Chapter II: Domestic Missions (3)

An English philosopher and dissenting divine, born at Fieldheald, Yorkshire, 1733. He was educated at Daventry, under Dr. Ashworth, for the ministry among the dissenters, and at the proper age he took care of a congregation at Needham Market, Suffolk, and afterwards at Nantwich, Cheshire. He became, in 1761, professor of belles lettres in the Warrington Academy, and after seven years’ residence there he removed to Leeds, and two years after accepted the office of librarian and philosophical companion to the earl of Shelburne. In this retreat, the philosopher devoted himself laboriously to metaphysical and theological studies, and published various works; and when, at last, he separated from his noble patron, he retired with an annual pension of one hundred and fifty pounds, to settle at Birmingham, as pastor to a Unitarian congregation, in 1780. While here usefully employed in advancing the cause of philosophy, and too often engaged in theological disputes, he became the victim of popular fury; and the conduct of some of his neighbors in celebrating the anniversary of the French revolution, in 1791, with more intemperance than became Englishmen and loyal subjects, excited a dreadful riot. Not only the meeting-houses were destroyed on this melancholy occasion, but, among others, Dr. Priestley’s house, library, manuscripts, and philosophical apparatus, were totally consumed; and, though he recovered a compensation by suing the county, he quitted this scene of prejudice and unpopularity. After residing some time at London and Hackney, where he preached to the congregation over which his friend Price once presided, he determined to quit his native country, and seek a more peaceful retreat in America, where some of his family were already settled. He left England in 1794, and fixed his residence at Northumberland, in Pennsylvania, where he died in 1804. His writings were very numerous, and he long attracted the public notice, not only by discoveries in philosophy, but by the boldness of his theological opinions. Had he confined his studies merely to philosophical pursuits, his name would have descended to posterity with greater lustre; but he who attempts innovations in government and religion, for singularity, and to excite popular prejudices, must be little entitled to the applauses of the world.

James Purves.

A learned Arian preacher, born at a little village of Berwickshire, in 1734. His father was only a keeper of cattle, and intended James for the same profession. He, meanwhile, having obtained the loan of some books on mathematics, made himself master of geometry and trigonometry, and afterwards taught these sciences, with other branches of mathematics, and assisted some public authors in compiling mathematical works, which have been well received. He joined a party of the ancient Cameronians, and in 1769, at one of their general meetings, was called to be a pastor among them. To qualify himself for this office, he studied the Greek and Hebrew languages, and compiled a Hebrew grammar, which is still in manuscript. These acquisitions led him into the study of the Arian controversy, when finally he adopted the opinions of Arius, and afterwards became preacher to a small Arian congregation in Edinburgh, where he also kept a school and a book-shop, for many years before he died.

John Jebb.

Bishop of Limerick, born September 27, 1775, and died December 9, 1833, aged 58. He was educated at the university of Dublin, where he gained a high reputation as a scholar. He was greatly esteemed as a man of a most amiable and gentle spirit; had the reputation of an accomplished orator and a learned and able theologian; and as a clergyman and a bishop he was truly exemplary. His original publications are not numerous, but are of high merit.

John Gaspar Christian Lavater.

A celebrated writer, born at Zurich, 1741. He was pastor of the church of St Peter’s at Zurich, and as a minister he acquired great reputation both by his eloquent discourses and his exemplary life. He was wounded by a French soldier when Zurich was taken by storm under Massena in 1799, and died there in consequence of it, 12th January, 1801. He acquired deserved celebrity as a physiognomist, and his writings on the subject, possessing great merit, ingenious remarks, and truly original ideas, have been translated into all the languages of Europe. His Christian piety was of the highest order.

John Tillotson.

An eminent prelate, was born in 1630, at Sowerby, in Yorkshire, and was educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge. In 1691, after fruitless attempts to avoid the honor, he accepted, with unfeigned reluctance, the see of Canterbury, which was become vacant by the deprivation of Sancroft. This promotion, however, he did not long survive, as his decease took place in 1694.

In his domestic relations, friendships, and the whole commerce of business, he was easy and humble, frank and open, tender-hearted and bountiful, to such an extent, that, while he was in a private station, he laid aside two tenths of his income for charitable uses. He despised wealth but as it furnished him for charity, in which he was judicious as well as liberal. His affability and candor, as well as abilities in his profession, made him frequently consulted in points relating both to practice and opinion. His love for the real philosophy of nature, and his conviction that the study of it is the most solid support of religion, induced him, not many years after the establishment of the Royal Society, to desire to be admitted into that assembly of the greatest men of the age; into which he was accordingly elected on the 25th of January, 1672. His kindness towards the dissenters was attended with the consequence intended by him, of reconciling many of them to the communion of the established church, and almost all of them to a greater esteem of it than they had before entertained.

He died poor, the copy-right of his Posthumous Sermons (which, however, sold for two thousand five hundred guineas) being all that his family inherited. His works form three folio volumes.

Isaac Newton.

A most celebrated English philosopher and mathematician, and one of the greatest geniuses that ever appeared in the world, descended from an ancient family in Lincolnshire, where he was born in the year 1642. His powers of mind were wonderfully comprehensive and penetrating. Fontenelle says of him, “that in learning mathematics, he did not study Euclid, who seemed to him too plain and simple, and unworthy of taking up his time. He understood him almost before he read him: a cast of his eye on the contents of the theorems of that great mathematician, seemed to be sufficient to make him master of them.” Several of his works mark a profundity of thought and reflection that has astonished the most learned men. He was highly esteemed by the university of Cambridge, and was twice chosen to represent that place in parliament. He was also greatly favored by Queen Anne, and by George I. The princess of Wales, afterwards queen consort of England, who had a turn for philosophical inquiries, used frequently to propose questions to him. This princess had a great regard for him, and often declared that she thought herself happy to live at the same time as he did, and to have the pleasure and advantage of his conversation.

This eminent philosopher was remarkable for being of a very meek disposition and a great lover of peace. He would rather have chosen to remain in obscurity, than to have the serenity of his days disturbed by those storms and disputes, which genius and learning often draw upon those who are eminent for them. We find him reflecting on the controversy respecting his optic lectures (in which he had been almost unavoidably engaged) in the following terms:—“I blamed my own imprudence, for parting with so real a blessing as my quiet, to run after a shadow.”

The amiable quality of modesty stands very conspicuous in the character of this great man’s mind and manners. He never spoke, either of himself or others, in such a manner as to give the most malicious censurers the least occasion even to suspect him of vanity. He was candid and affable; and he did not assume any airs of superiority over those with whom he associated. He never thought either his merit or his reputation sufficient to excuse him from any of the common offices of social life. Though he was firmly attached to the church of England, he was averse to the persecution of the Nonconformists. He judged of men by their conduct; and the true schismatics, in his opinion, were the vicious and the wicked. This liberality of sentiment did not spring from the want of religion; for he was thoroughly persuaded of the truth of revelation; and amidst the great variety of books which he had constantly before him, that which he loved the best, and studied with the greatest application, was the Bible. He was, indeed, a truly pious man; and his discoveries concerning the frame and system of the universe, were applied by him to demonstrate the being of a God, and to illustrate his power and wisdom. He also wrote an excellent discourse, to prove that the remarkable prophecy of Daniel’s weeks was an express prediction of the coming of the Messiah, and that it was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

The testimony of the pious and learned Dr. Doddridge to the most interesting part of this great man’s character, cannot be omitted on the present occasion. “According to the best information,” says he, “whether public or private, I could ever obtain, his firm faith in the divine revelation discovered itself in the most genuine fruits of substantial virtue and piety, and consequently gives us the justest reason to conclude that he is now rejoicing in the happy effects of it, infinitely more than in all the applause which his philosophical works have procured him, though they have commanded a fame lasting as the world.”

He departed this life in the eighty-fifth year of his age, and, in his principles and conduct through life, has left a strong and comfortable evidence that the highest intellectual powers harmonize with religion and virtue, and that there is nothing in Christianity but what will abide the scrutiny of the soundest and most enlarged understanding.

How great and satisfactory a confirmation is it to the sincere, humble Christian, and what an insurmountable barrier does it present to the infidel, to perceive, in the list of Christian believers, the exalted and venerable name of Newton! a man who must be acknowledged to be an ornament of human nature, when we consider the wide compass of his abilities, the great extent of his learning and knowledge, and the piety, integrity, and beneficence, of his life. This eminent character firmly adhered to the belief of Christianity, after the most diligent and exact researches into the life of its Founder, the authenticity of its records, the completion of its prophecies, the sublimity of its doctrines, the purity of its precepts, and the arguments of its adversaries.

Charles V.

Emperor of Germany, king of Spain, and lord of the Netherlands, born at Ghent, in the year 1500.

He is said to have fought sixty battles, in most of which he was victorious, to have obtained six triumphs, conquered four kingdoms, and to have added eight principalities to his dominions—an almost unparalleled instance of worldly prosperity and the greatness of human glory.

But all these fruits of his ambition, and all the honors which attended him, could not yield true and solid satisfaction. Reflecting on the evils and miseries which he had occasioned, and convinced of the emptiness of earthly magnificence, he became disgusted with the splendor that surrounded him, and thought it his duty to withdraw from it, and spend the rest of his days in religious retirement. Accordingly, he voluntarily resigned all his dominions to his brother and son; and, after taking an affectionate and last farewell of the latter, and a numerous retinue of princes and nobility who respectfully attended him, he repaired to his chosen retreat, which was situated in Spain, in a vale of no great extent, watered by a small brook, and surrounded with rising grounds covered with lofty trees.

A deep sense of his frail condition and great imperfections appears to have impressed his mind in this extraordinary resolution, and through the remainder of his life. As soon as he landed in Spain, he fell prostrate on the ground, and considering himself now as dead to the world, he kissed the earth, and said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked I now return to thee, thou common mother of mankind!”

In this humble retreat, he spent his time in religious exercises and innocent employments, and buried here, in solitude and silence, his grandeur and his ambition, together with all those vast projects, which, for near half a century, had alarmed and agitated Europe, and filled every kingdom in it, by turns, with the terror of his arms, and the dread of being subjected to his power. Far from taking any part in the political transactions of the world, he restrained his curiosity even from any inquiry concerning them, and seemed to view the busy scene he had abandoned with an elevation and indifference of mind which arose from his thorough experience of its vanity, as well as from the pleasing reflection of having disengaged himself from its cares and temptations.

Here he enjoyed more complete contentment than all his grandeur had ever yielded him; as a full proof of which he has left this short but comprehensive testimony:—“I have tasted more satisfaction in my solitude, in one day, than in all the triumphs of my former reign. The sincere study, profession, and practice, of the Christian religion have in them such joys and sweetness as are seldom found in courts and grandeur.”

Francis Bacon.

Baron of Verulam, viscount St. Albans, and lord high chancellor of England, born in the year 1561. He was one of the most remarkable men of whom any age or country can boast; and his writings furnish incontestable proofs that his knowledge, wisdom, and benevolence, were very extraordinary. Lord Bacon died in 1626.

That this illustrious character was deeply influenced by a truly humble and religious spirit, is manifest from the following prayer, which was found amongst his papers, in his own hand-writing:—

“Most gracious Lord God, my merciful Father; my creator, my
Redeemer, my Comforter! thou soundest and searchest the depths and
secrets of all hearts; thou acknowledgest the upright; thou
judgest the hypocrite; vanity and crooked ways cannot be hid from
thee.

“Remember, O Lord, how thy servant has walked before thee;
remember what I have first sought, and what has been principal in
my intentions. I have loved thy assemblies; I have mourned for the
divisions of thy church; I have delighted in the brightness of thy
sanctuary; I have ever prayed unto thee, that the vine which thy
right hand hath planted in this nation, might have the former and
the latter rain, and that it might stretch its branches to the
seas and to the floods. The state and bread of the poor and
oppressed have been precious in my eyes; I have hated all cruelty
and hardness of heart; I have, though a despised weed, endeavored
to procure the good of all men. If any have been my enemies, I
thought not of them, neither has the sun gone down upon my
displeasure; but I have been as a dove, free from superfluity of
maliciousness. Thy creatures have been my books, but thy
Scriptures much more so. I have sought thee in the courts, the
fields, and the gardens; but I have found thee in thy temples.

“O Lord, my strength! I have, from my youth, met with thee in all
my ways; in thy fatherly compassions, in thy merciful
chastisements, and in thy most visible providences. As thy favors
have increased upon me, so have thy corrections; as my worldly
blessings were exalted, so secret darts from thee have pierced me;
and when I have ascended before men, I have descended in
humiliation before thee. And now, when I have been thinking most
of peace and honor, thy hand is heavy upon me, and has humbled me
according to thy former loving-kindness, keeping me still in thy
fatherly school, not as a bastard, but as a child. Just are thy
judgments upon me for my sins, which are more in number than the
sands of the sea, but which have no proportion to thy mercies.
Besides my innumerable sins, I confess before thee, that I am a
debtor to thee for the gracious talent of thy gifts and graces;
which I have neither put into a napkin nor placed, as I ought,
with exchangers, where it might have made best profit; but I have
misspent it in things for which I was least fit: so I may truly
say, my soul hath been a stranger in the course of my pilgrimage.
Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for my Savior’s sake, and receive me
into thy bosom, or guide me into thy ways.”

Matthew Hale.

Lord chief justice of England, born in Gloucestershire, in the year 1609, and, by the care of a wise and religious father, had great attention paid to his education.

In his youth, he was fond of company, and fell into many levities and extravagances. But this propensity and conduct were corrected by a circumstance that made a considerable impression on his mind during the rest of his life. Being one day in company with other young men, one of the party, through excess of wine, fell down, apparently dead, at their feet. Young Hale was so affected on this occasion, that he immediately retired to another room, and, shutting the door, fell on his knees, and prayed earnestly to God that his friend might be restored to life, and that he himself might be pardoned for having given countenance to so much excess. At the same time, he made a solemn vow that he would never again keep company in that manner, nor “drink a health” while he lived. His friend recovered, and Hale religiously observed his vow. After this event, there was an entire change in his disposition; he forsook all dissipated company, and was careful to divide his time between the duties of religion and the studies of his profession.

He became remarkable for his solid and grave deportment, his inflexible regard to justice, and a religious tenderness of spirit, which appear to have accompanied him through life. His retired meditations on religious subjects manifest a pious and humble frame of mind, and a solemnity well adapted to excite kindred emotions in the breast of the reader.

“True religion,” says he, “teaches the soul a high veneration for Almighty God, a sincere and upright walking, as in the presence of the invisible, all-seeing God. It makes a man truly love, honor, and obey him, and therefore careful to know what his will is. It renders the heart highly thankful to him, as his Creator, Redeemer, and Benefactor. It makes a man entirely depend on him, seek him for guidance, direction, and protection, and submit to his will with patience and resignation of soul. It gives the law, not only to his words and actions, but to his very thoughts and purposes; so that he dares not entertain any which are unbecoming the presence of that God by whom all our thoughts are legible. It crushes all pride and haughtiness, both in a man’s heart and carriage, and gives him an humble state of mind before God and men. It regulates the passions, and brings them into due moderation. It gives a man a right estimate of this present world, and sets his heart and hopes above it; so that he never loves it more than it deserves. It makes the wealth and the glory of this world,—high places and great preferments,—of but little consequence to him; so that he is neither covetous, nor ambitious, nor over-solicitous, concerning the advantages of them. It makes him value the love of God and the peace of his own conscience above all the wealth and honor in the world, and to be very diligent in preserving them. He performs all his duties to God with sincerity and humility; and, whilst he lives on earth, his conversation, his hope, his treasures, are in heaven; and he endeavors to walk suitably to such a hope.”

“They who truly fear God, have a secret guidance from a higher wisdom than what is barely human, namely, the Spirit of truth and goodness; which does really, though secretly, prevent and direct them. Any man that sincerely and truly fears Almighty God, and calls and relies upon him for his direction, has it as really as a son has the counsel and direction of his father; and though the voice be not audible, nor discernible by sense, yet it is equally as real as if a man heard a voice, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ ”

“Though this secret direction of Almighty God is principally seen in matters relating to the good of the soul, yet, even in the concerns of this life, a good man fearing God, and begging his direction, will very often, if not at all times, find it. I can call my own experience to witness, that even in the temporal affairs of my whole life, I have never been disappointed of the best direction, when I have, in humility and sincerity, implored it.

“The observance of the secret admonition of this Spirit of God in the heart, is an effectual means to cleanse and sanctify us; and the more it is attended to, the more it will be conversant with our souls, for our instruction. In the midst of difficulties, it will be our counsellor; in the midst of temptations, it will be our strength, and grace sufficient for us; in the midst of troubles, it will be our light and our comforter.”

Chief Justice Hale died on the twenty-fifth of December, 1676.

Princess Elizabeth.

Princess of the Rhine, born in the year 1620. She was the eldest daughter of Frederick V., elector palatine and king of Bohemia, by Anne, daughter of James I., king of England. This excellent princess possessed only a small territory; but she governed it with great judgment and attention to the happiness of her subjects. She made it a rule to hear, one day in the week, all such causes as were brought before her. On these occasions, her wisdom, justice, and moderation, were very conspicuous. She frequently remitted forfeitures, in cases where the parties were poor, or in any respect worthy of favor. It was remarkable that she often introduced religious considerations as motives to persuade the contending parties to harmony and peace. She was greatly beloved and respected by her subjects, and also by many persons of learning and virtue not resident in her dominions; for she patronized men of this character, whatever might be their country or religious profession.

In the year 1677, the famous William Penn paid her a visit, and was treated by her with great respect. The following account of her is taken from his works:—

“The meekness and humility of the princess appeared to me
extraordinary: she did not consider the quality, but the merit, of
the people she entertained. Did she hear of a retired man, seeking
after the knowledge of a better world, she was sure to set him
down in the catalogue of her charity, if he wanted it. I have
casually seen, I believe, fifty tokens of her benevolence, sealed
and directed to the several poor subjects of her bounty, whose
distance prevented them from being personally known to her. Thus,
though she kept no sumptuous table in her own court, she spread
the tables of the poor in their solitary cells; breaking bread to
virtuous pilgrims, according to their wants and her ability.

“She was abstemious in her living, and in apparel void of all vain
ornaments. I must needs say, that her mind had a noble prospect:
her eye was to a better and more lasting inheritance, than can be
found below. This made her not overrate the honors of her station,
or the learning of the schools, of which she was an excellent
judge. Being once at Hamburgh, a religious person, whom she went
to see for religion’s sake, remarked to her, that ‘it was too
great an honor for him, that a visitant of her quality, who was
allied to so many great kings and princes of this world, should
come under his roof:’ to whom she humbly replied, ‘If they were
religious, as well as great, it would be an honor indeed; but if
you knew what that greatness was, as well as I do, you would value
it less.’

“After a religious meeting which we had in her chamber, she was
much affected, and said, ‘It is a hard thing to be faithful to
what one knows. O, the way is strait! I am afraid I am not weighty
enough in my spirit to walk in it.’

“She once withdrew, on purpose to give her servants, who were
religiously disposed, the liberty of discoursing with us that they
might the more freely put what questions of conscience they
desired to be satisfied in. Sometimes she suffered both them and
the poorest persons of her town to sit by her in her own chamber,
where we had two meetings. I cannot forget her last words, when I
took my leave of her:—‘Let me desire you to remember me, though I
live at so great a distance, and you should never see me more. I
thank you for this good time. Be assured that, though my condition
subjects me to divers temptations, yet my soul has strong desires
after the best things.’

“She lived till the age of sixty years, and then departed at her
house in Herwerden, in the year 1680, as much lamented as she had
been beloved by her people. To her real worth I do, with a
religious gratitude, dedicate this memorial.”

Robert Boyle.

An eminent philosopher, and a truly good man, was the son of Richard, earl of Cork, and was born at Lismore, in Ireland, in the year 1627. At Eton School, where he was educated, he soon discovered a force of understanding which promised great things, and a disposition to improve it to the utmost. During his education, and before he was ten years old, he was much afflicted with an ague, which considerably depressed his spirits; and, to divert his attention, he was persuaded to read Amadis de Gaul, and other romantic books. But this kind of reading, he says in his memoirs, produced such restlessness in him, that he was obliged to apply himself to mathematical studies, in order to fix and settle the volatility of his fancy. He died in the sixty-fifth year of his age.

He was a man of great learning, and his stock of knowledge was immense. The celebrated Dr. Boerhaave has passed the following eulogium upon him:—“Boyle was the ornament of his age and country. Which of his writings shall I commend? All of them. To him we owe the secrets of fire, air, water, animals, vegetables, fossils; so that from his works may be deduced the whole system of natural knowledge.”

He was treated with particular kindness and respect by Charles II., as well as by the two great ministers Southampton and Clarendon. By the latter he was solicited to enter into orders; for his distinguished learning and unblemished reputation induced Lord Clarendon to think that so very respectable a personage would do great honor to the clergy. Boyle considered the proposal with due attention. He reflected that, in his present situation of life, whatever he wrote with respect to religion, would have greater weight, as coming from a layman; for he well knew that the irreligious fortified themselves against all that the clergy could offer, by supposing and saying that it was their trade, and that they were paid for it. He considered, likewise, that, in point of fortune and character, he needed no accessions; and, indeed, his desire for these was always very limited. But Bishop Burnet, to whom Boyle had communicated memorandums concerning his life, tells us that what had the greatest weight in determining his judgment, was, “the not feeling within himself any motion or tendency of mind which he could safely esteem a call from the Holy Spirit, and so not venturing to take holy orders, lest he should be found to have lied unto it.”

Bishop Burnet, who was Boyle’s particular friend, and who, during an acquaintance of twenty-nine years, had spent many happy hours in conversation with him, gives a full account of his genuine piety and virtue, and of his zeal for the Christian religion. “This zeal,” he says, “was unmixed with narrow notions, or a bigoted heat in favor of a particular sect; it was that spirit which is the ornament of a true Christian.” Burnet mentions, as a proof of this, his noble foundation for lectures in defence of the gospel, against infidels of all sorts; the effects of which have been very conspicuous, in the many volumes of excellent discourses, which have been published in consequence of that laudable and pious design.

The great object of his philosophical pursuits was to promote the cause of religion, and to discountenance atheism and infidelity. His intimate friend Bishop Burnet makes the following observations on this point:—“It appeared to those who conversed with him on his inquiries into nature, that his main design (on which as he had his own eye constantly fixed, so he took care to put others often in mind of it) was to raise in himself and others more exalted sentiments of the greatness and glory, the wisdom and goodness, of God. This design was so deeply impressed on his mind, that he concludes the article of his will, which relates to the Royal Society, in these words:—‘I wish them a happy success in their attempts to discover the true nature of the works of God; and I pray that they, and all searchers into physical truths, may cordially refer their attainments to the glory of the great Author of nature, and to the comfort of mankind.’ ”

On another occasion, the same person speaks of him thus—“He had the most profound veneration for the great God of heaven and earth that I ever observed in any man. The very name of God was never mentioned by him without a pause and observable stop in his discourse.” So brightly did the example of this great and good man shine, through his whole course, that Bishop Burnet, on reviewing it, in a moment of pious exultation thus expressed himself:—“I might challenge the whole tribe of libertines to come and view the usefulness, as well as the excellence, of the Christian religion, in a life that was entirely dedicated to it.”

John Locke.

A very celebrated philosopher, and one of the greatest men that England ever produced, born in the year 1632. He was well educated; and, applying himself with vigor to his studies, his mind became enlarged, and stored with much useful knowledge. He went abroad as secretary to the English ambassador at several of the German courts, and afterwards had the offer of being made envoy at the court of the emperor, or of any other that he chose; but he declined the proposal, on account of the infirm state of his health. He was a commissioner of trade and plantations, in which station he very honorably distinguished himself. Notwithstanding his public employments, he found leisure to write much for the benefit of mankind. His “Essay on Human Understanding,” his “Discourses on Government,” and his “Letters on Toleration,” are justly held in the highest esteem.

This enlightened man and profound reasoner was most firmly attached to the Christian religion. His zeal to promote it appeared, first, in his middle age, by publishing a discourse to demonstrate the reasonableness of believing Jesus to be the promised Messiah; and, afterwards, in the latter part of his life, by a Commentary on several of the Epistles of the apostle Paul. The sacred Scriptures are every where mentioned by him with the greatest reverence; and he exhorts Christians “to betake themselves in earnest to the study of the way to salvation, in those holy writings, wherein God has revealed it from heaven, and proposed it to the world; seeking our religion where we are sure it is in truth to be found, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”

In a letter written the year before his death, to one who asked this question, “What is the shortest and surest way for a young man to attain the true knowledge of the Christian religion?” he says, “Let him study the holy Scriptures, especially the New Testament: therein are contained the words of eternal life. It has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter.” This advice was conformable to his own practice. “For fourteen or fifteen years, he applied himself in an especial manner to the study of the Scriptures, and employed the last years of his life hardly in any thing else. He was never weary of admiring the great views of that sacred book, and the just relation of all its parts: he every day made discoveries in it that gave him fresh cause of admiration.”

The consolation which he derived from divine revelation is forcibly expressed in these words:—“I gratefully receive and rejoice in the light of revelation, which has set me at rest in many things, the manner whereof my poor reason can by no means make out to me.”

After he had diligently employed a great part of his life in a variety of occupations, he chose a pleasing retirement for the remainder of his days. This leisure appears to have been productive of solid improvement, by enabling him to look calmly over the scenes of past life; to form a proper estimate of its enjoyments, and to dedicate himself more fully to the cause of piety and virtue.

About two months before his death, in 1704, he wrote a letter to his friend Anthony Collins, and left this direction upon it:—“To be delivered to him after my decease.” It concludes with the following remarkable words:—

“May you live long and happy, in the enjoyment of health, freedom,
content, and all those blessings which Providence has bestowed on
you, and to which your virtue entitles you. You loved me living,
and will preserve my memory when I am dead. All the use to be made
of it is, that this life is a scene of vanity, which soon passes
away, and affords no solid satisfaction, but in the consciousness
of doing well, and in the hopes of another life. This is what I
can say upon experience; and what you will find to be true, when
you come to make up the account. Adieu!”

Joseph Addison.

A celebrated English writer, born at Milston, in Wiltshire, in the year 1672. About the age of fifteen, he was entered at Queen’s College, Oxford, where, by his fine parts and great application, he made a surprising proficiency in classical learning. Before he left the university, he was warmly solicited to enter into orders; and he once resolved to do so; but his great modesty, and an uncommonly delicate sense of the importance of the sacred function, made him afterwards alter his resolution. He was highly respected by many of the greatest and the most learned of his contemporaries. He travelled into Italy, where he made many useful observations, and prepared materials for some of his literary works. On his return to England, he was chosen one of the lords commissioners for trade. In 1709, he was appointed secretary to the lord lieutenant of Ireland, and, in 1717, was advanced to the high office of secretary of state. He died in 1729.

His writings have been of great use to the world, and his “Evidences of the Christian Religion” not the least so. Dr. Johnson, in delineating his character as a writer, gives the following amiable picture of him:—“He employed wit on the side of virtue and religion. He not only made the proper use of wit himself, but taught it to others; and, from his time, it has been generally subservient to the cause of reason and truth. He has dissipated the prejudice that had long connected cheerfulness with vice, and easiness of manners with laxity of principles. He has restored virtue to its dignity, and taught innocence not to be ashamed. This is an elevation of literary character above all Greek, above all Roman fame. As a teacher of wisdom, he may be confidently followed. His religion has nothing in it enthusiastic or superstitious; he appears neither weakly credulous nor wantonly skeptical; his morality is neither dangerously lax nor impracticably rigid. All the enchantment of fancy, and all the cogency of argument, are employed to recommend to the reader his real interest—the care of pleasing the Author of his being.”

Of his integrity in discharging the duties of his office, there is a striking proof recorded. When he was secretary in Ireland, he had materially promoted the interest of an individual, who offered him, in return, a bank note of three hundred pounds, and a diamond ring of the same value. These he strenuously refused to accept, and wrote to the person as follows:—“And now, sir, believe me, when I assure you I never did, nor ever will, on any pretence whatsoever, take more than the stated and customary fees of my office. I might keep the contrary practice concealed from the world, were I capable of it, but I could not from myself; and I hope I shall always fear the reproaches of my own heart more than those of all mankind.”

A mind conscious of its own uprightness, and humbly trusting in the goodness of God, has the best ground to look forward with complacency towards another life. The following lines of Addison are sweetly expressive of the peace and pleasure which he enjoyed in contemplating his future existence:—“The prospect of a future state is the secret comfort and refreshment of my soul. It is that which makes nature look cheerful about me; it doubles all my pleasures, and supports me under all my afflictions. I can look at disappointments and misfortunes, pain and sickness, death itself, with indifference, so long as I keep in view the pleasures of eternity, and the state of being in which there will be no fears nor apprehensions, pains nor sorrows.”

Isaac Watts.

A learned and eminent dissenting minister, born at Southampton, in the year 1674, of parents who were distinguished by their piety and virtue. He died in 1748. He possessed an uncommon genius, of which he gave early proofs. He received a very liberal education, which was rendered highly beneficial to him by his own unwearied efforts to improve himself. After the most serious deliberation, he determined to devote his life to the ministry, of the importance of which office he had a deep and awful sense. He labored very diligently to promote the instruction and happiness of the people under his care, to whom, by his Christian conduct and amiable disposition, he greatly endeared himself.

Soon after he had undertaken the pastoral office, his health sustained a severe shock by a painful and dangerous illness, from which he recovered very slowly. But, in the year 1712, he was afflicted with a violent fever, that entirely broke his constitution, and left such weakness upon his nerves, as continued with him, in some measure, to his dying day. For four years he was wholly prevented from discharging the public offices of his station. Though this long interval of sickness was, no doubt, very trying to his active mind, yet it proved ultimately a blessing to him; for it drew upon him the particular notice of Sir Thomas Abney, a very pious and worthy man, who, from motives of friendship, invited him into his family, in which he continued to the end of his life, and, for the long space of thirty-six years, was treated with uniform kindness, attention, and respect.

This excellent man was, by his natural temper, quick of resentment; but, by his established and habitual practice, he was gentle, modest, and inoffensive. His tenderness appeared in his attention to children and to the poor. To the poor, while he lived in the family of his friend, he allowed the third part of his annual revenue; and for children, he condescended to lay aside the scholar, the philosopher, and the wit, to write little poems of devotion, and systems of instruction, adapted to their wants and capacities, from the dawn of reason, through its gradations of advance in the morning of life. Few men have left behind them such purity of character, or such monuments of laborious piety. He has provided instruction for all ages, from those who are lisping their first lessons, to the enlightened readers of Malebranche and Locke. His “Improvement of the Mind” is a work in the highest degree useful and pleasing. Whatever he took in hand was, by his incessant solicitude for souls, converted to theology. As piety predominated in his mind, it is diffused over his works. Under his direction, it may be truly said that philosophy is subservient to evangelical instruction: it is difficult to read a page without learning, or at least wishing to be better.

The virtue of this good man eminently appeared in the happy state of his mind under great pains and weakness of body, and in the improvement which he derived from them. Of those seasons of affliction, he says, with a truly elevated mind and thankful heart, “I am not afraid to let the world know that, amidst the sinkings of life and nature, Christianity and the gospel were my support. Amidst all the violence of my distemper, and the tiresome months of it, I thank God I never lost sight of reason or religion, though sometimes I had much difficulty to preserve the machine of animal nature in such order as regularly to exercise either the man or the Christian.”

The sweet peace of conscience he enjoyed under these trying circumstances, and the rational and Christian foundation of his hope and trust in the divine goodness, are beautifully and justly expressed by him, in the following lines:—

“Yet, gracious God, amid these storms of nature,
Thine eyes behold a sweet and sacred calm
Reign through the realms of conscience; all within
Lies peaceful, all composed. ’Tis wondrous grace
Keeps off thy terrors from this humble bosom;
Though stained with sins and follies, yet serene
In penitential peace and cheerful hope,
Sprinkled and guarded with atoning blood,
Thy vital smiles, amidst this desolation,
Like heavenly sunbeams hid behind the clouds,
Break out in happy moments, with bright radiance
Cleaving the gloom; the fair, celestial light,
Softens and gilds the horrors of the storm,
And richest cordials to the heart conveys.”

Philip Doddridge.

Born in London, in the year 1702. His parents, who were persons of great worth, brought him up in an early knowledge of religion; but he had the misfortune to lose them before he was fourteen years old. This circumstance excited in his mind very serious reflections, which, however, were not wholly of a gloomy nature; for he expressed a devout, and even a cheerful trust in the protection of the God of mercies, the universal Parent of mankind.

He diligently improved his time, and was anxious to be daily advancing in knowledge, piety, virtue, and usefulness. He possessed strong powers of mind, and, by unwearied application, acquired a large fund of sound and elegant learning. His publications, which are chiefly on religious subjects, have been eminently useful to the world. By his literary acquisitions, his amiable disposition, and his desire to imbue the young mind with knowledge and virtue, he was qualified, in a peculiar manner, to become the instructor of youth; and for many years he superintended a very respectable academy. As the pastor of a congregation, he manifested a sincere and zealous regard for the happiness of the people under his care, by whom he was greatly honored and beloved.

He possessed many virtues; but the prime and leading feature of his soul was devotion. He was very solicitous to preserve and cultivate an habitual sense of the Supreme Being, to maintain and increase the ardor of religion in his heart, and to prepare himself, by devout exercises, for the important labors of his station. Nor was it to his secret retirements that his piety was limited; it was manifested in every part of the day, and appeared in his usual intercourse with men. In the little vacancies of time which occur to the busiest of mankind, he was frequently lifting up his soul to God. When he lectured on philosophy, history, anatomy, or other subjects not immediately theological, he would endeavor to graft some religious instructions upon them, that he might raise the minds of his pupils to devotion, as well as to knowledge; and, in his visits to his people, the Christian friend and minister were united.

The piety of Dr. Doddridge was accompanied with the warmest benevolence to his fellow-creatures. No one could more strongly feel that the love of God was to be united with love to man. Nor was this a principle that rested in kind wishes and pathetic feelings for the happiness of others, but it was manifested in the most active exertions for their welfare. No scheme of doing good was ever suggested to him into which he did not enter with ardor. But the generosity of his mind was most displayed when any plans of propagating religion, and of spreading the gospel among those who were strangers to it, were proposed. In every thing of this kind he was always ready to take the lead, and was ardent in endeavoring to inspire his friends with the same spirit.

He was of a weak and delicate bodily constitution; and a severe cold which he caught about the forty-eighth year of his age, brought on a consumption of the lungs. The nearer he approached to his dissolution, the more plainly was observed his continual improvement in a spiritual and heavenly temper. Indeed, he seemed to have risen above the world, and to be daily breathing after immortality. This disposition of his mind was ardently expressed in several of his letters, and is manifest from his will, which was made at this time, and is prefaced in the following language:—“Whereas it is customary, on these occasions, to begin with commending the soul into the hands of God, through Christ, I do it; not in mere form, but with sincerity and joy; esteeming it my greatest happiness, that I am taught and encouraged to do it, by that glorious gospel, which, having most assuredly believed, I have spent my life in preaching to others; and which I esteem an infinitely greater treasure than all my little worldly store, or possessions ten thousand times greater than mine.”

A short time before his death, he had been induced to try the mild air of the south; but change of climate did not produce the desired effect, and Dr. Doddridge continued gradually to weaken, till death put a period to his afflictions. In his last hours, he preserved the same calmness, vigor, and joy of mind, which he had felt and expressed through the whole of his illness. The only pain he had in the thought of dying, was the fear of that grief and distress which his wife would suffer from his removal. To his children, his congregation, and his friends in general, he desired to be remembered in the most affectionate manner; nor did he, in the effusions of his pious benevolence, forget the family where he lodged, or his own servant. Many devout sentiments and aspirations were uttered by him; but the heart of his wife was too much affected with his approaching change to be able to recollect them distinctly. Though he died in a foreign land, and, in a certain sense, among strangers, his decease was embalmed with many tears. His age was 49 years.

John Murray.

A distinguished preacher of Universalism in the United States, born in Alton, county of Hampshire, England, on the 10th of December, 1741.

When he had attained his eleventh year, the family removed to Ireland, in the vicinity of Cork. While here, he was converted to Methodism, and gained the attention of John Wesley, by whom he was appointed a class-leader. He was very earnest and devout in his religious exercises, and was regarded by his brethren as a valuable accession to their church. About this time his father died, and he shortly after left Ireland for England. He took up his residence in London, and was gradually led into gay society. The secret monitor, however, frequently reproached him, and finally brought him back again to the services of the sanctuary, and quickened the flame of religious devotion. At this time his prejudices against Universalism were very strong; his soul “kindled with indignation” against them. But, shortly after his marriage to a very amiable young lady of London, he was induced to visit Mr. Relly’s chapel, the preacher of universal salvation; and, notwithstanding he had been so filled with wrath against Mr. Relly, that, as he subsequently said, he thought it would have been doing both God and man service to kill him, yet he was moved to tenderness by his preaching and subsequently became an attendant on his ministry. Rich were the consolations enjoyed by him and his amiable wife in their new faith. But great sorrows awaited him; she sickened and died; and the death-scene is described by himself, in his autobiography, with thrilling effect. He would gladly have accompanied her to the spirit-world. He was now alone; he felt himself a solitary being; he had no taste for the joys of life; his mind dwelt only on death and eternity; he was unfitted for society; and in this state of mind, Providence seems to have directed his thoughts to America. He resolved to embark; and, in the month of September, 1770, he landed upon the shores of New Jersey. Here he became at once acquainted with a philanthropic landholder, by the name of Thomas Potter, who, in the belief that God would send him a preacher, had erected a meeting-house, and who insisted that Murray was the man whom God had sent. In this house Murray commenced his labors as a preacher; and from this time, he is to be contemplated as the public advocate of Universalism, on the system of Relly. He soon visited the city of New York, and various other cities and towns in the Middle States, preaching the gospel whithersoever he went. His first visit to Boston was made in October, 1773, and his second in September, 1774. It was during this second visit that he was stoned in the pulpit of Rev. Mr. Croswell, in School Street. About this time he visited Gloucester, Massachusetts, which was afterwards his residence for many years. In 1775, he was appointed by General Washington chaplain to the Rhode Island troops, in the army then lying around Boston. He soon, however, returned to his charge in Gloucester, where he remained, making frequent visits to different parts of the United States, until October, 1793, when he was ordained pastor of the First Universalist Society in Boston, which had purchased the house of worship formerly occupied by the society of Dr. Samuel Mather. His labors were not confined to this society, however; in one respect he was a minister at large; he continued his itinerant habits, more or less, until October, 1809, when he was stricken with the palsy. He lived nearly six years after this affliction, and expired on the third day of September, 1815. He was buried in the Granary burying-ground, where his remains were suffered to lie unhonored until 1837, when they were removed to Mount Auburn, and a monument was erected to his memory. The monument is a beautiful fluted column, surmounted by an urn. It is encircled by a belt, or tablet, on which two inscriptions are placed; on one side—

“JOHN MURRAY, Preacher of the Gospel; born in Alton, England,
December 10, 1741; died in Boston, September 3, 1815; reëntombed
beneath this stone, June 8, 1837.”

On the opposite side—

“Erected at the recommendation of the United States General
Convention of Universalists.”

Elhanan Winchester.