Kemper Lectures
CHURCHILL, THE MAN
Robert Rhodes James, M.P., April 27, 1986
Robert Rhodes James, M.P., April 27, 1986
It is especially moving for an Englishman to receive such an honour in this beautiful church – which stands serene and unconquered, in the heart of America – a living memorial to the genius of Sir Christopher Wren and those who worked with him to create it. A memorial to the ordeal through which my country passed in war. A memorial to the man who led us in that grim, but indeed "Finest" hour. And an inspiration for future generations.
It was built in London as a labour of love. It was rebuilt here in the same spirit. It is cherished by you, and for all this “We are not ashamed to be grateful.”
President Saunders, Mr. Kemper, Members of the Faculty, Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Fellow Doctors:
It is a novel and welcome experience for me to receive an honorary degree. I always had to work for the other ones! But I am especially moved that you have given me the same degree as the one you gave to Sir Winston Churchill 40 years ago, and that you have linked my contributions to public service and scholarship in your kind citation.
That link seems to be oddly regarded today. Somehow it is thought that politicians should be politicians and nothing else, and that scholars should be scholars and nothing else. This is a novel doctrine in Britain and in the United States and would have astonished Churchill. One of my predecessors as Member of Parliament for Cambridge was Sir Isaac Newton: Others were Francis Bacon, the young William Pitt, and Lord Palmerston. President Truman was one of the best read of all American presidents, and Winston Churchill moved easily and happily between the worlds of thought and action.
If you do not have the first, the latter can be unfortunate.