, 'We enjoy a form of government that is for the benefit not of a few but of all concerned,' shows the community of his thought with Lincoln's.

"While Lincoln was forming in his mind the outline of his immortal address, he probably took no thought of the words pronounced by Pericles on a similar occasion, but his address provides abundant evidence that regardless of time and environment, the utterances of true exponents of democracy when they express their devotion to ideals and traditions have many points of similarity. It is particularly gratifying that a representative of our adopted citizenship has pursued this line of study and reflection and is making it a source of inspiration to his fellow-citizens. He has truly said in the closing words of his brochure.

"'An American is one who respects the Constitution, stands by our Government, and follows the flag and keeps step to the music, not one who merely masquerades under the name of American.'"