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CHRISTIANITY

AIYD

STATESMANSHIP,

WITH

KINDRED TOPICS.

BY

WILLIAM HAGUE, D.D.,

AriHOH OF " HOME LIFE," " GUIDE TO CONVBKSATIOW OIT THB KEW TESTAMENT," ETC.

A NEW, REVISED, ENLARGED, AND IMPROVED EDITION.

« • •

BOSTON:

GOULD AND LINCOLN,

59 "W A S Hllf GTOK STEEET.

NEW YORK: SHELDON AND COMPANY. CINCINNATI : GEORGE S. BLANCHARD.

1865.

>(w I

v^

I. .

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S65, by

GOULD AND LINCOLN,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

Seriram Smith

M^TQh 15, 1S34

PUBLISHERS' PREFATORY NOTICE.

Of the Articles that compose this work several were sent forth, originally, from the press of the present publishers ; and afterward, by our permission, in connection with others that were furnished by the author, were issued in a volume by a pubhshing house in New York. Before the immediate demand for the work could be supplied, the business of that house was suspended ; and the stereotype plates passed into the hands of a creditor whose line of business had no connection with the book trade, and they have been " carefully boxed up " in his cellar until within a recent period. Having purchased them as soon as an opportunity was offered, we may, perhaps, fitly con- nect with this reissue a few reminiscences that seem to us note- worthy.

When the work was issued in New York, a number of copies were consigned by the pubUsher to his trade-correspondents in Richmond. It happened, at the same time, that an article of a couple of columns, especially commendatory of the author's treatment of the slavery question, appeared in the New York

IV p UBLISHERS' PREFA TOR Y NOTICE.

Tribune. This was sufficient to make trouble for " the trade " in Richmond ; the public journals denounced the books as " in- cendiary," and they were treated as if they had been like " those fabulous dragons' teeth, which, being sown up and down, may chance to spring up armed men." Every copy was sent back to the Publisher, and the people of the South were solemnly warned against receiving any work that might afterward pro- ceed from that source. Such was the inthralment of the book- trade nine years ago.

The article entitled " Christianity and Slavery,^ being a re- view of Kev. Doctors Fuller and Wayland on Domestic Slavery, was first sent forth from our press in 1847, in pamphlet form. It was extensively read in the Southwest, and nearly the whole was republished as extracts in the newspapers during the dis- cussions that were called forth by the celebrated " Compromise Measures '* which were consummated by the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law in 1850.

The interest awakened by the review at that time, was, in a degree, owing to the fact that it was the first ai^umentative work that affirmed the position (in consonance, however, with the doctrines of the Society of Friends, in England and Amer- ica) that Apostolic Christianity actually abolished slavery, the relation of owner and chattel, whenever both of the parties acknowledged the supremacy of the law of Christ, as members of a Christian church. This review was read before the " Bos- ton Conference," and its publication was called for unanimously

P UBLISHERS' PREFA TOR T iVO TICE. V

by their vote. The manuscript was carefully read by Dr. Pal- frey of Cambridge, who commended the pamphlet to public attention in the columns of the Boston Kepubhcan, expressing the opinion that the argument was well grounded, and that, hitherto, too much had been conceded to the pro-slavery writ- ers who claimed for their cherished institution the sanctions of Christianity,

The positions taken in the pamphlet were afterwards dis- cussed in the columns of the New York Independent, by the editor, Rev. Dr. Thompson, and also by Eev. Dr. Cheever, who examined them thoroughly, and corroborated every one of them. Both of these distinguished writers, in their subsequent and per- manent contributions to the religious literature of the country, have been pleased to acknowledge their indebtedness to this review.

Rev. Theodore Parker spoke of the discussion as being timely, adequate to the occasion, a contribution of permanent worth to the cause of human freedom ; and of its publication, also, as a ■welcome service in behalf of the threatened freedom of the Northern press. The particular relation to this great contro- versy sustained by Mr. Parker, as the defender of those princi- ples of abstract right and justice that shine by their own light and which " Nature herself teacheth," imparts a special value to this commendation of a work proceeding from one whose theo- logical opinions were so different from his own, and setting forth the relations of primitive Christianity to slavery. This

yi PUBLISHERS' PREFATORY NOTICE.

testimony Is especially worthy of record here, because there are many who regard Mr. Parker's position in behalf of hu- man freedom as being in advance of the teachings of Christ and the apostles, — as being a natural development of the free thought of the nineteenth century, according to the law of hu- man progress which is ever unfolding itself. We only repeat, however, what has been suggested by many readers, when we say that the argument of the review has been of service to some minds by showing them that the self-evident truths uttered by the oracles of reason illustrate the moral teachings of Jesus by their harmony with those teachings, and confirm the claims of the Prophet of Nazareth, as the prophet of the human race, . not only for his own age, but for all time.

The article entitled " God and the Constitution/* in the form of a note (G),* is styled " A Memento of 1850." It appeared at that time as a contribution to the discussion that agitated the whole country in relation to the " Fugitive Slave Law," and elicited a friendly communication to the author from the Hon. Charles Francis Adams, affirming the validity of the argument, and expressing his sense of its appositeness to the wants of the public mind. He regarded it as a clear and popular statement of those great fundamental principles, which, in spite of all op- position, must finally shape the policy of the Government. This fact seems quite noteworthy in this place, — when we re- member that, at that day, the political position of Mr. Adamg

* Page 372.

P UBLISHEES' PREFA TOR Y NOTICE. VU

Tras deplored hy many persons as being " unstatesmanllke," as a needless sacrifice to " a mere idea" of all political influence, and of all those civil preferments of which his " antecedents " would warrant the expectation. It is evident that Mr. Adams understood this matter perfectly, and that the temporary sacri- fice was made with " all his heart," and with unwavering faith in the future. His cherished hopes are now realized, and the rejected principles vdth which he identified his civil fortunes are now guiding the policy of the country in its passage through a stormy revolution to a state of enduring prosperity. His ex- position and defence of principles, as the American Minister Plenipotentiary in London, will occupy a prominent place in our national history.

Appendix IV., (p. 400), is a fragment of the controversial discussions that were so rife in 1847, and is worthy of special notice as a memorial of the disposition that was then expressed by the wealthy men of New England to ward oflf those Issues of civil war, which they foresaw, by the voluntary sacrifice of their property in carrying out a plan of emancipation. Of this class of men, the Hon. David Sears, of Boston, stood forth as a rep- resentative ; and his letter to Ex-President Adams, referred to in the note, deserves remembrance as an indication of an en- larged spirit of conciliation on the part of the opulent men of the North, which met with no sympathetic responses from the men of the South.

The lecture on the relation of " Christianity and the Turkish

VIII P UBLlSHERff PREFA TOR Y NO TICE,

Power " was delivered before the " Boston Mercantile Libary Association " and the Albany " Young Men's Association " a few months before the breaking out of the Crimean war. With this lecture there is connected a reminiscence somewhat amus- ing, as well as instructive, the significance of which we cannot set forth more clearly than by quoting the leading editorial arti- cle of the Albany Evening Journal, January 23d, 1855, with its singular title :

" Clerical versus Diplomatic Sagacity.

" A year ago the Rev. Dr. Hague, in a lecture before the Young Men's Association, predicted the war that is now raging in the East. * It must come ' was the emphatic prophecy which closed his review of the questions then in controversy. Two weeks afterward, a gentleman just returned from Europe (at one of whose courts he had served as American Minister Pleni- potentiary) delivered a lecture before the same association, and upon a kindred topic, — European Politics. He also put on the mantle of prophecy. But after a very elaborate and profound review of the condition of the Old World, his prediction was, * There will be no general war in Europe on the Turkish ques- tion.*

" As a matter of curiosity, now that events have so singularly confirmed the clerical prophecy, it may be worth while to com- pare the two.

P UBLISHERS' PREFA TOR Y NOTICE. ix

" ' No war ' — predicted by the diplomatist : " Now, I hazard the opinion that there will be no general war in Europe on the

Turkish question And before the season shall arrive when

a regular and efficient campaign can be undertaken, it is quite probable, as it seems to me, that diplomacy will have found a way to appease the wrathful demigod of the North."

" ' War * — predicted by the clergyman : " From his icy and inaccessible seclusion, the Northern Emperor watches every flitting shadow on the disk of European politics, and fears, with reason, lest the hatred of Russian influence cherished by the Greeks within the Turkish Empire should relax his hold upon that empire and baffle his darling policy. On this account he has ventured to disturb the peace of nations, and has sought by a daring step to gain a foothold whereby he may bring the whole organization of the Greek clergy more thoroughly under his dominion, and so be able by their instrumentality to crush the democratic element, and tread out the last spark of religious liberty among the people.^ Having taken this step, he will not go back ; and western Europe cannot let him go forward. Is not war, then, inevitable, in spite of all diplomacy ? It must come.'

" The statesman looked merely upon the political surface, and judged erroneously. The divine with political events combined

1 The emancipation of twenty millions of serfs, and the recent decrees of the Emperor in favor of religious toleration, signalize a new era of Russian history.

X p UBLISHER^ PREFA TOR T NOTICE.

the moral influences which lay at the basis of the controversy, and judged aright. The conclusions of each were the infer- ences naturally deduced from the premises of each. The cler- gyman's superior accuracy consisted in his superior appreciation of what was involved in the controversy, and his better knowl- edge of the character of the controversialists.'*

In addition to these allusions to the history of the articles that compose this volume, there occurs a reminiscence pertaining to the literary life of the Kev. Dr. Wainwright, late Bishop of the Eastern Diocese of New York, so illustrative of the genial spirit of that distinguished prelate that we gladly embrace the oppor- tunity to record it as a tribute to his memory. The incident, as stated by Dr. Hague in an address before the American Con- gregational Union in New York, was reported in the columns of The Independent.

While engaged in gathering the materials for his splendid volume entitled " Lives of Prophets and Apostles " (issued in quarto form from the press of the Appletons), Dr. Wainwright sent to our author a friendly note containing a request that he would prepare for the projected work an article on the Life and Character of St. Peter. The request was complied with, the article was accepted, and the thanks of the editor were returned. Soon afterward, during an interview with Dr. Wainwright in New York, his reference to the recent correspondence called forth from the writer of the article the following remark : " I must confess, Doctor, I was not a little surprised, on the recep-

P UBLISEEIiS' PREFA TOR Y ITO TICE. XI

tion of your note, to perceive tliat you had passed by so many eminent writers of your own church to commit the character of ' the chief of the apostles ' to the treatment of * an outsider/ How could you venture to intrust ' the Head of the Succession * to the hands of such an ecclesiastical heretic ? '* The doctor in- stantly replied, with his usual animation, " That will do, — that will do ; say no more about it. I wanted a truly catholic arti- cle. I have got it, and I am satisfied ! "

The discourse on " Christian Union " was delivered, for the first time, at Constantinople, on a Sabbath morning, before a convention of the American missionaries from the stations near the Mediterranean, which had been in session during the pre- ceding week. It was repeated in Boston at the " Odeon,'* by request of the late Rev. Mr. Rogers, who was then officiating there as minister of the congregation that afterward reared the structure known as the " Winter Street Church.'* It was orig- inally issued from our press, and was weU received by the Christian public.

The discourse on " Christianity and Pauperism " was de- livered in the Old South Church, Boston, before the Howard Benevolent Society, and may be regarded as a memento of the life of an eminent citizen; Moses Grants Esq., who called for its publication, and ws^s active in promoting its circulation. His name is still firagrant, among all classes of society in Boston, and in fact through New England, as that of a man whose perse- ver?mce in doing good was really heroic, — who illustrated,

XII p UBLISHERS' PREFA TOR Y NO TICE.

throughout a protracted career of usefulness, the true idea of Christian beneficence.

As the volume, of which we now send forth a new, enlarged, and greatly improved edition, has been, as we have stated, kept out of print from near the time of its first publication by the course of events to which we have referred, we have noted these memoranda to tell the story of its fortunes and the cause of its absence from the marts of trade. Although it has suflTered ban- ishment and imprisonment, and has dwelt in forced seclusion during the gloomy period of the war, it goes forth again, wel- coming the light of the new era, rejoicing to bear witness anew to those great principles that- have been honored of late on so many battle-fields by the blood of self-sacrificing patriots, and which, in spite of all reverses, are destined to prevail.

CONTENTS.

I.

PAGE

CHRISTIANITY AND STATESMANSHIP ..... 17

II.

CHRISTIANITY AND THE TURKISH POWER .... 55

III.

CHRISTIANITY AND TRADITIONISM [ . , ... .88

IV.

CHRISTIAN GREATNESS IN THE APOSTLE .... 121

V.

CHRISTIAN GREATNESS IN THE MISSIONARY . . . .137

XIV CONTENTS.

VI.

PAGE

CHRISTIAN GREATNESS IN THE STATESMAN . . .^ . 187

VII.

CHRISTIAN GREATNESS IN THE CITIZEN . . . ' . .208

VIII.

CHRISTIANITY AND PAUPERISM .235

IX.

CHRISTIANITY AND LIBERAL GIVING . . . . .258

X.

CHRISTIAN UNION .274

XI.

CHRISTIANITY AND SLAVERY . . . . . . .293

CONTENTS, XV

APPENDICES.

APPENDIX I.

PAGE

NoTB A, The Harvest op Tkaditionism 349

Note B, A State Church 354

Note C, Duty to the Government 358

Note D, Slavery . . , -362

Note E, Mohammedan and Christian Powers .... 365

Note F, Commerce and Slavery ....... 368

Note G, God and the Constitution .372

APPENDIX II.

Note A, The Principalities 377

Note B, Origin of the Hungarians 382

Note C, Mohammed's Brigantines ....... 383

APPENDIX ni.

Note A, Right of Private Judgment 385

Note B, Gibbon's Great Mistake 387

XVI CONTENTS.

PAGE

Note C, Beausobre on the Fathers 389

Note D, The Bible Alone 891

Note E, Conversions to Rome 394

Note F, The Religious Sentiment ... . , . 397

APPENDIX IV.

Letters to the Editor of the Raleigh, N. C, Biblical Re- corder ..... ....... 400

CHRISTIANITY AND STATESMANSHIP.

PSALM II.

1. Why do the heathen ra^e, and the people imagine a vain thing ?

2. The kings of the earth set them- selves, and the rulers take counsel to- gether, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying,

3. Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

4. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh ; the Lord shall have them in derision.

5. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore dis- pleasure.

6. Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of ZJon.

7. I will declare the decree : the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son ; this day have I begotten thee.

8. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

9. Thou shalt break thom with a rod of iron ; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

10. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings : be instructed, ye judges of the earth.

11. Serve the Lord with fear, and re- joice with trembling.

12. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

This spirit-stirring Psalm is a grand old mission- ary chant, and belongs to that class of Psalms that are denominated Messianic^on account of its cele- brating the advent, the character, and the destina- tion of the Messiah. It speaks of him expressly ;

18 Cheistianitt and Statesmanship.

and this fact would impress more strongly every ear accustomed to the English tongue, if the word anointed had given place to the word Messiah as a proper name ; for the Hebrew term Messiah, the Greek term Christ, and the English term " anoint- ed,'' have the same signification. The sacred oil of consecration which was poured on the head of Prophet, Priest, and King gave rise to the use of the word as a proper name when applied to that expected Deliverer who was to unite all these characters in himself. This Psalm, with several others, forms a part of that body of prophecy which from age to age threw gleams of light athwart the moral gloom that enshrouded the earth, and nourished the hope of Israel that a brighter day would dawn at the appointed time. Who can tell how often it was read in the closet and in the family, how often it was chanted in the temple or the synagogue, and what earnest long- ings it awakened in many a heart to see that day " which kings and prophets waited for," and which, at last, was hailed amid the songs of angels by the humble shepherds of Bethlehem ! It was often quoted by the Apostles, it was interpreted to them by the scenes which their times unfolded, and it strengthened their faith as they saw that the opposition which they encountered for their Master's sake had been so clearly foretold. How touchingly did they introduce it into their devotions amid the stormy trials which Luke has described in the fourth chapter of the Acts ! The prophetic view of the Psalm reaches onward far beyond our

Chrtstiajtity and Statesmanship. . 19

times to the ultimate triumph of Christianity ; and if understood and felt by us, it will animate our zealj and will enable us to discern on the front of the darkest cloud some trace of the bow of promise, to see it now and then spanning a threatening sky with its arch of beauty, and shining forth as the sign of the covenant which God has established with his Son that this revolted world shall be made his own spiritual empire.

It may aid our conceptions of the spirit and power of this Psalm, to consider its structure as designed of old to be chanted in the temple- worship. We may notice the adaptation of the different parts to the end in view as we read the whole in accordance with the version of Dr. J. Pye Smith, which has the advantage of preserving much of that regularity of rythm which belongs to Hebrew poetry.

The second Psalm was a responsive song, in- tended to be sung by different choruses. The first chorus chanted the first two verses.

Why rage the Heathen — and the peoples contrive vanity ? The kings of earth have set up themselves. And the princes are firmly leagued together Against Jehovah and against his Messiah.

The third verse was sung by another chorus, rep- resenting the rebellious governments.

Let us burst their bands asunder ■ And cast their cords away from us.

The fourth and fifth verses were sung by another or third chorus.

20 ^ . Christianity and Statesmanship.

Sitting in the heavens he will laugh ; The Lord will have them in derision ; Then will he rebuke them in his wrath, And in his sore displeasure he will vex them.

The sixth verse was sung by one speaking in the name of God.

But I have anointed my king

Upon Zion, the mountain of my sanctuary.

The seventh, eighth, and ninth verses were sung by one in the name of the Messiah.

I will declare the decree : Jehovah hath said unto me,

My Son art thou ; I this day have begotten thee.

Ask from me and I will give the nations thine inheritance,

And the uttermost parts of the earth thy possession.

Thou shalt break them with an iron scepter ;

As the vessels of a potter shalt thou dash them.

The tenth, eleventh, and twelth verses were sung by the choruses combined.

Now, therefore, ye kings, be wise ;

Be instructed, ye judges of the earth ;

Serve Jehovah with reverence

^nd rejoice with trembling.

Bo homage to the Son lest he be angry,

And ye perish by the way ;

When his wrath is but a little kindled.

Blessed are all who trust in Him.

What profound emotions must have been aroused by such a service as this in the breasts of those Hebrew assemblies which were anciently gathered upon the Mount of Zion within the walls of the temple ! What glowing hopes blended with solemn awe touching the contested fortunes of their Messiah's reign ! With these mingled feelings, what cause have we even now to sympathize!

Cheistiantty and Statesmanship. 21

Let us open our eyes to the lights and shadows of these scenes, which even the old seers under the guidance of divine inspiration descried but dimly in the distance, which are yet dramatically unfold- ing themselves, while each successive act discloses its relation to a far-reaching plan and a grand ulti- mate issue. Two ideas stand out in bold relief upon this page of lyrical prophecy. To these let us turn our attention. They are —

I. The chaeactee of the oppospiion oeganized

AGAINST THE EINGDOM OF THE MeSSIAH.

II. The ceetainty of its festal defeat.

It is very remarkable that while the ancient Jewish prophets described the expected " Desire of ITations," who was to appear in the " fullness of time," in the most enchanting aspect, they speak of him also as being destined to meet the most wily, complicated, and deadly opposition. Al- though they delighted to employ the fine graphical powers with which they were gifted in picturing him to view as the Prince of Peace, meek, lowly, " altogether lovely," as the messenger of truth into whose lips peace was breathed from the fullness of the divine nature, as aiming only at spiritual victories and conquering the world by light and love, yet they declare that he shall be despised and rejected of men, the dread of kings, the butt of malice ; and they prepare the mind of the reader to expect that his followers would be hated among all nations for his name's sake.

Thus we know it was from the beginning. The extraordinary star which shone over Judea led the

22 Chkistianity and Statesmanship.

Persian Magi to the land of promise', and as they traversed the metropolis inquiring for the young child whose birth the star had signalized, this " sign from heaven," instead of arousing Herod to seek a Saviour for himself, only quickened into life the fear of an infant rival whom he sought to destroy. Thirty-three years after that event we see another Herod who had declared himself a foe to Pilate, suddenly changing his position and be- coming the friend of the Roman governor by means of a common co-operation with the Jewish Sanhedrim in bringing Jesus to the cross.

Why is this ? exclaims the inspired Psalmist, as with prophetic ken he looks through the vista of the future — why do the Heathen rage against the celestial messenger ? Why are the people's leaders leagued to baffle the plans of their Deliverer? Why do the rulers wage war against Him who comes to preach peace and to dispose the hearts of men to order and justice ? 'No reason is here assigned. If all the reigning dynasties were sum- moned to answer at the bar of Him who is judge of all the earth, how could they plead with Him or justify themselves! The case admits of no ade- quate explanation except that which is found in the rebellious spirit of that " carnal mind which is enmity against God, and not subject to his law." Selfishness, in the form of ambition, the pride of place, or lust of power, dreads being disturbed in its long enjoyed possessions. It scorns the rule of righteousness. It turns away with disgust from that humane religion of the Messiah which asserts

Cheistianity and Statesmanship. 23

for the poor, the weak, and the down-trodden the inalienable rights of humanity. It seeks to sub- jugate man and nature, God and heaven, to itself. It recognizes the religious sentiment in the human soul only to make that element of power subservi- ent to its schemes of complete supremacy. It is the life and soul, the inspiring genius of nearly all of the political governments of the world, which have ever assumed the right to break the bands of divine legislation at their pleasure and to ally themselves to systems of religion which allow their thrones of iniquity to claim fellowship with the Almighty.

Now, keeping in view the lofty expectations touching the dignity and power of the Messiah cherished from age to age by the Jewish people, is it not a very remarkable, yea, a wonderful thing, that this Psalm, which was sung for centuries in their public worship, so clearly proclaimed in grand and solemn verse the terrible truth, that the Statesmanshvp of the world would set itself in array against that divinely anointed King in whom their hopes were centered; that it should not merely anticipate the truth that the governments of the earth would be firmly leagued together against the benign aims of Christ's kingdom, but that it should expatiate on this one fact as if it had been seen to involve the chief historical feature of the Christian era ? This prediction is so directly op- posed to aught that human reason would have sug- gested touching the fortunes of a kingdom to be established on earth by the power of God, and yet

24 Chetstianity AND Statesmanship.

it has been so fully verified by the whole course of events, that we can not but discern in it the breath- ings of a divine inspiration. If we retrace the history of Christianity for more than eighteen centuries, how strangely do its successive scenes fulfill this prophecy which had been sounded out with air the majesty of liturgic service for a thou- sand years before the advent of Him whose triumph it celebrates ! Surely in this profound accordance of prophecy and history there is much that is worthy of attention. It will justify, undoubtedly, a more ample investigation than that which the limits of these pages allow us to attempt.

It will be remembered that the prophecies which set forth our Lord's public character exhibited chiefly those mild and winning qualities which are always suggested to the mind by his distinguishing title, "The Prince of Peace." It was said of Him by the prince of prophets: "He hath done no vio- lence ;" "He shall not strive nor cry, nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets." He was to be anointed to preach the gospel to the poor. He would not "break the bruised reed;" the smoking wick he would not extinguish, but would fan the dying spark into flame, and bring forth truth unto victory. He was to be distinguished by meekness and gentleness as a minister of grace nnto men.

This ideal character he fully realized. The grandeur of his miracles was subordinated to the spiritual aims of the gospel which he preached. That gospel was hailed with a popular welcome ; vast multitudes followed him, not only in the city,

Chkistianity and Statesmanship. 25

but throughout the country ; crowds hung with rapture on his lips ; '' the common people heard him gladly." Whence then, arose the deadly op- position that he encountered ? It was not from the masses of the People, but from the Government, administered by the Sanhedrim, the princes and priests of Judea. They, having subordinated the institutions of religion to their secular ends, and made these the measure of truth, looked with ma- lignant wrath upon the signs of that success with which the Messiah gained the ear of the nation ; .they trembled at the responses which the public heart gave back to his teachings, and the immedi- ate aim of all their schemes was to cope with the power of his popularity. How often would they have laid hands on him but that " they feared the people." It was this terror that long held the gov- ernment in check, and it was overcome at last only by the aid of the traitor who delivered up his Master amid the darkness of the night in the silent recesses of Gethsemane.

The inspired Apostles followed in that Master's steps ; they preached the same gospel ; the popular masses hailed it with a welcome ; but the organized government, mad upon the idolatry of power, dread- ing change, believing in nothing but what would subserve their low aims, tracked the disciples whith- ersoever they went, like beasts of prey thirsting for blood. It was easy for these preacher? to gain au- dience with the people until the government of the people cried them down as rebels and revolutionists, making impious war upon the established religion.

26 Cheistianity ai^d Statesmanship.

This remark applies to the Roman Empire gener- ally, which took within its scope nearly all of the civilized world. It is worthy of notice that Chris- tianity gained wider conquests under the reign of the bad emperors than it did under the reign of those who were comparatively good ; for the former were so much engrossed with their vicious pleas- ures, that they were not inclined to interfere with religious liberty ; while the latter, devoted to a staid conservatism, intent on preserving their polit- ical power, watching against whatsoever might be productive of any moral change, and jealous of the rising Church, which did not, as a matter of course, acknowledge the civil ruler as its head, became themselves the projectors and agents of the most relentless persecution. The tyranny of Caligula, for instance, which was at once the scourge of the empire and the disgrace of paganism, left larger scope for the spread of the gospel than did the more statesman-like government of the watchful Anto- nines. But when the emperor and court of Rome became nominally Christianized, the case seemed to have been reversed ; but that change was more an appearance than a reality. As might have been expected, the Christianity that was established by' law was not the simple, spiritual Christianity of the 'New Testament, but a cold, formal, worldly, polit- ical religion which was not worth the blood of mar- tyrdom to p'ropaJgate ; and it was not very widely propagated in the long run. It had in it no true missionary spirit. From the days of Constantine to the era of modern missions, Christianity gained

Christianitt and Statesmanship. 27

scarcely a single new realm beyond the bounds of Constan tine's dominions ; there her* career was checked. He attempted to spread Christianity in Persia; but his missionaries were regarded by Sa- por, the Persian king, as political spies, and there- fore were put to death by royal decree. Throughout the vast extent of India, China, Africa, and the isles of the sea, the gloom of heathenism brooded over the millions, and until a very recent period its fatal blight has rested upon the dense mass of successive generations without a sign of relief. The Christian government of Home, so called, has been employed meanwhile in preserving order at home, and in per- secuting unto death all those who would not mold their religious system into conformity with her can- ons, nor worship the images of wood and gold which she has set up. Alas ! what untold thousands have her courts and inquisitions doomed to die as her- etics, because they acknowledged Christ alone as Eing, and his inspired Word alone as the standard of their faith. The plaintive wails of the humble Madiai, imprisoned by the most liberal government of Italy for the crime of reading the Scriptures to their neighbors, have not yet died away upon the ears of Christendom, and attest more mightily than volumes of argument the unwelcome truth, that the Rome of "the dark ages" and the Rome of the nineteenth century possess the same stern, relent- less, unchanging and unchangeable character.

JSTor does the spirit of these remarks find a verifi- cation only in the government of Pome, imperial or papal, but, also, in a greater or less degree, in

28 Christianity and Statesmanship.

every Protestant government under which Chris- tianity has been defined by the State, established by law, and defended by the sword. Such a relig- ion is very different in all its outward manifestations from the religion of the Apostles ; the Church is subordinated to the State, to the Priesthood, to Pol- itics, Wealth, and Worldliness ; and we see that the Messiah does not march before such a Church to give it victory; for, as Macaulay has justly ob- served, Protestant Christianity has gained scarcely an inch of ground in Europe as yet for more than three hundred years since the death of Luther.* Even the Protestant government of England, with her constitutional monarch at the head of the Church, has, in conformity with the maxims of pagan policy, maintained Popery in Canada and Idolatry in India, while from that latter heathen country she expelled her own Christian subjects, when Carey and his associates first entered there upon the work of missions, lest they should disturb the quiet of her Eastern Empire.f By a singular combination of events, it turned out that the Danish government was pleased to protect them at her little settlement of Serampore ; and yet that same government has, since then, imprisoned, in Den- mark itself, ministers of the gospel who, in faith and in spirit, are the brethren of those very mis- sionaries. In regard to the policy of both those great states, we have reason to rejoice that a brighter

* See Appendix, A, p. 349. t See Appendix, B, p. 354.

Cheistianitt and Statesmanship. 29

day has already dawned. ^Nevertheless, even at this hour, throughout the most of European Chris- tendom, the kings are " setting themselves up," and the rulers are taking counsel against the supremacy of the Messiah, and acting in sleepless concert to baffle every plan for the evangelization of the people. The companies of humble exiles daily passing by our doors to seek a home in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the neighboring States — the groups of men and women banished from their native lands for the crime of being baptized on a profession of their faith, and of being united to churches unconnected with a state-establishment — bear mournful testi- mony that the storm of transatlantic persecution for conscience' sake has been but little softened by the spirit of the age, that it is sweeping along its path of desolation at the height of its power.

If, in connection with this subject, we transfer our thoughts to this continent, we are struck by the similarity of aspect which its history exhibits. From the discovery of America by Columbus until the dawn of our national birthday, nowhere in this hemisphere, with a very narrow territorial excep- tion, was there allowed a place of quiet and free- dom for those who would own no Lord of conscience but Christ, no judge in religion but his Word. As it was in this respect, it is now throughout South America, where you, my brethren, would be im- prisoned or killed for attempting to form yourselves into a church according to the command of Christ, however peaceably you might order your lives in civil things. It is there, under the supremacy of

30 Christianity and Statesmanship.

Papal rule, as it is in many parts of Protestant Europe, the governments will freely license drink- ing shops, theaters, brothels, and gambling-houses ; but a church and ministry, formed simply to diffuse the gospel, would be persecuted unto bonds and death.

The more closely we survey the records of the past, from the point of view furnished by the ]N^ew Testament, the more clearly will we see that the gloomy landscape which this prophetic Psalm de- picts, with all its somber hues, looms up into prom- inence, bearing upon its face the characteristic features of world-history from the opening of the Christian dispensation to the unfolding of those scenes which are now passing before our eyes. It has often been said, that the reason why the world has not yet bSen evangelized, is to be found in the fact that the churches of Christ have " slept as do others," and have forgotten the great commission. Whatever degree of truth may be involved in this statement, it is, on the whole, but a very partial and stinted statement of the truth. There is ample ground for the position that the great reason of the- limitation that has been set to the progress of Christianity is to be found in that union of Church and State, which is a chief element of the grand apostasy. Civil government, ordained of God for the protection of men in civil rights, to punish the evil-doer, and to enable the well-disposed " to live quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty," has been perverted from its true design and employed in closing every avenue against the

Chkistianity and Statesmanship. 31

progress of pure religion. Hence we see the signif- icance of that petition which Paul commended so earnestly to the churches of his time, when he called upon them to pray that " a door of utter- ance" might be open to him. Let but the govern- ments of the earth be restricted to their proper sphere ; let but the principles which two centuries ago were embodied in a civil State on the shores of the JNTarragansett become universally prevalent ; let but the race at large enjoy its rightful heritage of free churches, free schools, and an open Bible, and then, as sure as it is that there is moral power in truth, that " the residue of the Spirit" is with God, that the gospel is his message, that the prom- ises of Scripture bear the impress of his veracity, just so sure is it that " the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, and the gredtness of the kingdom under the whole heav^" shall be given unto Christ for an everlasting heritage, and " unto Him shall the gathering of the people be."

This remark prepares our way for the considera- tion of the other great truth which this inspired ode so joyously celebrates. For, while the Psalm is so gloomily descriptive of the dreadful antagonism between the kingdom of Christ and the spirit of this world's Statesmanship, it takes on, nevertheless, a tone of triumph. It reveals a more cheering scene. It asserts,

II. That these opposma counsels and alliances

SHALL ALL BE ULTIMATELY BAFFLED. It declares this

in strong terms : "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh : the Lord shall have them in derision."

32 Ohristianitt and Statesmanship.

This expression contains a bold rhetorical figure which is common to all languages, and is employed to denote power that is irresistible. Thus a more ancient poet says of the leviathan that sporteth in the stormy deep : " He laugheth at the shaking of a spear ;" and thus we often say of an impregnable bulwark, " It mocks resistance." When applied to any opposing force whatever, whether it be physical or moral, it denotes one that is unconquer- able. The array of opposition which this world presents to the kingdom of the Messiah seems to us so mighty and enduring as to mock our feeble efi'orts ; but it is destined to be overcome, and that, too, by moral means. We say by moral means ; by the spiritual forces which He has originated and will effectually wield ; for, in order to this happy consummation. He is enthroned " upon Zion, the mountain of his sanctuary." This figurative phrase designates the position of the Messiah as the Head of a spiritual church. Hence, .in allusion to it, Paul says to all true believers : " We have come unto Mount Zion ;" that is, we have abjured all other supremacies, and have acknowledged the rightful dominion of Christ as King of kings. His scepter is " the truth ;" his chosen instrumentality for the achievement of his work is his revealed Word. By that he will make manifest his character and his power. By that He is to be made known universally as the Son of God. By that, and not by the schemings of state policy, nor by a deluge of material fire, as some of the modern Adventists suppose, is his divine sovereignty to be displayed.

Christianity and Statesmanship. 33

" He shall smite the earth by the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked." In accordance with this idea, He said to Pilate, '' I am a King ; to this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth : every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." His resurrection from the dead is spoken of in the Psalm before us as the era of his reign ; a fact which Paul fully declared in his discourse delivered in the synagogue of Antioch, in Pisidia, as recorded in the thirteenth chapter of the Acts. The term " begotten," in the sixth verse of the Psalm, is used like other Hebrew words in the same form in a declarative sense ; and the import of the whole phrase is, " This day, I declare that I have begotten thee." This comment is illustrated by the words of Paul in the opening paragraph of the Epistle to thePomans : " He was declared to be the Son of God with power by his resurrection from the dead." " With great power," it is said, did the Christian churches once bear wit- ness to this truth ; and it is their great work to do so still, until this gospel shall be universally victo- rious. Man was led away from God by a lie of Satan ; he is to be restored by "" the truth as it is in Jesus ;" ruined by that word of the Tempter, he must be rescued by the word of the Lord ; lost by unbelief, he must be saved by faith. When quick- ened by the Spirit he awakes from the long sleep of moral death, is " translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son," and hails Him as the Sovereign of the eoul and the rightful Sovereign of the universe.

34 Christianity and Statesmanship.

But here the inquiry meets us, How does this view of the mild and gentle, the exclusively spiritual character of our Lord's sovereignty accord with the stern martial air of this Psalm, which breaks upon the ear like that which reverberated over the battle- fields of republican France in the tones of the old Marseilles Hymn? This stirring strain of warlike sound, so full of menace, so prophetic of destruc- tion, startling the imagination with scenes of fall- ing dynasties and the wreck of empires, what means it ? The opposing powers are seen mustering their forces : " He shall rebuke them in his wrath. He shall laugh at them. He shall have them in de- rision. He shall smite them with a scepter of iron. He shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." Is all this descriptive of the Prince of Peace and of the progress of a moral kingdom ? Undoubtedly. These spirited stanzas express a great idea which history is constantly realizing. They portray the firm, unrelaxed, and iron-like ad- herence of the divine government to the principles just now announced touching the supremacy of Christ's revealed Word. Men and nations must pay homage to its authority, imbibe its spirit and prac- tice its precepts, or sufi'er the terrible destruction consequent on the rejection of it. Its principles must be received, its laws must be obeyed, the in- alienable rights with which it invests every human conscience must be respected, the limitations which it sets to the responsibility of governments and in- dividuals must be realized in the organization called a State, or else the State itself will nourish in her

Christianity and Statesmanship. 86

bosom the fires that are destined to consume her. If at this day the venerable founder of Khode Island were to be raised from the dead and commis- sioned to go on the errand of a new apostleship to every government on the face of the earth ; if he were bidden to take a 'New Testament in his hand and to say to those who bear rule, " If ye will honor this book as the law of laws ; if ye will respect that soul-liberty which it proclaims as the gift of God to every human being ; if ye will confine the administration of your government to civil things, and maintain the ordinances of justice between man and man, ye shall surely prosper, but otherwise ye shall surely perish," he would only have announced a short, simple, and Christian theory of government ; his mission would probably be rejected with scorn by the great majority, but the menace which his lips would have uttered, God's providence shall certainly verify.*

In order to be fully impressed with the force and bearing of this prophetic announcement, behold what a heaving sea of national convulsion and des- olating waste the history of Christendom has ex- hibited ever since the Christian dispensation was ushered in ! Does not the oracle here describe it truthfully ? Turn your eyes to the first fulfillment. When the Jewish nation rejected their Messiah, He wept as he beheld the sacred city from the height of Olivet, while he exclaimed : " O that thou hadst known, even thou, in this thy day, the things

* See Appendix C, p. 358.

36 Christianity and Statesmanship.

that belong to thy peace ; but now are they hid from thine eyes !" He uttered the dirge of Jeru- salem. Regarding the Jewish Church without the spirit of true religion, as a body without life, He had already said, " Where the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together." His predic- tion was soon fulfilled. See the Roman eagle, at the beck of the Almighty's hand, spread his wings, soar aloft, scent his prey, hover over Judea, then pounce upon the fated carcass. See the doomed nation reeling under the weighty sentence, plucked from its place, broken to pieces, while the frag- ments now lie scattered over the earth from pole to pole.

This same gospel of the Messiah was carried by the Apostles and the first disciples abroad over the Roman Empire, within whose mighty grasp the elements of civilization and social order seemed to be held together. The simple religion which they taught would have renovated, sanctified her, and saved her in her greatness. It would have extir- pated that slave system which was the immediate cause of her weakness, which rendered her vast framework like a hollow shell, so that it collapsed when pressed against by the hordes of northern barbarism.* Rejecting, or rather perverting, the simple truths of Christianity, she had within her no conservative power, and therefore fell with a grav- itating force, like the typical millstone which the prophet of Patmos saw a mighty angel casting into

* See Appendix D, p. 362.

Cheistianity and Statesmanship. 37

the deep, while he said with a loud voice, '' Thus, with violence, shall Babylon the great be thrown down, and be found no more at all."

At the close of the first century a series of celestial messages were sent forth from that same isle of Patmos to the churches of Asia, warning them against the sin of departing from the Word of Christ, and of molding their doctrines into con- formity with a corrupt public opinion ; at the same time pronouncing the doom of utter extirpa- tion unless they should repent and return to the simplicity of their first faith and their first works. They repented not ; they assimilated themselves to the worldly communities around them ; and be- hold, in due season, the banner of the conquering Mohammed is unfurled. His hostile armies sweep over all the lands which the feet of the Apostles had trodden in the Eastern world, even with the besom of destruction, and the nominally Christian churches, according to the Word of Christ, were cast out like " salt that had lost its savor," and therefore " good for nothing, but to be trodden under foot of men." The Christianity of those times was not worth preserving, and in regard to its influence on the moral health and weal of society, the religion of Mohammed, in spite of all its errors, was a decided improvement.

The ages roll on, and we see that Western Europe has received a corrupt, licentious, and military religion under the name of Christianity, and thus becomes prepared to exhibit practically on a broad theater a terrific illustration of the

38 Christianity and Statesmanship.

truth of those words of Jesus which sound so much in harmony with the spirit of this Psalm : " They that take the sword shall perish by the sword." The nominal Christianity of those times had no power to regain her realm by moral means, and attempted to do it by the hand of violence. Popes, kings, princes, barons, knights, gentlemen, soldiers, monks, hermits, tradesmen, and peasants were all aroused to move in massive legions for the rescue of Jerusalem from the grasp of the Mohammedan infidel, into whose hand God had abandoned it. But the voice of Providence sounded out a decree like that which fell upon the ear of John from the lips of the mighty angel, who, standing with one foot upon the sea and the other upon the land, lifted his hand toward heaven, and swore by Him that sitteth upon the throne, " The time shall not be yet." Oh! what pen can adequately depict the fearful scenery of those crusades in which rank upon rank of the Christian hosts, millions upon millions, like living waves of an exhaustless deep, poured themselves upon the shores of Asia to be dashed to pieces, to perish there, and leave only their blanched bones for a memorial ! De- spite the thunders of the Yatican, the vows of chivalry, the prayers and curses of the priesthood, the blended enthusiasm of youth and age, we have lived to see the Holy Land still owning the sway of a Moslem scepter.* And among those nations of "Western Europe

* See Appendix E, p. 365.

Ohkistianitt and Statesmanship. 39

how have their dynasties, ever since their recon- struction from the fragments of the Roman Empire, been dashed and broken one against another! Spain had her " time of visitation ;" the simple, spiritual, free Christianity of the New Testament was offered to her, but was resisted by her States- manship ; the yearnings of her people after Chris- tian freedom were repressed ; she became a land of inquisitions, of martyrs, of terror, and of blood. She nourished the passions which consumed her; and she, the land of beauty and fertility, of riches and of power, of poetry and of song, is now the most abject, the weakest and basest of all king- doms, cherishing the mad ambition to recruit her physical energies by drinking the blood of Africa. France had her time of visitation ; the same mes- sage was borne to her, and it was treated with malicious mockery by her statesmen. She crushed the Waldenses and Albigenses, who loved and preached the truth ; with one fell swoop she con- signed the noble Huguenots to a shameful death ; and so, for the lack of that balmy, healthful influ- ence which was emanating from them, the way was prepared for that overwhelming baptism of blood which was administered by the hands of a rampant infidelity in the storms of her revolution. The same religion of Christ's Word was offered to England; she gave it more ample room, as is shown by the very existence of her noble body of 'dissenting churches ; and though its field of action has been stinted by a blind hierarchical Statesman- ship, yet the elements of moral life which it has

40 Cheistianity ant> Statesmanship.

diffused through the masses have been the great conservative power of the English people, have, saved them from the chaos into which France has been plunged, and have been the source of that relative greatness which now pertains to English nationality.

In its relation to the kingdom of Christ our own country occupies a peculiar position among the nations of the world, distinguished as it is for fur- nishing larger scope than others for the develop- ment of a free Christianity, by means of free churches uncontrolled by the craft of Statesman- ship. And who of us can not see that our national destiny turns on the question, whether American Christians shall, or shall not, be faithful to God and humanity in using aright this gift of freedom ? If we, too, should falter in our allegiance to the supremacy of Christ's revealed Word ; if we should cease to sympathize with the sublime aims of a free Christianity ; if we should become corrupted by the subtile spirit of skeptical philosophies, or that of Popery, or that of conservative tradition- ism, or that of worldly politics, which sometimes combines all these evils in itself, we also will lose our moral coherence, and our unity as a people will be severed into fragments, and become as the *' chaff of the summer's threshing-floor, which the wind driveth away." * In this Word of the Lord is our hope ; it is all our salvation. According to the manner in which we treat it, wull he " magnify

• See Appendix F, p. 368.

Cheistianitt and Statesmanship. 41

it^' in our prosperity or our ruin. It can not be rejected or perverted by any soul with impunity, nor opposed by any nation without its suffering condign vengeance. It can not be withheld from any class of men without guilt. If it be legally denied to the poorest slave, the law which does it wall in due time become a rod in the hand of the Messiah to smite and break the States, which in their pride of power have said, "Let us break his bands asunder, and cast his cords away from us." Whatever stern necessities may be deemed by the legislators of slave States to be grounded in the law of self-preservation, let them see to it that every rational, immortal creature within the realm of their jurisdiction shall be able to open the eyes of his mind to the light of Heaven, and to lift up his voice as a voice of song while he takes up the joyous strain which came from the lips of a fet- tered Apostle, when he exclaimed, " The word of God is not bound."

And what, O friends and brethren, what if that last, most fearful issue which a Christian patriot can dread should befall us as a nation — what if the worst should come, and all our hopes of a glorious nationality should perish in the wreck of our con- federacy— would the fortunes of Christ's kingdom perish with us ? "Would the last and only hope of humanity be buried in our sepulcher ? 'No ; never. When the star of Judea fell from the firma- ment, it seemed to many as if the light of true religion had been forever extinguished. But the Sun of Righteousness arose over the gloom with

42 CriRTSTTANITY AND STATESMANSHIP.

healing in liis beams. The proudest empires of earth must crumble into dust, but the kingdom of the Messiah shall have no end. If Christian America prove faithless to her high trust, " the generations to come," nevertheless, will rehearse the solemn lesson of her history. They will learn more effectually than we shall have done, what is the sure corner-stone of a nation's welfare, and will lay to heart the awful commentary which shall then have been furnished in another saying of our divine Teacher: "Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken ; but on whomsoever it shall fall it will grind him to powder."

But of this terrible result there need be no serious apprehension. The cheering lights of prophecy and all the analogies of history forbid the fear. This continent, so wondrously hidden from the eyes of Europe till God's own set time had come, has not been reserved to become the scene of such a gloomy ruin. Brought to light just when the civilization of the old world had become effete^ had been. " weighed in the balances and found wanting," the foundations of a Christian Republic were laid on these shores amid the prayers and tears of faithful men, whose souls were as serene in the threatening tempest as in the calm sunshine, simply because they believed in God. It is ours to pursue the path which they opened, to work out the glorious desti- nation which they saw by the eye of faith ; and surely we would be the unworthy sons of such sires, the unworthy heirs of such an inheritance, if we could be scared away from our exalted sphere

Cheistianitt and Statesmanship. 43

of action by the front of battle lowering before ns, or by the muttering thunders that roll around our cloud-covered horizon.

But what are the chief lessons which the theme of this great missionary' ode suggest to us? Al- though we may bestow upon them but a momentary glance, let us not fail to give to them a serious con- sideration.

I. It is our duty, as Christian citizens, to acknowl- edge practically the moral supremacy of Christ in the personal relations which we sustain to the civil government, as really as in any other relations whatsoever. " Christ or Caesar?" This is the question which addresses itself to our consciences in these times as sternly as it was addressed to the consciences of men in the first century of the Chris- tian era.

When Pontius Pilate sat in judgment on the unoffending Jesus of E'azareth, he was conscious of a hard struggle between, his heart and his con- science. He saw that the prisoner was the victim of bigotry, and that from wounded pride the Jewish aristocracy sought his death. On the charge of sedition brought against Christ, Pilate poured de- served contempt. After a full examination of the case, he exclaimed, " I find no fault in him." Nevertheless, when the cry was raised, " If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend," the ruling passion of the Poman governor was success- fully addressed ; ambition swept all before it ; the love of honor made him a moral coward ; he cringed before the priesthood and their hired mob, whom he

44 Christianity and Statesmanship.

alike despised, and abandoned Christ from the fear of displeasing Csesar.

This event was the chief era of Pilate's history, and may have been the turning-point of his destiny. A similar probation, However, is still allotted unto men, and to the hearts of all the hour of temptation still brings home the question, Christ or Csesar? The Statesman in his elevated sphere of action is still obliged to face the alternatives, to hear its voice, and to give the answer which shall be for weal or woe. The citizen, as he approaches the ballot-box, hesitating between the call of duty and the clamor of party, when he casts his vote, gives the reply which determines his position as a servant of God or Mammon, of Christ or Caesar. The legislator, when he lifts his hand as the sign of a final decision on some grave measure which involves far-reaching moral consequences, is forced, no less than was Pontius Pilate, to choose whether he will obey the truthful oracle within him, or will shrink before the terror of that party-cry, " Thou art not Csesar's friend." In the history of nations, it is a rare case to find Statesmanship on the side of Christ and his cause, but it has generally verified the saying attri- buted by ancient prophecy to the rulers of the earth : " Let us break his bands asunder, and cast away his cords from us."

In the days of Pilate, the leading power of the world whose claims were in conflict with those of Christ was the imperial power of Pome. It was all-pervading, and touched all relationships in civil and religious things. To be a Christian, a man

Christianity and Statesmanship. 45

needed a true martyr spirit, which would lead him to count not even life dear to himself, so that he might be faithful to his Master. In spite of such high demands, the new religion conquered, and gained mighty hosts of converts from every rank and class of men. The Apostle who said, " "We wrestle with principalities, and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places," could add, nevertheless, " JSTow thanks be to God who always causeth us to tri- umph."

In our own time and land, the leading power whose claims come in conflict with those of Christ is the Slave-Power. Throughout this country its influ- ence is pervasive. In its practical workings we see three hundred thousand men ruling twenty millions, with a despotism as subtile and complete as that of the English aristocracy which sways the masses of our father-land. Within its own realm it is the foe of common schools, of a free press, and aims to keep the majority of the whites in a state of ignorance, lest they should verify the adage that " knowledge is power." It subordinates the federal government to its own purposes, and uses the physical force of the free States to hold slaves in subjection. It has long done violence to the spirit of the age and the moral sentiment of the North by insisting that the District of Columbia, the common territory around the Capitol, should be a public slave-market. It still enlarge th itself; it breaks solemn compacts at its pleasure ; it fortifies a terrible system of slavery- propagandism within the bulwarks of the Constitu- tion, and aspires to rule a continent that shall ulti

46 Christianity and Statesmanship.

mately give law to the world.* In regard to all the principles and schemes of such a power, every man among us is responsible to God for the ex- pression of his opinion, the exercise of his influence, the casting of his vote ; and in every case where action is necessary, every man must meet the alter- native involved in the question, " Wilt thou obey the law of Christ or of Csesar ?" In the moment of decisive action, Pontius Pilate officially aban- doned Christ, and yielded to what he thought to be the demand of Csesar, then called for a bowl of water, washed his hands, and disclaimed his guilt ! But water could not cleanse him from the moral stain that was upon his soul ; and :whosoever now imitates his style of action by sacrificing right to expediency may see the time when he will exclaim, " If I wash myself with snow-water, and make my hands never so clean, yet shalt Thou plunge me in the ditch, and my own clothes shall abhor me."

C83sar ! who and where is he ? Once the name denoted the power which found its impersonation in Nero or Domitian. These men have died, but the rule of Csesar is not dead. The dominant power of the world around us, which regards the law and the spirit of the world as supreme, is the real anti- Christian Csesar, whatever titles it may wear. In some places Wealth is the reigning power which rules public opinion and gains the homage of society. In others. Fashion is enthroned, makes genius her prime-minister, and receives the worship - « *

* See Appendix, G, p. 372.

Cheistianity and Statesmanship. 47

of the multitude. "Whatever form the government of Caesar may assume, in many things it will come into collision with the government of Heaven, so that the true Christian has daily need to remember the maxim of his Master, " Render unto Caesar the things that are Csesar's, and unto God the things that are God's."

II. It becomes the churches of this land to regard with an interest, more concentrated and intense than has yet been seen, the evangelization of this continent considered in its relation to the ultimate triumph of the Messiah's kingdom. "We have seen that the great outward antagonism to the benign aims of Christianity is found in that organization of social power which takes the form of political government, in the administration of which the few rule the many, and close every avenue through which the light of truth can reach the masses of the people. But it is our happy fortune to live in a land where the ruling power is wielded by the people themselves. Here this old antagonism can exist but in a comparatively limited degree ; for, although trading politicians, senators, and repre- sentatives may betray their trusts, as they have sometimes done, the people still hold the remedy in their own hands. Here public opinion is a power behind all organized forms of government, and it can make or break these forms at its pleasure. Here, midway between the two great oceans of the globe, is a continent exhibiting a spectacle- the like of which the sun never shone upon before. Here Christianity has her chosen way of operation by

48 Cheistianitt and Statesmanship.

direct appeal to the individual, and by direct access to the millions without " let or hindrance." "Was there ever a time or place that opened to the friends of truth such a bright career ? Did God ever call with stronger emphasis to his people than he does to every one of us, saying, " Son, go work to-day in my vineyard ?" Who does not see that the grand business assigned to us is that which was of old re- garded as the primary business of every disciple and every church : the diffusion of a pure Chris- tianity among these millions teeming with life, hope, and joyous energy? Let but the hills and valleys, the fields and prairies, the towns and cities of this continent be thickly set with self-governed churches, acting in concert to do the great Master's work, and then shall we be a self-governed nation, before the outgoings of whose influence the schemes of despotism and idolatry that have so long cursed the earth shall give way, just as the icy solitudes of the north are melted beneath a summer's sun, are clad in robes of beauty, and echo the carol of birds and the song of the reaper.

And yet, far be it from us to intimate that the enlarged missionary spirit that aims directly at the evangelization of the world is to be at all repressed in subordination to any narrow economy touching what we are wont to call the " Home-field." Our Lord himself has said, " The field is the world," and his great commission commends the wants of the world at large to the heart of every disciple. The expansive love that takes the weal of our whole common humanity within its scope is the only

Christianity and Statesmanship. 49

element of moral power adequate to the emergencies that confront ns within our far-reaching borders. Let but the comprehensive missionary spirit that prays and toils at once for the whole of Heathendom be stinted to a narrower sphere, and it would lan- guish for the want of genial aliment. God is mag- nanimous, and he honors magnanimity. '' Attempt great things, expect great things," and you will surely achieve them. Attempt little things, expect little things, and you will not get even these ; for, " to him that hath shall more be given, but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he seemeth to have." Let our churches turn away their eyes and hearts from the Heathen nations, and they will not have the moral force that is needed for the rough work at home ; let them encourage the generous impulses of their sons and daughters for foreign conquests to the cause of Christ, and the re-acting influence of the enterprise abroad will inspire the hosts at home with a kin- dred spirit, and invest the whole array with a power that will mock resistance.

HL Li relation to the work before us, it becomes us to guard against a two-fold error to which we may be liable. Let us beware on the one hand of being elated by expectations of an easy service and rapid victories ; let us beware on the other hand of being discouraged by apparent reverses, by "hope long deferred," or by shouts of triumph in the camps of the enemy. There are certain popular modes of speech in which we may be prone to in- dulge, touching the " age of progress" in which

50 Cheistianitt and Statesmanship.

we live — the triumphs of science and art in this nineteenth century. These animating words are sometimes spoken as if intended to suggest the be- lief that the mountains are so fallen and the valleys so exalted, that a broad and smooth highway is opened, along which the Church may march as on a gala-day, to take possession of an Eden as her heritage. Is there not danger of an illusion here ? These mighty agencies, to be sure, are changing the face of nature and the interior relations of mankind ; but they can not regenerate the heart, they can not sanctify or save. They are, no doubt, imparting power to the people, and sapping the thrones of despotism.

But suppose that by the wielding of some magical wand we could dissolve the despotisms of the earth to-day, without the moral regulation of pure Christianity society would blindly rush into that state of anarchy from which it would again blindly seek relief beneath the wings of imperial power. Democracy itself would reel with the in- toxication of atheistical philosophies and of a worldly spirit, fulfilling the sentence of the proph- et : " They are drunk, but not with wine ; they stagger, but not with strong drink." The demon of rebellious passion in the human heart can not be charmed out of it by intellectual culture, nor by the richest abundance of physical good that Four- ierism can crave. A free distribution of the elements of wealth will not make spendthrifts rich, nor will the finest physical condition that art can reach make a peaceful and happy world. Ko; never.

Chkistianity and Statesmanship. 51

The gospel alone can accomplish this. But let it be remembered that the gospel is a remedy that the disordered soul does not naturally love, that it is ours to press this remedy on hearts that repel it ; and to do this in spite of the lying cheats, the spells and sorceries, with which many a vaunting superstition and many a godless philosophy are united to baffle us. Can this be an easy service ? Shall it be thought strange if the contest be long ; if, to the eye of sense, the issue seem often doubt- ful, or even if, now and then, the opposing hosts shall raise the laugh of scorn, or renew the taunt- ing songs of Gath and Askelon ?

Still, let none be discouraged by temporary de- feats; by portentous signs in the political firma- ment. The Saviour has bidden us to anticipate them. He predicted moral earthquakes, convul- sions, wars, and tumults, but said to his disciples, " Be ye not troubled." If any supposed that these terrible prophecies related only to the lifetime of the Apostles, the revelations of Patmos were suffi- cient to undeceive them ; for however dark may be their interpretation, evidently they take a mighty sweep of revolving ages within their scope. Even now the Eastern skies are vailed in murky gloom, and fearful signs portend those gathering storms which shall rock empires to their base !

Whatsoever turn may be given to the course of events now in process, the attempt of Kussia to extort from the Sultan of Turkey a concession which shall involve an acknowledgment of the Czar's assumed position as protector of the Greek

j52 Cheistianity and Statesmanship.

churches in the Ottoman Empire, indicates a pro- found and deliberate policy on the part of the strongest despotism in Europe to bring the relig- ious sentiment of mankind, as far as it may be pos- sible, into complete and perpetual subjection to the imperial will. It denotes the sleepless vigil- ance and the far-reaching forethought with which the accursed union of Church and State is guarded, and with which the slightest tendencies toward religious liberty are resisted. For it is not be- cause the rights of Greek Christians in Turkey are invaded, that the Autocrat of the ITorth has become alarmed, but it is because the liberal government of the Sultan is fast opening the way for the growth of a spirit of independence among the people, and that with that spirit of freedom, a natural senti- ment of aversion to Russian despotism is spreading among the Greeks themselves. These feel them- selves to be " the rising nation of the East." The enterprise of their publishers is extraordinary ; the popular literature of Europe is circulated by the Greek press, and two-thirds of the students in the University of Athens are subjects of the Sultan, professing the Greek religion. Who can estimate the enlightening and liberalizing influences which flow from these sources throughout the whole ex- tent of Turkish dominion ? And who does not see how mightily these influences must tend to weaken those bonds of sympathy between the Greek Chris- tians of Turkey and the Greek Church of Russia, which the court of St. Petersburg so greatly de- sires to strengthen? Unless these influences can

CirRISTIANITY AND STATESMANSHIP. . 53

be arrested, Eussia well knows that her cherished hopes of obtaining a firm grasp of the Ottoman Empire, by the agency of the Greek Christians within its borders, must be ultimately blasted. Yexed and exasperated because he has not been able to establish an efficient espionage against the spread of liberal ideas in Turkey, the Czar has at last resolved to risk every thing for one mighty efibrt in behalf of religious consolidation. Hence it is that he has put forth his claim to the political pro- tectorate of the Greek religion. Hence it is that Prince Menschikoff has spoken of the " Catholico- Greco-Kussian worship of the Eastern Church," and thus has employed a phrase which the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople resented on account of its breathing a spirit of usurpation. These schemings of Muscovite diplomacy, be assured, are " no child's play," nor the mere amusement for the leisure hours of princes ; but they are parts of a profound plan that is worthy of the grandeur of imperial genius. May Heaven interpose, as of old, to baffle the counsels of the mighty, so that the chariot-wheels of their policy shall drag heavily, and the wise be caus^ht in their own craftiness.

A little while before our Lord left the earth in a visible form. He told his disciples that the Psalms spake of Him. Here is brought to view this first Messianic Psalm, and we perceive that its sound is like that of a heavenly oracle answering the cry of a perplexed inquirer, who asks with faltering lips, from amid scenes of gloom, " Watchman, what of the night ?" It tells of a long, dreary, stormy night

54 Christianity and Statesmanship.

of arduous contest. But, then, it hails the sign of promise. It descries the gleam of morning ; it re- joices in the effulgence of a glorious day ; it ends with a song of triumph. It directs the downcast eye of a desponding soul to the supremacy of Christ as the rock of its rest. " Blessed are all they that trust in Him." Let this sentiment dwell deeply in our hearts and throw out its cheerful sunlight around us. Fear not the portents of a threatening sky, for He liveth, and is " Head over all things to the Church." Where he bids us go, let us go ; what he bids us do, let ns do it. Let our whole life-work be as an anthem of faith, taking its key-note from this song of salvation. Ye shall not labor in vain. " For, if ye be Christ's, the day shall be yours ;" yea, " all things are yours," because He is the heir of the universe, and " ye are joint-heirs with Him."

CHRISTIANITY AND TURKISH POWER.

The subject of this lecture has been suggested by the leading event of the passing season. For several months the attention of the civilized world has been turned toward Constantinople. The old Queen City of the East has loomed up anew within the scope of general observation, and has been, as she was wont to be of old, the chief centre of polit- ical interest, enfolding in her doubtful destiny the cherished hopes of the Moslem races, and the for- tunes of Europe. It is a fact still fresh in the memory of all of us, that when the report of the signal-gun, heralding the newly-arrived steamer, reverberated along our shores, every ear was intent to catch the first announcement of the news from Paris, where it was long an undetermined question whether the sovereign ruler of thirty millions should be called a president or an emperor ; but now the volcanic fires that roll in the depths of that great political crater are in comparative re- pose ; the scene of the grand European drama of

56 Cheistianitt and Turkish Power.

the nineteenth century is removed from the border of the Seine to that of the Bosphorus, where the royal heir of a power that was once the terror of Christendom asks counsel for his safety, and rallies for mortal combat the last energies of a decay- ing empire. In the year 1453, his great ancestor, Mohammed II., amid the storm of battle, solemnly swore that he would find either a throne or a grave in Constantinople ; after a lapse of four centuries, in the year 1853, the youthful Abdul Medjid has solemnly sworn that he will yield no more to the demands of Russian despotism, but that he will maintain against the Northern Czar the rights of his sovereignty, or be buried beneath its ruins. All honor to the brave ! The spectacle is sublime. God speed the right !

The rise, progress, and present position of the Turks in Europe present to us a wide field of ob- servation, which deserves to be regarded with more than ordinary interest. To a lecturer it displays an aspect that is at once attractive and perilous. The attraction lies in the relative importance and the practical bearings of the subject itself. The peril lies in the difficulty of bringing a subject so vast and so many-sided within the limits assigned to a single discourse, so that it shall have an impress of unity, shall stand clearly forth in its own individ- uality of character, and be made to subserve the. purposes of entertainment and i^tility. Many a lec- turer who has attempted a subject requiring histori- cal illustration, or has attempted to discourse direct- • ly on history itself, has felt his mind glowing with

Christianity and Tuekish Powee. 57

warmth that he could not impart, and has utterly failed of his aim because he has forgotten that an array of facts, dates, and names, although very proper for a school-room, are out of place in a lec- ture-room ; that to those who have already studied the subject, such an enumeration is tedious, and that to others it conveys scarcely a ray of new light or a particle of useful information. It is not an agreeable situation in which an audience finds it- self when a speaker, whom it is their aim to follow, becomes lost from view in the mazes of recondite re- search, or swamped in a bog of uncertain speculation. It is my wish, however, to exhibit the original es- TABLisBBiENT in conncction with the present position of the Turks in Europe by means of such historical lights as I may be able to throw around it, so far as they may enliven our conceptions of the real im- portance of the present crisis, or aid in forming an opinion as to the course of events which is now hastening forward to some great consummation that shall hereafter be regarded as a memorable epoch. With this view, let me ask you to accom- pany me in imagination to a distant scene which may furnish a stand-point from which to survey with advantage the historical landscape that lies before us.

In the spring of the year 1839 it was my fortune to pass a few weeks in Constantinople. Our late countryman, Mr. Khodes, was then acting as naval constructor to the Sultan, being in that office the successor of Henry Eckford, of ITew York. While walking one day in the navy yard in company with

58 Chkistianitt and Turkish Powee.

Mr. Rhodes, mj attention was drawn to a youth of delicate frame and somewhat languid air, who was amusing himself, as bojs are wont, in roving about among the curious objects of the place, and in witness- ing the din and stir of the workmen's operations. It was Abdul Medjid, the present reigning Sultan, who was then sixteen years of age, and is now, therefore, but a little over thirty ; a youthful sovereign certain- ly, considering the difficulties with which he is call- ed to grapple, the skill, tact, and force of character which his emergencies now demand. It was then a prevailing sentiment in Constantinople, that if the young prince should be deprived of his father in early life, his reign would be a stormy one ; in- asmuch as it was expected that the old factious dis- cords would break forth afresh, and that Russia would embrace the earliest opportunity to find a pretext for war, in order to realize the aim of her ambition to possess a city of which the Emperor Alexander was wont to say, " It is the key of my house."

On the following day I was favored with the opportunity of seeing the father of Abdul Medjid, the Sultan Mahmoud, who was generally ac- knowledged to be the most talented and accom- plished sovereign in Europe. At that time he was earnestly engaged, by the aid of American skill, in enlarging his navy, and was pursuing his object with the ardor of an absorbing passion. On Fri- day, the fifth of April, 1839, a large war-ship, pierced for 240 guns, one of the largest in the worldj after having received some repairs, was to

CHEISTIANIXr AND TuEKISH PoWEJi. 59

be towed from the navy dock into the stream ; and the hour was set so that the Sultan might be pres- ent on his return from the mosque to the palace. Mr. Rhodes kindly informed us of the appointment, and placed us in a favorable situation for witness- ing the spectacle. At one o'clock, several boats filled with Turkish officers were seen gliding rapid- ly toward the dock ; and soon afterward the Sultan appeared in his state-barge, seated on a cushion beneath a gorgeous silk umbrella which was held over him by his attendants. The barge itself was elegantly constructed on the model of a Turkish caic, about one hundred and twenty feet in length, glittering with burnished gold, and impelled by forty oarsmen of distinguished skill, whose noble forms were shown to great advantage by their beautiful costume. As the barge reached its des- tination, the sovereign arose, stepped forward with a quick and graceful movement, and took his posi- tion with his retinue under a canopy of blue silk spread over the pavement of the dock-yard. His form and mien seemed fully to realize one's finest conception of embodied majesty. He wore a red cap fringed with blue, a blue cloak, and white gloves. He walked about near the ship, conversed respecting her in an animated manner, and seemed to feel a deep interest in the occasion. His fea- tures fully expressed a strongly-marked character. They were regularly formed. His large, black, piercing eye beneath a finely arched brow — his mouth indicative of persuasiveness and firmness, his complexion somewhat pale, yet apparently

60 Cheistianitt and Turkish Powee.

beariDg the hue of health, his dark, flowing beard sweeping his breast, in unison with a grand and well-proportioned frame befitting royalty, consti- tuted an image of manly beauty that could proudly endure the scrutiny of the rudest or the most culti- vated taste.

In the society of my friend, Hon. S. G. Arnold, of Rhode Island, together with a group of travelers and residents, an hour had been passed in waiting for his arrival, during which time the conversation turned on the eventful history of this extraordinary man. From his earlier years he had braved the etorms of adversity. While yet an infant, he had been bereaved of his father, the Sultan Abdul Hamid, who died in the year 1Y88, and was suc- ceeded by Selim, cousin of Mahmoud, the oldest male heir to the throne. Selim is distinguished in history as the first Sultan who had a clear concep- tion of the absolute necessity of adjusting the polit- ical and social state of Turkey into harmony with the progressive spirit of the age. He projected a plan of reform ; but with his clear intellect, nature had not endowed him with the nerve and force of will essential to executive genius. The Janizaries ruled in Constantinople, just as the old Praetorian Guard once ruled in Rome, when it made emperors mere puppets to carry out its decrees. As soon as this proud, rude, military order caught a glimpse of Selim's plans of reform, they deposed him, and elevated the only brother of Mahmoud, Mustapha lY., whose weak and pliant character furnished a guarantee of their supremacy. This was accom-

Christianity and Turkish Power. gi

plished in the year 1807, when the old Janizary power won its last triumph.

From this era the course of events became pre- cipitous. On the banks of the Danube there was then residing the ruler of a province who stood first in rank among the military chiefs of the empire. This was another Mustapha, surnamed Bairactar, or standard-bearer, the Pacha of Kudschuk. He resolved that Selim should be restored to his throne, and the Janizaries subjected or destroyed. He marched with an army of 40,000 men, chiefly Al- banians, upon Constantinople, and by a well-con- certed movement came suddenly thundering against the gates of the Seraglio, where the deposed mon- arch was confined. He boldly forced his way, and having reached the third gate, demanded the ap- pearance of Selim, when the eunuchs of Mustapha threw the corpse of Selim before him, saying, " Be- hold the Sultan whom ye seek." Bairactar, moved with grief, threw himself on the corpse with loud and bitter lamentations, until he was reminded that it was then no time for tears, but for vengeance. He rushed forward with his men into the presence- chamber of Mustapha, whom he found sitting on his throne, as on a gala day, surrounded with his high officers of state. The victorious rebel, far from being overawed, dragged Mustapha from his impe- rial seat, saying, "What dost thou there? yield thy place to a worthier.'' That hour ended the brief reign of Mustapha, and on that night the cannon of the Seraglio announced to Constantinoj)le the enthronement of his brother Mahmoud.

62 Cheistianity and Turkish Power.

But Mahmoud himself had narrowly escaped a violent death by fratricidal hands. Amid the ex- citing scenes of the day it had occurred to Musta- pha that by the murder of his brother Mahmoud he would be himself the last and only prince of the Ottoman race ; that thus his person would be ren- dered inviolable, inasmuch as the Turk, who has no reverence for persons^ has the most profound relig- ious reverence for the sacred dynasty. Eager to possess himself of such " a charmed life," he gave orders for the execution of his brother; but the doomed prince was nowhere to be found : a faith- ful slave had concealed him in the furnace of a bath ; his hiding-place was not discovered, and after the lapse of a few hours he arose from his miserable prison to an ancestral throne which he was destined to establish on new and firmer foun- dations. Ere long the counselors of Mahmoud put Mustapha to death ; and thus Mahmoud him- self, as the sole representative of the Ottoman race, was endowed with that "charmed life" which threw its potent spell over the millions of his sub- jects, and inspired him with courage to dare the worst in carrying out that line of policy to which the amiable Selim had been made a sacrifice.

The first great achievement of Mahmoud was the reduction of the pachas, who ruled the provinces, into settled and harmonious relations with his im- perial throne. They had aimed at a kind of reck- less independency, and had reigned over their ter- ritories with a savage despotism, somewhat like the feudal lords of France in the middle ages. Devoid

Christianity and Turkish Power. G3

of public spirit, they acted on the most narrow and selfish maxims, and their mutual jealousies weakened the whole fabric of the empire. He marked out, more clearly than had been done be- fore, the bounds of their authority, and brought them into a state of closer dependence on the cen- tral government. Badly as the pachalics have always been managed, the changes which he intro- duced into their administration were real improve- ments.

He next approached the dread alternative that now lay directly before him ; the thorough reform- ation^ or rather extirpation of that Janizary power which had for ages ruled and now threatened to ruin all the interests of the empire. On account of the sanguinary issue of the struggle, his treatment of them has been regarded by some as a savage spe- cimen of the worst features of Oriental despotism. We can not assent to the justice of the accusation. Mild measures were urged in earnest, and urged in vain. They drew down destruction on themselves. Let us look at his position in the light of obvious facts.

While that consecrated military order opposed every improvement as a detestable innovation, the Sultan Mahmoud saw his whole military system becoming, by its relative weakness, the jeer and mock of his enemies. He saw his best troops cut down by an armed rabble in Greece, although that same victorious rabble fled in terror before the disciplined troops of his own Egyptian viceroy. That fact spoke volumes. The reformation or

G4 Christianity and Tuekish Power.

abolition of the Janizaries was resolved upon. De- lay would be folly ; the momentous hour had come. The FIRST step was taken in 1826, by increasing his artillerists, or topegees^ to the number of 30,000 men. Trained to the exercise of guns under the best tu- ition of Europe, these troops, as might have been expected, were hated by the Janizaries, and they hated the Janizaries in return. Having gained an important point in the establishment of a reliable body of troops educated in European discipline, Mahmoud urged on his reform of the fierce and haughty Janizaries.

His SECOND step was an order that a limited num- ber of soldiers should be selected from each of their regiments to be drilled, armed, and equipped in the European method. The most intelligent and effective officers were gained over by the Sultan. The men were pleased at first with the prospect of enlarged pay ; but when the attempt was made ac- tually to carry out the experiment of exchanging the Janizary's loose slipper for strong leather shoes, his flowing chashJceens that had floated balloon-like around his person for woolen trowsers scissored out with reference to effective movement on the battle-field, his ample and gaudy jubhee and hay- neesh for a tight-bodied blue jacket hooked closely in front, the old-fashioned turban, to his eye so pic- turesque and to his head so comfortable, for the closely fitted and rimless red cap with its blue tas- sel dangling from its crown, when in addition to all this he was called upon to stand in the ranks, to face about, to march, to handle his arms according

CHEISTIANrrY AND TuEKISH PoWEK. Go

to tlie most approved tactics of tlie Franks, it seem- ed to him that the cup of his humiliation overflow- ed ; the charm of life was gone, and death itself seemed better than such disgrace. Bigotry is con- tagious, blind, relentless. In any age, when that kind of conservatism which has been so elegantly designated on the floor of our national 'senate as *' Old Fogyism," becomes a thoroughly organized institution, having, as has been aptly said, " its eyes in its hind-head instead of its fore-head," when it is armed with a sense of dignity, the pride of power, and the sanctions of conscience, a radical reforma- tion is nearly impossible; it is "a thick-skinned monster that no weapon can penetrate and no dis- cipline can tame." It was so in the case before us. The untamed passions of these men which had been for a moment soothed, flamed up anew. The Jani- zaries began again, as they had been wont, to mur- der every one suspected of being friendly to re- form, to fire their dwellings, and to exult over the ashes of peaceful habitations as the memorials of triumph. But the savage ferocity that for more than four hundred years had swept off every obsta- cle in its way was now encountered by a sovereign whom danger could not intimidate, and who was equal to any emergency. To his clear and com- prehensive glance it was evident that the crisis of his destiny had arrived, and he had too much great- ness of soul to quail before it. He saw that he must introduce into his empire the elements of progress, that he must infuse into it those new energies which would enable it to keep pace with the advancement

66 Christianity and Turkish Power.

of society in the nineteenth century, or that it must gravitate speedily into an abyss of ruin. To that necessary advancement this old military organiza- tion had opposed itself in resolute desperation, and he or it must perish.

The THiRD step in the execution of his plan im- mediately followed. That was an order to the whole body of artillerists to assemble in the garden of the Seraglio. The sacred standard of the Prophet, which is never displaye dexcept in cases of great emergency, was there unfurled, and all his faithful followers were bidden to rally around it. The ap- peal was answered with a loyal spirit, and now, for the first time, the heart of Mahmoud was elate with the assurance of victory.

The FOURTH act of this drama soon disclosed itself with a tragic aspect. The rebellious Janizaries were summoned to appear before the banner of the Prophet as a sign of submission. They refused to obey. Thrice was the summons repeated. They not only refused obedience, but put to death the grand vizier, and two other high officers of the crown who had borne the royal mandate. All hope of treating with this array of ruthless barba- rism was now abandoned ; the final order was given to the artillerists to march upon them ; and as soon as they were driven into their barracks, a destruc- tive fire of bomb-shells and cannon-balls was poured in upon them. Those who escaped from the burn- ing barracks were smitten down by shot or sword, without stint or quarter. The same course was followed up throughout the provinces, so that in a

CHEISTIANIXr AND TuEKISH PoWER. 67

few weeks not a Janizary jvas left to rehearse the story ; the order was utterly destroyed ; the last spark of its life was trodden out in the remotest corner of the land, and from that day Turkey, hav- ing abjured the spirit of her old Moslem policy, arose to make good her claim to an honorable posi- tion in the realm of European civilization.

The hopes that were awakened by this signal movement were not disappointed. Under the fos- tering care of Mahmoud the cultivation of literature was encouraged ; the physical resources of the coun- try were gradually developed; common schools and schools of agriculture were established ; the latest improvements in naval architecture were adopted under the eye of a naval constructor from New York, and men of genius from France, Germany, Italy, and England found a welcome at Constanti- nople. Above all, in spite of the intolerant spirit that had been the growth of ages throughout the Mohammedan world. Religious Liberty, which has reared its noblest trophies on our own soil, Relig- ious Liberty, without which civil liberty can not exist, without which life itself to every high-souled man is a moral martyrdom, without which exist- ence itself is but a form without power ; Religious Liberty, after having been driven from the nations of Europe, that professed to glory in the banner of the Cross, found an asylum under the folds of the Crescent, where the exiles of every land were per- mitted to enjoy repose and safety. It is this one feature of the reformed Turkish policy that puts to shame the oppressive systems of Russia, Austria,

G8 Christianity and Turkish Power.

and all southern Europe, wliicli awakens a respon- sive sympathy in the breasts of American freemen, and touches a chord that vibrates throughout the whole realm of civilized and Christianized human- ity. To this sentiment Turkey has continued faith- ful. She has protected those American missionaries and teachers whom surrounding nations would havQ persecuted ; she has thrown the shield of her power over the brave Kossuth and his companions in the hour of peril, despite the frowns and threats of her allies and her enemies ; and for these deeds of moral heroism America stretches out her hand to the Moslem in the spirit of brotherhood, and bids him a God-speed in his career of magnanimity, charity, and honor.

And now, having set before us the modern posi- tion which Turkey has assumed in the scale of nations, it may be well briefly to trace the rise, growth, and fortunes, from its origin to its establish- ment in Europe, of a national power which has played so conspicuous a part in the affairs of the transatlantic world.

It seems at times, from various hints and allusions, to be a popular impression that the Turks acquired their firm footing in Europe in the year 1453, by the conquest of Constantinople. I know not how to ac- count for such an impression, unless it be owing to the influence of such vague outlines of history as are found in school compends, and works of similar character. Some time since I observed in an inter- esting volume, from the pen of an American travel- er, a statement to this effect. Writing of the Bos-

Christianity and Turkish Power. G9

phorus he says, " It is full of historic interest, for it has witnessed the assembled armies of Darius, the celebrated retreat of Xenophon, the armed mob of phrensied crusaders rushing by thousands to the Holy Land, and finally the desperate legions of Mohammed II., making at this spot his victorious entry into Europe." It is a pity to spoil a sentence so well balanced and so finely turned ; but the writer could hardly have been aware that the Turks had obtained a firm establishment in Europe nearly a century before Mohammed's conquest of Constan- tinople. That fierce warrior did not cross the Bos- phorus from Asia, but set out upon his campaign against the Greek capital from Adrianople, which was then the European capital of the Turks. A few minutes perhaps may not be misspent in tracing the origin and development of this singular nation, which has of late displayed a vitality astonishing to both. friends and foes.

The decline of the Tartar power in Asia, upheld as it had been by the house of Zinghis Khan, left an open field for the growth of the Ottoman dynasty.

Its first development was in the conquest of Bithynia by the Caliph Othman, whose father, Orthogrul, had emigrated from Persia as the head of a nomadic tribe containing four hundred fami- lies. The indolence of the Greek emperor at Con- stantinople enabled Othman to establish a kingdom in Bithynia. Prusa fell before the arms of Orchan, son of Othman, 1326, and furnished the first occa- sion, by means of its architecture, baths, and lux-

70 Cheistianity and Tuekish Power.

urieSj to induce the Turks to resign their olden style of camp-life, and acknowledge the benefits of a civilizing culture. Prusa became a Turkish cap- ital, adorned by its grand mosque, and its university attracting students from Persia and Arabia. Under the reign of Orchan the dominion of the Turks, not yet worthy the name of an empire, reached the shores of the Bosphorus and Hellespont on the Asiatic side, and thus stood face to face with the empire of the Greeks. Although the name of Orchan is now enrolled next to Othman, as the second on the list of Turkish Sultans, yet he claim- ed for himself no higher title than that of Emir ; but he was the leading conqueror of his time, and by the success of his arms Asia Minor, which had once owned the sway of Christian rulers, now hailed the establishment of a new Moslem power.

The first entrance of the Turks into Europe was solicited hy the JEuropeans themselves. In the civil wars that raged at the period of which we are speaking between the two great factions of the Greek court of Constantinople, headed by the elder and the younger Andronicus, each party sought against the other the assistance of the Turks from the opposite Asiatic coast ; and at last, John Can- tacuzene, who had been the guardian of the younger Andronicus, and regent of the empire, was so situated as to be obliged to seize the throne himself, or per- ish by the hands of factious enemies. Cantacuzene was a keen diplomatist ; he won the favor of the Turkish prince of Bithynia ; and after he had as-

Christianity and Turkish Power. 71

sumed the imperial purple, yielded his daughter Theodora as the bride of Orchan, who allowed her to retain her national religion — such as it was — in the harem of Boursa. About the year 1353, Soli- man, son of Orchan, recrossed the Bosphorus with a troop of 10,000 horse, as the friend and ally of the Greek emperor. The Turk achieved his object, rendered most valuable service, and, having the power^ asserted the right to hold the fortresses of Thrace, and to establish a strong colony at Galli- poli, the key of the Hellespont. It was an example of " the annexation of territory," quite as honorable as any that has bee n furnished in our times by the English government in India ; and the cabinet of Washington, in its negotiations with Mexico, never followed more faithfully the beck of " manifest des- tiny." When John Cantacuzene resolved to abdi- cate the throne of Constantinople in favor of John Palseologus, an hereditary sovereign, it was his last advice to the factious and weakened Greeks to beware of rousing against themselves, by open resistance, the arms of the disciplined and enthu- siastic Moslems.

Ere long the news of the death of Orchan was joyously received by the Greeks, who soon learn- ed, however, that the Turkish power was not con- centrated in a single leader, but that it lay in the courage, union, and energy of the nation. Orchan was succeeded by his son Murad, or Amurath L, who proceeded to enlarge the European heritage that he had received from his father's hands, anS soon extended it from the Hellespont to Mount

72 Cheistianity and Turkish Power.

Hsemus, from the Danube to the Adriatic. The wild tribes of Bulgaria, Servia, Bosnia acknowl- edged his sovereignty ; and, although Amurath re- frained from attacking Constantinople, we may learn much as to the relations of the parties from the one significant fact that the emperor, John Palaeologus, and his four sons, deemed it expedient to obey the Turkish monarch's summons'to attend his court and camp. He chose Adrianople as his European capital; and thus nearly a century be- fore the fall of Constantinople, that proud and queenly city saw herself completely surrounded by the ensigns of Moslem power, and in relation to Christian Europe placed in a state of forlorn and hopeless insulation. During the reign of Amu- rath, from 1360 to 1389, the course of events had drifted to this portentous issue.

And here we must notice, for a moment, the rise of that Janizary power which was organized by Amurath, and, as we have seen, abolished twenty- eight years ago by the late Mahmoud, It is worthy of remark that this order was not composed orig- inally of Turkish soldiers, but of young Christian captives, selected for symmetry of form, strength, and valor. They were taken from the conquered provinces, as well as levied from Christian vessels that passed by Gallipoli on the Hellespont ; they were educated and disciplined for this specific pur- pose ; and when assembled in martial array, were consecrated and named by an eminent Turkish dervish, Al-Hadge Bectash, with fitting ceremony. Having cut off the sleeve of his coarse linen tunic,

Chkistianity AjNd Turkish Power. 73

he placed it on the head of the Aga, as" the rep- resentative of the whole corps, and then pro- nounced this solemn benediction: "Let them be called yeni-seri (or new soldiers) ; may their coun- tenance be ever bright, their hand victorious, their sword keen ! May their spear always hang over the heads of their enemies, and wheresoever they go, may they return with a white face.'''' The benediction was a prophecy which was literally fulfilled. At that time no prince of Christendom maintained a body of infantry in regular pay as well as daily discipline ; and it is no wonder, there- fore, that throughout Europe the name of Jani- zary was pronounced with respect, that it inspired universal terror after the last league of the Scla- vonian tribes had been crushed in the battle of Cossova.

As Amurath was walking over that battle -field flushed with victory, he called the attention of his grand vizier to the fact that a large proportion of the soldiery of the fallen Christian army wQre beardless youth. " Had they been older, they would have been wiser," said the minister, and would not have ventured to oppose your arms." At that moment a Servian soldier, who was lying among the slain, sprang forth and with a dextrous stroke ended the life of Amurath.

But by the death of that brave prince the rising Turkish power received not the slightest shock. He was immediately succeeded by his son Bajazet, who was honored with the soubriquet of Ilderim, or Lightning, on account of the fiery energy of his

74 Cheistianity and Turkish Power.

characterl He carried forward the plans of his father with a mighty hand throughout the most of his reign, from 1389 to 1403, a period of fourteen years. He extended his territories, not only in Asia, but in Europe. He crossed the Danube, sub- dued Moldavia,* passed the gates of Thermopylae, and added Greece to his dominions. At Gallipoli his galleys commanded the Hellespont. Thus the great crisis of Europe in that century was hasten- ed. He directed his march against Sigismund, king of Hungary, who, being related to several European monarchs, his cause became the cause of Europe. France and Germany were at last aroused ; and at Nicopolis, the confederate army of the Chris- tians, numbering 100,000 men, were met and de- feated by Bajazet. The slaughter was immense. The greater part of that army, who had boasted that if the sky should fall they could support it on their lances, were slain upon the field or forced to find a sepulchre beneath the waves of the Danube. For Christian Europe there seemed to be no help, and it is not easy for us to conceive of the awful dread which paralyzed the West- ern nations when Bajazet, with savage pride, de- clared that he would march to Home, and would feed his horse with a bushel of oats from the altar of St. Peter. !N"o wonder that Constanti- nople trembled ; but the progress of the conquer- or was checked, not by arms, but by a terrible fit of the gout in his hands and feet. Gibbon cool-

* See Appendix A, p. 377.

Christianity and Turkish Power. 75

ly remarks on that fact, that "The disorders of the moral are sometimes corrected by those of the physical world, and an acrimonious humor falliDg on a single fibre of one man, may prevent or sus- pend the misery of nations."

I^evertheless, it was the purpose of Bajazet to seize the old capital of the Caesars, which now rep- resented the Homan empire in the East, although its territory was contracted into a corner of Thrace, not more than fifty miles in length by thirty in breadth. The Ottoman prince spoke of the prize as already his own, and was preparing himself to possess it, when a truce of ten years was purchased by an annual tribute of 30,000 thousand crowns of gold, and the consent of the timid emperor, John Palseologus, that Bajazet should establish a Turk- ish cadi and a royal mosque in that grand old me- tropolis of Eastern Christendom. The truce was ere long suspended, and, as it has been well said, "The savage would have devoured his prey had he not been overthrown by another savage stronger than himself." On the plains of Angora, Bajazet, at the head of 400,000 men, yielded to the superior genius of Timour, or Tamerlane the Tartar. Nine months after that defeat the Ottoman monarch died of apoplexy at Antioch, in Pisidia, and was con- veyed with royal pomp to his own mausoleum at Boursa.

Constantinople was now threatened by the Tar- tar power ; but Timour was diverted from its easy conquest by his grand project of invading China, in order to avenge the expulsion of the house of

76 Christianity and Tukkish Power.

Zhinghis Khan ; when in the vicinity of Otrar, a sudden fever, aggravated it is said by the excessive use of iced water, removed the monster-scourge from the face of the earth. His power perished with him ; it had swept over the world like the blast of a sirocco, but it left no permanent institu- tions, while the Ottoman dynasty bent like a young sapling beneath the storm, stood erect again in the vigor of a healthy life, and in the pride of inherent strength.

But now throughout Europe, for a quarter of a century at least, there was a respite from the dread of Turkish invasion. The two great Moslem pow- ers of the earth had come into conflict with each other. The Mogul defeated, dishonored, and crip- pled the Turk, and then passed away. Such a combination of events no human sagacity could have anticipated ; and that was the favorable op- portunity for the nations of Christian Europe to have arisen in concert, and to have expelled the Asiatic hordes to their native home. 'No warlike enterprise could have been more easily achieved, and to any one who calmly surveys the scenes of history, the most remarkable feature in the condi- tion of Europe in the early part of the fifteenth century was the disgraceful apathy which allowed this propitious period to pass away without one united effort to rescue the choicest lands of Chris- tendom from the grasp of the invader. So far from such an attempt being made, the Greek and Latin churches were fighting theological battles, anathe- matizing each other, and fostering those factious

Chkistianitt and Tuektsh Power. 77

animosities which blast all public spirit, all mag- nanimous sentiment, and thoroughly consume the moral life of nations. A people who can make no sacrifice of mutual jealousies for the sake of free- dom deserve to be enslaved ; and in a degenerate age like that, so mean, so debased, so treacherous to the hio^her interests of civilization and human- it J, European society, we may be assured, had not much to lose by the advance of the Moslem power, but very much to gain by the rough schooling of adversity.

In the light of these truths a student of history may see in the ultimate fall of Constantinople the ret- ributions of a righteous Providence, and discern the workings of those eternal moral laws that enfold all national destinies. When the grand vizier of Ba- jazet advised his sovereign to delay his attack on that queenly capital, a great principle lay at the basis of his counsel. He saw that religious feuds engender weakness — as they always must where church and state are united iii one political system — that by the natural law of deterioration the Christian factions would consume each other's strength, and that then the prize would be pos- sessed without an effort. The pith and substance of his advice might be fairly put into a phrase of Napoleon on a certain occasion : " When the pear is ripe it will fall into my hands." In the year 1422, Amurath 11. , grandson of Bajazet, im- patient of this ripening process, led 200,000 men against Constantinople ; after his first repulse a do- mestic revolt at Boursa called him awav into Asia.

78 Christianity and Turkish Power.

But in 1444: that same Amurath stood at the head of 60,000 men on the field of Yarna to encounter the Hungarians under King Ladislaus, who, yielding to the advice of Julian, cardinal legate of Rome, had violated a treaty sanctioned by the most solemn oaths ; and when a copy of it, as a monument of Christian perfidy was displayed in sight of the con- tending hosts, the Turkish Sultan lifted his eyes and hands to heaven, and called aloud on " the prophet Jesus himself to avenge the mockery of his name and his religion." In spite of Hungarian bravery, which broke the Turkish wings, the tide of battle was turned by the sturdy phalanx of the Janizaries, and the pride and flower of Eastern Europe was crushed on that day beneath the tramp of Moslem infantry.*

"The pear" was now nearly "ripe." It was left by Amurath, who was more pleased with the quiet of cloister life than with the cares of the court and camp, to fall into the hands of his son Mohammed IL, who achieved the final and endur- ing conquest in the spring of the year 1453.

The character and education of Mohammed qualified him well for the wants of his times, con- sidered from a Moslem point of view. Twice dur- ing his boyhood he had acted as regent during his father's temporary abdication, and he commenced his reign at twenty-one years of age. He was able to converse in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Latin, and Greek, and seems to have possessed all the

* See Appendix B, p. 382.

Cheistianttt and Turkish Powee. 79

qualities adapted to command the admiration of his countrymen with a single exception. That ex- ception was the lack of a sincerely orthodox enthu- siasm in behalf of the Mussulman faith ; but he always observed a convenient distinction between his private sentiments as a. man and his avowed religion as a prince. He was a keen diplomatist, gifted with an elegant address, disposed to act on the modern philosophical maxim of Hochefoucault, that speech is a faculty given to man for the pur- pose of vailing thought. He was a consummate politician as well as an able warrior, combining an intense devotion to sensual pleasure with the love of elegant literature and of martial glory.

The first step in the plan of action for the con- quest of the capital was taken in 1452, by gather- ing materials of wood, stone, and lime from the forests of Nicomedia, the quarries of Anatolia, and the kilns of Cataphrygia, for the erection of a for- tress at Ausomaton, five miles from Constanti- nople, on the European side of the Bosphorus, just opposite to a fortress which Amurath, his father, had erected on the Asiatic side. In vain did Constantine, the last Greek emperor, remon- strate against this proceeding. Mohammed replied to the Greek ambassador, "When my father tri- umphed on the field of Yarna, he vowed to build a fort on the western shore, and that vow I am bound to accomplish." It was accomplished, and a tribute was levied on every Christian vessel that afterward passed those straits.

The winter in which the year 1453 began was

80 Christianity aistd Turkish Power.

Bpent by Mohammed in the palace of Adrianople. But the siege of the Greek metropolis occupied his thoughts by day and haunted his dreams by night. Topographical drawings of the city and its en- virons, of the proper places on which to erect a battery, spring a mine, or lift scaling-ladder, to- gether with the consultations of his friends, en- grossed all the energies of his nature. Even the science of the Christians was pressed into his ser- vice, and at Adrianople a foundery was built under the direction of a Dacian or Hungarian machinist, for the casting of cannon, which proved to be supe- rior to any ordnance of the Greeks.

After a winter of feverish anxiety, operations were begun with vigor in the opening spring, and a siege of forty days decided the fate of Constan- tinople. Five ships from the Grecian isles, from Sicily and the Morea, was all the succor that Chris- tendom afforded to the devoted city ! But the courage of desperation is terrible, and the resist- ance of Con Stan tine and his heroic band astonished both friends and foes. For a moment Mohammed was confounded. But his genius triumphed. The city was inaccessible to his galleys on the side of the Bosphorus, but by means of a plank-road, be- smeared with the fat of sheep and oxen, sixty gal- leys and brigantines were carried around the city on rollers, a distance of two miles,* and launched in the inner harbor of Golden Horn.

It was on the evening of the 27th of May that

* See Appendix C, p. 383.

Christianity and Turkish Power 81

Mohammed assembled bis officers, announced bis final orders, and promised rewards to successful valor. About tbe same time Constantine address- ed bis officers in tbat last speech which has been called the funeral oration of the Koman empire. Early on the 29th the assault of the Turks was commenced, and after eight hours of hard fighting Mohammed passed through the gate of St. Romanus with a splendid retinue in all the pride of triumph ; and in the evening, as he walked through the deso- late palace of the Caesars, was heard to repeat two lines of a Persian poet expressive of the mutability of human fortunes :

*' The spider hath woven his web in the palace of power. And the owl hath sung her watch-song on Afrasiab's tower."

From that memorable day Adrianople, the Euro- pean, and Boursa, the Asiatic seat of Ottoman sway, sank into mere provincial towns, and what was once the chief city of Christendom became the home of a royal power which then shook the world, but now crouches at the feet of Christian thrones to beg protection from the grasp of the Northern Czar.

And now, within a few months past, while the Turkish empire was sustaining peaceful relations to Europe, we have seen the autocrat of the North stepping forth from his place in the character of an imperial agitator, and urging upon the Sublime Porte a demand which can not be admitted with- out a sacrifice of dignity, of right, and of securit3\ Impelled by a spirit of ambition which runs in the

82 Christianity akd Turkish Power.

blood of the royal family of Russia, he has assumed to be the protector of the religious liberties of the Greeks ; and has required of the Divan a formal recognition of his political right to that dangerous relation. They needed no such protection ; they asked none. Just as if the Emperor of Austria should assume to be the protector of the rights of the Catholics, and should demand of our govern- ment that there should be given to him a special guarantee that the religious privileges which they have enjoyed "aJ antiqud'^ — to cite the phrase of Prince Menschikoff — " be secured them forever, on the basis of the statu quo at present existing." "Would not the demand be resented as an insult ? Ay; the defiant spirit that gleamed in the eyes, warmed the hearts, and nerved the hands of Cap- tain Ingraham and his gallant crew in the harbor of Smyrna, would thrill through the nation from Maine to California, and would send back a short- er answer than would consist with diplomatic courtesy.

ITow it has been said by some, that enlightened and enlarged views of the future would naturally turn the tide of sympathy in Christian America on the side of the policy of Russia, inasmuch as un- der her fostering care the Christian Greeks would become the dominant power of the East, and would overspread the ruins of a declining Moslem empire with the bloom and culture of a true Christian civilization.

But let us beware of these specious reasonings. Let us look beneath the surface. What is the

Cheistianitt and Turkish Powek. 83

primary and supreme aim of Russia? The lights of history and observation enforce on us the con- viction that she esteems it to be her peculiar mis- sion, as the conservator of the peace of nations, to crush out the last spark of life in the democratic element of the Old World. She has baffled all the hopes of republicanism, inspired by the revolu- tions of 1818 ; she has arrayed her power on the fields of Hungary against the best and bravest champions of constitutional liberty that ever trod upon an European soil, and has cherished in her heart a deadly grudge against Abdul Medjid be- cause he dared to ofi'er an asylum to those martyrs of freedom who were driven into exile from their native lands. As the Emperor Nicholas has said to more than one American traveler, he believes that there are " only two kinds of strong government in the world, the government of the people and the government of an absolute monarch ;" and the more clearly he perceives the power of democracy in the 'New World, the more firmly does he resolve to resist its triumphs in the Old. His menaces against Turkey, we may be assured, are not called forth by any acts on her part to control the relig- ious liberties of her Greek subjects ; but it is her sympathy with freedom, her magnanimous policy of civil and social progress, her supreme desire to press onward in that grand march of improve- ment on which she has already entered in har- mony with the spirit of the age, that consti- tute "the head and front of her ofiense" in the eye of a despotism which in the name of "di-

84: Christianity and Turkish Power.

vine right" exults over the fallen fortunes of hu- manity.

Yes ! this is the sum and substance of the story which explains the movements of Russia at the close of the year 1853. Let us look at the matter a little more closely. Most of us are, doubtless, familiar with a conversation of I^apoleon, reported by O'Meara, in which the French emperor uttered the prediction, that Turkey would, in the natural course of events, in due time fall into the hands of Russia. "The only hypothesis," he said, "on which France and England would ever unite would be for the prevention of that issue ; but even that union could not ultimately prevent it." This prediction has made a deep impression on the minds of multitudes. But there is one short sen- tence in that conversation which states the alleged FACT on which the prediction is based. The sen- tence is this : "The greater part of the people in Turkey are Greeks, who, you may say, are Rus- sians." Time was when this sentence contained the truthful statement of a fact, and a fact which was the germ of a prophecy. But it is a fact no more. The Greeks, long schooled in adversity, are now the rising nation of the East ; but in propor- tion as intelligence becomes diffused among them, they exhibit a gradual change of sentiment, aspire to a state of higher nationality, and express a strong antipathy to Russian rule. The hosts of youth who resort to Athens and other Europeans capitals for education, carry back to their homes ideas of freedom and progress that work their way like

Christianity and Turkish Power. 85

leaven through the popular masses. From his icy and inaccessible seclusion the Northern emperor watches every flitting shadow on the disk of Euro- pean politics, and fears with reason lest the hatred of Russian influence cherished by the Greeks within the Turkish empire should relax his hold upon that empire, and baflOle his darling policy. On this ac- count he has ventured to disturb the peace of na- tions, and has sought by a daring step to gain a foothold whereby he may bring the whole organ- ization of the Greek clergy more thoroughly under his dominion, and so be able by their instrumental- ity to crush the democratic element, and tread out the last spark of religious liberty among the peo- ple. Having taken this step, he will not go back ; and Western Europe can not let him go forward.

Is not war, then, inevitable in spite of all diplo- macy ? It must come. And we say, let it come ! Oh, let the Moslem crescent wave still longer over the races to whom it is now the guarantee of peace- ful progress, rather than give place to the North- ern banner which flaunts the cross of Christ in the face of the civilized world as an ensign of oppres- sion!

And while I breathe this heartfelt wish, I am not unmindful of my position as an American citizen, a Christian, and a Christian minister ; but I would, nevertheless, in some degree reciprocate the spirit of the benediction with which the Sultan Mahmoud once greeted one of our own countrymen. It was called forth by an occasion of great interest to the public of Constantinople — the first launch of a

86 Christianity and Turkish Power.

vessel of war built by an American naval arcliitect. At the appointed time, while Mr. Rhodes, then act- ing under the direction of Henry Eckford, was pre- paring for the launch, the Sultan Mahmoud with his attendants arrived at the navy yard. After the lapse of several minutes, a pacha approached Mr. Rhodes, and informed him that the Sultan had sent him to inquire whether more men would not be re- quired to assist in the work. Mr. Rhodes replied, ISTo ; that he had men enough. The answer was re- ported to the Sultan, who appeared to be very much surprised, inasmuch as he supposed that a body of a hundred men or more would be needed to start the vessel, by dragging it from its place with ropes, after the old Turkish fashion. Thinking it quite impossible that so few men as he saw at work were sufficient for the purpose, and that the question or the answer had perhaps been misunderstood, he sent the pacha back to ask if it would not be agree- able to Mr. Rhodes to have a body of soldiers or- dered up from the barracks. Mr. Rhodes in his haste replied rather abruptly, that he needed no help, and wished to be let alone. This answer was also reported to the Sultan, who seemed to be rather more astounded than before. But ere suffi- cient time had elapsed for sending another message, the ways were all prepared, the blocks knocked aside, and when the noble ship glided forward majestically, "like a thing of life," as if hasting to be embraced by the placid waters of the Golden Horn, Mahmoud could not restrain his emotions ; lifting his hand toward heaven, he exclaimed, "God

Christianity and Turkish Power. 87

is great ! God is great ! God help him if he is an infidel !"

This expression was significant. It was in har- mony with " the signs of the times." It indicated a power at work in the course of events, by which, as by a series of convulsive shocks, the Moslem's prejudice and pride have been made to give way before the march of Christian civilization. And now, in the midst of the nineteenth century, when the nominally Christian governments of continen- tal Europe are arrayed on the side of kingly and priestly despotism, if we behold a Mohammedan power whose tendencies, aspirations, and civil pol- icy favor the cause of religious freedom, of liberal culture, and of popular progress on that power, whatsoever name it bear, let our benedictions rest ; let it be our prayer that " the stars in their courses" may fight for it, and that the day may soon come when, having completed that process of moral trans- formation which has been so hopefully begun, it may take its proper place as a part of Christ's universal heritage, and be hailed as an acquisition of strength and beauty to the domain of Christendom.

CHRISTIANITY

AND

TR ADITIO NISM.

It has often been remarked, by attentive observers within the realm of philosophy and poetr}^, that there is a beautiful analogy between certain objects in the world of matter and the world of mind, on account of which, the contemplation of them awaken?i a kindred feeling, which we agree to denominate, according to the relative intensity of its character, the emotion of beauty or sublimity. It has some- times been questioned, whether those emotions be the more strongly aroused in the human bosom by the objects of outward nature, or by that class of actions in the history of man which develop power of character, and enkindle the admiration of moral greatness. He who has gazed upon the heaving ocean, or stood all eye and ear at the foot of the mighty cataract, or amidst the tempest's play amongst the mountains, has heard the live thunder leap from

Christiamtt and Traditionism. 89

peak to peak, or looked upon the " Alpine palaces where nature sits enthroned in icy halls/' might well doubt the while whether his soul were sus- ceptible of an emotion more awful and profound. Nevertheless, when such an one is called to turn his thoughts to a series of actions which exhibit the loftiest attributes of mind, which constitute an era in the history of the race, and connect themselves by links which extend through intervening centuries with the events of the present hour, he cannot but feel, that to such deeds of spiritual might, there is added a moral grandeur which causes them to take a still deeper hold upon the soul of man, to awaken a nobler homage, an emotion still more sublime. He certainly felt this to be true, who asks,

" Is aught so fair . In aU the dewy landscapes of the spring, In the bright eye of Hesper on the morn, In nature's fairest forms, is aught so fair As virtuous friendship ? as the candid blush Of him who strives with fortune to be just ? The graceful tear that streams for others' woes ? Or the mild majesty of private life. Where peace with ever-blooming olives crowns The gate ;

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Look then abroad through nature, to the range Of planets, suns, and adamantine spheres, Wheeling unshaken through the void immense, And speak, O man ! does this capacious scene, With half that kindling majesty, dilate Thy strong conception, as when Brutus rose, Kefulgent from the stroke of Caesar's fate, Amid the crowd of patriots ; and his arm Aloft extended, like eternal Jove.

90 Christianity and Traditionism.

Wlieu guilt brings down, the thunder calle(i aloud On Tully's name, and shook his crimson steel, And bade the father of his country, hail ! For lo, the tyrant prostrate in the dust, And Rome again is free."

Magnanimity, heroism, self-sacrifice, put forth for any cause, whether on behalf of virtuous friendship or the honor of one's country, invest a character with a certain aspect of moral greatness, which must challenge the esteem even of an enemy. How strongly, then, must we feel this to be the case, while looking upon the condition of men in a be- nighted age, when Superstition had enthroned her- self on the ruins of all that was just in social order, ennobling in freedom, and rational in religion ; when, throughout her wide realm, which she desig- nated Christendom^ no one durst utter aloud those words which are said to be " spirit and life/' except at the peril of martyrdom ; when he, who was called the vicar of Christ, had so united the church and the world in a base idolatry that it seemed as if the tempter's wish had been realized, long after it had been uttered on the mount of vision, where, pointing to the kingdoms of the earth, he said to Jesus, " All these will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me ;" — while at such a time, we see a single mind, catching at first some faint gleams of light from the oracles of God, becoming gradually more illuminated, then fired with a holy zeal for the cause of God and truth and man, at fearful odds, waging war with principalities and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places, till at last, though beaten

Christianity and Traditionism. 91

down and prostrate, it sees the triumph from afar, and hails the coming victory, we cannot but be struck with the sublimity of goodness, and stand in awe of what is great and majestic in human charac- ter. Such is the order of sentiments with which we look back upon the career of John de Wycliffe, the herald of the Reformation, the star which ai ose upon the brow of a long and gloomy night, the har- binger of approaching day.

In asking the reader's attention, at this time, to the character and influence of Wycliffe, it is not merely with a wish to do justice to one to whom we are all much indebted, but chiefly to awaken an interest in the principles and conduct of a man, whose life is a volume of instruction. In itself con- sidered, his character has much of intrinsic dignity, formed as it was of piety, learning, philanthropy, enthusiasm, sobriety, which all rendered beautiful that martyr-spirit that appeared in him, calm, firm, self-possessed, feeling ever " the rocky grounds of his strength," meek, humble, bold, resolute, immova- ble, daring, and able to stand against the world. But in its relations, his character possesses a high moral interest, for to him belongs the glory of having struck the first notes which touched the heart of Christendom and aroused that reforming spirit, which became " a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning," which spread electrically through Europe, breaking up the thraldom of ages, and, extending its alarms to the Vatican, caused even there the faltering inquiry to be made, "when shall the desolation cease ?" The Waldenses had, indeed,

92 Christianity and Traditionism.

amidst their mountain fastnesses, remained faithful to the truth ; but they could only hope for security for themselves, nor could they effect any aggressive movement against the reigning corruptions. Wy- cliffe stood quite alone in his ovt^n times, deriving no light or strength from the dissenting Christians of the continent ; and though there, the name of Luther is inscribed on the foremost banner of the Reformation, yet it has happened (as Fiddes ob- serves in his Life of Cardinal Wolsey) that Wycliffe vras like a physician, vf^ho applied the first successful remedies against an inveterate disease, and Luther was like one who came in at last to carry forward what had been begun, to its consummation, and so bore away the palm and glory.

The village of Wycliffe, in the north part of York- shire, seems on the most probable evidence, which is sustained by the authority of Leland, to have the honor of being the birth-place of the Reformer. In our times, the appellation of Wycliffe is used as a surname ; but in his day, it designated a locality, and, according to the old Saxon usage, he was usu- ally called John of Wycliffe. The date of his birth is generally referred to the year 1324 ; and we know nothing of his youth, except that his name was en- rolled as a student at Oxford in 1340. Queen's College, of which he became a member, was founded that year, for the students of the northern counties ; but he was soon transferred to Merton, the most eminent of all, where the chair of divinity was filled by Thomas Bradwardine, afterwards archbishop of Canterbury, a man of extensive learning, and very

Christianity and Traditionism. 93

celebrated for his writings against the Pelagians, in view of which Dr. Gill speaks in his praise, and calls him a second Austin. Possessed of extraordi- nary talents, and a liberality of mind far beyond his age, he was well fitted to be the instructer of such a youth as Wycliffe, and though he made no formal opposition to Popery, he did much to foster an inde- pendent spirit of inquiry.

Around the walls of Merton, the spirit of Duns Scotus still lingered. His fame had filled Europe, and to be enlightened by his wisdom, thirty thousand students gathered around his chair. He was entitled the subtle doctor ; of scholastic learning he had ex- haustless stores, of which we may mention as a proof, that when the University of Paris was agitated with the question, whether the Virgin Mary was born in. original sin, Scotus settled it by producing two hun- dred arguments in the negative. The devotion of his students to him must have been very great, for Brucker affirms that they used to say, " Had the genius of Aristotle been unknown, that of Scotus could have supplied its place." This was the highest possible eulogium ; for the scholars of that age were distinguished by their passion for logic and meta- physics, and the study of Aristotle comprised all that they thought worthy of the name of learning. The living philosopher could not have received more homage from his disciples at Athens, than his name drew forth from the students of Oxford in the fourteenth century. In their view, a man might pretend to study the Scriptures, and become a bibli-

94 Christianity and Traditionism.

cist ; but unless he understood Aristotle, he could never understand the Bible.

At that time, the sciences were divided into two classes, called the trivium and quadrivium, the first embracing grammar, rhetoric and logic ; the second music, arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. With the exception of music, the studies of the first divi- sion were most diligently pursued ; within their sphere, the power of the human intellect seemed to be concentrated ; and though we may regard their subtle exercises of the dialectic art as profitless, yet it must be conceded, that the world has never beheld instances of sharper wit, or of logical powers more finely trained. Long and fruitless their wars of words may seem to us in retrospect, but woe to the man who should have ventured to engage in them, if deficient in memory, or invention, or the industry which was requisite to master the technicalties of their favorite science. Instant defeat would have followed the want of knowledge, strength or skill, and however wise or strong a man might be, he could avail but little with the leading men of those times, unless he could hold his ground with the scholastic doctors in the use of their own weapons. The riper youth of Wycliffe was, therefore, most profitably spent in close investigation of the Aris- totelian philosophy, and acquiring those implements of logical warfare, which he was destined to wield with such signal success in the cause of truth and humanity. According to the testimony of his oppo- nents, he was unrivalled in debate, the proudest wranglers stood in awe of him ; in their intellectual

Christianity and Traditiomism. 95

tournaments he was sure to come off victorious, so that Knighton, a contemporary and bitter foe, writes of him, " in philosophia nulli reputabatur secundus ; in scholasticis disciplinis incomparabilis."

But whilst we admire the talent of Wycliffe, dis- played in his rich learning and in those mental feats which were the wonder of his time, we observe, with the greatest pleasure, his early devotion to biblical studies. This constituted the peculiarity of his character, and here lay the secret of his strength. Firm in his belief, that the Scriptures were given by inspiration of God, and that each man is account- able for the manner in which he treats them, he was soon prepared to broach the first element of Protes- tantism, which is, their sufficiency. Seeing that they are adapted to all the race, both " low and high, rich and poor together," it was natural that he should reach the second fundamental principle, which is the right of private judgment. In the assertion of these two principles. Protestantism essentially con- sists.* Firmly holding these, he was furnished with a standard by which to try the church herself, the institutions of his time, the pretensions of the pope, the decrees of councils, the canon law, and the popu- lar doctrines. Thus he learned to " try the spirits'^ whether they were of God. Hence, sprang those clear conceptions of the enormity of prevailing evils, the mental independence, which enabled him to rise superior to all human authority, to divest every sub- ject of the factitious glare or obscurity which the

* See Appendix, A, p. 385.

96 Christianity and Traditionism.

priesthood had thrown around it, — the moral, ecu rage which enabled him to brook a nation's preju- dice, and to confront a graceless hierarchy, who sat on the throne of church dominion, clothed with unearthly terrors. O, there is that in the earnest study of the Bible which humbles, yet exalts, which leads the soul to feel itself in the presence of God, and dilates it with a sense of his glorious majesty. Then his word worketh effectually, his voice is om- nipotent. To such a mind there can be no terror ; life, death, tribulation, peril, sword, principalities, powers, sink to nothing before it.

If Wycliffe possessed extraordinary force of cha- racter, here is to be found its explanation. But for his devotion to the Scriptures, he would have been as another man. Guided by those rival authorities of the Bible, the canon law, which was a digest of ecclesiastical decisions, or the decrees of the pope, he would have had no light or strength or motive to resist the reigning corruptions, or else would have struck only at the branches, and not at the root of the evils which desolated Christendom.* With a lofty piety, which was nurtured by commu- nion with inspired minds, with genius and talents and knowledge, all quickened by a study of the divine word, his life was a memorial of the power of that word to form the character, and of the power of a character so formed, to affect the destinies of the human race.

A more ample survey of his career than it is pos-

* See Appendix, B, p. 387.

Christianity and Traditionism. 97

sible for us to take at this time, would furnish instructive proofs of this. Let us, however, mark its influence in the case which first brought him into open collision with the spirit of his own age. This was an attack on the order of mendicant monks, which he commenced at Oxford, in 1360. In his day, the monastic system was thriving in full vigor, and perhaps it is difficult for us to con- ceive adequately of the extent of its influence. By its aspect of sanctity and self-denial, it was artfully addressed to that religious sentiment which exists in man universally, and which, while in Europe it had taken on the form of Christianity, had become re- volted and shocked at the vices of the clergy. When avarice, arrogance and ambition reigned in the cathedral, many were struck with veneration on beholding an order of men seeking seclusion, extoll- ing a meditative life, and turning their backs on all the attractions of wealth, and all the " pride of place." Such a device took well with the Romish church, which has always sought to extend her sway by appealing to every feeling in the bosom of man, and to address the moral sentiment by the ostenta- tion of virtue. But " truth will out," nature will develop itself, and human depravity scorns to be bound by ecclesiastical canons. When veneration for the monks had made them rich in endowments, their profligacy became manifest unto all, their credit sunk, and the church lost much of her honor of sanc- tity. In the century preceding the time of Wycliffe, Grossteste, bishop of Lincoln, described the Anglo- Norman monks, as " belonging to the dead rathe'*

98 Christianity and Traditionism.

than the living, as the tenants of a sepulchre, appear^ ing in the habiliments of the grave, and as deriving all their vitality from an infernal inspiration." In such a case, the device of a new order of monka seemed exactly adapted to meet the church's exigen- cy, and the appearance of a class of men who had bound themselves to own no property, to devote themselves to charitable works, to live by alms, to imitate the poverty of Christ, and who were known by the name of mendicant friars, or begging breth- ren, attracted general attention and reverence. At first, some of the more enlightened thought that, at least, by their itinerant preaching they might da much good, and therefore favored them. Among these was Grossteste, but he afterwards became their decided foe. Their mock poverty excited disgust ; vaunting themselves of the favor of the pope, they contemned the civil power, and were seen to be mere tools in the hands of the pontiff for the exercise of his dominion. The spirit of Wycliffe was stirred within him, as he saw their increasing influence, and the fearful use they made of it, and, not content with pointing out their gross abuses, he struck at the foundation of their order. It was a fortunate cir^ cumstance for him that they were accustomed to ex- patiate on the poverty of Christ as the model of their imitation, for this led him in his conflict with them to enter fully into the scriptui-al argument, to draw forth the Bible from its obscurity, to hold it up as the lamp of heaven, the standard of faith, and rule of duty, while he marked the contrast between its teachings and the usages which church authority

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had sanctioned ; in effect he thundered forth the startling appeal of the prophet, " What is the chaff to the wheat ? saith the Lord."^"

The result of this controversy was most benign. While it displayed Wycliffe's courage, in attacking those of whom it was said, that " a lord would more patiently bear a severe censuring of his least offence than mendicants the soft and mild reproving of their greatest sins," who had long presided over the In- quisition on the continent, and who were called " the confessors, the preachers, and the rulers commonly of all men,'' it at the same time enabled him to scat- ter broad-cast the seeds of that scriptural truth, which alone could cause a prostrate church to rise up from her bondage of death, " regenerated and dis- enthralled."

After this, Wycliffe appears to have advanced fast in honors. He was made master of Baliol College, and presented to the living of Fillingham in the diocese of Lincoln. He was much esteemed by Is- lip, who succeeded Bradwardine in the see of Can- terbury, and by him was made warden of Canterbury Hall, which he himself had founded. Soon after, Islip died, and was succeeded by Langham, who had himself been a monk, and was a great friend of the religious orders. By him, Wycliffe was deposed on some frivolous pretences. Strong in a good con- science, he appealed to the pope for justice, but in vain.

Soon after this, Providence presented him with

* See Appendix, C, p. 389.

100 Christianity and Traditionism.

an opportunity of striking an effective blow at the power of popery in England. How absolute, how awful that power had been, may be seen at a glance, by the oath of king John, pronounced while kneel- ing before the people, with his hands held up be- tween those of the legate : " I, John, by the grace of God, king of England, and lord of Ireland, in order to expiate my sins, from my own free will and the advice of my barons, give to the church of Rome, to pope Innocent and his successors, the kingdom of England, and all other prerogatives of my crown. I will hereafter hold them as the pope's vassal. I will be faithful to God, to the church of Rome, to the Pope my master, and his successors legitimately elected. I promise to pay him a tribute of a thou- sand marks yearly, to wit, seven hundred for the kingdom of England, and three hundred for Ire- land." The people of England were ashamed of John for taking such an oath, but their own blind superstition was the occasion of it ; for when the pope laid the nation under an interdict, the king was as effectually cut off from the charities of so- ciety, as was the Jewish leper, who was forced to exclaim, " Unclean, unclean." After Innocent, the popes did not uniformly exact the promised tribute ; but at the time of which we speak. Urban Y. de- manded of Edward III. the feudal homage, the trib- ute, and thirty-five years' arrearage, admonishing him that in default of payment, he would be cited in due form to appear in person at the court of the sovereign pontiff. This demand roused the better part of the nation to resistance. The king refused to comply,

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sustained by tlie advice of Parliament, which had been for years increasing in power and dignity. Nevertheless, the monks were exasperated at what they considered an insult cast on the head of the church, and vindicated the pontiff's claim. Wycliffe could now indeed enter the lists boldly, for favored by the collision between the king and the pope, he had been made royal chaplain, and in his published reply, he appears as the first man in England, since the days of Augustine the first propagator of those corruptions there, who ventured openly to maintain the sufficiency of the Scriptures, the inferiority of the canon law, the peccability of the pope, and his liability to the guilt of mortal transgression. Honor be to the memory of the man who stood forth in a dark and trying day, to promulgate in our father- land those principles which were destined there and here to gain so complete a victory.

At the period of which we speak, Wycliffe was in the fortieth year of his age. He was honored with the aid and friendship of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the most powerful noble of the realm. A coincidence of design brought them together, for while the Duke, as a politician and statesman, was disturbed at seeing bishops and priests intruding themselves into secular offices, Wycliffe, in the true spirit of a Christian minister, was inveighing against the worldliness of the clergy. In one of his essays he writes, that " prelates and great religious posses- sioners, are so occupied in heart about worldly lord- ships and with pleas of business, that no habits of devotion, of praying, of thoughtfulness on heavenly

102 Christianity and Traditionism.

things, on the sins of their own hearts, or on those of other men, may be preserved ; neither may they be found studying and preaching of the gospel, nor visiting and comforting of poor men." An effort being made at this period, by the Parliament, to check clerical ambition by confining the most im- portant of&ces, which had been held by churchmen, to the laity, we may easily conceive that the name of Wycliffe was not in high repute with the dignita- ries of his own order.

Nevertheless, his opportunities for extending his sentiments were increasing. He received the de- gree of doctor in divinity, and was elevated to the chair of theology at Oxford. In that age the doc- torate was not distributed so freely as at the present. He who wore it earned it, and it was worth some- thing to him. It was truly a literary honor, and the candidate for it passed a rigid probation. Sur- rounded with his pupils, as doctor in theology, "Wy- cliffe communicated those principles which took root in the genial enthusiasm of many a youthful heart, and produced in succeeding years a rich harvest to the glory of God and the progress of humanity.

In point of honor, however, a still higher office awaited him, and one which opened to him a fine field for observing the intrigues of courts and the character of the papacy. At this period, the papal court was held at Avignon, and while the pontiff as- sumed the right of filling all ecclesiastical vacancies, there seemed to be abundant proof that his partiali- ties were for Frenchmen rather than Englishmen. This led the court and parliament of England to

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clierish a bitter jealousy of the court of Avignon, for the proud rivalry between France and England, never glowed more warmly than now. This, of course, was favorable to Wycliffe in his war against popery, and tended to protect him against the prel- ates at home. Edward and the Parliament denied the pontiff's right of election, and thence arose the need of a mutual embassy to settle the disputed points. Wycliffe was appointed one of the ambas- sadors on the part of England, and thence was called to reside three years at Bruges, where the negotia- tion was conducted. Here he had opportunity to become acquainted with some of the chief actors in the political scenes of Europe, and returned better qualified to prosecute the great work of his heart and life. Possessing a knowledge of men as well as of books, he had successfully discharged the trust committed to him, and, as a proof that he had arisen in the estimation of his sovereign, the royal patron- age was exercised in his behalf by appointing him to the Prebend of Aust in the collegiate church of Westbury, Worcester, and to the rectory of Lutter- worth.

But no negotiation seemed to bind the pontiff. He found means to evade every restriction, and the taxes which he derived from ecclesiastical benefices amounted to five times more than the king received from the whole produce of the realm. The struggle continued till the death of Edward, and it is remark- able that the first Parliament under Richard 11. re- ferred to the judgment of Wycliffe what seemed to them the douhtfui question, whether it would not be

104 Christianity and Teaditionism.

lawful in the kingdom, for the sake of self-defence, to detain its treasures, " that it might not be con- veyed to foreign nations, though the pope himself should demand the same by virtue of obedience said to be due to him, and under pain of his censures." Such a reference of the question was a proof of the confidence reposed in the judgment of Wycliffe, who in a most lucid manner maintained the affirmative, showing, that neither from the law of reason, nor that of Christianity, which is the law of laws, had the pope the least claim to such lordly dominion.

Such an expression of respect must have been grateful to Wycliffe, now that the storm of persecu- tion was beginning to beat upon him. The prelates and monks had been long watching for an opportu- nity to arrest the course of one whom they were now denouncing as a mischievous heretic. When, therefore, Courtney, a man of high rank, of daring spirit, and intolerant bigotry, became Bishop of London, Wycliffe was summoned to St. PauFs to answer, before his ecclesiastical superiors, to the charge of heresy. The place was much crowded, so that Wycliffe, attended as he was by his friends, the Dake of Lancaster and Lord Percy, the Earl Mar- shal, could scarcely get access to his seat. Courtney was much irritated at the appearance of the crowd and the attendance of the noblemen, and intimated a wish that he had taken means to prevent their admission to the court. The Duke resented this as an insult and replied that the authority of the Bishop of London might not be sufficient to control his conduct. Lord Percy asked Wycliffe to be

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seated, as he might have much to answer. This, Courtney opposed. High words followed, the meet- ing broke up in a tumult, and Wycliffe departed, the most calm spectator of the stormy scene.

The prosecution was then suspended, but ere-long, England resounded with the roar of the pontiff's bulls. They were addressed to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishop of London, the King, and the University of Oxford, denouncing Wycliffe as a heretic, a preacher of doctrines subversive of the church, and requiring him to be delivered up for trial. The result was a council at Lambeth, before which the Reformer was cited. But how wonderful must have been the impression of his doctrine on the people and the court ! What dismay filled the synod, when the crowd pressed their way into the chapel, proclaiming their attachment to the person and opinions of the Reformer ! In the midst of this excitement. Sir Lewis Clifford entered with a mes- sage from the queen mother, forbidding the bishops to sit in judgment on the doctrines of Wycliffe. The assembly was broken up, and thus again was the Reformer delivered from the mouth of the lion. The council became, according to the courtly Wal- singham, " shaken as a reed with the wind, soft as oil in their speech, to the open forfeiture of their own dignity and the injury of the whole church."

It might have been reasonably expected that another volley of papal indignation would have been discharged upon England, but this was prevented by the death of Gregory XL in 1378, and as then Europe became distracted with the contentions of

106 Christianity and Traditionism.

the two rival pontiffs, Urban VI. and Clement YII., Wycliffe had occasion to write, " Trust we in the help of Christ, on this point, for he hath begun al- ready to keep us graciously, in that he hath clove the head of Antichrist, and made the two parts fight against each other. For it is not doubtful that the sin of the popes, which hath been so long continued, hath brought in this division." Again, he says, " Simon Magus never labored more in the work of simony than do these priests (popes) ; and so God would no longer suffer the fiend to reign in only one such priest, but for the sin which they had done, made division among two, so that men in Christ's name may the more easily overcome them both." Wycliffe rejoiced in that division, because it tended to diminish the reverence of the world for the see of Rome, and prompted honest ministers of Christ to speak the truth more boldly. The necessity of such an event, to unseal the lips of many witnesses, may be seen from the fact, that during this doubtful contest, there was a wide-spread feeling of distress among the people, lest they should fail of salvation in case they should die without being united to the true vicar of Christ.

At this period, Wycliffe, who was ever active, abounded in labors, being engaged in writing, teach- ing, preaching, visiting the sick and poor in connec- tion with his rectory. His health gave way under such exertions, and while at Oxford, he was attacked with a sickness which threatened to be fatal. This intelligence was not ungrateful to the monks, and they flattere ^ themselves that as he approached the

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eternal world, he might be disposed to counteract the evil of his life, by confessing the wrongs which he had done to them and to the church. A deputa- tion of eight persons was sent to visit him, consisting of one doctor from each of the four orders of friars, and from senators of the city. When they entered his chamber, they beheld him lying weak and help- less on his bed. After some general observations they came to the point in hand, remarking, that he was undoubtedly conscious of having inflicted many injuries on the mendicant friars, and that now as he was about to leave this world, they hoped he would not refuse to utter his repentance, and to retract those charges, which, amid the excitements of life, he had laid against the brotherhood. The Reformer lay calm and silent till this address was ended. Unable to lift himself up, he waved his hand to his servants to aid him. Then fixing his eyes on the deputation, he exclaimed, with all the energy he could command, " I shall not die but live, and shall again declare the evil deeds of the friars !" The disappointed monks retreated, and Wycliffe recov- ered, to do all that his prediction implied.

On his restoration to health, the Reformer resumed his chair in theology, his pulpit, his pen and his parochial visitations. Though the sickness of which we have spoken impaired his constitution and laid the foundation of that malady which terminated his life, yet he seems to have been "in labors more abundant." In 1381, he called the attention of the University to his exposition of the Eucharist. Re- garding the prevalent doctrine of transubstantiation,

108 Christianity and Traditionism.

which was received on the ground of church autho- rity, as opposed to the evidence of the senses, of reason and of Scripture, he did not anticipate much progress of the human mind until it was delivered from such a vassalage. The simple doctrine of a figurative representation of Christ's body in the eucharist was the one which he defended, and in this far surpassed Luther, who invited the faith of the people to repose in the ingenious scheme of consub- stantiation, which represented Christ's presence to be diffused through the elements like fire in red hot iron. Wycliffe exhibited the ordinance in its native majesty, as a divinely appointed emblem. The priesthood were shocked. The chancellor of the University called a convention, the majority of whom were monks, who succeeded in suspending the teachings of the doctor in theology. Surrounded by his disciples, Wycliffe was lecturing on the obnox- ious topic, when the officers entered to announce his exclusion from his chair. He arose in calm dignity and announced his intention of appealing to the civil power.

Political affairs, however, took such a turn that no civil interference was exercised in behalf of Wy- cliffe. The court, under Eichard, were disposed to propitiate the clergy on account of their enormous wealth, and this became a favorable moment for the enemies of Wycliffe to prosecute their design. Under the auspices of Courtney, a synod was called to check the spreading heresy, and then a convoca- tion at Oxford, before which the Reformer appeared in his own defence. His judges, though neither con-

Christianity and Traditionism. 109

vinced nor satisfied, yet durst not proceed to vio- lence, well knowing how firm a hold he had upon the affections of the people. They dissolved his connection with Oxford, but they could not extirpate his principles. He retired to Lutterworth to diffuse his doctrines by preaching and writing.

It might be naturally inferred from Wycliffe's po'pularity that he was gifted with the power of holding intercourse with the multitude by preaching. It is true that he delighted in the exercise, revered it as the appointment of Christ, and was offended with the indignity with which the church of Rome had treated it. She supplied the people with ceremonies, but withheld the bread of life. So low had this or- dinance sunk in the century preceding Wycliffe, that Archbishop Peckham complained to the clergy that the people were as the " poor who seek water and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst ;" and the improvement which the metropolitan sug- gested was, that a summary of subjects be given to each priest, and that he be required to deliver four sermons during the year in his own parish ! But Wycliffe had impressive views of the dignity of the work. In vindicating it, he exclaims, "" Christ, when he ascended to heaven, commanded it especially to all his apostles, to preach the gospel freely to every man. So, also, when Christ spoke last with Peter, he bade them thrice, as he loved him, to feed his sheep ; and this would not a wise shepherd have done had he not himself loved it well. In this stands the office of the spiritual shepherd. As the bishop of the temple hindered Christ, so is he hind-

110 Christianity and Traditionism.

ered by the hindering of this deed. Therefore Christ told them that at the day of doom, Sodom and Gomorrah should better fare than they. And thus if our bishops preach not in their own persons and hinder true priests from preaching, they are in the sin of the bishops who killed the Lord Jesus Christ/' To a reflecting observer, what an interest- ing object must it have been, to behold this man, who was skilled in all the subtleties of learning, a match for the ablest dialecticians of the times, able to lead the way in translating the Scriptures into his native tongue, qualified to solve the knotty ques- tions of Parliament, and to treat on behalf of his country with the ambassadors of foreign courts, standing up amidst a rude and untaught peasantry, who hung upon his lips to receive the words which make men wise unto salvation. The ease and ener- gy with which he filled so wide a sphere, prove that he deserves to be ranked with minds of the highest order that any age or country has produced.

His method of preaching (to use the term of the times) was ^^ postulating,^^ in distinction from " declar- ing.^' The latter mode consisted in announcing a subject and proceeding to deliver an essay upon it. The former was expository, consisting of remarks upon an extended passage of Scripture, designed to prepare the way for an application suited to the im- mediate wants of the auditory.

The great work, however, which employed the thoughts and filled the heart of Wycliffe, in the lat- ter period of his life, was the translation of the Scriptures into the English language. He was the

Christianity and Traditionism. Ill

first man who gave an English Bible to the world. Before his time only fragments existed. The first attempt was made in the seventh century, by Ced- man, an Anglo-Saxon monk, who presented to his countrymen a poem narrating the leading events of the Old Testament history. Then followed in the eighth century, the Anglo-Saxon version of the Psalms, by Aldhelm and Guthlac, and a translation of John's gospel, by the Venerable Bede. The Dur- ham book, a manuscript copy of the Gospels in Lat- in, with a Saxon version interlined, belongs to the age of Alfred. Several other manuscript versions of parts of the Scriptures existed in the ninth and tenth centuries, but no attempt was made to give to the people the Bible in their own language, so that the enterprise of Wycliffe was quite a novelty in that day. Surely, if by his life he had accomplished no other object, he had lived for a noble purpose.

This great work accomplished, he could say with joy, " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace." Though he bewailed the reigning evils, yet he had a serene faith in the triumph of truth. Truth, he said, must prevail ; "for to overcome truth, would be to overcome God." Thus he waited his time. He died at his rectory, on the last day of December, 1384. Having been struck with a paralysis, while performing divine service, he was immediately de- prived of consciousness, until a voice from on high said to his spirit, " Come up hither."

It is a most wonderful circumstance, that Wycliffe Was permitted to die peacefully at home. Two con- siderations may account for this ; first, the degree

112 CHRISTIANirY AND TraDITIONISM.

of interest which was absorbed by the contentions between the rival popes, and, second, the power which the Reformer had with the people, a power which had already caused the failure of the prelates in all their efforts to destroy them. But what a spirit of consuming vengeance was shown to have been smothered in some bosoms, when it broke forth at the council of Constance, like the eruption of in- fernal flame. That council, called to establish the interests of religion, by a pope who had been a pirate in his youth, and continued to be one of the most reckless profligates of the age, at his bidding designated Wycliffe's doctrine as " the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place f and while they proved their hatred of heresy, in the burning of John Huss, and Jerome of Prague, they establish- ed for Wycliffe, beyond all dispute, the honor of be- ing the Father of the Reformation, the spring of those renovating influences which, as they spread, mocked all resistance, when they commanded that in case his bones could be distinguished from those of the faithful, they should be taken from the place of their thirty years' repose, and " cast out to be trodden under foot of men." They were reduced to ashes, and then thrown into the river which runs through Lutterworth. It was a happy thought of one, who said that " this furnished an emblem of the spread of his doctrine ; for as those ashes were carried into the Severn, the narrow seas, the ocean, so did his doctrine flow from the province to the nation, and from the nation to the many kingdoms of the world." In reviewing the history of Wycliffe, and survey-

Christianity and Traditionism. 113

ing the vast sphere which he filled, as a lecturer in theology, a royal chaplain, a popular preacher, a faithful pastor, a powerful writer, the translator of the Bible, as the expounder and defender of Chris- tian faith and freedom, the chief value of his exam- ple will be lost to us, unless we feel the vivid illus- tration which his life presents of the truth which the Psalmist expressed, when he cried, " Thy word, 0 God, giveth light." What object can be more in- teresting to behold, than a mind like his, so lofty and enlarged, so far beyond his age, at a period when men were " groping in the day time as the blind," when the light in them was as darkness, di- recting their views to those very doctrines which now shine out as the brightest stars in the firmament of revealed truth. Insisting strongly on the suffi- ciency OF the Scriptures, and the right of private judgment, he brought to light those elements of power, which had their developments in the great reformation under Luther, and inculcating as he did, the great article of justification, by faith in Christ alone, the necessity of regeneration by the Spirit, the atonement of Christ offered on Calvary once for all, and the spirituality of the church, his preaching glowed with those truths which touch the deepest springs of feeling in the soul of man. It is pleasing to perceive what a strong illumination had fallen on his mind, while turning toward the Scriptures, as the source of instruction ; what clear conceptions he ob- tained of their authority, their sufiiciency, and the true spirit of an interpreter. " I am certain," says he, " from the Scriptures, that neither Antichrist nor

114 Christianity and Traditionism.

all his disciples, nay, nor all fiends, may really im- pugn any part of that volume as it regards the ex- cellency of its doctrines. But in all these things, it appears to me, that the believing man should use this rule ; if he soundly understands the sacred Scrip- tures, let him bless God ; if he be deficient in such a perception, let him labor for soundness of mind. Let him, also, dwell as a grammarian upon the let- ter, but be fully aware of imposing a sense upon Scrip- ture which he doubts the Holy Spirit does not de- mand ; for such a man, according to St. Jerome, is a heretic. And much more he who rashly blas- phemes, by imposing a meaning upon the Scriptures which the Spirit himself declares to be impossible. If we had a hundred popes, and all the friars were cardinals, to the law of the gospel we should bow, more than to all this multitude."^

Truly, it was the study of the Bible, which con- nected with other learning, made him the man that he was, which endowed him with power as a preach- er, and enabled him so to address the human con- science, the imagination, and the heart, as to awake an echo in the bosom of the nation. For who can be so well prepared to address the conscience, as he who has felt that the gospel commends itself to his own conscience, and has habitually brought that faculty into contact with its truths in all their origi- nal grandeur and vividness ? Who so fit to address the imagination, as he who has studied the glowing poetry of David and Isaiah, and drank at the foun-

* See Appendix, D, p. 391.

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tain of their inspiration ? Who so well prepared to address the heart, as he who from the mirror of God's word sees the very recesses of the human heart reflected ; has marked the image of his own, has mourned over its deformities, and felt within him the renovation of the Spirit ? It is tho study of the Bible which thus gives man power with man. It was this which quickened the energies of Wy- cliffe's spirit, strengthened him for his great conflict with the principalities and powers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in high places ; enabled him, unawed by the man of sin, to raise his reproving voice in majestic tones which broke the sleep of Christendom, and roused a kindred spirit in many thousand bosoms. It was this which fitted him to break the fetters of tradition, to disenthral the church from its vassalage to the priesthood, to make the pillars of the papal throne to tremble, and to preside as the master-spirit of a storm which was the precursor of a new creation in the moral world.

It only remains that we consider, for a moment, how the principles of Wycliffe have fared since his day. They were soon carried from England to the continent. They found a favorable reception with all who sympathized with the spirit of the Waldenses. When Wycliffe ceased to bear aloft the torch of truth, it was seized by such men as John Huss and Jerome of Prague. Colomesius has published a letter, which our Reformer wrote to Huss the last year of his life, and Jerome we know was a true- hearted disciple of Wycliffe. From these great lights many inferior ones were kindled, till by the

116 Christianity and Traditionism.

time Luther appeared, faint gleams at least were seen both in the palace and the cottage. Under Luther, Protestantism triumphed, but unfortunately Luther never saw what the old Waldenses before him had seen so clearly, that the essential principles on which he insisted, the sufficiency of Scripture and right of private judgment, if followed out to their legitimate issue in the ecclesiastical economy, would break all formal connection between the church and the state, and forbid the existence of a religion established and enforced by law. Indeed, Luther did not apply these principles to the constitu- tion of the church, but sought only by their aid to emancipate the essential doctrines of Christianity from the bondage of church authority. Therefore he says, in his work on Galatians, " Wherefore if the pope will grant unto us, that God alone, by his mere grace through Christ doth justify sinners, we will not only carry him in our hands, but will also kiss his feet ; but since we cannot obtain this, we again in God are proud against him above measure, and will give no place, no, not one hair's-breadth, to all the angels in heaven ; not to Peter, not to Paul, not to a hundred emperors, nor to a thousand popes, nor to the whole world." With these views, we need not wonder that when Protestantism conquered, it seated itself in a legal establishment, upholding an orthodox creed, and a state-paid priesthood. Notwithstanding all the boast of freedom, if a Christian teacher had, in the exercise of the right of private judgment, denied any baptism to be valid, except that which was voluntary, and received as a

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profession of personal faith^ he would have been an- swered, " hear the church," — " hear the church f and the Reformers would have said, as Calvin did, " the church hath taken unto herself the power to alter this." In fact, even under the auspices of Protestantism, church authority was exalted over the Bible, as far as the ecclesiastical economy was concerned, while the right of private judgment was set free only in the interpretation of Christian doC' trines. Two results followed. On the one hand, there was a visible church, formal and cold, with a dead creed, a body of orthodoxy without a spirit. On the other, the individual reason, boasting of liberty, and not impressed with reverence for the authority of the Bible, inculcated a rationalistic in- fidelity under the name of Christianity. Thence, it has been remarked by Reinhard, " Were Luther to rise again from the grave, he could not possibly recognize as his own, or as members of the society which he founded, those teachers who in our church would fain now-a-days be considered as his succes- sors. He founded his church in Saxony. We come together to thank God for its foundation, but alas ! it is no more I"* In England, too, where Protes- tantism boasted of being more staid and sober than in Germany, there was less of reckless speculation in the church, but still more of a disposition, where the controversy with Rome was not involved, to give supremacy to church authority in matters of faith. The supreme authority of the Scriptures over

* Reinliard. iiber die Kirchen-Verbesserimg, 1800.

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the conscience of the individual, a great and distin- guished doctrine of primitive Christianity, found its shrine and defenders amongst those who dissented from all legal establishments, and who maintained the spiritual and voluntary character of the church. This principle gave to Dissent its moral power, and proved its diffusive energy, by modifying the opinions of multitudes within the pale of the Establishment. Thence the devoted friends of church authority have become alarmed, and at Oxford, where Wycliffe lived, and learned, and taught, have raised anew their standard, and, in lifting up the cry of " primi- tive Christianity," hope that they have uttered what shall prove to be rallying words to a declining church. But the august Christianity which they so revere as " primitive," is not that which Luke has pictured in his thirty years' history of the early church, but that whose form is composed of the various elements which existed prior to the council of Trent. At Oxford, where the seeds of the Refor- mation were sown, men are decrying the Reformation itself I One of the most enthusiastic and honored members of that school has said, "As to the Re- formers, I think worse and worse of them ; Jewell was what you would in these days call an irreverent Dissenter. Really, I hate the Reformation more and more, and have almost made up my mind that the rational spirit they set afloat is the ipevdongocpTjTrjg of the Revelations." Again : " I shall never call the Holy Eucharist the Lord's Supper ; nor God's priests ministers of the word ; nor the altar the Lord's table ; nor shall I ever abuse the Roman

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Catholics as a church, for any thing except excom- municating us."*

In our own country, at its first settlement, Protes- tantism was for the most part established by law. Of course, it was not a Protestantism true to its own first principles, the sufl&ciency of the Scriptures and the right of private judgment, and it has engendered here the same fruits as in Europe ; in one class of minds, a supreme reverence for tradition and the church, rather than the Bible,t in another class, a disposition to exalt the authority of reason over that of the Bible.

With the one class, the Oxford doctrines are gaining ground, and preparing the way for another generation to look back to Rome as the true " mother of us all," with the other class, every fresh conceit of a foreign philosophy is hailed as a proof of the " progress of humanity." The one class, feeling like men without firm footing, without a light, without a guide, and tired of the dissensions of those around them, turn with longing eyes to the boasted unity and infallibility of the holy apostolic church ; the other class are quite at ease amid the elements of strife, call the discord harmony, and are saying, " Let every man be his own. church.":}:

If we were called to select an emblem which should characterize and grace the publications of the one class, who prefer the light of church tradition to the light of the Bible, we should picture a mariner at

* Fronde's Remains, Yol, I, p. 379, <fec. t See Appendix, E, p. 394. J See Appendix, F, p. 396.

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sea taking an observation to ascertain his course, holding up his glass toward a meteor, which he had mistaken for the polar star ; for those of the other class, who look at every thing by the light of their own reason, rather than by that of revelation, we should select the emblem of a Dial, and a man with a sage philosophic air examining it in the night to ascertain the true time by the light of his own candle. While these two rival principles, the authority of church tradition and the authority of reason, are in process of development, happy will they be, who shall be found at last to have bowed only to the authority of GodJs word, — that word which he hath magnified above all his name, of which it hath been said, though heaven and earth pass away, yet shall it not pass away ; which is pure, enlightening the eyes, sure, making wis^ the simple ; which shall judge every man in the last day, and prove that the world by wisdom knew not God, and that the wisdom of the world is foolishness with Him. May we under- stand it, love it, obey it, preach it, exemplify it, and so link our destinies to its cause, that we shall share in all the honors of its triumph.

CHEISTIAN GEEATNESS

TS THE

APOSTLE PETER

" Its apostles, lowly fishermen I" This brief sen- tence, from the lips of an eminent orator, enfolds an argument for Christianity, by bringing to view an impressive contrast between the splendor of its early triumphs and the humble means employed for its propagation. The Christian history affords no finer realization of the spirit of this argument, than that which is embodied in the life and character of St. Peter. Of obscure parentage, a Galilean by birth, bred to hard manual labor, unknown in his youth to the leaders of society, destitute of every scholarlike accomplishment, it has been his, nevertheless, to wield a sceptre of moral power over the civilized world ; and, having achieved a sublime mission, to leave among men a name which still dwells on the lips of millions throughout those realms which once owned the dominion of the Csesars, but where the names of the Csesars are now recalled only by the mute me- morials of a perished empire.

A peculiar and well-marked character has always distinguished those who " go down to the sea in ships and do business on the great waters." In our day they are known, as a class, by a certain freedom and

122 St. Peter.

boldness of soul, a generosity amounting to self-for- getfulness, a highly sensitive nature having in it a dash of the poetic element, a genial enthusiasm with a tone of lofty daring, a passionate impetuosity, strangely chastened at times by a serious spirit and a power to execute the most sober purposes. The alternate rest and stir, the tedium and excitement, the tameness and sublimity pertaining to the scenes of sea-life, have operated on men in every age with a degree of uniformity in producing this style of character, of which Peter, in his earlier days, ap- pears to have been a fair representative. All the nobler features of it he retained to the last ; but his Master's discipline so effectually raised what was low, and strengthened what was weak, that he be- came " as another man." A hint of this great change to be wrought in him, was given by our Saviour on his first meeting with this disciple ; for he said to him, "Thou shalt be called Cephas," or as the Greeks express it, Peter — that is a rock : intimating that he who was naturally rash, fitful and impulsive, should become a man of adamantine firmness, of granite-like strength, able to sustain the weighty burdens that were to be laid upon him, and to resist the shocks of a hostile world.

Some of the most interesting events in St, Peter^s history, are associated with " the sea of Tiberias." It was only sixteen miles in length, and four in width ; yet was called a sea, as the Jews denominat- ed any large collection, of waters. Indeed, we some- times do so ourselves ; as, for instance, a certain ex- panse in the Hudson river is called " Tappan Sea."

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The original name of the lake was Chinnereth, from a city on its banks which is mentioned in the Book of Judges. This was corrupted into Gennesaret. On the site of this old city, Herod built a new one, which he named Tiberias, in honor of the Roman emperor ; and this new city gave a new name to the lake, as we are reminded by the use of the phrase in John's gospel. A fine sheet of water is always a beautiful addition to a landscape : but when we can connect it with the names or fortunes of those whom we delight to honor, the charms of the scenery are wonderfully enhanced. Then memory loves to lin- ger around it ; the plains or mountains that encircle it have new beauty, and all its shores are sacred. Under the magic spells, which such associations awak- en, must the disciples have indulged many a retro- spect of Gennesaret. There the pious fishermen, who had been accustomed to live upon its surface, had been called by the Saviour to be " fishers of men." There they had seen marvellous displays of their Master's power. There, in the sunshine and in the storm, in the soft moonlight and in the dark night-tempest, they had communed with Nature in her varied aspects of grandeur and of loveliness ; but, more than all, there they had seen their Lord walk upon the deep as if it had been a marble pave- ment, and when he said to the rough surges, " Be still I" all were hushed to peace. There Peter had received his call to leave the employments of his youth, and to enter the school which was to fit him for his apostleship. It was on that occasion that the disciple, awe-struck by a view of Christ's divine

124 St. Peter.

majesty, revealed as it had been in the miraculous draught of fishes, fell trembling at his feet, exclaim- ing : " Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, 0 Lord !'' At once, the calm voice of Jesus soothed the agitation of Peter's spirit, and inspired him with a holy confidence as it announced the exalted mis- sion which he was destined to fulfil.

If the genius of a Salvator Rosa, so much at home upon the sea, were employed in placing on the can- vas, scenes in the life of Peter, with what power would it set before us the contrast between the atti- tude of the trembling disciple while prostrate on the shore, and that bolder one in which he afterwards appeared, when, with unshrinking step he trod the threatening billows, that there he might greet and adore his Master ! It was night. The storm was on the deep. " The ship was tossed with the waves." The skill and strength of the Galilean crew were not an equal match for the raging elements. The ter- rors of the hour would naturally awaken a feeling of wonder that their Lord should have " constrained" them to embark on an errand to which the powers of heaven seemed so adverse. Confidence and hope were fast dying away ; a sense of loneliness had al- ready given place to a mental gloom more terrible than the roar of the tempest, when, dimly in the dis- tance, a human form was seen moving at ease upon the agitated waters. It came nearer ; it was clearly discerned by all ; one thought flashed on every mind, and that thought was, " This cannot be flesh and blood." A solemn dread, which is common to men when confronted in any way with the supernatural,

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took full possession of every breast ; and doubtless, it was with tremulous tones that they said one to another, " It is a phantom." There they stood gaz- ing on that strange sight, each realizing in himself the words of the ancient Temanite — " In thoughts from the visions of the night fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake ; then a spirit passed before my face ; the hair of my flesh stood up ; and I heard a voice." But the voice which they heard was of no unearthly sound. Calm- ly, sweetly, and in tones familiar to their ears, it ad- dressed to them a message, such as stormy winds had never wafted before : " It is I, be not afraid." The heart of Peter answered to that appeal ; for, what a sublime faith was that which filled his soul, when, rising superior to all mortal weakness, or mortal strength, he sought permission to hasten and meet Jesus, while yet he lingered on the swelling surge ! He asked for no promise, no pledge of help ; but when Christ bade him " come," with what buoyant energy he stepped from the quivering plank upon the forbidding wave ! What a moment of triumph was that ! Not Moses himself, when he stretched his mystic rod over the Eed Sea ; not Elijah, when from the top of Carmel he called fire from heaven to at- test his mission, can be said to have taken firmer hold on the arm of Omnipotence, or to have exerted a more kingly sway over the powers of nature. In the picture-language of ancient Egypt, a pair of feet walking on the water was the emblem of an impos- sibility ; and the scene of this eventful night must have interpreted to the mind of Peter the sense and

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scope of that remarkable promise — " Nothing shall be impossible to you."

In surveying human character, we find no feature of it that calls forth from every beholder an admira- tion more profound than that high-souled " decision," which John Foster has so nicely analyzed, and so beautifully developed in one of his immortal essays. When it appears on great occasions, even in a bad or doubtful cause, and on a conspicuous theatre of action, it wins universal applause ; but when, apart from the gaze of men, it rises superior to the pre- judices of education, to popular opinion, to worldly ambition, allies one's fortunes with those of truth alone, and then comes forth to brave obloquy, scorn, and death itself at the bidding of conscience, it ex- hibits the highest degree of moral sublimity. Espe- cially is it so, when the enduring courage which pertains to decision of character is not pre-eminently the gift of nature, but is seen to spring from moral causes, and to inhale its life from the realm of spir- itual truth where faith expatiates as in a congenial element. In such an aspect of true dignity does Peter appear before us when he boldly avows his belief in the Divine mission of our Saviour. Havino; been called upon by his Master to state what was the public sentiment touching this point, he declared that it regarded Jesus in no higher view than that of an ancient prophet revisiting the world ; then, being questioned as to his own belief, he expressed his calm conviction that the man of Nazareth was God's promised Messiah. That moment was a great era of his life. In this fearless confession Jesus re-

St. Peter. 127

cognized the spirit that could " bear all things," that could stem the current of popular error, wrestle against principalities and powers, and " endure unto the end." Then, with a remarkable force of expres- sion, did he pronounce his disciple " blessed," con- firmed him in his apostleship, and gave to him a clearer revelation than had before been made of the exalted ministry to which he had been chosen.

No one who considers the temperament of Peter, what brilliant hopes of an honored and successful apostleship had been awakened within him, can be surprised at the signs of worldly ambition which he sometimes betrayed, and for which he received the most keen reproofs. He had been taught to believe that the Messiah's kingdom would shortly come ; but as to the nature of that kingdom, and the char- acter of its triumphs, his views were very dim. The glowing imagery of the ancient prophets he had un- derstood somewhat literally ; and the announcement that his Lord should be crucified as a malefactor jarred so harshly against the tenor of his expecta- tions, that he regarded it, probably, as a figurative expression. The predictions of his Master, on this point, he never understood until the facts ultimately explained them. How hard must it have been for him educated as a Jew to look for that " anointed king " who was destined to restore the throne of David to more than its former splendor, to construe aright any intimation that the throne of the true Messiah was to be a cross, and that a wreath of thorns was to be his diadem ! No wonder is it that, with his views, he even " began to rebuke " his Lord for hint-

128 . St. Peter.

ing at a fate so mysterious. After he had visited the Mount of Transfiguration, where Moses and Elias had come to confer with Jesus, where, instead of a frail tabernacle of flesh, a celestial glory had invested him, where a voice like the voice of the Al- mighty had uttered the testimony, " This is my be- loved Son," no wonder is it, that the disciple should be questioning to the very last, even on the final journey to Jerusalem, " what the rising froifi the dead should mean." Neither is it any wonder, if we study the character of Peter by the light of his previous history, that when he found all his bright imaginings dispelled in an instant, when he saw his Master captured by his foes, dragged to the high- priest's palace, and treated with scorn as a weak im- postor, by a triumphant government, when he found that his own sword, instead of being made omnipo- tent for defence like a blade " bathed in heaven," had been bidden back to its sheath — no wonder is it, we say, that he should have become as another man ; that his courage, which had been nourished by false conceptions, should have abandoned him ; that his reason should have fled, like a pilot swept from the helm by a resistless wave, and that he who had just defied all the powers of earth to move him from his loyalty, should have reeled from his giddy elevation into an abyss of hopeless despondency. The fall of Peter is an event well adapted to instruct mankind in every age, but not to excite that feeling of won- der which springs from the contemplation of a mys- tery. The "long-deferred hope" of Peter, that Jesus

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would triumph over death hj baffling his enemies, or by causing them to quail before some word of power, like that beneath whose blasting energy he had seen the fig-tree wither away, probably inspired him with enough of curiosity and courage, in spite of his unhappy mood of mind, to linger around the high-priest's hall of judgment, in order to witness the scenes of the trial which was fast hastening to some fearful issue. He would fain have kept him- self apart from the throng, that he might avoid the peril of being recognized. The exhaustion which had caused him to sleep amid the chills of the night in the garden of Gethsemane, had now brought on that sense of cold which led him to approach the fire of coals which the officers had kindled on the pavement of the court. A gleam of light fell on his anxious features ; and, at once, a maid of the palace, whose quick eye caught their expression, charged him with the crime of discipleship. One thouglit now engrossed his soul ; that thought was conceal- ment ; and, in obedience to it, the lie by which he denied the charge leaped from his lips as quickly as the sword had leaped from its scabbard in the gar- den. More ill at ease than ever, he walked out into the porch, where another maid appealed to the men around him with the exclamation, " This fellow, also, was with Jesus of Nazareth ;" and, doubtless, for a moment, he supposed that he had quelled all sus- picion after he had backed his denial by his oath. But when the high-priest's servant, whom Peter had struck, recognized his assailant with the cry, "Did I not see thee in the garden with him ?" — when the

130 St. Peter.

attending officers took note of his Galilean accent with the taunt, " Thy speech bewrayeth thee," his chafed spirit rose to cope with the emergency, and driving back his accusers with denials, oaths, and curses, he broke away from the perils that lurked around that ill-fated spot.

To the group who witnessed his style of action, Peter must have appeared as a brave and determined man. Had he been a hypocrite, a mere worldling, like Judas, he would have plumed himself on his daring and his success. He would have justified his conduct by the law of necessity, and solitude would have been less painful to him. But when alone, he came to himself. The shrill cock-crow which hailed the morning's light fell upon his ear, and " opened all the cells where memory slept." His eye had met his Master's glance, and that had moved the deepest springs of sensibility within him. He went out, he shrunk from the sight of friends as well as foes ; he writhed in the agonies of self-rebuke, and, by himself, " wept bitterly."

After the record of this event the allusions to Peter in the New Testament are very brief, until he is brought to our view again at the Sea of Tiberias. Having become assured, while in Jerusalem, of the resurrection of Christ, he returned to Galilee ; the other apostles accompanied him, and were assembled at his house in Capernaum. For purposes of hospi- tality, in order, probably, to procure the means of entertaining his brethren, he excused his absence one evening, by saying "I go a fishing." With hearts all sympathy, they replied, " We also go with

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thee." So, as the darkness and stillness of the night favored their design, they seek the lake instead of their beds. Bred to their business from early youth, they were, no doubt, expert fishers ; but now they labored in vain. The night wore heavily away. In the gray dawn of the morning, they observed a stranger standing on the shore. He hailed them with a friendly voice, saying, " My sons, have ye any thing to eat ?" They answered, " No ; we have toiled all the night, and have caught nothing." He encouraged them to try again ; " Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find." They did as they were bidden, and at once the net was full. This effect of the stranger's advice revealed his character. " The beloved disciple " was the first to discover it. Love is eagle-eyed, and the heart often gives a hint to the head. In this discovery, John " outran Peter ;" for John was more calm, collected, and discerning. But as soon as that short sentence, " It is the Lord," fell on Peter's ear, he was all zeal, all himself again. That one fact filled and fired his heart ; and forgetting all danger, the net of fishes and the need of his assistance, he thought only of being at his Master's feet. Girding on his outer garment, he plunged into the sea, hastening to meet Him whom he adored.

On that shore, a breakfast had been provided for the company ; and this social repast became an era in Peter's history. In the presence of his brethren our Lord now turned to the fallen apostle — to him who had said in their hearing, " though all m&a for- sake thee, yet will I never forsake thee " — and asked

132 St. Petee.

of him, " Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these ?" That was a searching question. Peter felt it. He knew its meaning. He remembered his frailty. He could boast no more. But he was con- scious of an honest love. And, aware that Christ's piercing eye was on him, he durst boldly avow it. But he could go no further. He could draw no comparisons. He could not glory over his fellow- disciples. He was humbled, yet strengthened. He only answered, " Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee." That was enough. His tone and manner were beautifully chastened, and the delicate inquiry involving a comparison with others was not repeated. On receiving this reply, Christ immediately raised Peter from the degradation of his fall, confirmed him in the apostleship, and renewed his commission.

But where Peter's sin abounded, "grace much more abounded ;" and, as Peter had thrice denied his Master, when Christ forgave him he intended to confer on him a threefold confirmation in his sacred ofi&ce. Hence he demanded of him, a second and a third time, an avowal of his love. This threefold repetition awakened in Peter's mind sad reminis- cences, opened afresh the fountains of penitential grief, and drew forth from him an appeal to Jesus, as the searcher of all hearts, for a recognition of his sincerity. Thrice he received from his injured Lord a special apostolic charge ; and now, reinstated in the sight of all his brethren, he could sing, " Thou hast restored unto me the joy of thy salvation, and hast upheld me with thy free Spirit ; therefore will I teach trangressors thy ways, and sinners shall be

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converted unto thee." From that hour onward, to the close of his career, he rose superior to the weak- nesses of his nature, betrayed no more the fitful impulses of his early character, and nobly sustained the dignity of his Christian name. His quick and fiery temper was disciplined to a rock-like firmness under his Master's hand, and he became as a mighty lion tamed to the harness.

After the apostles had witnessed the ascension of our Lord from Mount Olivet, they returned to Jeru- salem, and were assembled for many successive days in that " upper room " which had already been con- secrated as their place of worship. From that time, Peter appears as their chosen leader. Although he was never clothed with a formal or official supre- macy, he was well fitted for a leadership, which all freely conceded to him. At his suggestion, a new apostle was elected to fill the place of Judas. At the great festival of Pentecost, when men of all nations were convened at the Jewish metropolis, the college of apostles were gathered around Peter while he proclaimed the truths of Christianity. Under the influences which attended his first discourse, three thousand converts were added to the church. Not only did he stand forth in the public view as the counsellor of his brethren, the expounder of their doctrines in the temple and the synagogue, but as their orator and advocate in halls of judgment. The transformation of character in him and in them, was wonderful. Jesus had said to them, " Behold, I send you forth as sheep among wolves f and, if at any time in field or forest we should see a harm-

134 St. Peter.

less sheep confront the ravening wolf, it would not be a spectacle more strange than that which was seen in Jerusalem, when the men who had fled terror- stricken from their Master's side, stood serenely forth in Sanhedrim and courts to speak in his name, to vindicate his doctrines, and to enforce his pre- cepts. If the modern reader would receive a true impression of the sublimity of those scenes, let him imagine a poor Castilian peasant summoned to the gloomy court of the Spanish Inquisition ; not turn- ing pale with fear, but standing there with a calm, undaunted aspect, and speaking forth words of truth with the simplicity of a child, the energy of a prophet, and the noble bearing of a martyr.

When we consider the apostolic eminence of Peter, the moral grandeur of his position, the unsullied character which he exhibited, the dignity of his public life, we are tempted to wish that the sacred history had shed a clearer light on the closing period of his earthly course. We know not the time or manner of his death. His epistles indicate that he lived to an advanced age. The learned and diligent Michaelis has shown good reason to believe, that he wrote them from the Chaldean Babylon, and that there, amid the scenes around which clustered hal- lowed memories of Ezekiel and Daniel, he spent the last days of his apostleship. The renowned temple in Rome, which bears his name, is said by some to have been built on the site of his tomb. There is no proof, however, that his mortal remains were ever laid in a Roman sepulchre ; but we are rather led to the conclusion that He who caused the body

St. Peter. 135

of Moses to be hidden from the Israelites, permitted also the body of the Apostle to rest in some quiet seclusion, that none might be tempted to offer his saintly relics the incense of an idolatrous worship. From his home in the far East, he sent his last epistle to the great Christian family, declaring to them that his Lord had shown him that he " must shortly put off this tabernacle." That tabernacle has long since mingled with its kindred dust ; but his works survive it, his name is still fragrant, his recorded words are living oracles, and as an inspired apostle, " having authority," he still sits on his throne judging the tribes of Israel.

CHRISTIAN GREATNESS

IN

THE MISSIONAEY.

ACTS XIII. 36.

" For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on

sleep."

Fathers and Bketheen of the Missionary Union : The year that has passed since we were last as- sembled has been marked by two events, to each of which belongs the dignity of an historical era. One of these events is the completion of the half century. While now, as from a " mount of vision," we look back upon the scenes which it has un- folded, we hail with joy new proofs of the fulfill- ment of those promises which woke the lyres of ancient prophets, and catch new glimpses of a pro- found plan for the redemption of our fallen race which the Almighty is urging forward to a glorious consummation. l!^ever before, within as brief a period, has man acquired so great a power over the

138 Christian Greatness

elements of material nature ; never before have those great truths, which are the germs of auspi- cious changes in society and government, been so vridelj spread among civilized nations ; and never before has Christianity gained such substantial con- quests in those vast Eastern realms where the su- perstitions of Boodh and Brahma have brooded, for so many centuries, over the minds of benighted millions.

It was a law of ancient Israel, that every fiftieth year should be hallowed as a jubilee; and surely the Christian Israel has never had more fitting oc- casion than that which is furnished by the present time, to lift up the song of triumph and of hope. At the opening of this period, a "darkness that might be felt" covered the face of Europe ; the moral earthquake, which convulsed France to its centre, vibrated throughout Christendom ; the old world was rocking on its foundations, and the wisest of statesmen, philosophers, and philanthro- pists despaired of the fortunes of the race. But amid those scenes of portentous gloom, the Scrip- ture was verified which saith, "Light is sown for the righteous ;" the spirit of missionary heroism was then kindled afresh, as with the breath of the Almighty ; the churches of Christ were then rally- ing for a concerted onset against the powers of darkness in those lands where their sway had been undisputed ; the small beginnings that were the jeer and mock of worldly wisdom have thriven into an enterprise which has won the homage of the world ; a deep presentiment of defeat has struck

In the Missionaet. 139

through the heart of heathenisra, and the Chris- tians of Europe and America call to each other in joyous songs, that celebrate the spreading victories of the Cross.

The other event to which we have referred is the death of that distinguished leader of the missionary enterprise, Adoniram Judson, whose eyes were closed upon the scenes of earth on April 12th, 1850, while on a voyage to the Isle of Bourbon, and whose mortal remains were then consigned by friendly hands to an ocean grave. Th« narrative of his ca- reer forms an important part of the early history of the nineteenth century. His life and fortunes are identified with the rise and progress of American Christian missions. To him may be applied the words of God respecting the patriarch Abraham : "I called him alone, and blessed and increased him." As soon as he had welcomed to his heart the quickening hopes which Christianity inspires, he desired to impart them to the perishing heathen ; his desires were soon ripened into a heroic pur- pose ; and, having been blessed with talents emi- nently practical, he immediately concerted measures for carrying that purpose into effect. The prose- cution of those measures was steadily carried for- ward through forty successive years ; and then, having " served his generation by the will of God, he fell on sleep." His works live after him. He has left a fragrant name, and his biography is to us a priceless heritage. His life is an epoch from which a new missionary era is to be reckoned. Eighteen centuries ago, when the Apostle of the

140 Christian Greatness

Gentiles, having heard the imploring cry of the Macedonian suppliant, " Come and help us," em- barked from the shore of Troas to obey that call of Heaven, if a Livy or a Yirgil, just arrived from the court of Augustus, had gazed on the vessel as she spread her sails to cross the ^gean sea, neither of them would have seen in the fact before him any thing worthy of commemoration in history or in song, although we, who survey the past at a glance, can see, in that event, Christianity passing over from Asia to Europe ; so, doubtless, when our own Judson first left these shores on a missionary er- rand, his embarkation suggested nothing to the worldly poet or historian deserving of special note, but to our retrospective view it exhibits a glorious fact in human history — Christianity going forth from her asylum in the new world, to react with renovating energy on the old. Yes ; we see that Christianity, which has here turned the wilderness into a garden, looking back to the continent whence she sprang, and moving forth to repair the ancient wastes, to cause the desolations of Asia to rejoice in the bloom and freshness of a new spiritual life from on high.

Among the means of instruction which the Divine Spirit has employed in the sacred Scrip- tures, biography holds an important place. Of true history it has been well said, it is " the biog- raphy of nations. There are, too, distinguished men, whose memoirs embody the life and spirit of a whole people, or of a particular period. Biog- raphies of great men may be divided into two

In the Missionary. 141

classes : the first embracing those who truly repre- sent the spirit of their age ; the second comprising only those who struggle for the triumph of truth against their age. To the first class belong the biographies of such men as Peter the Hermit or St. Bernard, at whose beck nations rallied to en- gage in crusading wars ; the biography of Napo- leon, the representative of martial genius and the idol of millions ; the life of Thomas Jefferson, whose words and deeds embodied the prevailing spirit of American democracy. In the second class of biographies, we may properly place that of John de Wyclifie, whose course on earth was a contest for one momentous truth — the supremacy of God's Word as the standard of faith ; that of Luther, and of Melancthon, who struggled for the great doc- trine of justification by a living faith, instead of dead ceremonies ; that of Roger WilKams, whose commonwealth embodied the clear conception of the universal right of man to religious liberty, as an essential element of Christianity. This latter class of men do not represent the spirit of their age or the opinions of a people ; they are prophets of the future ; they represent ideas which, strug- gling for mastery, become the property of succeed- ing times. They identify their fortunes with the success of a principle ; they enshrine in their hearts some great truth, unwelcome to their generation, and feel themselves impelled to go forth as its her- alds, to conquer as its champions, or die as its martyrs. Among the men of this high order, as far as the elements of character are concerned,

142 Christian Greatness

Adoniram Judson holds a distinguislied place, al- though he was permitted by the benignity of Provi- dence to share the fortunes of the former class. In the very prime of his manhood he became a be- liever in Christ ; and then, looking abroad over the face of the earth, his thoughts were engrossed by this one appalling fact, that the majority of his species were groping amid the gloom of paganism. In connection with this fact he meditated deeply on that last command of his risen Lord which made the evangelization of the human race the great life-work of his disciples. At once the path of duty shone clearly before him. To him the writ- ten mandate was a call from Heaven, and his an- swer to it was as devout and prompt as was that of the converted Saul to the voice which addressed him from the skies. 'No angel's message, no vision of the night, no new revelation was needed to mark out his course ; the wants of humanity moved his sympathies ; the Great Commission gained the homage of his conscience ; and although the drift of public sentiment, the prevailing opinions of the Church, and the counsels of human wisdom sup- plied no genial encouragement, it was enough for him to know that he was treading in the footsteps of inspired apostles, and walking in the light that beamed from the oracles of God.

And now, we who are assembled here, who have been accustomed from year to year to observe his doings, to sympathize with his hopes and fears, to pray for his success, have met as mourners at his funeral. We say one to another, " A great man is

In the Missionary. 143

fallen in Israel." Although he lived far from us, he was knit to our hearts by subtile ties far stronger than those of family or kindred ; although Burmah was the land of his adoption, we felt that, as by a spiritual presence, he lived among us — that his form and countenance were as familiar to our thoughts as if he had belonged to our own house- hold circle. E'evertheless, our sorrow for his loss is tempered and elevated by the joy that springs from remembering what great things he lived to accomplish ; so that, instead of calling for a solemn and plaintive dirge to express the emotions awak- ened by this occasion, we would rather unite in a song of praise and thanksgiving for the guardian Providence that so long watched over him for the extraordinary gifts with which the Divine Spirit enriched him, " for the good- will of Him that dwelt in the bush, and for the blessing which came upon the head of his servant, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren."

Desirous as we are, at this time, to commemo- rate the services of our departed missionary, to treasure up in our hearts the spirit of his great ex- ample, it shall be our aim, so far as we may be able in the time allotted to this service, to contem- plate

THE PROMINENT POINTS OF HIS HISTORY THE CHAR- ACTER WHICH IT DEVELOPED— AND SEVERAL LESSONS WHICH IT SUGGESTS.

Adoniram Judson was born at Maiden, in the

144 Cheistian Greatness

neighborhood of Boston, on the 9th of August, 1788. He was the son of a Congregational clergyman, and was favored, of course, in the days of his boyhood, with the means of religious knowledge. His early youth, however, furnished no evidences of true piety : so far from this, when he was graduated at Brown University, in the year 1807, he was not a believer in Christianity. If not an avowed Deist of any particular school, he was skeptical as to the reality of divine revelation. The first impulse of his mind toward a better state appears to have sprung from a calm conviction of the folly and the peril of suspense in relation to a subject so momentous on the part of one who is neglecting the means of in- vestigation. On this account he devoted himself to a sober inquiry respecting the evidences of the Christian religion, of which the result was a thor- ough change of his opinions. The way was thus prepared for his conversion, by which we mean the cordial submission of his heart to the teachings of the gospel. This happy issue did not follow at once. While lingering in this city, he happened, one day, to take down from the shelf of a private library a volume which, at that time, was a favor- ite household book among Christian readers. It was "Human !N'ature in its Fourfold State," by Thomas Boston, a minister of Ettrick, in Scotland. The work was perused by young Judsou with pro- found attention, and from it he derived new views of sin and of redemption. His spiritual nature was now agitated to its very depths, and in this state of mind, without having obtained the mental peace

In the Missionary. 145

which he craved, he sought admission to the Theo- logical Seminary at Andover, with the hope of re- ceiving that knowledge of the truth which maketh wise unto salvation. He was not disappointed. His request having been complied with, after a short period, the doctrines of the gospel were dis- closed to his view in all their divine simplicity, and the gloom of skepticism gave place to an intel- ligent and joyous faith.

'No one will wonder that after the experience of 60 great a change he should have wished to diffuse the light which he had received, even unto the ends of the earth. Another book, that now came in his way, was destined to exert a mighty influence upon his life and character. The celebrated discourse of Dr. Buchanan, entitled " The Star in the East," kindled the spark of Mr. Judson's missionary zeal into a flame, intense and unquenchable. It im- parted to his deep and indefinite longings a practi- cal aim, and seemed like the voice of God sum- moning him to his field of action. At such a bidding he was ready, like Abraham, to go forth alone, "not knowing whither" he might be led; but in disclosing his views to others, he found in Samuel J. Mills, Samuel Nott, and Samuel I^eweli congenial spirits, whom the Head of the Church was preparing for the same exalted destination.

At that time there was not an association of any kind on the continent of America to which these young men could look with an assurance of counsel or support. The churches of this country had been planted by men who had fled as exiles from European

146 Christian Geeatness

oppression, and their minds had been engrossed in seeking security and freedom for themselves. Some efforts had been made for the evangelization of the Jr*agan natives in their immediate neighborhood, but there had been no attempt to penetrate the vast realm of Heathenism on the old continents, and there was but a dim conception of the enlarged, aggressive spirit of Christianity which is breathed forth in the words of " the Great Commission." No wonder is it, then, that Mr. Judson resolved to seek aid and co-operation across the Atlantic. He opened a correspondence with the London Mission- ary Society, received answers of encouragement, and was invited to visit England. E^evertheless, a memorial in behalf of himself and his youthful co- adjutors was addressed to the Massachusetts Asso- ciation at Bradford in Jime, 1810, the result of which was the formation of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Under their direction he sailed for England in the year 1811, in order to arrange a plan of co-operation be- tween the two societies. He was captured by a French privateer, was imprisoned at Bayonne, was released on parole, obtained an imperial passport, and proceeded to London for the prosecution of his errand. We have reason to rejoice that no concert of action was effected ; that the new society was tirged to pursue an independent course, and that hence, from the day of weak beginnings and of doubtful existence, it has put forth an influence which now encircles the globe like a zone of light, and has gathered a moral strength by

In the Missionary. 147

which it shall outlast the greatest of earthly em- pires.

After Mr. Judson's return to America, he so- licited an appointment from the board, which met at Worcester in September, 1811, having fully de- termined that if his request were not granted he would enter the missionary field under the pa- tronage of the London society. The board was im- pelled to a decisive movement; and, having con- cluded to attempt a mission in Burmah, amid many conflicting hopes and fears, bestowed appointments on Messrs. Judson, l^ewell, Kott, and Gordon Hall. It was a deed of unpretending character, but never to be forgotten ; the capital link in a chain of grand events whose memory coming ages shall "not willingly let die."

And here our thoughts naturally revert to her whose name will ever awaken the most refined and elevated conceptions of a true womanly character and of a sublime moral heroism. It was at this time that Ann Hasseltine identified her earthly for- tunes with those of our adventurous missionary, and by her own footsteps marked out that path- way, through an untrodden field of enterprise, in which a noble company of her countrywomen have since followed, and around which they have shed an imperishable lustre. In abandoning the sweet associations of a 'New England home which domes- tic affections, intellectual culture, and refined so- ciety had invested with more than an ordinary charm, in order to carry the blessings of the gos* pel to a distant land, to a sickly clime, and a de-

148 Cheistia:n Greatness

graded nation of idolaters, she did not follow at the beck of any high example, nor enjoy a gleam of light from any honored precedent, but, like the companion of her covenant, pursued her course over a trackless v^aste, guided by faith alone ; " endured as seeing Him who is invisible," as- sured that his providence would go before them as a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. And so it was. Although in the view of a cool, worldly prudence she appeared only as the victim of a poetical illusion, the sport of a wild spirit of religious romance, the history of her life has proved that she had formed a just conception of the work which she undertook — of the means suited to its accomplishment ; that she was ani- mated not only by a lofty enthusiasm, but also by a true practical wisdom, whose combined forces urged her forward in her career with an ardent energy '' which the nature of the human mind for- bade to be more," and which the dignity of the ob- ject " forbade to be less." One of the finest tributes ever paid to the character of American females has been drawn forth by our missionaries from an emi- nent English prelate, the Bishop of Calcutta, who has attested his high estimation of their virtues, their accomplishments, their piety, and of the mighty influence which they are exerting on the moral destinies of Asia. They form an order of women to whom, at some distant day, the pen of history will do justice, as having been the glory of the nineteenth century : and at the head of that order, wreathed with unfading

In the Missionary. 149

honors will stand the name of Ann Hasseltine Judson.

Soon after he had received his appointment, Mr. Judson was married at Bradford on the 5th of February, 1812 ; on the 16th was ordained in the Tabernacle Church at Salem ; and in company with his wife, together with Mr. and Mrs. Newell, embarked at that port in the brig Caravan, under the command of the generous-hearted Capt. Heard, on the nineteenth of the same month. Their voy- age was prosperous ; they soon became naturalized to the sea, and were able to employ all their time in studious preparation for their work. The cabin of the Caravan became a consecrated and memor- able place, and may be properly called the cradle of the American Baptist Missionary enterprise. There, amid much devout study and many prayers, occurred that remarkable change in Mr. Judson's opinions as to the constitution of the Christian Church which brought him into immediate con- nection with the Baptists of this country. Going forth from his native land to rear Christian churches where no foundation had been laid, and where he could not proceed "in another man's line of things made ready to his hand," it seems not strange that he should have sought light from the oracles of God, and should have studied with profound atten- tion the principles, the teachings, and the practices of the inspired apostles. Expecting, as he did, to meet at Calcutta the venerated Dr. Carey, and Marshman, and Ward, the pioneers of Christian missions in India, it is not wonderful that their dis-

150 Christian Greatness

tinguishing sentiments should have arrested his at- tention. What he regarded as apostolic baptism, they treated as an innovation of later times. He had been charged to baptize converted heathen and all their infant offspring ; they would adminis- ter the solemn rite of dedication to none but be- lievers on a profession of personal faith. Accus- tomed as he was to habits of independent thought, revering the Scriptures, too, as the only and suffi- cient rule of faith, we do not wonder that he resolved to examine these questions thoroughly, and to follow with unfaltering step whithersoever Truth should lead the way. His investigations led him to embrace the doctrines which we pro- fess ; his reasons have been published to the world, and, whatsoever may be thought of them, none can doubt that his conduct in this instance illus- trated the purity of his motives, and exemplified that lofty conscientiousness which is an essential element of true Christian heroism.

Mr. Judson and his company arrived at Calcutta on the 18th of June, and accepted the hospitalities of the missionaries at Serampore, with whom they entered into friendly deliberations as to the field which they should occupy. Their counsels, how- ever, were suddenly embarrassed by their receiving from the local government an order directing them to return immediately to the United States. The East India Company, a body of merchants which had received its first charter of incorporation from Queen Elizabeth, on the last day of the sixteenth century, had gradually acquired a vast territorial

"^ In the Missionary. 151

influence, and was now holding m its hand the po- litical destinies of India. Intent only on the estab- lishment of its power, it was jealous of the hum- blest effort to diffuse Christianity among the native population ; and, although a benign Providence has rendered its prosperity subservient to the pro- gress of true religion, it has at various times com- mitted the moral errors which are ever incidental to the policies of men whose highest law of action is derived from the oracles of Mammon, and who honor commerce as the supreme interest of hu- manity.

In these trying circumstances, our missionaries petitioned the government to modify its order so as to allow them to go to the Isle of France, which is often called by its older Dutch name, Mauritius — an island of almost circular form in the Indian sea, somewhat less than fifty miles in diameter, and in- habited chiefly by the descendants of old French families. It had lately fallen into the possession of England ; but at the period of which we speak the English claim to it had not been confirmed, as it was afterward, by a treaty with the government of France. Here it was that the little group of persecuted missionaries, after many perils and many interpositions of a guardian Providence, found their first field of labor in the Eastern world. The island arose before their view in the " great wide sea" as a welcome refuge, like that hillock, in a wider waste of waters, where the wandering dove of Noah " rested the sole of her foot" and plucked the leaf of olive which was a presage of better days.

152 Christian Greatness

But although at the Isle of France they were treated with great kindness, although thej were urged to make it a permanent residence, and re- ceived a promise from the Governor that he would befriend and patronize the mission, yet they could not regard it as a field suited to their wishes. They desired to preach Christ to pagans who had never heard of him, and to occupy some moral centre whence the light might radiate afar. With these views, Mr. and Mrs. Judson left the island, which had become associated with tender recollections, especially as the burial-place of Mrs. Harriet E"ew- ell, who fell a victim to the incidental hardships of her voyage thither, in the very prime and bloom of her life. They embarked for Madras with the hope of obtaining a passage to Penang ; but as Madras is the seat of one of the presidencies of Hindostan, they fled from it in haste, driven by the fear that the order for their return to America would be renewed. The first opportunity of escape from the dreaded dominion of the East India Com- pany was furnished by an old unseaworthy vessel vessel bound to Rangoon ; in this they ventured, and, after a perilous voyage of twenty-two days, arrived safely at this chief port of the Burman em- pire. Thus were they led in a mysterious manner to the land of their original destination ; all friend- ly counsels and all hostile oppositions were render- ed alike subservient to their earliest wishes, that they might bear the light of truth to the most deeply necessitous, and raise the standard of the Cross in some chief citadel of Oriental heathenism.

In the Mission aky. 153

The American missionaries, having taken their position beyond the bounds of British India, now breathed more freely ; they enjoyed the favor of the viceroy, and devoted their whole energy to the acquisition of the Burman and Pali languages. In the course of the following year intense exertion had impaired the health of each of them ; but neither medical skill, nor rest, nor change of air and scene imparted an influence so balmy and re- viving as did the intelligence received from this country, that our churches had answered to their appeals, and that the Baptist General Convention for missionary purposes had been formed under auspicious circumstances. There are many among us here who remember what a genial enthusiasm was awakened, from Maine to Georgia, when Luther Rice returned to his native land to aid in organizing our missionary operations. He, too, had been a student at Andover, had joined the Judsons in Calcutta, had united with them in their change of sentiments and of ecclesiastical relations, and had left them in the Isle of France on this new mission of love to the Baptists of the United States. His labors were not in vain ; he was hailed with a universal welcome, and in recalling that period of his ministry, he had reason to say to many a church, in the language of an apostle, *' Ye received me even as an angel of God."

The reinforcement of the Burman mission, three years after its establishment, gave a fresh impulse to the mind of Mr. Judson. At first, when he had found himself surrounded with people of the Mon-

154 Christian Greatness

golian race who had never been touched, as yet, by the slightest influence of European civih'zation, a strange gloom invested every scene ; this, however, was gradually dispelled by an engrossing interest in his labors and by indications of success. The arrival of Mr. Hough, carrying with him a printing press, which was a present from Dr. Carey and the brethren at Serampore, shed new light over his prospects. It is difficult for us adequately to con- ceive of the profound delight with which the soli- tary preacher at Rangoon hailed the accession of a fellow-worker, and also of that mighty instrument- ality of which he was wont to say, "every pull of the press sends a ray of light through the empire of darkness."

From that time Mr. Judson pursued his daily work with renovated energy under the inspiration of brightening hopes. Judging from the tone and spirit of his letters, " the mountains and the hills were breaking forth before him into singing." He had favor with the rulers and the people. A spirit of inquiry was spreading itself around him. Even the emperor, who had come into collision with the priesthood, had been heard to ask for light respect- ing "the new religion." Although no conversion had occurred, yet while the press was pouring forth editions of tracts, catechisms, and gospels, the heart of the missionary was elate with confidence. It was early in the year 181T that he first heard from the lips of a Burman, and that, too, an intelligent and respectable man, the acknowledgment of an eternal God. " I can not tell," said he, " how I

In the Missionary 155

felt at that moment." This first gleam of intellec- tual conviction, touching the great error of Boodh- ism, he welcomed as the harbinger of that full efflu- ence of light which is jet to irradiate the moral firmament of Burmah.

In spite of many difficulties arising from Mr. Judson's unfortunate detention while absent on an errand to Chittagong, and also from the recall of the friendly viceroy of Rangoon by the court of Ava, the good work went forward, slowly, but surely. The thirtieth of April, 1819, became mem- orable in the history of the mission. Until then, the missionaries had lived in comparative seclu- sion, and had put forth no efforts of 2l public char- acter. On that day a new step was taken involving new hazards. A zayat w^as opened for preaching and worship. There, about two months afterward, a small assembly was gathered to witness the re- ception of the first Burman convert into the Chris- tian Church. Moung Kau, a man who was thirty- five years of age, openly renounced Boodhism, made a satisfactory confession of his faith in Christ, then left the zayat, proceeded with the company to a small lake, on whose margin stood an immense image of Gaudama, and there, in the rite of bap- tism, " witnessed a good profession." On the fol- lowing Sabbath, the fourth of July, this first Burman disciple received the Lord's Supper, which was then, for the first time, administered in two languages. Moung ]N^au adorned his profes- sion, rendered to the church much valuable service, and remained faithful unto death.

156 Christian Greatness

We have now traced the course of Dr. Judson from the scenes of his youth to those of his riper years ; from the time of his first aspirations after a missionary life to the successful establishment of the mission in Burmah. The subsequent portion of his history is more crowded with stirring inci- dents, with vivid contrasts, with narratives of dar- ing and endurance, of perils and escapes, such as are fi.t materials for an epic poem ; but that part which has passed in review before us discloses most clearly his principles of action, his cherished aims, the force of his genius, the ruling spirit of his life, the leading qualities of his mind and heart. It will be sufficient for our purpose, therefore, to glance hastily at the course of events from the pe- riod which we have reached to the close of his earthly career.

Previous to the opening of the zayat in Ran- goon, two young men of Boston had joined the mission. These were, Mr. Wheelock, of the sec- ond church, under the pastoral care of the Hev. Dr. Baldwin, and Mr. Colman, of the third church, under the care of Rev. Dr. Sharp. Within a sin- gle year Mr. Wheelock fell the victim of a fatal disease. Within three years Mr. Colman followed his friend to the tomb , but in the beginning of the year 1820 he was Dr. Judson's companion to the imperial court at Ava. A strong impression pre- vailed at Rangoon that a friendly visit to the emperor might incline him to favor the new religion, and to protect the converts from persecution. The drift of events during several years had fostered in the

In the Missionaey. 157

breasts of the missionaries the most sanguine hopes of this result. They performed, therefore, a tedious voyage up the Irrawaddy with the utmost cheerful- ness, and their elated expectations inv-ested all the scenes of nature with an aspect of beauty and love- liness. [N^othing that ever came from Dr. Judson's pen was written in a more animated style than were the pages of his journal while on the way to Ava. But when the visit had proved to be an en- tire failure, when the emperor had dashed to the ground with deep disdain the printed leaf w^hich proclaimed an eternal God, and had bidden the splendid volumes which they offered away from him, their spirits sunk to a depth corresponding to their former elevation, and they were for a time paralyzed by the chill of disappointment. They imagined that no Burman would dare avow a re- ligion which " the golden feet" had spurned, that further labor would be w^asted, and that a more hopeful field must be sought. One of the most in- structive spectacles in the history of missions occur- red at Rangoon, when the Burman disciples, instead of shrinking from the company of the missionaries, as it was supposed they would do, rallied around them, encouraged them, pointed out the brighter aspects of the enterprise, and besought them with tears and arguments not to forsake a post to which God himself had so evidently led them. The coun- sel of the Burman Christians prevailed, and their faith saved the station from abandonment. This was "after the manner of God," who honors the zeal of his people more than the patronage of

158 Christian Greatness

kings, and was in analogy with the ways of Him who committed the destinies of his cause on earth to the lowly fishermen of Galilee, but who, when invited to appear at the court of Herod, turned his back on majesty and left the royal sinner to his doom.

The following year a Christian physician. Dr. Jonathan Price, joined the mission. He visited Ava in his professional character, and was favor- ably received by the emperor. This event opened the way for Dr. Judson to go to Ava as a mission- ary ; and when Mr. and Mrs. Wade arrived at Ran- goon, it was decided that they should remain there, and that he should fix his residence at the capital. The state of the mission was now more hopeful than ever. On all sides the signs of the times in- dicated prosperity. But these bright skies were soon overcast with clouds and tempests. For many years the British power in Hindostan had been making constant progress amid the storms of war, and now it was destined to establish itself in Chin India. When it became evident that the Burman emperor was making preparations to invade Ben gal, it was resolved to anticipate the blow ; and an army of ten thousand men, under the command of Sir Archibald Campbell, attacked and seized Ban- goon. Messrs. Hough and Wade, then residing at that station, were imprisoned under armed keepers, who had been charged to massacre our brethren as soon as the first shot should be fired. But the panic created by that shot was so intense that the keepers fled, and by this means alone were the lives

In the Missionary. 159

of the prisoners saved. When the news of that de- liverance reached this country, our temples re- sounded with the strains of thanksgiving, chasten- ed and subdued, however, by the fearful suspense which remained as to the fate of our friends in Ava. For two years that suspense was unbroken, and be- cam.e more agonizing by the lapse of time. At last the welcome news arrived that the lives of the missionaries had been preserved. But who can adequately describe the profound and mingled emotions which swelled the hearts of American Christians, the smiles, and tears, the fervent pray- ers and hymns of praise, tokens of sympathy too deep for words, which distinguished our assemblies at that period when the revolting scenes at Ava were fully disclosed? Every form of evil which the most lively imagination had suggested, except that of death itself, had been bitterly realized by Dr. Judson and his companions in sorrow. Loath- some prisons, galling fetters, famine, tortures, bar- barous insults, the separation of husband and wife, the confiscation of goods, exhausting sicknesses, and bloody tracks of lacerated feet over burning sands — these are the leading features that mark the picture of missionary life in Burmah during the progress of the English war. And yet, amidst the peltings of the storm, these Christian martyrs could encourage each other to calm endurance ; their souls rose superior to the overhanging clouds charged with the elements of destruction, like those birds of the tropical climes which are observed to soar above the sweep of the passing hurricane, and

160 Christian Greatness

to pour forth their sweet sougs in the serener regions of the upper atmosphere.

A tribute of honor is due to Sir Archibald Camp- bell for his generous treatment of our missionaries at the close of the war. In the treaty of peace which followed, he demanded their surrender at the hands of the Burman emperor, who, having become sensible of the value of Dr. Judson's services as a translator and interpreter, had expressed an inten- tion to retain him. The English general not only welcomed him to the hospitalities of his camp and table, but presented him with an eligible site of land for a missionary station at Amherst, the cho- sen seat of the English Government in Burmah ; and afterward, when Mrs. Judson died and was buried there, he expressed a sense of her extraordi- nary w^orth, and his sympathy with her bereaved husband, in terms v^hich reflect more honor on his character than the victories acquired by his arms. In the retrospect of life, it must have seemed to Dr. Judson an occasion of gratitude to God that the British power, which had driven him from India, was now wielded by one who was disposed to throw around him its protecting shield.

After the restoration of peace. Dr. Price returned to Ava. He was favorably received as a physician, and became, also, the tutor of several youths be- longing to royal and to noble families. His hopes were sanguine as to his future usefulness, but in the year 1828 he died of pulmonary consumption. Of him no memoir has been published, and the entire destruction of his papers during the Burmese war

In the Missionary IGl

has rendered it difficult to supply the deficiency. To the mission his loss was irreparable. He was a man of extensive attainments and of remarkably fine address. At Ava he engaged the confidence of the court, and of him, in connection with Dr. Judson, it was attested by Mr. Crawfurd, the En- glish envoy, that " it was in a great measure through their influence, in surmounting the unspeakable distrust, jealousy, and it may be added, incapacity of the Burman chiefs, that the peace was ultimately brought about."*

During several succeeding years Dr. Judson was busily engaged at Amherst and Maulmain in the work of translation, in the revision of the Burman Scriptures, in the preparation of a Burman-English dictionary, and in public teaching at the zayat. At this time, when Burmah proper was closed against him, a new field of missionary influence was unexpectedly opened to his view. Early in the year 1828 the church atf Maulmain received Moung Thah-byu as a candidate for baptism. As Mr. Boardman, who had lately joined the mission, was about to establish a station at Tavoy, an old Burman town on the Tavoy river, containing a population of about nine thousand, he took this young convert with him, and baptized him there. Although the name of this man sounds to our ears like the name of a Burman, yet he was of another race — the Karens — a people as nomadic as the Arabs in their habits, scattered abroad through the

* Crawfurd's EmlDassy, vol. 1, p. 160.

162 Christian Greatness

rural districts, the mountains and the jungles of Burmah and Siam. Their condition is singular. They have no written language, no priests, no tem- ples, no ritual, and although some of them are Boodhists, the great majority of them believe in the existence of an Eternal God, sing hymns to his praise, and in the scale of moral virtues are supe- rior to the heathen around them. According to the testimony of Mr. Mason, who has thoroughly mastered all that may be known of their history, they have been long walking after the traditions of their fathers, which had nourished in their breasts the expectation that teachers would come from afar to instruct them in the true religion. The hopes of the church in Maulmain, that the convert whom they had received to their fellowship would be among the first fruits of a spiritual harvest gather- ed from the Karens, have been amply realized. They seem to have been " a people made ready for the Messiah." The annals of modern missions exhibit no instance of a more rapid and amazing triumph of the gospel ; for it is with a feeling of grateful joy that we record the fact, that Dr. Jud- son lived to see the day when there was reason to believe that eleven thousand Karens had embraced the faith of Christ " in spirit and in truth."

Eight years after he had buried the wife of his youth, Dr. Judson became united in marriage to Mrs. Sarah Boardman, widow of the Kev. George Dana Boardman, who had fallen by the hand of death four years before, while in the prime of man- hood and in the midst of his usefulness. This union

In the Missionary. 163

was in all respects a happy one. The qualities of her mind and heart, her thorough education, her congenial tastes, her aptness to teach, her elegant Burmese scholarship, the strength of her domestic affections, and, withal, her love to the missionary work, well fitted her to be the companion and the wife of one whom she honored as "first among the best of Christians and of men." In the discharge of daily duties, in the endurance of trials, in liter- ary studies, in counsel and in action, they were mutual helpers, and for a series of years enjoyed a degree of happiness far beyond what their peculiar circumstances might have furnished reason to an- ticipate. But in the year 1845, Mrs. Judson's health became impaired ; a voyage beyond the tropics was ordered by the physicians, and after a painful deliberation, her husband resolved to ac- company her to her native land.

They had not been long at sea before every hope of her recovery was blasted, and he recoiled from the prospect before him of committing her remains to an ocean grave. But he was spared that trial. Mrs. Judson died while the vessel was lying at the Isle of St. Helena, where a large circle of Christian friends followed her to the tomb, and sought in every way which sympathy could suggest to soothe the heart of the bereaved missionary.

There are few, if any, of those who are assembled here who do not remember with what a thrill of joy the arrival of Dr. Judson in Boston was wel- comed. On the 15th of October, 1845, he stepped ashore, and at once the intelligence flew as on elec-

164 Christian Greatness

trie wings. His friends were invited to meet him at the Bowdoin Square Church on the evening of the second following day, and that large edifice was crowded with men and women eager to behold the form and countenance of the veteran warrior re- turned from the field of his conflicts. A scene of equal interest is rarely beheld more than once in any man's lifetime, and an exact parallel to this can not recur within the period allotted to the present generation.

The greeting which Dr. Judson here received was a fair example of what awaited him in other places; it was but the first touch of a sympathetic chord whose vibrations were felt throughout the whole country. Thousands who had been born since he had left his native land hastened to grasp his hand, and addressed him as one whose name had always been familiar to their lips. He who had gone forth weeping, '' bearing precious seed," while worldly wisdom pronounced his errand a chimera, and pre- dicted that his mission would be a failure, had now returned, amid universal acclamations, with the laurels of victory upon his brow. His journey was a triumphal march. It indicated a state of the public mind which he had never before witnessed. It was not the response of a great people to a bene- factor who had blessed them^ but it was a spontane- ous tribute of honor to a moral hero who had given up his life to bless others ; it was the grand expres- sion of a public sentiment toward the cause of Christian Missions which he himself had done so much to create.

In the Missionaky. 165

During Dr. Jndson's stay in this country, he evinced a fine susceptibility of deriving enjoyment from every thing around him. From reminiscences of the past, from scenes of nature, from social in- tercourse, from the study of men, manners, cus- toms, and society, he drew incentives to thought and subjects of conversation. His power of obser- vation was quick and comprehensive, and nothing seemed to be too great or too minute to minister to his mental activity and his happiness. It was evi- dent to those who were favored with the opportu- nity of associating with him, that his long delay to revisit the home of his youth had not arisen from any thing like coldness or stoicism in his nature, but simply from devotion to his great object. Nothing here, however, could wean his affections from the churches of Burmah, and he soon became impatient to return to the sphere of his daily toils. He desired to make every visit, every event, sub- servient to his life-work. While sojourning in Philadelphia, he became favorably impressed with the character of that gifted lady whose graceful pen he wished to employ in writing a memoir of his lately deceased wife, and the result was a pro- posal of marriage, which, on her part, was consider- ately accepted, and which, as the course of events has shown, received the approbation of Heaven.

After Dr. Judson's return to Burmah, he resumed the labors which had been interrupted by his ab- sence, and pursued them during the three following years, until his health became entirely broken down. A change of climate was necessary, and he

166 Christian Greatness

resolved to embark for .the island of Bourbon. It was impracticable for Mrs. Judson to accompany him, and to her the pang of parting was rendered especially painful by the fear that he would never return. The native Christians of Maulmain were all opposed to his departure, expressing the gloomy presentiment that their beloved teacher would be buried in the sea, and also the wish that his grave might be made where they could visit it. In those fears Dr. Judson did not participate, but in the end they were all realized. He regarded himself as being constitutionally tenacious of life, and longed to. inhale the ocean air, believing that he might yet be restored to complete his literary tasks, and then to devote succeeding years to the ministration of the gospel.

But God had otherwise ordained. The pangs of disease, which became gradually more intense, were soon revealed in their true character as heralds sent from Him to summon a faithful servant from his toil to his reward. Thus far he had been borne onward triumphantly through a long and arduous career; only one more contest now remained, only one more victory, and that the victory over Death. For this he was prepared. In anticipation of pro- tracted tortures aggravated by a quick, nervous sen- sibility, he could pray, like his Divine Master, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me ;" still, it was his to welcome the bitter draught with the smile of resignation, and thus, " although he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things he suffered."

In the Mission aey. 167

Soon after the vessel had set sail, and while iii sight of the Tenasserim coast, there Was a relief from pain, and a slight resuscitation which threw a gleam of light over the prospect ot recovery. But this was only like a calm in which, sometimes, the devastating storm gathers its energies. Racking pangs followed in quick succession. To Mr. Ran- ney, his coadjutor in the mission and his faithful companion in this trying scene, he said a few words expressive of the gratification afforded by the pres- ence of a Christian brother. Mr. Ranney an- swered, " I hope you feel that Christ is now near, sustaining you." " Oh, yes," he replied, " it is all right there. I believe that he gives me just so much pain and suffering as is necessary to fit me to die ; to make me submissive to his will." After this expression there was a period of more than forty hours replete with mortal agonies. It was followed by a placid calm, in which, without a sigh or sign of suffering, he expired. The manner of his death was in keeping with the sublime spirit and style of his life, and sheds a lustre over the retro- spect of his whole career — just as the setting sun flings back his splendors over the eastern sky, gild- ing every cloud and mountain height of the broad landscape with a mild, celestial glory.

Fathers and brethren, you will doubtless unite with me in the expression of the sentiment, that in the review of our course on earth it will appear to "US an inestimable privilege to have been permitted to live in the same age with such a man as Adoni- ram Judson, to have been co-workers in an enter-

168 Christian Greatness

prise so worthy to fill a mind and heart like his, to have b«en called to commemorate a life so fruitful in immortal deeds, and to contemplate a character so rich in the elements of moral great- ness. Sensible, as I am, how inadequate must be any effort of mine to portray that character in few words, so as to realize your own conceptions of what he was, yet I am impelled to undertake it, because the occasion demands of us such a tribute to his memory as it may be in our power to offer, because from the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak in spite of conscious weakness, and be- cause it becomes us to hold up to the view of all so bright an example of the graces which dignify our nature, of the heroism which true religion inspires, of the moral grandeur with which an enlightened faith invests our poor fallen humanity.

To a philosophical and an observing mind there is much that is interesting in the study of human character, under whatever phase or form it may appear, whether in the bad or the good, in the pirate or the saint, in the monarch or the beggar ; just as in the realm of natural history the inquiring eye will find a lesson in the structure of an ele- phant or a worm, in the life and habits of the eagle that soars toward the sun, or of the insect that lies couched in the bosom of a flower. But then, in looking over the wide domain of human history, the boundless landscape embracing myriads of active beings like ourselves, it is only here and there, at distant intervals, that we see looming up to view a character of marked individuality which

In the Missionary, 169

forcibly arrests our attention, concentrates our thoughts upon itself, challenges our homage or our hate, and by its great achievements kindles within us an eager curiosity to search out the secret of its movement, to explore the interior springs wherein its strength has lain. Prophets, apostles, martyrs, lawgivers, reformers, projectors, discoverers, and successful leaders in the path of enterprise consti- tute a class of heroic men whom nations delight to honor ; and if all of these who have appeared in the course of ages were gathered into a single com- pany, they would seem but as a diminutive group compared with the teeming populations of the globe. Each one of them who serves his race faithfully, finds his place of eminence, not by court- ing fame, but by doing his own life-work in that spirit of self-forgetfulness which is essential to true humility ; and then, when he is seen to have coped with appalling difficulties, to have trampled down great temptations, to have baffled mighty adversa- ries, and to have accomplished what sages pro- nounced to be impossible, the power of his charac- ter is felt universally, and his example rises like a star in the moral firmament to shed its radiance on the path of succeeding generations.

Now, in looking back upon the course of the half century which has just been completed, our eyes rest on Dr. Judson as a distinguished charac- ter ; and he first draws our attention while in the prime of life, as a Christian philanthropist rising superior to the prevailing spirit of his times, to the opinions both of the church and the world around

170 Christian Greatness

him, proposing to himself an object which but few could then appreciate, and pursuing it with a stead- iness of purpose commensurate with its dignity. Scarcely had he received Christianity as a divine revelation ere he saw that Christ had committed the evangelization of the heathen world as a sacred trust to his disciples ; and no sooner had he admit- ted this conviction than he hastened to realize it in action. The recorded words of Christ's last com- mission swayed his decisions as effectually as if he had stood with the Eleven on Mount Olivet, as if he had heard them pronounced with the voice of authority, and had fallen prostrate in worship at the feet of the heavenly majesty. Had he, like John at Patmos, been visited by an angel directly from the skies, flashing celestial splendors around him, and repeating the written mandate as with the trump of God, he could not have felt more strongly the obligations that rested upon him, he could not have obeyed with more alacrity, nor moved forward in his rugged pathway with a step more unfaltering. It is not wonderful, therefore, that to the eye of a distant observer he should have appeared simply as a " man of faith," pressing forward in his adven- turous race of life under the impelling power of that one mighty principle. But a clearer view of his history, a comparison of one part with another, will make it evident that he was distinguished not so much by the simplicity and strength of his faith, although that faith acted with an intensity which kindled his affections into a glow of enthusiasm, and subordinated all the passions of his nature to

In the Missionary. 171

itself, as by the combination of his faith with a cool practical judgment, which qualified him wisely to select the means adapted to his chosen ends ; and also, by the union of that faculty of judgment to a strong executive will, which enabled him to carry out his far-reaching plans to their issues, with a determination that no obstacles could daunt, with a patience that no disappointment could exhaust. As it has been justly said of JS^apoleon, that he united in himself the calm, calculating power that belongs to the Northern temperament with the enthusiastic ardor and fervid imagination that belong to the Southern, so that his style of action was in keeping with the grandeur of his concep- tions, it may be said with equal truth of our ven- erated leader in the missionary warfare, that he combined the enthusiasm of faith with such a clear, serene judgment, and with such a manly energy of will, as fitted him to grapple with seeming impossi- bilities, to " speak of things which were not as though they were," and to bring to an undertaking which required for its success the interpositions of Omnipotence the same apt and careful forethought as would befit the cabinet of the statesman, the camp of the warrior, or any arduous work that lay within the scope of human enterprise.

Wherever these interior elements of character become subordinate to some one grand conception, they always produce that degree of perseverance amidst difficulties, which, in the retrospect of a long series of actions, gives an impression of dra- matic unity to the life, and awakens in us the emo-

172 Christian Greatness

tion of sublimity. In every age the epic muse has found her choicest themes in the struggles of the good and brave who have pursued some noble aim against adverse fortunes, and have

" plucked success

Ev'n from the spear-proof crest of rugged danger.

When we pore over the story of Christopher Co- lumbus, who, in his early solitary musings, vividly conceived of this new world as lying beyond un- known seas, and resolved to seek it, that he might rear upon it the banner of the Cross, how deeply are our hearts stirred within us while we see the constancy with which he "watched thereunto with all perseverance ;" how he met the objections of titled ignorance ; how he bore ridicule ; how he rendered misfortune subservient to his work ; how he sustained the rebukes of priestly pride and courtly arrogance ; how he sought aid from princes and welcomed the sympathy of the poor; how he prayed for help from on high and cast himself on the care of Providence as he steered his bark through many a tedious vigil of the night across the boisterous deep ! He appeared like other men in scenes of business, in conversation, and in action, but his one great object was ever present to his thoughts, and in spite of neglect, of disappoint- ment, of ingratitude, in spite of opposing storms and threatening death, he persevered and conquered. His eyes beheld the promised land, and his great mission for mankind was accomplished. E^ot less worthy of admiration for his dauntless perseverance

In the Missionary. 173

is he who left the home of his youth to plant the standard of the Cross in the stronghold of Gaudama ; who formed his plans in the solitude of his closet ; who derived but little aid from the counsels of experienced age ; who felt no genial sympathy of public sentiment quickening the pulsations of his heart ; but who, like another Columbus, went forth in the night of adversity, guided only by the lights of Heaven, and shaping his course by those eternal truths which God had set as stars in the firmament of revelation to throw their gleams along a path- less waste.

And here it becomes us to acknowledge with devout gratitude his habitual reverence for the authority of God^s Word; the great controlling power which was exerted over a mind of such mighty energies, by its clear apprehension of the momentous principle that the Bible alone is the supreme and sufficient rule of faith for all in mat- ters of religion. For that religious sentiment which is an essential element of human nature, when it predominates in a man of strong character, becomes an impulsive force that works out immense results of good or evil, according to the direction which it takes ; and, unless it be enlightened and guided by the oracles of God, is likely to render any one who possesses more than ordinary intellect and passion a prodigy of superetition or fanaticism. Its effects are varied by the opinions and spirit of the times ; in one age it produces monasticism, in another crusades, in another inquisitions: now it forms its votary into a Simon Stylites earning hea-

174 Christian Greatness

ven by penance and beggary, now into a Peter the Hermit summoning the faithful unto battle, and now again into a Torquemada purging the earth from heresy by fire and blood. In studying the lives of men, we are often astonished to see how an obscure event becomes a crisis of history. The flight of a bird from the mouth of a cave, saving Mohammed from the sword of his enemies, affected the destiny of millions ; and but for the seemingly accidental conversations of Loyola at Paris, the renowned Xavier would probably have yielded to the power of Luther's influence, and have become a champion of the Protestant faith. Who can tell how different from what it was would have been the earthly career of Dr. Judson, how different the color and complexion of his character, had he not been led in the very prime of his manhood to form just conceptions of the religion revealed in the 'New Testament, to yield his whole soul to its supreme authority, and to cling with all the affec- tions of his ardent nature to " the simplicity that is in Christ ?" A soul like his, touched with a spark of some " strange fire," and inflamed with zeal for some false system, might have become an- other St. Francis founding a new order of ascetics, or another Loyola training a new school of courtly propagandists, or another Xavier traversing India with a lofty martyr-spirit to teach the crucifix rather than the cross, to convert nations by sacra- ments rather than the gospel. But we have rea- son, on this occasion, to bless the Father of lights for the grace bestowed on his servant, that in the

In the Missionary. 175

day of doubt and inquiry, when he was feeling after truth, if haply he might find it, the word of inspiration was made known to him as a divine counsellor, the oracle of his faith, the conservative and guiding rule of his conduct; that he " rejoiced in its testimonies more than in all riches," and that he counted nothing dear to him, so that he might give to pagan millions those recorded mes- sages which are as leaves from the tree of life for the healing of the nations. If, in a coming age, some Allston should wish to employ his pencil in picturing forth a single action that should express at once the great aim, the chosen means, and the true spirit of the modern missionary enterprise, he could scarcely select a more fitting scene than that which Heaven witnessed with a smile, when Ado- niram Judson was seen kneeling by the side of that table over which he had long bent his frame in studious application, holding in his hand the last leaf of the Burman Bible, with his eyes uplifted, and with a countenance radiant with joy, thanking God that his life had been spared to achieve this work, and imploring the Divine Spirit to make the silent page a messenger of life to many.

The leading features of Dr. Judson's character, when we regard him as a public man, have an aspect of such stern and simple grandeur that they throw into the shade those delicate traits which dis- closed themselves to the eyes of all who knew him in social and domestic life. Indeed, the higher qualities of which we have spoken are rarely found in intimate union with the gentler virtues, with

176 ChEISTIAN GrEATI!TOS8

that childlike tenderness, that genial sympathy, that nice regard to the sensibilities of others, which throw a charm around the scenes of home and the circles of friendship. We are never surprised to learn that these are utterly wanting in men of iron sinew, formed for daring and endurance. Just as when we have gazed upon some lofty mountain that towers sublimely to the skies, it seems not strange if, on a close survey, the fine proportions and the beauty of outlines shall have vanished, so that we can touch nothing but rugged rocks and tangled thickets. But to find the ascent of an Alp- ine height enriched with fruits and flowers, with sheltering vines, refreshing springs, and singing birds, must fill the breast of every beholder with a sentiment of pleasing wonder. A kindred emotion has, doubtless, been awakened in the hearts of many who have long contemplated Dr. Judson from a distant point of view, and have afterward been favored with opportunities of personal inter- course. Then it has been seen that the elements of his nature were admirably balanced, that his social affections were commensurate with his intellectual powers, and that his many-sided mind filled a wide sphere of being. Of him it could not be justly said, as it once was of an eminent moral philoso- pher, that he loved man in general, but no human being in particular ; nay, his heart was a well- spring of tender affections, his eye took within its scope the whole wide range of human relationships, and he was sensitively alive to the happiness of all around him. In this respect he resembled his Di-

In the Missionary. 177

vine Master, who, while on earth, although he was employed in a mission that involved the eternal destinies of a fallen race, could find congenial joys in the friendship of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, and who, amidst the agonies of the cross, could commend th^ temporal welfare of his mother to "that disciple whom he loved."

In this connection it may be proper to observe that in regard to the social qualities of Dr. Judson, his susceptibility of the pleasures of friendship, his powers of conversation, his combination of mental energy with the most winning gentleness of expres- sion, many of us received impressions, during his sojourn in this country, which could have been im- parted by no study of his history, by no sketch, however vivid and graphical. Whensoever we see a man who is distinguished for singleness of aim, we are often struck with a certain eloquence of manners which can not be described, and which when found to be in keeping with the tenor of his life, discloses the heart more truthfully than the best efforts of the pencil or the pen. The evan- gelist Luke seems to allude to the impression of character made by the personal appearance of our Lord, in a single phrase which Dr. Campbell has translated, " he was adorned with a divine grace- fulness." The soul reveals itself not only in words, but in the tones of the voice, in the animated coun- tenance, in the kindling eye, in every feature, in every movement. Although it may not be safe to judge of men by the outward appearance merely, yet there are signs of character which are seldom

17S Christian Greatness

mistaken, which no art can counterfeit, and which make impressions that we can neither resist nor erase. And no one, probably, has been permitted to enjoy Dr. Judson's society, and especially to kneel with him while conducting the worship of a family, who has not left his presence with some new conviction of the depth of his piety, of the breadth of his philanthropy, of his childlike humility as a Christian, and of his real greatness as a man. N^or can we omit to notice, while we consider the variety of situations in which our departed mis- sionary was placed, the versatility of his talents, which enabled him to be at ease and at home in every position which he was called to occupy. Every one who has considered the subject is well aware that the qualifications requisite for a trans- lator of the Scriptures into a foreign language embrace a wide sphere of acquisitions. As a scholar and a critic. Dr. Judson did not allow him- self to fall behind the advancing spirit of his times ; and, if we may credit the testimony of Mr. Craw- furd, the English envoy to the court of Ava, who had ample means of judging, he had no superior in the empire as a thorough master of the Burman language and literature. At the same time, his knowledge of the world, of men and things around him, his wide scope of thought, and his powers of communication, gave a particular value to all his opinions on matters of secular interest, and com- manded the respect of the most distinguished men with whom he was led to associate in private and in public life.

In the Missionaey. 170

Notwithstanding repeated attacks of disease, it was his cherished hope, as it was also that of his friends, that his days would have been prolonged, that he would have been permitted to finish the works which had long tasked his pen, and give himself to the ministry of the word without inter- ruption. Whensoever we have thought of his ripe experience, his familiarity with the language, cus- toms, and mental habitudes of the Burman people, we had fondly imagined with what zeal and effect he would consecrate his advancing age to the work of oral teaching. But this pleasing picture, which glowed before the imagination in such lively colors, has been suddenly marred. In the sight of God his work was done, and he was called to his rest. Yet so intent was his soul upon that work, that the voice of the summons which bade him away fell upon the ears of anxious friends sooner than upon his own. But when it was heard by him, how cordially was it welcomed ! He was ready. To him, death came not as the " king of terrors," but as a commissioned servant to conduct him home. He has fought a good fight, he has finished his course, he has kept the faith, he has died in triumph. The veteran soldier sleeps in his chosen sepulchre. They laid him in the ocean bed where none can break his repose. They could write no epitaph, they could raise no memorial, but they

" left him alone in his glory,"

where the winds shall moan his requiem until the last trump shall sound, and the sea shall yield up its treasured trusts.

180 Chkistian Greatness

And now, fathers and brethren, while we com- memorate the life and character of our venerated missionary, let us open our hearts to the lessons suggested by this occasion ; and especially let it be ours to apprehend more vividly the nature of THAT MORAL HEROISM which he SO Hobly exemplified, and which befits the period in which we live. In the classic ages of the past, the epithet heroic was applied only to those who achieved deeds of mar- tial valor. The verse of Milton has well expressed that truth :

" Conquerors who leave behind Nothing but ruin wheresoe'er they rove, And all the flourishing works of peace destroy, Then swell with pride, and must be titled gods, Great benefactors of mankind, deliverers, Worshiped with temple, priest, and sacrifice."

The usages of language illustrate mental history, and the application of the idea of heroism to grand projects of benevolence, to the champions and martyrs of Truth, designates the era of Christianity. The thought gleamed on the mind of Kapoleon amid the reflections of his exile, and was uttered in those weighty sentences which he addressed to the Count de Montholon while at St. Helena. " The religion of Jesus Christ is a mystery which subsists by its own force, and proceeds from a mind which is not a human mind. We find in it a marked individuality, which originated a train of words and actions unknown before. Jesus is not a philosopher, for his proofs are miracles, and from the first his disciples adored him. Alexander,

In the Missionary. 181

Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself, founded empires ; but on what foundation did we rest the creations of our genius ? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded an empire upon love, and at this hour millions of men would die for him ! I die before my time, and my body will be given back to the earth, to become food for worms. Such is the fate of him who has been called the great J^apoleon. What an abyss between my deep mystery and the eter- nal kingdom of Christ, which is proclaimed, loved, and adored, and is extending over the whole earth !" "Wonderful words to be spoken by those imperial lips ! They reveal the truth of things as it must appear in the light of eternal realities. Is it not possible, think you, that the martial hero who ut- tered them may have wished, as he awoke to a calm retrospective view of his course, that he had acted a more Christian part in the great drama of life, and that other words than these had sounded the key-note of his moral history ? Whatever may have been his secret wish, we welcome his testi- mony as a tribute of honor to the enterprise which unites our hearts, to the heroism which true philan- thropy inspires, and to the character of a man like him whose aims and deeds we here devoutly cele- brate.

Yet let us remember that it belongs not to the missionary alone to cherish and develop this he- roic spirit in some distant land or some conspicuous sphere. In the early ages it gave a lofty tone to whole communities of Christians ; it was breathed forth in their social intercourse, in their daily pur-

182 Christian Greatness

suits, in their style of life and conduct. But in our time the genius of enterprise, even among " the sons of the church," needs a new baptism from on high. Their hardy courage, their spirit of adven- ture and of self-denial, must be hallowed by a loft- ier aim. In the pursuit of perishable wealth they put forth mighty efforts which would take on an aspect of heroism, if they were subordinated to a worthy moral object. For the sake of gain they are willing to become exiles from home, to under- take the most arduous pilgrimages, to brave the perils of the stormy deep or gloomy desert, to dare the blasts which sweep over the icy solitudes of the north, if they may but rob wild beasts of their costly furs, or risk life amid the malaria of Africa if they may but pick up gold-dust from her burning sands. In the pursuit of wealth the mind embold- ens itself to meet the march of pestilence, and infection seems to have been disarmed of its terrors. For this end families, too, are broken up and scat- tered over the earth ; one makes his home on the ocean, another in India, another in the mines of California, and a fourth seeks his fortune in the new ports of the Pacific. With what inflexible will do they wrestle with difficulty, with disease, with the pains of absence, with bitter disappoint- ments ; and oh, how elevated and ennobled would be the elements of such enduring character if they were truly consecrated to the interests of the Mes- siah's kingdom, and were thus made subservient to the real progress of humanity! And surely, in these latter days, while "the signs of the times"

In the Mission art. 183

beckon us on to bolder attempts in the great battle which has long been waged with the powers of darkness, "with spiritual wickedness in high pla- ces," now, when mountains fall and valleys rise before the march of Science, so that our antipodes become our neighbors — now, when America, which was but lately at the very "ends of the earth," is rising up to be a great central power, stretching forth her gigantic arms to reach the continent of Asia on the one side and the continent of Europe on the other, the chief want of the times is a manly, generous. Christian public spirit, which shall per- form heroic deeds amid the stir and din of secu- lar business, and aim to subordinate the realms of Agriculture, of Commerce, of Art, of Literature, and of Labor to the grand design of Christianity in the renovation of our fallen world.

Last of all, let us resolve, with a firm faith in the promised agency of the Divine Spirit, to carry for- ward the work which has heen so well hegun hy those who have gone hefore us. Let it be our prayer, that the mantles of the ascending prophets may fall on worthy successors, until that favored generation come who shall celebrate the universal triumph of the Redeemer.

It is deserving of remark that, after a long lapse of ages, it has devolved on the men of the last cen- tury to push forward the conquests of the Cross among the older nations of the world, beyond those eastern lands which had bounded the progress of Christianity in the days of the Apostles. Wonder- ful as were the victories of our religion in the first

184 Christian Greatness

century, they scarcely reached beyond the domin- ion of the Caesars, which was then called " the whole world." Yet far beyond it, stretching east- ward, lay the older Pagan countries overspread by Boodhism and Brahminism ; and these were left, as they had been long before, from time immemo- rial. Afterward, when Constantine established Christianity as the religion 'of the State, it became a territorial creed, hemmed in by the boundaries of the empire. And thus it has, in a great degree, remained, until the missionary spirit of modern times took up the work nearly at the point where it was left by the last of the Apostles, and won new trophies in those old domains of Boodh and Brahma.

With this fact in view, we can not but be struck with an analogy between the progress of science and Christianity. It was at the close of the first century of the Christian era that the Emperor Tra- jan, having beaten back the northern barbarians beyond the Danube, engaged in the work of extend- ing the improvements of civilization and the arts of peace in those dreary regions. Among the me- morials of his reign, travelers have beheld with admiration the remains of a ship canal, cut through the solid rock, around the rapids of that noble river. But at the death of Trajan the work was left unfin- ished, and for seventeen hundred years has remain- ed in that condition. The empire had then reached its culminating point ; its energies were spent ; it had begun to decline and fall, and it had no power or resources adequate to the completion of the

In the Mission art. 185

plans which Trajan had projected. Beneath the tramp of barbarian hordes Roman civilization lay crushed during revolving centuries, and the chisel- ed rocks bore witness of a fallen empire unable to finish what it had begun. But under the auspi- ces of Christianity, Art and Science have plumed their wings anew, to go forth and repair the old and desolate wastes. Within the memory of living men, an impetus has been given to the world's af- fairs by means of which the enterprise of Trajan has lately received its finishing stroke. That im- pulse came forth, not from the banks of the Tiber, but of the Hudson ; and the invention of Robert Fulton has achieved the significant result. Thus, too, has it been in the history of Christianity. The men of our own times have been called to set their hands to the work of God, just where its early her- alds left it, and have urged forward the triumphs of our religion beyond those borders which marked the termination of her first victorious career. The new impulse has proceeded, not from Rome, or Constantinople, but from London, from New York, from Boston, and from the chief seats of Christian- ized Anglo-Saxon power.

Seeing, then, that brightening signs indicate an accelerated progress of the Messiah's kingdom — that the voice of Providence is summoning us re- newedly to be co-workers in this glorious cause — let us devoutly aim to do our life-work faithfully, to follow in the steps of those " who, through faith and patience, have inherited the promises." Let it be ours to bear a part ii the fulfillment of those

186 Christian Greatness in tue Missionary.

old prophecies which have long shed hopeful gleams across the night of ages, that thus we may be prepared to unite in those heavenly anthems that shall celebrate the final triumph of the Re- deemer, unto whom "shall the gathering of the people be."

CHRISTIAN GREATNESS

IN

THE STATESMAN

JOB V. 26*

Thou Bhalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of com cometh in his

season."

This declaration of an Eastern sage, touching the aspect of sublimity, beauty, and fitness which in- vests the termination of a protracted, upright, and useful life, was suggested to us by the last words of that venerable man and renowned statesman, the intelligence of whose death cast a pall of gloom over this nation, and awakened in millions of hearts a sense of painful bereavement. He fell, struck by the hand of death in the place of his own choice, in the hall of legislation, in the service of his coun- try ; and as he recognized the stealthy, fatal stroke of the dread messenger who came to summon him away, he had only power to express his conviction of the fact by exclaiming, "This is the last of

* A Discourse occasioned by the death of Hon. John Quincy Adams.

188 Christian Greatness

earth — I am content" 'No similar event could have produced a sensation so profound as this ; the business of Congress was suspended, the avocations of common life throughout the city were inter- rupted, all amusements ceased, all local and party feelings were merged in the general grief, and from the Capitol to the circumference of this country, one chord of patriotic sympathy was touched and made to vibrate in mournful response to the blow which smote down a chief leader of the people, and extin- guished one of the ruling lights in our moral hem- isphere.

It would not be right to allow such an occasion to pass unimproved. It hath its voice. To give it then a tongue is wise in us. In this event God speaks. Great men are his gifts. He raises them up to achieve the purposes of his wisdom and his goodness. The mind of capacious intellect, of great forecast, of nice discernment, connecting the faculty of patient attention to details with that of splendid philosophical generalization, illumined by varied knowledge, united to a heart of tender sen- sibility and of lofty courage, endowed with the love of truth, honor, rectitude, together with well-bal- anced powers of conception and execution, is one of the noblest objects of his creation; and the fitting combination of events to give it ample verge and scope is all of his ordering. The removal of such gifted men from the earth in the prime of life or in the culmination of their manly strength, is often spoken of in the sacred Scripture as a severe judg- ment on any people; as was the case when the

In the Statesman. 189

prophet of God announced a nation's doom by the threatening, " The Lord doth take away from Ju- dah and Jerusalem the stay and the staff, the judge and the prophet, the prudent and the honorable man, the counselor and the eloquent orator ;" for then, it is added, "children shall be their princes, and the people shall be oppressed." When, there- fore, we see a man, whom the people all "delight to honor," in whose soul patriotism is an essential element of his inner life, whose tastes and gifts qualify him for high statesmanship, whose heart maintaineth its integrity, who walks upon the heights of power with serene self-command, who is unseduced by flattery and undazzled by bribes, who loves peace, and yet recoils not from the strife of stormy passions if the voice of duty call him to it, who blends with stern gigantic powers a sweet childlike simplicity — when we see such a man pre- served to his country through times of trial, and yielding to her service the ardor of youth, the strength of manhood, the maturity of age, and at last, having passed beyond the bounds which have been set to the career of a mortal race, bowing cheerful assent to the majestic summons which bids him away from the scenes of his toil to a higher sphere of being, we can not but acknowledge and adore the Providence which so long spared him to the world, and blessed his country with the price- less heritage of his character.

Melancholy as is the day which brings home to a nation's heart a sense of the loss sustained by the departure of such a chieftain, yet the mind can not

190 Christian Greatness

long linger to pore over this aspect of the event. Recovering from the first shock of surprise and grief, it is naturally led to contemplate the moral sublimity of such a death, and to admire that di- vine benignity which ordered a termination of such impressive beauty to a life so eminently instructive and useful. In the course of nature every thing is beautiful "in its season," the bud and bloom of Spring, the fall of the fruit in Autumn, the garner- ing of the shock of corn full ripe. So when the aims and purposes of life have been fulfilled, when the exhausted faculties of the body fail through weakness to obey the behests of the active spirit, Death has the natural beauty which pertains to fit- ness, because it is so seasonable ; because, however suddenly it may come, it is nevertheless iimely.

Although the history of the deceased ex-Presi- dent is familiar to the public mind, a brief review of it will be in accordance with our present pur- pose. His native place is a few miles from Bos- ton, in the town of Quincy, a part of it which was formerly included within the bounds of Braintree. He was born July 11th, 1767. In tracing the course of one's life it is often found that some occa- sion of early youth has quickened the whole emo- tive nature, has given to the thoughts their chief direction, and a permanent complexion to the character. One event appears to have exerted so mighty an influence on the mind of young Adams. This was the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, to which he was a listener, with rapt attention, when a boy in only the ninth year

In the Statesman. 191

of his age, as he stood amid a crowd convened be- fore the old Boston State House. Its principles were congenial with the spirit of his mind, and took immediate possession of his heart. To him they were no vague abstractions, but momentous truths instinct with vitality and power. They were to him ever afterward " the lively oracles" of eternal justice and true humanity, which awoke an echo in the depths of his conscience ; they were the fundamental positions of all legitimate and righteous government, essential to the peace of the world and the progress of the race. He lived for these principles ; he felt that to aid in giving them free course and effectual sway was the main work committed to him, and to this great aim he was found faithful unto death.

In the year 1778, before young Adams was eleven years of age, he embarked for France, in company with his father, who had been appointed a commissioner to the court of Yersailles, in order to obtain a recognition of our National Independ- ence. The drift of events favored the design of this commission, so that Mr. Adams and his son returned home the following year. After the brief interval of two months, however, Congress directed Mr. Adams to return to Europe, as minister pleni- potentiary, to treat for peace as soon as Great Britain should become disposed to bring the war to an end. Again, therefore, the father embarked for a foreign land, taking with him his son, John Quincy, to whom a residence abroad under such auspicious circumstances was of inestimable worth

192 Christian Greatness

as a part of his education, preparing him as it did to move with ease, and to feel at home in the sphere of diplomacy, wherein he afterward yielded immense service to his country. Two years after this period we find him in Russia, acting as secre- tary of legation, under Mr. Dana, minister of the United States to the court of St. Petersburg. It is evident that his mind was keenly alive to the les- sons which were suggested by passing scenes ; for in a letter addressed to him by his excellent mother, in 1783, she takes occasion to say, " The account of your northern journey, and your observ- ation upon the Russian government, would do credit to an older pen." In these extraordinary advantages conferred on one so youthful, it be- comes us to recognize the hand of Providence, training him up for his great work of diplomatic statesmanship. The stirring scenes through which he passed, the alarms of war, the perils of the sea, infested by armed foes, the sublime aspects of na- ture which he contemplated, the intellectual ex- citement of Paris, the political discussions which were then so keenly agitated, the conversations of Dr. Franklin, the constant care of a venerated pa- rent, all combined to invest him with those rare influences which tended to quicken the energies of his nature into a precocious yet healthful develop- ment. At that early period he attuned his ear to foreign languages, made himself acquainted with European opinions, habits, and manners, and cherished in his heart a profound detestation of the

In the Statesman. 193

vices and the despotisms which exhaust the life of society in the Old World.

Permitted by his father to return to Massachu- setts in 1Y85, he entered the University of Cam- bridge, at an advanced standing, and graduated in 1787, at twenty years of age. He immediately commenced the study of law, under Chief Justice Parsons, of Newburyport, and entered upon his professional career in Boston, at the end of the three years' course.

About four years from that time, in 1794:, Mr. Adams was appointed, by President Washington, resident minister near the court of the United JS^eth- erlands. He remained in Europe until 1801, em- ployed in executing errands of diplomacy in En- gland and Prussia, and as a public minister in Holland. In the character of foreign ambassa- dor, he enjoyed the confidence of Washington, who paid him the tribute of the highest praise for the skill and the success with which he discharged his many trusts.

In the year 1802, Mr. Adams, having returned to this country, was elected a senator of Massachu- setts, and in the year following became a senator in Congress. In 1806 he accepted a professorship of Rhetoric in the University at Cambridge, and delivered a course of lectures, which are now ex- tant in a published volume. He resigned his seat in Congress before his term expired, and in 1809 was nominated by Mr. Madison as minister to Rus- sia. He was abroad during the last war with

194 Christian Greatness

England, and was one of the commissioners at Ghent to negotiate a treaty of peace.

After having returned to this country he became secretary of state, under President Monroe, and was the leading spirit of his administration. In the year 1824 he was elected President of the United States by a vote of the House of Eepre- sentatives. In that exalted station he displayed the same high moral qualities as had distinguished him in narrower spheres of action. Divided as the people of this country were, by feelings of the most impassioned partisanship, he rose superior to them all. I^o local or clannish prejudices swayed his official appointments ; no man was placed under the ban of proscription for his political sentiments, or for the open expression of them ; liberty of thought and of speech were honored as inalienable rights, as essential elements of a manly character ; and it may be truly said that the administration of John Quincy Adams adorns the annals of American history, and commends itself to the grateful remem- brance of future ages, as the realization of a lofty idea — even of that pure, high-souled impartiality, which becomes the chief magistrate of a nation, and which enters into every just conception of the dignity that belongs to that exalted office.

Having completed one presidential term, in 182^ Mr. Adams returned to his home in Quincy, after nearly forty years of active and arduous public service, which had achieved most important results in the history of our republic. But "his eye was not dim, nor was his natural force abated." A

In the Statesman. 195

mind like his could not rest in indolence. The at- mosphere of public life was as a native element, and even its agitations habit had made more con- genial than quiet inactivity. In this he was a won- der unto many. Just as the mariner, who has been educated to make his home upon the stormy deep, although fortune may have blessed him with a quiet retirement, can not bring his tastes to har- monize with the dull monotony, but welcomes again the excitement of his ocean-life with all its toils and perils — so the venerable ex-President, with a physical frame kept strong by manly disci- pline and temperance, with a mind whose joy was in activity, welcomed the scenes of public service, the duties of legislation, and conferred dignity on the office of the people's representative by accept- ing it after he had enjoyed the highest honors which his country could bestow, at a period when the fires of ambition had ceased to burn, and when the emoluments of place could offer no temptation. But behold what a mighty and youthful energy he carried into the execution of his duties ! The youngest aspirant after fame and position could not have been more studious, more punctual, more un- tiring, more deeply interested in all the passing questions of the day, or the great problems of the age, more keenly sensitive to all the elements of life and stir around him. What a noble spectacle did this eloquent old man present when he took his place again in our national Congress, so enriched with all the lore of experience as well as of schools, universities, and courts, acting his part in full sym-

196 Christian Greatness

pathy with men of the second and third generation after him, revered by men of every state and party, the pride even of his opponents, considered as a man and a citizen ; now listened to with mute at- tention while he poured forth the treasures of his wisdom, and now again quelling the fury of angry passions when, all bonds of restraint having been sundered, the}^ had been lashed into a fearful and overwhelming tempest. It was a kind and wise Providence that placed him there for good, and the devout Christian patriot, while he admires the in- strumentality, may well exclaim, "It was thou, O God, who didst cause the voice of thy servant to be heard higher than the voice of many waters ; thou didst still the noise of their waves, the noise of their waves and the tumults of the people."

Adhering rigidly to the habits of his youth even in advanced age, rising early, so as to give the first hours of the day to study and meditation, Mr. Adams preserved his mental faculties in all the vivacity of their prime, and in the greatness of their strength. The ambition of his last days was of a noble sort ; it was to leave the field without putting off his armor ; to die at his post — to die as a faithful servant, "having his loins girt and his lamp trimmed and burning." Above all things he dreaded a life of indolence or uselessness. God favored his wish. It was fully realized. While his mind was acting in the plenitude of his powers, while his heart was throbbing with the pulsations of his wonted patriotism and his warm affections, his exhausted frame gave way ; his spirit forsook

In the Statesman. 197

its earthly abode for that higher realm, where it may expatiate forever in the light and bliss of im- mortality.

"His last days were his best." The lustre of his character increased more and more unto the end. It was not for him in the retrospect of his course to appropriate the sentiment which the great English poet has attributed to a distinguished prime minister :

" Had I but served my God with half the zeal I served my king, he would not in mine age Have left me naked to mine enemies."

The ex-President served his country with a zeal which never flagged, but he served his God first of all ; and at last, when he fell beneath the shaft of death, received not only the free tributes of love and honor from his friends, but the profound re- spect of his enemies, while he left a name to be em- balmed in the memory of a nation.

" His last days were his best." An interesting occasion once brought this reflection to my mind with an impression not to be erased. On the Fourth of July, '1843, having been invited to officiate as chaplain at the Boston celebration of the national independence, I repaired to the council-chamber of the City Hall half an hour before the time for form- ing the procession. While reclining alone near the window, the venerable old man entered the room, and ere long, taking his seat beside me, began to converse with a childlike animation and simplicity of manner. After touching on a few reminiscences

198 Christian Greatness

of the past, he exclaimed, " This is one of the hap- piest days of my whole life. Fifty years expire to- day since I performed in Boston my first public service, which was the delivery of an oration to celebrate our national independence. After a half century of active life I am spared, by a benign Providence, to witness my son's performance of his first public service, the delivery of an oration in honor of the same great event." It was evident that his heart was full of religious gratitude, and even then the sentiment of my text associated itself with his history, while his own lips testified that he was the heir of its promise, " Thou shalt come to thy grave in full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in his season."

In endeavoring to make a just improvement of the present occasion, several reflections suggest themselves.

1. Let us cherish a spirit of sincere gratitude to the Almighty Giver of all good gifts, in that he raised up for the service of our country and our age a princely mind, so remarkably adapted to their necessities. If a fine adaptation of means to ends prove design, then the extraordinary fitness of Mr. Adams to meet the calls of our infant republic, to occupy positions of delicacy and of difficulty, and in his very youth to serve her with success where the highest wisdom and experienced skill were requisite, proves a beneficent design on the part of God toward us as a people, and demands devout thankfulness from us to the All-wise De- signer and Dispenser of the benefit. It is only in

In the Statesman. 199

the retrospect of a long life that we can see such a blessing in its just lights, in its true relations and proportions, so as to appreciate it worthily. We need, as from an eminence, to take in a broad view of the whole landscape of his life-history, in order to understand the relative importance of the sphere which he occupied, and the dignity of the ends which he achieved. These are not clearly manifest while we are in close proximity to a living charac- ter. 1^0 doubt, while Washington was in daily con- tact with his countrymen, there were many of sober mind who thought that if he were suddenly re- moved, some substitute might be found who could with equal success occupy the vacant station. But now, when the history of that age is fully before us, when we read it a glance, when the many ele- ments which composed its intellectual and moral forces are analyzed and distinguished, we all ac- knowledge that Washington was without a paral- lel ; that the world possessed no other who could have stood in his place, could have wielded the moral sceptre of his influence, and have fulfilled his glorious mission to mankind. So, too, when we contemplate the extraordinary education and political talents of that young man to whom Wash- ington intrusted the honor and welfare of his coun- try in foreign courts, and the bright career of the young American minister in coping with the vet- eran diplomacy of European monarchies, we can not but recognize a Divine hand in ordering all the events of his previous life so as to prepare him for the emergency, and to qualify him by a perfect

200 Christian Greatness

discipline for an elevated and perilous theatre of action.

Again, when by a series of strange events the most discordant jealousies were brought into stern conflict at the Capitol, when by the aggressions of the slave power even the right of petition was de- nied, when the surges of excited passion were threatening to sweep away the established bul- warks of freedom — who but he, uniting in himself the fervor of youth and the obdurate patience of manhood with the dignity of age and lofty station, could have effectually checked their proud impetu' osity, could have ruled the agitation of the most fiery spirits, and called them to the sober consid- eration of those great fundamental principles with- out which all government is tyranny, and all lib- erty but a name? It was God who placed him there to guide the whirlwind and direct the storm, to plead for truth, law, right, justice, and human- ity, and thus to " turn back the battle to the gate."

2. Let us endeavor to honor and emulate that high-souled rectitude and honesty of purpose wherein lay the secret of his courage and his strength. However much men might differ from him in judgment, they confided in his sincerity and his truthfulness. He made up his mind in obe- dience to great principles ; he followed where they led, and was bold to proclaim and act out his own convictions. Sometimes he agreed with one party, then with another; yet he did not mean to steer his course by the illusive lights of party policy, but by the fixed eternal star of absolute truth. For

In the Statesman. 201

this one thing, his realization in actual life of a stern republican virtue, the individuality of con- science, let his name be ever fragrant, let his ex- ample be prized by the remotest age as a rich moral legacy to the youth of his own country, and to the friends of liberty throughout the world.

Prominent among the features of his character was his habitual confidence in the power, and in the final triumph of truth ; hence in the dark and trying day he was not ashamed or afraid to be her champion, whether he stood with many or with few. He had faith in that saying of an ancient eage, which was first uttered in the ears of a king : " Great is the truth, and stronger than all things ; all the earth calleth upon the truth and the Heaven blesseth it ; all works shake and tremble at it, and with it is no unrighteous thing." However feeble might be his voice, he felt that a right and faithful testimony is never lost. 'No ! thanks to God, it can never die. It may be overborne, it may be smoth- ered by the hands of violence, it may seem to be lost amid the din of strife and the clamor of a crowd, but it shall find responses in the deep re- cesses of many souls, and there shall its echoes be redoubled and prolonged, until it break forth from other tongues, and be caught up by listening mul- titudes, and sent abroad like the voice of mighty thunderings, and the sound of the trumpet of God in the ears of a convinced and subject w^orld.

3. It becomes us, too, in view of this occasion, to open our minds to fresh impressions of the in- estimable worth of parental influence over the

202 Christian Greatness

strongest minds, in early laying the foundations of an enduring character. It is said that, after the revolutionary war, when the French officers were assembled to take leave of the commander-in-chief, they desired an opportunity to pay their respects to the mother of Washington. This was granted to them at a public entertainment in Petersburg, Yirginia. Such was the effect produced on their minds by her simple manners, her noble bearing, and the power of her conversation, that as she re- tired from their company, there was heard among them the spontaneous expression of the sentiment, "No wonder that America has such a general, since he had such a mother." And we may truly say that, whosoever contemplates the spirit that animates the history, and is breathed forth" in the published writings of that excellent woman, the mother of John Quincy Adams, will be disposed to apply to the deceased ex-President, the expres- sion of a similar sentiment. An accomplished lady, possessed of sterling sense, looking through appearances to the reality of things, governed by a lofty patriotism and high religious principle, she was capable of leaving the impress of her charac- ter on the mind of her son ; and it is instructive to observe how strictly, even to the latest age, he cherished the opinions, and exemplified the virtues which she inculcated on him during the period of boyhood. The nicely adjusted system of action, the untiring industry, the love of knowledge, the love of country, the moral fearlessness, the con- tempt of fashion, the simple tastes, the religious

In the Statesman. 203

reverence which appeared in him, were all embod- ied in her strongly-marked character.

Apprehensive that her son's early residence abroad might subject his heart to corrupting in- fluences, she seems constantly to wTite in view of that perilous liability ; and in a letter addressed to him while in Paris, in the twelfth year of his age, she says, " Dear as you are to me, I would much rather you should have found your grave in the ocean you have crossed, or that an untimely death cross you in your infant years, than see you an im- moral, profligate, or graceless child."

In another letter addressed to her son, in his fourteenth year, she illustrates with an eloquent energy the great duties which he owes to himself, his parents, his country, and his God, and espe- cially one lesson of the tirst importance, that, ''the only sure and permanent foundation of virtue is religion."

At a later period she seeks to kindle in his soul a generous love of freedom, and says, " Let your observations and comparisons produce in your mind an abhorrence of domination and power, the parent of slavery, ignorance, and barbarism, which places man upon a level with his fellow-tenants of the woods:

*♦ A day, an hour, of virtuous liberty Is worth a whole eternity of bondage."

At a still later day she is found rousing in him a spirit of devotion to his country, saying, "I hope you will never lose sight of her interests, but make

204 Christian Greatness

her welfare your study, and spend those hours which others devote to cards and folly, in investi- gating the great principles by which nations have risen to glory and eminence ; for your country will one day call for your services in the cabinet or field. Qualify yourself to do honor to her." In looking at the portrait which these letters present of the mother of Mr. Adams, it is interesting to ob- serve that its more delicate lights and shades were reproduced in her son, a reflection often suggested, and especially by the fact that, inhaling as he did the spirit of the Revolution, he inherited from her a burning hatred against the government of En- gland as an oppressive power, which neither the lapse of time nor the infirmities of age could quench.

To mark the connection between great effects and their obscure causes, to trace the mighty river which bears a nation's wealth upon its bosom to the little rill in the mountain's side that a man's hand may span, is as quickening to the intellect as it is profitable to the heart ; and surely it is worthy of being remembered by every American parent, that the solid and splendid qualities which were developed in the life and character of Mr. Adams, sprang up in the home of his childhood, and put forth their first bloom in the sunlight of a Christian mother's influence.

4. Moreover, it is especially fitting at this time that we should bear witness to the fact, and tell it to our children, that those virtues of which we have spoken were daily nourished by a firm faith

In the Statesman. 205

in the Christian revelation, and by a devout study of it as the inspired Word of God. The sentiments which he received on this subject in his youthful years he often subjected to the test of scrutiny, but never abandoned. He clung to them as the light of life and the hope of glory. While acting as American minister at the court of Russia, he wrote a series of letters to his children. They were never published ; they exist only in manuscript, and several years since I was permitted to peruse a copy of them. It is interesting to notice how earn- estly he commends to them the habitual study of the sacred Scriptures, and how reverently he ap- peals to them on any question whereof they profess to speak. Whether we should agree with or differ from his interpretation of particular passages, it would be impossible to read these letters without bearing away a deep impressibn of the fact that the writer was seeking to derive his religious opinions, not from the creeds of a church, or from the wis- dom of men, but from the simple Word of God's own inspiration.

In the realm of religion, as well of ethics and politics, he thought for himself; and yet, like the poet Milton, desired to slake his thirst for knowl- edge at

" Siloa's brook, wliich flowed Fast by the oracle of God."

He was not content with a moral philosophy ; he sought a vital Christianity. He has been known to urge on others, with great force of thought and expression, that view of the nature of sin which

206 Cheistian Greatness

philosophy can not impart, and which the mind can not apprehend, except by seeing it as the trans- gression of a divinely-revealed Law, invested with God's awful and eternal sanctions. His hope of immortality sprang from no self-complacent trust in his personal merits, but in the grace of the gos- pel, and is well expressed in a stanza of his own :

" My last great want, absorbing all, Is, when beneath the sod. And summoned to my final call, The mercy of my God.'*

Mourning his departure " as one mourneth for a friend," it is a joy to us that this lamented patriot and chief has left, throughout the whole circle of his social and domestic relations, a reputation so unblemished, a name so dear to friendship, an ex- ample so munificent, as a heritage to the youth of his native land. Of *he acts of his political life different opinions will be entertained according to the points of view from which they shall be re- garded ; yet we doubt not that the more closely his character and course shall be studied and consid- ered as a whole, the more evident will it appear that some parts of his public conduct, which have been attributed to a reasonless caprice, were dic- tated by those high, unbending principles of action which are far superior to the common-place max- ims of mere worldly prudence, and which, when announced, command the homage of every con- science. He has sunk beneath the weight of years, but the regret awakened by his death is like that which follows the man who is cut off in the midst

In the Statesman. 207

of his days, and whose work remains unfinished. May those who are touched with sadness by the late intelligence of his death strive to imitate all that in him was noble and " of good report," and then

" The cloud that wraps the present hour Will serve to brighten all our future life."

CHRISTIAN GEEATNESS

IN

THE citizen;

MATTHEW XX. 26-67.

•• Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your Minister ; and whoso- ever will be Chief among you, let him be your Servant."

A GEEAT man has fallen in our midst ! A man who has been long accounted " a leader in Israel," a distinguished citizen, a pure patriot, a true philan- thropist, in whom our hearts " safely trusted," and whom all of every rank in this community delighted to honor, has been called away from the scenes of earth to his home in heaven. On the last Wednes- day night, five minutes after the clock had struck eleven, the spirit of Friend Humphrey was sum- moned to leave its earthly tabernacle. His depar- ture was not unexpected. To him it was welcome. After protracted and excruciating pains that had racked his strong and manly frame, almost, one may say, to the whole extent of its capacity to suffer, dur- ing several successive months, he had often longed for the final hour as an era of release, and was pre- pared to hail the last pang as the herald of his trans- si tion from the furnace of " refining fires " to those

* Occasioned by the death of Hon. Priond Humphrey, Albany, N. Y.

Christian Greatness. 209

realms of joyous life which had long been familiar to the eye of Faith and the aspirations of Hope.

An event like this should not be allowed to pass away without notice or improvement. His death is felt as a bereavement not only in the domestic cir- cle, and in the church which he loved as the home of his religious affections ; it is lamented by the whole community as a common loss. It touches a chord of sensibility which vibrates throughout the whole extent of a widely-spread acquaintanceship. It stirs the breast of many an aged citizen with quickening recollections of the past ; it calls forth many a spontaneous tribute of regard from the young who have often been greeted by his friendly smile, and who loved " to do him reverence," Hav- ing been a resident of this city from the days of his youth, for almost half a century he has traversed its paths of business with the mien of manly honesty and the step of Christian dignity ; he has participated in the administration of its government with an energy that never flagged, with a prudence and firm- ness adequate to every emergency ; with the increase of his wealth and the ripening of his experience he has exhibited a fine example of an enlarged public spirit and of generous sacrifices for the public good ; he has been the friend of the poor, the shield of the weak, the companion of the strong, the steady pa- tron of the manifold forms of benevolent enterprise ; and thus, as a good man, as a useful citizen, he has shed a lustre around the whole sphere of life in which he moved, having nobly realized in action that ideal character of true Christian Greatness,

210 Christian Greatness.

which our blessed Master, in the words cited as my text, commended to the admiration and the love of all his followers.

And now " a standard-bearer hath fallen," We shall see his face, we shall hear his voice no more. But he has left a fragrant name ; his whole career furnishes an illustration of that kind of moral excel- lence, upon which memory loves to muse, and which it is always refreshing to contemplate. Is it not fit- ting that we should pause, and open our minds and hearts to the lesson of his life 1 The philosophy of this lesson is set forth in that significant precept of our Lord, which I have announced in your hearing. Let us turn our thoughts to its import, aptly expres- sive as it is of that power of moral character so steadily exerted in our midst by our departed friend, through a long series of years.

It appears from the narrative of the Evangelist, that on a certain day, a woman, who was well known and highly honored amongst the disciples, used the privilege of a mother to approach our Lord in order to ask special favors for her two sons. She request- ed that they might occupy places of eminence and honor in the kingdom that he was about to es- tablish. In this request she betrayed a spirit of worldly ambition ; and when her errand on be- half of the two apostles became known to the rest, a kindred spirit was kindled in their breasts, and uttered itself in the mutterings of offended and indignant jealousy. The chief instructions which Christ delivered in the course of his min- istry, were usually suggested by occasions as they

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arose ; and now He takes the opportunity to ex hibit to the view of those around Him, the pecu- liar character and the sublime moral aims of the new dispensation ; to declare to them that his king- dom wa& entirely dilBferent from that of any earthly royalty ; that high positions were not to be given away as personal honors or marks of friendship after the fashion of court-patronage, but that in his sight, unostentatious usefulness is true greatness ; so that, to reach the highest point in the scale of greatness, is to descend to the greatest self-denials, and to perform the greatest amount of service to Him and to his people. With what simplicity of speech and manner was this far-reaching truth in- culcated ! Jesus called them unto Him, and said, " Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exer- cise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you ; but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister ; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."

While we give ear to a lesson so benign as this, are we not struck with that aspect of sublime moral greatness which invested the divine teacher who ut- tered it, whose life beautifully exemplified it, and who expects his sincere followers, in imitation of himself, practically to realize it? His doctrine is that in the moral realm where He is the acknow- ledged sovereign.

212 Christian Greatness.

real usefulness is true greatness.

The occasion demands that we allow our minds to dwell upon it. Let it be our aim to illustrate it by regarding it from several points of view. .

1. To seek to be useful in the highest degree, is to cherish a true sympathy with the greatest and the best of beings. It is to be like God.'' " His greatness is unsearchable," his resources are infinite ; He is dependent on none, He can receive no benefit from us, or from any creature ; yet the mighty agencies of his vast dominion are busily tasked in our service, and the most subtle elements of nature are laid under contribution to promote the happiness of sensitive existences. Behold the workings of his Providence ; what a profound and complicate machinery 1* When we have gazed, at times, with the imaginative eye, upon that dread symbol of it which rolled in grandeur before the rapt prophet by the river Chebar, we have been mute with awe in view of the lofty sweep of those mighty fiery wheels, circled within wheels, instinct with life, full of eyes, moving through all heights and depths with electric speed and spontaneous power, as if animate in every part with one seraphic soul. God's providence never faileth, never tires, reacheth from heaven to earth, and supplies with equal ease the wants of angel or of insect. Everywhere, throughout the realm of nature, " all things are full of labor ; man cannot utter it ;" the universe teems with life and motion, and whether you look at the obedient orb that whirls along its ethereal pathway, or at the

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mote which dances in the sunbeam, you see that one law ruleth all, and that each subserves the ends of divine beneficence.

What an instructive application did our Saviour make of this general truth, when he said to his audience, " My Father worketh hitherto, and I work !" It is true, indeed, when he said this, he had just been performing a miracle which required the exertion of omnipotence ; but in regard to con- stant and useful activity, he bids us to imitate God, who " maketh his sun to rise, and his rain to descend upon the evil and the good, upon the just and the unjust," that thus we may be the children of our Father who is in heaven. Will not every true Christian heart, think you, give back a sympathetic answer to this sublime and comprehensive precept, which bids us listen to those responsive testimonies that break upon the ear from the incessant chime of nature's harmonies throughout the boundless range of created agencies ? Yes ! Let us remember, then, that when we stoop to the humblest services which the cause of religion or the wants of humanity calls for at our hands, we begin to rise toward the highest standard of true greatness in the sight of God ; who, though he be great, " despiseth not any," who condescends to regard " the raven's cry," and " hath respect unto the lowly."

2. In relation to this subject, however, what we learn of God from his works and providence, is beautifully illustrated by the example of Christ, in whom divine wisdom and goodness were embodied ; whose life expressed God's own idea of moral excel*

214 Christian Greatness.

lence in man, and exemplified that true greatness of "which the life of every Christian should be, in its appointed sphere, a practical realization. For, while we admire the lesson itself, as it comes to us from the lips of Jesus, our admiration is enhanced when we survey the earthly career of Him who came from heaven " not to be ministered unto, but to minister." His course was one of useful service. He went about doing good. " He pleased not himself,"' but it was his chief joy to do his Father's will in blessing others. In the dignity of his nature he stood above all, yet He stooped below all ; and, although He declared himself, as the Son of God, the rightful Lord of every creature, He said to the men in whose midst he moved on errands of love, " I am amongst you as one that serveth." As you read his history, when is it that He is seen to disclose those aspects of character which make the deepest impression on you ; which rouse and sway your spirit by their expression of lofty, god-like excellence? Is it in his occasional association with the great " leading men '' of the age ? Is it in his visits to the rulers of Judea, who sometimes courted his society ? Is it in his attendance at the public celebrations, or in his reclining as a guest at the festivals of the wealthy? Is it when by a word He controls the rage of hostile priests, or holds the power of the government in check, until his hour shall have come ? No : these are not the scenes around which the heart fondly lingers with emotions of the most profound reverence and adoring love. These are not the themes which Christian poetry has devoutly em-

Christian Geeatness. 215

balmed, which the Church has celebrated in her songs, or which christian art has chosen for the commemorative picture ; but, as the subjects of such immortal works, you hear of " Christ healing the sick,'' " Christ blessing the children," " Christ open- ing the eyes of the blind ;" instructing a sinful woman at the well of Samaria, or receiving the tribute of grateful tears with which a forgiven peni- tent bathed his feet. These are the scenes which, as at the bidding of creative genius they have been spread upon the canvas, have drawn throngs of willing pilgrims from afar to gaze upon them with sentiments of devotion, to enjoy the rapture which they inspire, and to confess the power of a moral greatness that attests the presence of the true Mes- siah.

3. The doctrine of which we speak becomes in- vested with another aspect of dignity, when we con- sider that the great end for which a Christian is called by the divine word, taught by the divine Spirit, and practically educated under the discipline of Divine Providence, is, that he, may benefit his generation by a course of useful service. No one can feel this truth too deeply, or too highly estimate its importance. The more widely we extend our observation of the universe, the more clearly we perceive that everything, whether it be grand or minute, is created with some capacity of useful ser- vice.! The sun was not made to shine for itself, but for the benefit of a system of worlds. The soul of man, with all its interior resources, and the fine adjustment of its faculties, was never qualified to be

216 Christian Greatness.

happy in an isolated state ; the law of its being requires it to find its happiness in imparting happi- ness to others. By reason of sin it became spiritu- ally dead to this glorious aim, and all its sympathetic sensibilities were shrivelled under the fatal blight ; but when it becomes the subject of " the new crea- tion in Christ Jesus," we may be sure that this great change ia wrought for no inferior end. He would not redeem it for an object lower than that of its original creation. The principle of the divine arrangement was couched in the benediction pro- nounced, of old, upon the faithful patriarch : " I will bless thee and make thee a blessing." Such is the destination to which our Master beckons us. And since it hath pleased Him thus to exalt us, to qualify us to participate in his happiness, to fulfil the minis- tries of his own love, to cover the rough wastes of this disordered world with the bloom and fruitage of heavenly grace, does it not become us to be earnest in performing this our life-work ; to have our posi- tion in the world clearly recognized by the things which we accomplish, and so, to be preparing daily to hail the hour of death as marking the era of our advancement to a higher and a boundless sphere of joyous activity ?

4. In accordance with these views, let it be re- membered that whosoever is endowed with superior powers of mind, advantages, of situation, or means of usefulness, ought, therefore, to be the greatest ser- vant. For these gifts render one more fit to serve. Unto whom much is given, from him shall much be required ; and the rule of Christ's kingdom is,

Christian Greatness. 217

" every man according to his ability." Is it fitting that he who has ten talents should yield no larger returns than he who has but two ? And yet, how often do we see that he who is most stinted in the means of working, brings in the amplest revenue ! Surely, if there be anything that we possess, on which we are disposed especially to value ourselves, any element of character or condition for which we desire the appreciation of others, in that very direc- tion we are expected to achieve the noblest services. If we set a high estimate on any particular gift or endowment, we sink relatively low in the sight of God, unless that very power have fitting verge and scope in the cause of religion and humanity. If it seem to us that our " great strength lieth " in any department of knowledge, or in our professional skill, in our inherited wealth, or in our faculty of making money, and we hoard up our acquisitions for ourselves, the more we gain, the poorer and the meaner will we appear in the sight of Heaven ; and the more terribly, at last, will conscience, from its deepest recesses, echo back the sentence that shall be sounded out from the judgment-throne of the Universe. The talent, wrapped in a napkin, when it comes to be unearthed, will be a witness against our perverted stewardship. In the end we must be deprived of that which we idolize and abuse ; for, the final decree will be, " Take away the talent from him," and it shall be added to the stores of the faithful servant who will use it with skill and gather its increase. 5. Moreover, let it be observed that the realiza-

218 Christian Greatness.

tion of this idea of Christian greatness in the pursuits of life,»implies a willingness to be useful in any ca- pacity, or to occupy any position which our Master may designate. Too many, no doubt, are the sub- jects of a mental illusion in regard to their desire of usefulness. A fine ideal standard of moral great- ness glimmers before the eye of Fancy, soothes and charms them now and then in hours of reverie, and makes the heart occasionally to throb with an ardent longing after its attainment. But these vivid con- ceptions rarely pass out of the dreamy realm of con- templation into that of practical life. There is a failure at the point of action. There is a want of sober calculation, or a want of executive energy. Habitually fastidious in the choice of place, circum- stances, or associations, they aspire to this or that inviting station ; they imagine a combination of elements which would be very agreeable if it were only practicable, and then fancy how much good they would do if all these conditions could be well arranged. But if that spirit of holy ambition to be useful, which the words of my text inculcate, really dwell in us, we will be sure to " serve our generation by the will of God " in some manner, wheresoever we may be ; we will attempt at once the thing to be done which lieth at our hand, however humble may be the service ; we will gain strength by wrestling with difficulties ; we will learn wisdom from defeat, we will reap profit from adversity, and will subject the petty and rasping annoyances of our condition to the higher aims of life. And here, let it not be forgotten, that upon the

Christian Greatness. 219

truth which I hare just uttered, our Master hath laid a special stress. Although in the kingdoms of this world, it is common for men to choose their places of honor, power, or trust, to ply all the arts of in- trigue in order to obtain them, yet it is the law of Christ, that in his kingdom " it shall not be so." It is not this or that position which renders his true servant happy, but love to the service itself. And " real love," as they tell us that Plato was wont to say, " is a great enterpriser." Where the love of Christ, as a principle of action, rules in the heart, it not only makes a man's service voluntary^ but leads him to prefer, above all others, the place to which his Master's providence appoints him. His service is no slavish task-work. His usefulness is the free development of an inner life that allies him to the " ministering spirits " of heaven. Throughout the domain of nature, soulless things are useful ; the brook that slakes your thirst, and the rock that shel- ters you ; the brutes also, following their instinctive tendencies, like the ox or the horse, are useful. But in the kingdom of Christ, he who serves effectually, chooses usefulness as the object that attracts his af- fections, and as the greatness that satisfies his am- bition ; chooses it for Christ's sake as the proper aim of his being ; chooses it with an obedient, grate- ful, and joyous spirit, as the only pursuit congenial with the aspirations of a sinful man " redeemed from the bondage of corruption," to participate in " the glorious liberty of the sons of God."

It is fitting, certainly, that on an occasion like the present, this subject which our Lord commended to

220 Christian Greatness.

the consideration of his followers, should be allowed to detain our attention, and should be held before the eye of the mind until it shall have assumed a clearly defined form, and shall have been surveyed in its relations to religion, to character and life. Because, it must be obvious to all, that the departed friend, whose loss we so deeply deplore, is endeared to the memory of those " who knew him best and loved him most " as a noble example of this idea of Christian greatness. This is his chief distinction. This is the sentiment that must give form to his ap- propriate epitaph. Simple in his aims, unostenta- tious in his manners, childlike in his spirit, never- theless, he was " great among us." He was great " before the Lord," and in the eyes of men. He did not seek greatness as an end, but it came as an ef- fect, according to the moral laws which God has or- dained ; it followed as naturally as a man^s shadow will follow him when he walks erect in the sunlight* It is not of any single action, or series of actions, standing out in a marked distinction from the line of his daily conduct, that we predicate this quality of greatness ; but it is of a long, well-sustained, in- fluential course of active life, considered as a whole, that we afi&rm this excellence, and thus pay to it the just tribute of a eulogy, in comparison with whose enduring worth the titles of honor that selfish am- bition covets are but as childish mimicry.

For the reason that we have just suggested, the history of his life may be briefly told. Let us notice the points by which its outline may be traced.

Friend Humphrey was born at Simsbury, Hart-

Christian Greatness. 221

ford County, Connecticut, on the eighth of March, 1787. His father, Noah Humphrey, was a respected and upright christian man, of Welsh descent, whose days were spent chiefly in the quiet employments of his farm, which lay along the banks of the Farming- ton river. That New England homestead was the birth-place of eleven children, of whom seven were sons. Of those sons, only one now remains. Dr. Gi- deon Humphrey, of Burlington, New Jersey, whom we are permitted to behold in our midst to-day. Of that family group, the oldest boy entered the revo- lutionary army when fourteen years of age. Friend was the youngest ; and, before he had reached his seventh year, was bereaved of his father by the hand of death. For several succeeding years he remained with his mother, lightening her cares with filial as- siduity. An old proverb says that " the boy is the father of the man ;" we see a gleam of this truth in the remark of that favored mother, who was heard to say that her youngest boy was the best man she could obtain to take the care of her garden. Even then, useful labor was his pleasure and his recre- ation.

Perhaps it was this trait of his youthful character which commended him to the attention of Judge Burt, of New Hartford, a friend of the family, who, as it is said, " took a fancy to the lad," and who pro- posed to his mother to take the charge of him, in order that he might train him up to a useful trade. The advice was followed, and this event became the turning-point of his history. The business of a tan- ner was begun in Connecticut \ but Judge Burt, who

222 Christian Greatness.

was truly a religious man, removed to Lansingburg, in this neighborhood, and thither young Humphrey accompanied him. There he was awakened by the divine Spirit to a sense of his sinfulness, was led to embrace by faith the Saviour as revealed to us in the gospel, and there made a profession of religion by being baptized, and by uniting himself to the church in the nineteenth year of his life. Soon afterward, he removed to this city, and, ere long, entered upon that mercantile career in which he so fully verified the saying, that " the path of the just is as the shin- ing light that shineth more and more until the per- fect day." With every revolving year that light became more widely diffused, and never suffered an eclipse. And here let it be declared, and let it be remembered, that the earliest notice which we have of his residence in Albany, is found in the official records of the church, with which he must have con- nected himself soon after his arrival with the least possible delay. This fact is very significant, because it is in such perfect keeping with his whole charac- ter. In too many instances a change of residence marks the era of religious decline, because it rends the bonds of christian association, and furnishes an opportunity to release one's self from the responsi- bility of church-membership. But it was not so with Friend Humphrey. When I consider the weakness of the Baptist Church in Albany at that period — when I call to mind the little band of men and women who constituted it, and who could hold their meetings for worship in the private parlor of the smallest dwelling— when I see how speedily this

Christian Greatness. 223

young man, after having reached his newly-adopted home, seeks them out, identifies his interests with theirs, participates in their struggles, brings to their counsels the ardor of youth combined with the sober judgment of manhood, and now observe that, after the lapse of almost half a century, the last official record of his connection with the church on earth, is about to be made amidst the tears of his brethren which embalm the remembrance of his name, I can- not forbear to blend with my thanksgivings the plaintive cry, 0 God of Israel ! on whom shall the mantle of thy departed servant fall.

In this connection it is proper to state, that Mr. Humphrey was one of the constituting members of the First Baptist Church of Albany, and was present at its organization, in the year 1811, on the 23d of January. On the 11th of July, the same year, he was appointed to serve the church temporarily, in the office of deacon, into which office he was after- wards inducted according to ancient usages, and in which he continued until he was dismissed in the autumn of 1834, with one hundred and twenty others, under the ministry of Rev. Dr. Welch, to constitute the North Pearl-street Baptist Church, of which he continued an active member and its senior deacon to the close of his life. This record of his official relation to the church is very brief ; it may be com- prised within the compass of a few lines. The eye of a stranger may peruse it without the awakening of any emotion ; it seems but a dry fragment of our annals. But there are many here to-day, on whose ears this announcement falls, to whom it is sugges-

224 Christian Greatness.

live of remembrances that spring from the deepest fountains of feeling in the soul ; to whose retrospec- tive glance it brings up a long course of that " pa- tient continuance in well-doing," which opened such ample scope for the exercise of the highest faculties of his mind and the finest feelings of his heart ; which put steadily in requisition his knowledge of human nature, his comprehensive forecast, his finan- cial skill, his exhaustless liberality, his sympathy for the poor, his magnanimity and forbearance combined with clearness of judgment and decision of purpose. With a sweet gentleness of manner that invited the approach of the timid, united to a dignity that at once commanded respect from the rash or overbear- ing, he was a living exemplification of those manly virtues and christian graces that qualify one to " use the office of a deacon well f so that in the assem- blies for devotion, in the meetings for business, in the chamber of poverty or the mansion of affluence, he seemed to be equally at ease and at home. But, then, in the development of these qualities, he was so constant, so humble, so unobtrusive, that, unless I were gifted with the observant eye of one of those " ministering spirits " who hover around the paths of faithful men by day and by night, it were impos- sible to picture adequately forth those scenes which illustrated these elements of his character. And, therefore, it is, no doubt, that when I speak in your presence, my brethren, of that career of usefulness which he fulfilled in the services of the deaconship, you join with me in applying to it the language of^

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the Patriarch, its " witness is in heaven, its record is on high."

And while I speak thus of that faithful constancy with which he fulfilled his duties as a member and officer of the church, it must not be overlooked that in those relations he exhibited, from the days of his youth, a worthy example of that enlargedness of soul with which we have been familiar in his later years. If ever any one had a fair show of reason for con- tracting his sympathies, or efforts, or pecuniary con- tributions within the narrow sphere of his church and neighborhood, surely he must have had it in those days when the claims of a cause that was struggling for existence in his own city seemed enough to task him to the utmost of his ability. But, although his charity began at home, it did not end here. Who was more ready than he to help forward the spread of the gospel in foreign lands ? Who took hold of the enterprise of ministerial edu- cation with a firmer hand ? Who was more tho- roughly interested in supplying the destitute parts of our own country with religious privileges, by means of missionaries, Sabbath schools, and churches ? In all these lines of direction, his influence on the church was benign and elevating ; because, with a width of view which took within its scope the mani- fold interests of Christ's kingdom throughout the world, he set an example of that enlarged and prac- tical spirit of Christianity which the wants of our age so urgently demand.

In the year 1810, when he was twenty-three years pf age, Mr. Humphrey was married to Miss Hi^nnah

226 Christian Greatness.

Hinman, the oldest daughter of Dr. Hinman. of Lan- singburg, a most amiable lady, of a spirit congenial with his own. Of her he was bereaved by death after a lapse of twelve years. In the year 1825 he was married again to IVIiss Julia Ann Hoy t, daughter of David P. Hoyt, Esq., of Utica. In this union, too, he was fortunate, as most of those that are .here present are well aware, inasmuch as the memory of that excellent woman, who was removed from amongst us only within a recent period, is cherished with lively emotions throughout a wide circle of acquaintanceship. The happiness of Mr. Humphrey in these domestic connections was a source of happi- ness to others ; for in the earlier, as well as in the later years of his life, his house has been the scene of an attractive hospitality, to which the lyrical strain of Goldsmith might be well applied ;—

" Blest be the spot where cheerful guests retire, To pause from toil, and trim their evening fire ; Blest that abode where want and pain repair, And every stranger finds a ready chair."

In vain would be the attempt to estimate how many a weary pilgrim, how many a needy traveller, ministers of the Gospel and missionaries of the Cross, have been greeted with a welcome of the heart beneath his roof; especially in those days when the Western portions of this State were cov- ered with primeval forests, relieved only, here and there, by the rising settlement or thrifty village which opened a new and hopeful field to the spirit of religious enterprise.

Christian Greatness. 227

Mr. Humphrey had now attained the plentitude of his manly faculties. His capacities for civil life had gradually unfolded themselves, had become generally understood, and were constantly called into action by the voice of the community. His course of public service began in the autumn of the year 1819, when he was elected Assistant Alderman for the Fifth Ward. In the year 1820 he was re- elected. In September, 1821, he was re-elected fof the First Ward. In September, 1822, he was elected Alderman for the First Ward. In September, 1823, he was re-elected. In September, 1827, he was re- elected ; again, in the year 1828 ; and again, in 1832. During several of the intervening years he held the office of Supervisor of the ward in which he resided.

In November, 1839, he was elected a Senator for the third senatorial district in this State. He occupied a seat in the Senate during the years 1840 and 1841.

In April, 1843, he was elected Mayor of the city. In April, 1844, he was re-elected. He was again elected in 1849, and held the office until May 1850. This was the last civil office that he filled. During the last thirty-five years he has been a candidate for the suffrages of the people, at least twenty times, and has never but once been defeated.

He never sought office. Whenever he accepted it he did so at the solicitation of others ; and often, (as I have been assured by Judge Harris, who speaks from personal observation,) " when urged to take a nomination he refused to yield his assent." His

228 Christian Greatness.

tastes and habits qualified him to enjoy the walks of private life, the tranquil pleasures of home, the society of his family and children, far more than all the honors that could be gathered from the most ele- vated and conspicuous spheres of public action.

He never engaged in any undertaking to which he was not adequate. Commanding general confidence he was an efficient, because he was a trusted leader. The sterling integrity which he displayed in scenes of commercial business he carried with him into the arena of politics ; and, in that achievement, reared another trophy of true Christian greatness. He was faithful to his convictions of right, of truth, and of duty. He never could be counted upon safely to help forward any scheme of intrigue ; but he could be fully relied upon to occupy his proper post in any emer- gency. Men always knew where to find him. In the store, the counting-room, in the bank, in the council- chamber, in the hall of legislation, in the family, the social circle, in the sanctuary of God, he was the same man. A change of scene or of associations neither wrought nor developed any difference of character. Every where he had the same principles and spirit, the same religion, the same manners. Rather slow of speech, his natural intuitions were quick and penetrating. In all deliberations respect- ing men or measures, he saw directly to the core of things. His perception of great principles was very clear ; his intellectual grasp of them was firm. Wary and cautious in forming his opinions, he could never be enticed or driven to abandon them. He was de- cided in his attachments to the party with which he

Christian Greatness. 229

acted ; yet never sunk the character of the man, the patriot, or the Christian in that of the partizan. Men of conflicting sentiments often united in listen- ing to his counsels, and in acting on his suggestions, because they felt that they thoroughly understood him, that his aims were transparent, and his words without guile. Thus Friend Humphrey " fulfilled his course ;" the noble specimen of a true man, and of a Christian, " the highest style of man."

During the greater part of his life he enjoyed un- interrupted health. His stalwart, well-proportioned frame, his countenance, expressive of serene benig- nity, his gait, manner, and tones of voice, making on every one the impression of a strong, self-possessed, *' a sound mind in a sound body,'' — not only qualified him to exert an influence over men in the ordinary pursuits of life, but also to stand forth at the head of a municipal government as the representative of authority. Hence, in periods of stormy agitation, such as are likely to make their appearance now and then, in the history of every city, when all his phys- ical and moral energies have been aroused into ac- tion, he has been found to be " the man for the times," and by the mere force of character has ex- erted a mighty sway over the popular mind, so as to calm " the noise of the waves, the tumults of the people.'' As a public officer he was ever prompt to meet the demands of his position with a humane, conscientious and courageous spirit. The first se- vere shock which his health received was expe- rienced in the performance of the duties connected with the mayoralty, in that year which was distin-

230 Christian Greatness.

guished by the last visitation of Asiatic cholera. He appeared, however, to have risen superior to its debilitating influence, until within a few months past, when his final sickness commenced. His dis- order* was of a subtle character, slow and sure in its progress, and attended with excruciating pangs.

Toward the close of the last Autumn, when I first began to visit him as his minister, his mind had taken on a mood of gloomy depression, the natural effect of confinement on a man of active habits. From that condition he emerged by the quickening of his religious sensibilities ; and the soul, animated by the faith of Christ, showed that it could triumph over the most powerful assaults of disease and pain.

But no tongue, no pen can describe the scenes of suffering through which he has passed. What weari- some nights were appointed unto him ! For succes- sive weeks he lay not once upon his bed ; but, in the intervals of racking paroxysm, would take some brief repose in his chair, or else standing up, supported on either side by a friendly hand. Several times amidst throes that seemed like those of mortal agony, he expressed to me the fear that he would be bereft of reason ; and while a manly tear started from his eye, he exclaimed, " What if I should be left to rave I What if I should be heard to blas- pheme that holy name by which I have been called 1" It was a terrible presentiment. I said to him on one of those occasions, My dear sir, entertain not such a thought ! God has kept you so far, he will keep

* Enlarged prostate gland.

Christian Greatness. , 231

you unto the end. Remember the past, and trust Him for the future. Take now this promise to your heart : " When thou passest through the fire thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." You see that the prpmise is not that the people of God shall be exempt from passing through the fire, but it is that they shall not be con- sumed. " Aye," said he, " that is it, that is it ; it is the very promise suited to me ; I will trust and not be afraid."

A few nights since, he was standing in a similar condition. Grasping with his hands the back of a sofa which had been turned toward him in order that he might support himself, a strong man holding him up by each arm, he seemed to find a momentary relief in conversation. I was led to observe, Sir, it is painful to us to see you suffer while we can do nothing to assuage your pains. But in all this I have one comfort. In your case it is only the body that suffers. Your soul can bask in the light of God's countenance. You have mental peace, be- cause you have a Saviour. What, if like some that I have seen, you had been left to seek your salvation in your last sickness, and were groping about to find some solid grounds of confidence ? " Yes," he ex- claimed, " thank God for that ! It is ' only the body!' I know in whom I have believed. This chastening, for the present, is grievous, but the fu- ture is bright!"

On the last Tuesday evening, as I entered his chamber, after having been a few hours absent from the city, he saluted me with the exclamation, " Dear

232 Christian Greatness.

sir, I am here yet ! " To this I replied by the in- quiry (containing an allusion to some remarks that he had made on the day preceding), Did you expect to leave this world before we should meet again ? He answered, " Yes ; twenty times last night I thought my hour had come, and, if I may so speak, 1 tried to die. But then, on reflection, it seemed to me to be as wrong to wish to die before God's time as it is to wish to live beyond it. So I checked the wish, and concluded that it is best to be quietly and submissively in God's hands, and wait my appointed time." Friends and hearers, it is natural for us to admire such a sentiment ; it is easy for us to express it while in the possession of health and strength ; but when I heard it uttered by the lips of one who was grappling with the agonies of dissolution, it seemed to me to be the expression of an heroic faith having an aspect of true moral sublimity.

Throughout the whole of Wednesday last he ap- peared to be failing fast, and consciously drawing near the final moment. Comparatively speaking, his sufferings had ceased. He spoke but little. His inability to receive either food or medicine, indi- cated the exhaustion of his powers. Throughout the evening his respirations became shorter, his head gradually sunk upon his breast, until, at last, he ceased to breathe. Yet, the expression of his countenance was such as to lead his physician. Dr. Cogswell, who was standing near him, to say to me in a subdued whisper, but a few minutes before the final expiration, " He knows us all, and hears ai that is said." It was tlie peaceful close of a useful

Christian Greatness. 233

life. The scene was adapted to impress every be- holder with the idea of moral grandeur. For, there he sat in his chair as if calmly waiting for death ; and after death had come, his position would have realized an old Roman's loftiest conception of dignity, while there he sat as one enjoying repose after an arduous contest :

" like a warrior taking his rest,

With his martial cloak around him."

He is gone I And now, as we look in each other^s faces, and repeat that sentence in each other's ears, we sympathize in the sense of painful bereavement. The fact, as yet, scarcely seems real. But yesterday we went in company to his tomb. The unostenta- tious character of the funeral was an expression of the character of the man ; for it was in obedience to his own instructions that there should be only a simple service after the common manner. The general suspension of business and the Sabbath-like silence of the streets indicated an all-pervading grief. I participate largely in the common sorrow ; for memory reverts to those years of my youth when I was accustomed to linger on my visits to his pleasant home, during intervals of release from academic study, and when I began to cherish toward him a feeling akin to the filial ; and I am, too, op- pressed with a sense of disappointment, because the prospect of my residence in this city was lately illu- mined by the anticipation of enjoying his society. But it becomes us all to bow submissively to the announcement of God's sovereign will, and to bless

234 Christian Greatness.

his name for all the good that he hath wrought amongst us, and in the world around us, by the hand of his servant, who hath now gone to his grave as the shock of corn goeth " in its season " to the garner.

CHRISTIANITY AND PAUPERISM.

PSALM XLI. I. BLESSED IS HE WHO CONSIDERETH THE POOR.

The Psalmist describes a character. He would let us know, who it is that may be called a happy man, and asserts that it is the charitable man — he who consider- eth the poor. The selfish man of the world, taking counsel of his own heart, may ask, " How can that be ? Is there any anything attractive in the sight of squalid want, of tattered garments, of bitter tears, and helpless misery ? I can conceive of enjoyment in considering the wonders and glories of creation, the sky, and earth, and sea, in their mild beauty or their stormy grandeur ; in beholding the bloom of Nature, or the charms of art, in surrounding one's self with the innocent delights which wealth may command — the comforts of home and the pleasures of select society ; in breathing the fresh and fragrant air of one's own parlor, where the sweet influences of music, and song, and literature, and friendship, all combine to dispel care, to soften the asperities of life, to smooth the brow, and light up the features with the expression of a chastened hilarity. These are things worth living for, and the anticipation of

236 Christianity and Pauperism.

them nerves me to dare and to endure. And having gained all these, can it be happiness to leave all, even for an hour, to breathe the damp, pent-up air of the garrets and cellars of the poor ; to hear their com- plaints, to share their sorrows, and to diminish one's amount of property for their sake ? No. You may call it a duty, a task — a tax to be paid — a burden to be borne ; but it is contrary to reason and expe- rience to call it a means of happinessJ^ So speaks the mere worldling, both in theory and practice. The " luxury of doing good " he knows not. Of the charity that is " twice blessed — ^blessing him that gives and him that takes " — ^he has no conception. The very phrase seems to be drawn from the ro- mance, not the reality of life. His oracle does not teach it, his maxims do not recognize it. No : the doctrine that it is happiness to consider the poor, that it is " more blessed to give than to receive," is not the language of the world's philosophy, nor a senti- ment inspired by the genius of ambition, nor pro- mulgated from the throne of fashion ; but the teach- ing of that Christianity, whose spirit is the spirit of pure benevolence, and which seeks to touch and move our hearts by the example of him who, though he was rich, for our sakes became poor, that we, through his poverty, might be made rich.

The world's philosophy has no heart. The Epicu- rean said to his disciple, " Take care of your health, avoid excess in order to avoid satiety — be temperate in order to enjoy — surround yourself with all that is agreeable, shun all unpleasant sights and sounds — and thus will you attain the chief end of man." As

Christianity and Pauperism. 237

the oracle spoke, Sensuality took the hint, placed herself among the virtues, and in the name of reason extinguished sympathy for the poor. The Stotic said, " Take things as they come, Fate governs all — what is, cannot be altered, and the wise man cares for nothing. Do you complain of pain ? Believe me, it is no evil. Do you groan under misfortune ? Be a man, and despise it. Do you speak of poverty and privation? A wise man will be as happy in that condition as any other. Do you grieve for the woes of others ? Eschew such sorrows. Why should I pity others, since I should be ashamed to ask or receive pity for myself ? " Thus, to get rid of mis- ery, it crushed sensibility, turned the heart of flesh to stone, and cherished a pride whose tender mercy was cruel.

Paganism had no heart. The natural religious sentiment, perverted into superstition, clothed in the garb of an elegant mythology, leading to the wor- ship of

Gods partial, changeful, passionate, unjust, Whose attributes were rage, revenge, or lust,

did nothing to promote the growth of charity, or meliorate the condition of the poor. It gave man up to vile affections, quickened his lowest propensi- ties, established their dominion, and left him " im- placable and unmerciful." Neither in Greece, or Italy, where it put on its finest form, did it leave any memorial of its beneficence in the shape of a hospital, or a public institution to benefit the 'poor. The nearest approach to aught like this, was a reg-

238 Christianity and Pauperism.

ulation of Trajan, for the education of poor children, which lie first confined to Rome, and then extended to Italy. It was, however, an imperial decree, not a charitable institution ; for the legal interest of money being then twelve per cent., the Emperor lent money at five per cent., and obliged all his debtors to pay the interest into an office established for the purpose. The interest being low, the number of borrowers was large, and the treasury overflowing. But this was an appeal to covetousness, not to ben- evolence, and in keeping with the spirit of a low and selfish system of religion. It remained for Christianity to proclaim to the world the true law of love ; to take this element of goodness, which Ju- daism had confined to a narrow pale, and to make it universal ; and in saying to each and all, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, to show that the angels who had heralded its birth, were true to its spirit of philanthropy, when they sang, Peace on earth and good-will to man.

But in Christianity there is no ultraism. That is, there is in it no tendency to fix the attention on one thing, to the neglect of the relations which it bears to other things. It has no such impress of human imperfection. Its mercy has a definite relation to justice ; its benefactions are suited to condition and character. In seeking to relieve poverty, it does not overlook the cause and cure of poverty. It does not forget that industry is a virtue, that idleness is a shame and sin ; that to give alms to a beggar who is able to help himself, is to award a premium to sloth, to nourish vice, and so to increase the evil

Christianity and Pauperism. 239

which we profess to remedy. Thus it enforces the arrangement of the Author of Nature, who has made exertion essential to comfort. It declares that " drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags f that while the garden of the sluggard is bearing briars, and he folds his hands, " his poverty shall come as one that travaileth, and his want as an armed man ;" that he who dealeth with a slack hand, shall be poor, and with the voice of entreaty, beseeches all to study to be quiet, to do their own business, to work with their own hands, that they may walk honestly, and have lack of nothing ; and then, with the voice of authority, utters its command, saying, " If any man will not work, neither shall he eat." While, therefore, it teaches us to seek out and relieve helpless distress, it forbids us to reverse the law of Nature, which makes want the consequent of sloth, and the pains of hunger the punishment of a wilful and shameless beggary.

Thus we see that the benevolence of Christianity commands the respect of the judgment, as well as the suffrage of the heart ; addresses not only the feeling of compassion, but also the sense of justice and of fitness. A system of charity, in order to gain an effective hold upon the mind of an intelligent com- munity, must have regard to both of these elements. Now, it is quite remarkable, that wherever the teach- ings of the Bible have not furnished a standard of action, where they have been unknown or unstudied, there has been a neglect of one or the other of these features in the mode of treating the poor. The poor have either been despised, or else helped in such a

240 Christianity and Pauperism.

way as to injure them. Poverty has been treated with cruelty, as if it were a deserved disgrace and punishment, or else so relieved as to aggravate it. Alms have either been withheld entirely, or so dis- pensed as to extinguish in the poor all sense of honor or of shame, and to smooth their path, in descending to still lower depths. The sigh of distress has been constantly opening afresh the fountains of feeling in the bosoms of the compassionate, and the abuses of compassion have been steeling the hearts of another class of men against all appeals to pity.

How to give immediate relief to the sufferings of poverty, so as not to increase its ultimate virulence, is a grave and interesting problem. Especially must it be so regarded by a youthful nation like this, who can exclude from our soil the very germs of those evils, which the older nations of the world are la- boring as with convulsive death-throes to extirpate. What deep groans is England heaving at this hour, under the weight of her pauperism I It has been said by Lord Brougham, in his place in the House of Lords, that " the sad system of the poor laws had entailed on the people of the country miseries which were yet unmeasured. They had ruined the property of the country, and brought equal ruin on the char- acter of the laboring classes. They had led these classes into a condition where industry was robbed of its rights, and idleness, vice, and profligacy had usurped those rights ; while property was reduced to a state (not even by a change so beneficial as an agrarian law,) bordering on' destruction. In short, England, under the operation of those poor laws,

Christianity and Pauperism. 241

exhibited at this moment a country, where was peace without plenty, profound outward tranquillity, with constant inward disturbance, and rancor between the two great classes — the laborers and the rich." These truths are as obvious as they are startling.

The American, on arriving in England, is often struck with the fact, that the poor around him, who have emerged to the light of day, have come up from far lower depths of misery and degradation, than any which exists in his native land. And yet in England, the poor rates amount to more than twice the expenses of government in the United States — even to thirty millions of dollars a year ! Besides this, what a vast amount is given by the hand of private charity to the deserving poor, as well as to professed beggars ! Bad as the moral effect of lux- ury may be, it is doubtless far better for society, that the rich should spend their money in the luxuries that create employment, than that by a close econ- omy they should give all their surplus to the poor.

It matters somewhat, but not a great deal, whether the begging poor can calculate on a sum of money furnished by poor laws, or by charitable societies. In the latter case, there is a stronger appeal to grat- itude. But in either case, the sum is placed among their regular expenditures ; the good which it does them is very temporary, while the evil is very great and lasting. How effectually does it paralyze the spirit of self-reliance, the principle of self-respect, and break the inward spring of moral energy and manly virtue ! The more ample and sure these provisions are beyond a certain limit, the more numerous the

242 Christianity and Pauperism.

poor become. The truth of this may be seen illus- trated in some parts of Italy, where, according to the popular doctrine, almsgiving is made so much of as a meritorious means of purchasing Divine re- wards. There, the splendors of the sky, the balmy air, the fertile fields, the miracles of art and genius, often awaken in the traveller's bosom an exquisite pleasure, which ever and anon is marred and dis- sipated by the scenes of human wretchedness around him. At Rome, you might be lingering, on some evening, at sunset, around that most delightful spot, the Pincian Way, admiring the city spread out be- low and beyond you, and the radiance of the western horizon, falling in a rich flood upon the mighty dome of St. Peter's. You might be saying to yourself, " What a paradise is this V^ But scarcely would you have time to become absorbed in the enchanting vision, ere beggary thrusts its deformities in your sight, lifts its piteous moan, and presses its harass- ing supplication. It is a poverty, too, which seems to be more deeply engraven in the countenance, than any which we see here, and to have touched the shrivelled skin, and every nerve and muscle, with a strange power of expressing wretchedness. If any of you have seen West's picture of Christ healing the sick, you have probably noticed with what skill the painter has aimed to show the fact, that in the old world, where poverty is transmitted from gen- eration to generation, most wonderfully a man be- comes a very personification of imbecility and mis- ery. And yet at Eome there are richly-endowed institutions for the poor, twenty-two hospitals, and

Christianity and Pauperism. 243

indeed a patrimony with as large a reyenue as is to be found in any city in Christendom.

If, then, experiments at home, if observation abroad, if the history of the world, prove any thing, it is, that indiscriminate almsgiving inflicts a heavy curse ; that to permit those who can and ought to take care of themselves, to depend on alms at all, is to aggravate calamity. It is to unnerve the inner man, to foster habits adverse to the earthly, spir- itual, and eternal good of the poor, and to bring a mighty mass of " dead weight " upon an active com- munity. Instances have been known in this country and in others, of men, just able to sustain themselves by their labor, under an extraordinary pressure, be- ing invited to partake of some surplus provision for the poor. At first, they have declined, but have at last consented ; and from that hour to the day of their death, their names were never off the poor list. Who, that thinks how widely spread and deeply rooted is pauperism in other lands, is not appalled at the thought of its growing with our growth and streijigthening with our strength, — of its increasing its multitudes here, where each class of society is so intimately united to every other, bound together in one social compact, and one civil destiny 1 The question before us, then is, — what is to be done ? In that, each individual should take an interest. The generic answer to the question is that which the text suggests, to consider the poor. To develop and ap- ply this direction, in a few particulars, will occupy the remainder of this discourse. Let me ask you,

244 Christianity and Pauperism.

then, to proceed with me, while I consider the con- dition of the poor, and the duties thence arising.

The poor, in all countries, may be divided into several classes. I. There are the vicious poor. The chief vices which degrade them, the causes of their poverty, are idleness and intemperance. The action of these is reciprocal. The one produces or fosters the other ; and either may bring all evils in its train. Sloth throws open the flood gates of tempta- tion. It has been well said, " an idle mind is the deviVs workshop!^ and the way in which he works has been described somewhere, by a poetic pen.

Of sloth comes weariness — of that comes drinking : Of drinking comes disease, of disease comes spending ; Of spending comes want — of want comes theft ; Of theft comes what ? — a sad catastrophe — Disgrace without, a hell within, a death unmourned.

Three fourths of the pauperism in this land spring from intemperance, and the evil defies relief, until the cause be removed. Yet in looking at the history of intemperance, let it not be forgotten, that the sin of it among the poor is to some extent to be charged upon the rich. How could the poor be pre- served from the vortex of intemperance, when the rich smoothed the way thither by their example ? Whilst the use of ardent spirits was fashionable and honorable — when the invitation to partake of it was deemed the appropriate expression of hospitality — when it was taken at all seasons and on all occasions • — in winter to guard against cold, and in summer to guard against heat ; to nerve the body amidst the

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lassitude of labor, and to exhilarate the heart when the spirits were depressecf, how could the poor, who had tenfold more need of such a panacea than the rich, be expected to resist the influence of public opinion and practice ? Oh no ; when now you see the poor victim of intemperance, clad in rags, or shivering with cold, cut him not loose at once from your sympathies, as being the sole and guilty author of his woes, but remember, that he may have been borne onward to his ruin upon the tide of influence which has come down from the high places of the land, and which, though smooth and gentle in its flow, terminates in a dark unfathomed gulf of help- less misery.

After all that you have read and heard and thought upon this subject, it is not needful that I should now speak to you of the evils of intemperance, of the na- ture and power of alcohol, its effects upon the body and mind of man, of the burning thirst which every drop creates for more, of the inflamed blood, the quickened pulse, the fevered brain, the weakened muscle, the unnerved system, which it induces ; the callous conscience, the hardened heart, the blunted reason, the distorted judgment, the withered sympa- thies, the cold chills of a depressed spirit, or the un- earthly gleams of a frantic joy, which mark its pres- ence ; of the squandered wealth, the blasted reputa- tion, the domestic woes, the sighs of the mother, the tears of the wife, the maddening terrors of the child to which it gives rise ; of the rampant passions, and fiend-like purposes, and horrid crimes which it causes ; of the constant and increasing taxation of

246 Christianity and Pauperism.

health and wealth, and blood and souls, which this insatiate monster levies -upon the community in which he is permitted to stalk abroad.

But I will say, that it is in vain for us to deplore the evil of pauperism, and worse than in vain to give money to mitigate it, unless we do what we can to dry up the springs of intemperance. In order to do this, it becomes us to summon every element of law- ful power at our command. And truly, while ming- ling our griefs with those of many thousand helpless mourners, whose abodes this vice has made desolate, and while contributing from our purses to their relief, it is a hard thing to be told that legislation can do nothing for us. Is it not hard, that while you are taxed for the support of the poor slaves of intemperance in our asylums, I should be constrain- ed to ask you to come to our aid in saving from pinching cold and from starvation those more than widowed wives, those more than orphan children who are thus wantonly deprived of their natural protectors ? Yet this is a part of my mission as a Christian minister, and the philosophy of a free gov- ernment which prevails around us, tells you in effect, that no law can provide an antidote for such an evil, because, however largely it may swell its catalogue of woes, the right of individuals to inflict them can not be questioned, or at least not invaded. Never- theless, take courage ! The recent reform in Ire- land, achieved without the aid of legislation, is full of incitements to us to move on unweariedly in this great work. Marvellous as is the change wrought there, I doubt not that it will be lasting ; for when

Christianity and Pauperism. 247

the poor man comes to find on Saturday night, that he has more abundant comforts than he was wont in his cabin, a cheerful fire on his hearth, a happy fam- ily, and money to spare in his pocket, his eyes will be opened to the charms, and his heart enraptured by the blessings of temperance.

But then, secondly, there are the helpless pooVy whose poverty is the effect of natural causes, which include whatever takes from them the ability to la- bor. The blind, the lame, the maimed, the aged, orphan children, and such as are burdened with the support of others in a like condition, come within this class. Hard is their lot. To them life has but few attractions. They know nothing of its luxuries, but little of its comforts, and to them earth is, in every sense, " a vale of tears,^^ except that, by means of the religion which their faith embraces, Heaven pours its own light around their dark abode, and shows them, that from the gloomy pathway in which they walk, they will emerge into those realms of light and peace, where none shall say, " I am sick,'' and where the tears shall be wiped from off all faces. With some such I am acquainted, and am much their debtor. I have learned much from them. I have learned lessons of contentment, more deeply learned them, than I could have done by any eloquence of words. I have learned the simplicity, the beauty, the power, of a vital faith in Christ ; its fitness to meet man's cravings amidst his darkest hours and deepest wants ; and if there be any here who desire to advance in Christian virtue and practical wisdom, I commend such cases to your regard, that you may

248 Christianity and Pauperism.

know the full meaning of the text, " Blessed is the man that considereth the poor.''

Let no one deem this the mere language of ro- mance. There are those whose designation in the " record on high," is, the poor of my people. In the midst of their deep poverty, they are rich in the fruits of faith. How often have I thought of this, when accustomed to visit the chamber of one who had been confined to her bed for a long series of years. Emaciated, helpless, dependent to a great degree on the hand of charity, her features were usually lighted up with the expression of a heavenly peace of spirit. To the child of pleasure and of fashion, her abode might seem a gloomy place ; to her, it was •" the gate of heaven." " It is true," she would say, " my path seems dark and rough, but I am led by a kind Father's hand. I know that all things shall work together for good to them that love Him. His way is in the deep ; the dispensa- tions of his Providence are mysterious ; but then,

" God is his own interpreter, And he will make it plain."

And truly, I ask, is it not plain to us all, that in such an instance of meek and suffering piety as this, God speaks to all who witness it, to teach ns how little the world can do to make us really happy, and of what transcendent worth are " the riches of his grace." Thus, too, would he quicken our Christian sympathies into lively exercise, by leading us to a tender treatment of those whom, by his own severe discipline, he is preparing for the skies. For, doubt-

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less, he often sees it to be best to blight our fairest worldly prospects, to draw our hearts to heaven. He mars our " pleasant pictures," in order to save our souls. Just as it was when a celebrated artist stood on a lofty scaffold, endeavoring, by the touches of his magic pencil, to realize the ideas of beauty which were glowing in his mind. All absorbed in his tasteful employment, he was moving quickly backward to the edge of the precipice, to catch a new glimpse of the enchanting object, when in an in- stant a friendly hand seized a sponge, dashed it upon the picture, and by spoiling its beauty, saved his life. So God deals with men. The bereaving stroke is often a proof of his love ; and while he regards the sufferer with a friendly eye, has that sufferer no claim on our regard, sympathy and care ? Most eminently shall it be found true, in such a case, " he that giveth unto the poor, lendeth unto the Lord."

There is a third class, who may be called the temporarily poor, whose want arises from transient and accidental causes, — as misfortune in business, unproductive seasons, excessive cold, or lack of employment. They are those whose productive in- dustry is barely sufficient to meet their daily exi- gencies, and of course the moment their ability to work ceases, the pressure of want commences. Their case demands special and prompt attention, and peculiar care should be taken in dispensing aid, to do it in such a way as not to diminish their self- respect, nor to paralyze the spirit of independence which has lived in their bosoms as a spring of activity. It should prgye itgelf to be the offgpri^g

250 Christianity and Pauperism.

of a fraternal and manly sympathy, seeking to relieve a misfortune to which all are liable ; and this, in- stead of weakening, would quicken that generous ambition to do well, which leads one to look on " the bright side of things," and to make the most of small advantages.

In order to perform well the duties which we owe to this class, it becomes us to cherish a profound respect for man as man, a rational being and a creature of God, capable of being raised from the lowest depths of degradation to the highest walks of virtue, honor, and happiness. This, will give power to our benevolence. It will beam forth from our features, it will animate our manners, it will modify our tones of voice, and will enable us to utter those " winged words,'' which will find their way to the hearts of the poor. The spirit appro- priate to this service was once beautifully expressed by Boudon, an eminent French surgeon, who was called to perform an important operation on Cardi- nal du Bois, the Prime Minister of France. As he entered the room, the Cardinal said to him, " You must not expect to handle me so roughly as you do those miserable wretches at your hospitals." The surgeon replied with dignity, " My lord, each one of those whom you are pleased to call miserable wretches, is a Prime Minister in my eyes !"

A fourth class consists of the regular working poor, whose labor is not sufficient to supply their wants. Their employment is variable ; they are dependent on uncertain jobs ; they live " from hand to mouth.'' The family, perhaps, is quite large, having in it a

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number dependent on the rest — some either very old, or verj young, or quite infirm. Bound together by the ties of family relationship, they often exhibit in a touching manner the domestic virtues, — meek- ness, tenderness, patience ; and, on the other hand, frequently show an utter destitution of all the quali- ties which make a happy home. These dwell on the borders of beggary. Hard pressed with care, they are beset with temptations to cross that boundary, and take up begging as a trade. Still, for them, that would be a sad descent, both as to happiness and character. This class is very large, and makes a demand for the largest share of Christian con- sideration. There is continual danger, lest being sick at heart, with anxiety, disappointment, and neglect, they give themselves up doggedly to their fate, and cease to put forth that energy, which they possess for their own support. What these chiefly need, is the influence of personal friendship — a friend- ship which shall make them feel that they are thought of, cared for, respected ; and which will thence lead them to cherish self-respect. There is probably no one here who is not capable of being a friend, to act such a part for such a family. It would not cost much time or much money, and would often do more good than money. You may be forced to say, some- times, " silver and gold have I none ;" but if in the spirit of a friend to the poor, you add, " such as I have, give I thee,'' you may accomplish what would seem almost miraculous to the eyes of others, — in a sense, causing the lame to rise up and walk, thanking for, and praising God.

252 Christianity and Pauperism.

The class of the laboring poor of which I speak, are those who have hard work in buffeting the cur- rents of adversity ; and sometimes, as they look around, and feel themselves forgotten, they get dis- couraged, are tempted to give up exertion, and let themselves sink ; but the touch of a friendly hand, and the cheering of a friendly voice, will put new life into them, — will keep them head and breast above water, and perhaps incite them to struggle on, until they can place their feet on solid ground.

Another thing which this class of the poor justly claim of us, is liberality in our dealings with them. They ought not to be left to feel that the rich are their oppressors, who begrudge them the common blessings of Providence, and would wish them to wear a suppliant, cringing air, as if " begging pardon of all flesh for being in the world." This all acknow- ledge to be true ; and yet I might tell you of cases, like the one which I am about to mention, to illus- trate the principle. On a cold afternoon, a poor man saw a load of coal laid before the door of a wealthy merchant. By some mistake, no one had gone from the coal-wharf to throw it in. The passer-by requested the job. He was a father, having a sick wife, and several children dependent on him. He proposed to do the work for a reason- able sum, — ^not more than enough to buy a supper for his family. " That is too much, by half," said the merchant. The poor man began to plead his necessities. His manner proved his anxiety to obtain what he sought. This made the merchant sure of carrying his po'nt, and he added, " You

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may take it, if you choose, for half what you ask ; if not, leave it," — and turning his back, shut the door. That was a bitter moment to the laborer. In his bosom opposing feelings were struggling for the mastery. At first, he could not brook the thought of taking work on such terms. But tlien he remembered his cheerless home, his helpless wife, and hungry children ; a tear coursed down his manly cheek, and seizing his shovel, achieved the job for nearly half of what he knew it to be worth.

Was that treatment right ? No : it was grinding the face of the poor, and incurring that curse, which the Most High uttered, when he said, " He that giveth to the poor shall not lack, but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse ;" " he that oppress- eth the poor reproacheth his Maker, but he that honoreth God, hath mercy on the poor.''

Within a three minutes' walk from my dwelling, there lives a widow, who strives to support herself by daily labor. She is employed in making shirts, for each of which she receives seven cents. She is able to make seven of these articles in five days, and of course can earn but little over nine cents a day. Her whole time is employed, her whole strength is tasked, to gain such a paltry pittance. An artful beggar could get more, and without strong virtuous feelings, such persons must yield to the temptation to become beggars. Surely, it is dan- gerous to cherish a state of things in which any portion of the community are forced to feel that they may starve by industry, and thrive by beggary.

In dealing with the active poor, we should show

254 Christianity and Pauperism.

a respect for industry, and endeavor to foster and reward it, whether it be in the case of a man who gains his living by his muscular strength, or a female who toils with her needle. For a people to cherish a right tone of feeling on this point, is better than to spend large fortunes in donations ; for by the former, we make the most of what power they have to help themselves, cherish their moral strength and active virtue ; by the latter, we do much to destroy all self-reliance, all generous aspirations.

Rousseau, talking in the spirit of a chimerical philosophy, thought that an equal division of pro- perty in a community would make all honest and peaceable, as it would remove all temptation to envy, theft, or violence. As well might he have said, that an equal distribution of books would make all men literary, or that an equal distribution of cold water would make all men temperate. No : evils which take their rise from the darkness of the mind, or the disorder of the moral feelings, cannot be removed by such specifics, or any change in the outward condition. The great thing to be done, is, to inculcate right principles, to call forth right affec- tions, and to form right habits, which are " the ele- ments of character, and the masters of action."

Having respect to these points, it only remains that we adopt some plan, by which, in the dispensa- tion of our charities to the needy, we may guard ourselves against the danger of encouraging idleness or imposture. To this subject, the attention of the Howard Benevolent Society of Boston has been steadfastly directed. On this account, they have

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clieerfully cooperated with the " Society for the Prevention of Pauperism," which was formed in that city a few years ago. This Society, acting on the principle that prevention is better than a remedy, have aimed at crushing the very germs of pauperism. To do this, its first measure has been, to procure employment for the suJBfering poor, who were able and willing to work. During a single year, seven- teen hundred and six persons were provided with suitable places, through its agency. What a large proportion of these have probably been saved to themselves and to society ! Its next object is, to prevent the necessity of street begging. To accom- plish .this, it provides, by its arrangements, for dis- pensing aid to those only who will not abuse it. It sustains an agent, who is constantly devoted to its service, and who may be found at his office every day, from nine to one o'clock, and who spends his afternoons in visiting those who need his personal attention ; ascertaining thus their character and condition, and the extent to which aid is desirable. Lest any should feel constrained, from the claims of humanity, to give at hazard to strangers at their doors, the Society furnishes tickets, at six cents each, with which it invites the benevolent to provide themselves ; and then, instead of giving money to an unknown applicant, to present him with one or more of these tickets, and direct him to the office, where his wants will be investigated, and proper relief afforded. If this plan should be universally adopted, it will form an effective check to a porten- tous and growing evil.

256 Christianity and Pauperism.

At the office of this central agency of which I speak, delegates from this and other benevolent associations of the city meet monthly, and review their doings, in order that the visitors of the poor may have fully before them the condition of all who have been the subjects of charity. In this way, they are enabled very soon to detect any impostor. From such a position, they may command a full view of the whole rugged landscape of pauperism, and con- cert the best measures to make its " crooked paths straight, its rough places plain," and to throw over it a softened aspect of productive industryj peace, and happiness.

Certainly no one, who considers for a mjoment how easily a large city may become the haunt of shameless mendicants, and that the very renown of its benevolence, the number of its charitable institu- tions, will attract hordes of such to its streets and recesses, can fail to see the necessity of some system, adapted to counteract so dreadful a tendency. To do this, a beginning has been made, and we call upon all that are near and around us, as men, citi- zens, and Christians, to cooperate in this work. Already the sons of New England, as they have viewed the multitudes of wretched beings who throng the capitals of Europe, and beset the traveller at every step of his way, have felt their hearts throb with grateful emotion, on being able to say, " the moans of beggary are rarely heard in Boston." Let us arise, and grapple with this evil in good earnest ; not merely that we may rejoice in so noble a distinction, but also that we may provoke others

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to a like labor of love, — to a service so pleasing to God, so auspicious to man.

Let it be the aim of all of us who profess to be Christians, to pass this part of our probation well ; to feel, in the retrospect of life, that we have so discharged our duties to the unfortunate around us, as to have become benefactors to them, and to our common country ; to be able to say, without invok- ing a curse on ourselves, in the language of the stricken Patriarch, " If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless have not partaken thereof ; if I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering ; if his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep ; if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate : then let mine arm fall from my shoulder-blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone." Oh ! may it be ours to share in the dignity of thousands of the poor, when they shall have exchanged their feeble, sickly frames for bodies refined, spiritual, and glorious ; their tattered garments for white robes ; their mis- erable hovels for mansions in the skies ; their deg- radation for immortal honor ; their tears for smiles ; their groans for hymns of praise. Then, may it be ours, to circle with them the same throne, to unite with them in worship, to sympathize in their grati- tude, and to bear a part in their immortal songs.

CHRISTIANITY AND LIBERALGIVING.

In the present age, amongst the American Church- es, there is no deficiency more obvious than that which relates to systematic and reliable contribution for the purposes of Christian benevolence. It may be safely said that there has been no period of our religious history when fields so wide and " white to the harvest," were thrown open to us ; no period when to us, as a people, the voices of benighted mil- lions cried so imploringly for the gospel of salvation. Burmah, Siam, Hindostan, and China call to us ; tribes of the Asiatic mountains, living in compar- ative seclusion, the forlorn and melancholy children of our own continent, and the struggling churches of continental Europe, " persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed," appeal to us for help. Multitudes of those who in other times have gone to their graves professing and believing the principles in which we glory, who suffered bitter oppression throughout their course of life for conscience sake, who were driven by the blasts of persecution over stormy seas, faithful men and women in whose breasts the true martyr-spirit glowed as a quenchless fire, longed to see this day, in which the churches of a " common faith," living in a land of freedom, not

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only enjoy their own riglits and privileges without stint or fear, but behold on every side " an open door," a widening field, with liberty to labor as far as " in them lieth" for the cause of Christ, Truth, and Humanity. Truly, " many righteous men have desired to see those things which we see, and have not seen them ;" but, although the blessings that were denied to them have been lavished on us, how little do we achieve in view of what " the signs of the times," and the wants of the world demand I How few are the laborers ! The thinkers, the plan- ners, the minds of projective forecast, equal to the emergency, the reliable and constant contributors according to their ability — how few in comparison with the numbers that our statistical reports exhibit ! How astounding, how humbling is the truth, that if each of our communicants in the United States were accustomed to give regularly but one cent a week, the aggregate amount would be thrice as great as that which our present plan of operations for evan- gelizing the world would consume ! Surely, amidst all the gratifying proofs of progress that we may show, there is scope for great improvement in regard to the grace of liberal-giving ; so that the Apostle of the Gentiles might say to us as fitly as he did to the ancient Corinthians, " Therefore as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and all diligence see that ye abound in this grace also."

With the desire of doing something to awaken more general and earnest thought in this line of di- rection, we solicit your attention, Friends and Read-

2 GO Christianity and Liberal-giving.

ers, to some suggestions called forth by tlie two-fold aspect which this subject presents. They relate di- rectly—

I. To several defects pertaining to the common modes of benevolent contribution : —

II. To the grounds of our belief that there may be found " a more excellent way.''

First of all then, we observe that one deficiency in the benevolence of our times is this : it moves too much by fitful impulses rather than by the forecast of intelligence and the guidance of Christian prin- ciple. There is too much of the power of set occa- sion, of art, and of eloquent appeal requisite to incite us to do what is easily practicable, and what the hand of God's providence beckons us to attempt. This kind of power is but little needed where intel- ligence and sound principle exert their proper sway. Who ever thinks of using the arts of argument and persuasion to induce an affectionate parent to clothe his children, or to provide for his household ? But from the cause of Christ, which enfolds all the inter- ests of humanity within itself, Christians can with- hold their needed gifts without pain, without a self- reproving thought. And when they give, too often is the donation thrown into the treasury by a fitful impulse of generosity like that with which the un- thinking sailor, when flush in funds, flings what he may have in his pocket at the feet of the first ap- plicant, without thoughtful regard to the merits of the case, or the wants of others. This play of feel- ing in the human bosom is amiable, but it is, never- theless, a weakness ; it is ineffective of real good, on

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the whole, because it needs to be directed by the forecast of heartfelt benevolence. These wayward impulses of our comraon humanity must needs be brought under the discipline of that vital Chris- tianity, which, dwelling in the soul as a directing power, renders it wise to do good, causes its " love to abound more and more in knowledge and in all judgment," and thus, imparting an aptness to " gather up the fragments that nothing be lost," makes everything both small and great, subordinate to the comprehensive aims of our Master's servioe.

2. Another deficiency in the benevolence of our times is found in the disproportion of what is given, on the whole, to the ability of the giver. When an object of benevolence is brought into view, it is too often the case that the contributor debates within himself as a main question — " how much do people expect from me V^ What sum will suffice to let me off respectably ? Or, he asks, perhaps, how much his neighbor, whose judgment he respects, will con- tribute to this object. Now, this may, indeed, be all well enough when the particular object is but of small importance, when it is strange or novel, or when its relative claims remain doubtful. But our remarks have no special bearing on that class of cases ; they relate to those grand operations of be- nevolence which are well understood, which are ac- knowledged to be of tried and enduring worth, and which open ample scope to the spirit of enterprise. These great objects which embrace as their one aim the evangelization of the world, embody and express in palpable form the cause of Christ amongst men ;

2G2 Christianity and Liberal-giving.

and when they come to us, it is He that speaks ; He calls upon us as his stewards for the payment of what we owe to Him ; and then it becomes us as hia servants to appeal with all sincerity to Him who knows all our substance, our relations, and our du- ties in the inquiry, " Lord what wilt thou have me to do ? '' In these cases, we may be assured, He appeals to us as really by his Providence as He ap- pealed to Philip by his living voice when, in view of the famishing multitudes around them, He asked, " Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?" " This he said to prove him ;" the question was de- signed for the trial of the disciple's heart.

8. Another deficiency in the benevolence of the times is this : that even in the regular efforts of churches that may be supposed to contribute from the influence of sound principle, there is so rarely seen any system of action embracing within its scope the rich and the poor, the young and the old, so as to develop in a healthful manner the affections and energies of all. In the promotion of any great en- terprise, whether it be civil, military, or commercial, requiring, from year to year the employment of men and money, a well-concerted system of action is essen- tial to success. It is equally so within the sphere of religion. Yet, in regard to this truth there has been a great want of clear and definite conviction ; and many well-meaning persons have cherished too cor- dially the sentiment expressed by one who said, *' What I give, I give by myself, and not in connec- tion with others ; I give when I please, as I please, and let not my left hand " know what my right hand

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doetli." Altliough lie was a good man who said this, and although he quoted scripture to support his position, he was unaware how far from the mark his quotation fell. For, that precept on secret giving, from the sermon on the Mount, relates only to alms bestowed on the poor, which, from regard to the feeling proper to both parties, the giver and the re- ceiver, ought to be private ; but in bestowing these, the Pharisees, whom Christ was censuring, made a conspicuous and vaunting show. Great public en- terprises, however, requiring a combination of agen- cies by the union of many minds, hearts, and hands, must be promoted by concerted efforts and in a sys- tematic manner, or they can never be effectually achieved. Thus we see that the constructive mind of Paul placed within the scope of one plan of be- nevolent action all the churches of Macedonia and Achaia, held up the example of those who were more forward to animate those who were tard}^ and urged them all forward in a noble career of benevolence which, the lights of history furnish reason to believe, commanded the respect and admiration of the world. The historical pen of Gibbon, though employed against Christianity, has made the benevolent doings of the primitive Christians to loom up in a form of moral grandeur, when it places their ample liberality among the leading causes of the world-wide triumphs of their faith.

II. Having thus considered several defects in the prevailing modes of benevolent action, it may be well now to inquire whether the Scriptures furnish any intimations of a better way.

261 Christianity and Liberal-giving.

In Paul's first epistle to the Corinthian Church, we find the following direction touching pecuniary contribution : — (1 Cor. xvi. 2.) — '' Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him, that there may be no gatherings when I come." The Apostle mentions that he had given the same order to the churches of Galatia, a province distant from Corinth in the Eastern part of Asia Minor. We see, therefore, that the method spoken of was not of merely local origin, or of very limited application. At that time there was a great emergency to be met amongst the churches of Judea, on account of the prevailing dis- tress. Paul desired Corinth to do her share of ser- vice systematically, to do it from principle and in a quiet manner, so that he should not be disturbed in the process of his work by an extraordinary effort to raise a large amount of money after his arrival. Now, if that church had been affected by the impul- sive spirit of our age, and by our modern notions of managing such matters, involving periodical collec- tions during the visits and appeals of special agents, they might not have been disposed to welcome this suggestion. They might have been heard, perhaps, deliberating amongst themselves somewhat to this intent : " Is it expedient now to promote the work of contribution ? By no means. After Paul's ar- rival, surely, will be the very time to carry forward our collections with success ; for, his presence, his eloquence, and his apostolic authority will have a great effect. Then we shall be all excited ; the people will be glad to see him, and then it will be

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easy to open their purses and accomplish the whole work at once. Men are never so ready to give freely as when they are gratified ; and, when Paul comes to preach to us, we shall all be highly delighted, and shall be just in the mood for doing generously." Such a conclusion would, doubtless, have made a fit preamble to a " resolution," asserting the wisdom and expediency of deferring the collections until af- ter Paul's arrival in Corinth. But is it probable think you, that the apostle would have been pleased with such compliments on his eloquence and his power of moving men? Far from it. He would have said again to them, " I spake by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love ; for it was expedient for you who have begun before, not only to do, but to have been for- ward a year ago."

This direction of Paul to the primitive churches involves several important principles.

(1.) It implies that Christian benevolence should be conducted according to a system, and not be left to the drift of accident, or the excitement of special occasions.

(2.) That in every Christian church, such a sys- tem should be comprehensive and pervasive — " Let every one of you lay by him in store." Let the rich and the poor meet together at the altar of Christ with their offerings of grateful love.

(3.) That the designation should be made at stated times — frequently — as often as once a week. On the first day of the week, when we shall have paused in our career of worldly occupation, while we hail

26G Christianity and Liber al-oiving.

with joy the light of the resurrection -day, and cel- ebrate the mighty work of man's redemption, then are we called upon to lay a tax upon our worldly income or expenditure, in order that we may present an acceptable offering unto the Lord.

(4.) This weekly calculation of the amount of our religious contributions, should lead us to give to an extent commensurate with our power of giving ; that is, our power of giving estimated by a liberal heart, with reference to all the claims made upon our resources, and the relative worth of the objects before us. The Scriptural rule is, " Each according to his ability,'' " as God hath prospered him ;" " ac- cording to the ability that God giveth." This regu- lar mental exercise, and this practical expression of our gratitude, are Heaven's appointed means for the education of our minds and hearts, and thus, of our preparation for a still nobler sphere of service in a future state of being.

Here we have developed to our view the apostolic plan of benevolent effort, simple, equal, reasonable, efficient ; requiring no ingenious appliances to sus- tain it in any community, but only that degree of love to Christ and his cause which will quicken into life om- grateful remembrance of him, as often as once a week. If we have real love to him, whether our resources, as individuals or as churches, be large or small, increased by prosperity or stinted by adver- sity, that system would be found adequate and self- sustaining. 0, how much better are God's ways than man's ; the hints of Scripture, than the volumes of man's wisdom 1 The primitive Christians believed

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tins ; hence, how united and how persevering, how quiet and how effective they became ! Their plan of agency was far-reaching, yet noiseless as the morning dew, which moistens the arid clod, or as the solar heat, which releases the earth from the hoar frost, causes it " to blossom and bud, and fills the face of the world with fruit."

When Paul requested of the Corinthians that there might be no gatherings in aid of his own special mission to Judea, after his arrival, we can easily believe that his feelings would have been disturbed by a great show of money-getting. He desired that there might be nothing of this con- nected with his visit. It was ever his chief aim to inculcate principles of action, and, by his appeals, to open the fountains of charity in every Christian heart, so that the perennial stream might flow forth constantly to pour its golden contribution into the treasury of the Lord, and thence over the parched wastes of desolated humanity, to make those wastes to bloom afresh, and turn the wilderness into an Eden.

Observe, too, how the Apostle hallows the work of contribution as being in harmony with the design of the Lord's day, and with scenes of worship. This is worthy of notice ; for, sometimes the complaint has been heard that the jingling of money in the sanctuary, interferes with the spirit of devotion. Aye, doubtless it does so when weekly collections are thus made for purposes somewhat secular, for the current expenses of a congregation, for the sala- ries of a minister or a sexton, for fuel, for oil, or for

2G8 Christianity and Liberal-giving.

gas, or for repairs of the house ; when what are called " penny collections '' are gathered from pew to pew as a matter of custom or dull routine, with- out any grand and noble object of action being pro- posed to interest the mind, to arouse the conscience, or move the heart's best affections. This sort of Sunday-collection has done much to bring the whole subject of contribution into dishonor. Calling upon us to give, without thought or care, what we may happen to have with us, for we know not what, or for objects of little moment, or for secular matters, that might be provided for in another way, the prac- tice reacts, unhappily, on the moral feelings, and petrifies the spring of generous sentiment. But where each returning Lord's day makes its appeal in the name of Him who consecrated it as a day of sacred celebration by a mighty triumph of redeem- ing love, calling upon us for a thank offering unto him, to be laid on his altar, for his use, to promote the extension of his kingdom on the earth ; in this, surely, there is something that stirs the finest sensi- bilities of the soul, educates our habits of thought into harmony with the true aim of life, renders our spontaneous gifts acts of worship, elicits no feeling that chills the spirit of devotion, no sound that jars against its chimes.

This apostolic plan of benevolence is worthy of Christianity. It accomplishes much, and is distin- guished by its simplicity. Is it not for the want of just this simplicity that the liberality of many churches falls so far short of its proper standard ? Do we not depend too much on occasional public

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efforts, on the tact and skill of of&cial agents, on the excitement of special objects, to accomplish six or seven times a year, what ought to be the work of every week ? If the true idea of a church, as to its practical character, be that of a congregation of faithful persons, united under the law of Christ to do his will, then, ought not every man, every woman, every child amongst us to be a pledged contributor, of course, whether the name of the individual be subscribed to a preamble touching this or that par- ticular object, or not ? If the well-known, cardinal enterprises of benevolence represent Christ's cause on earth, then, should we not take them all within the scope of our regard, from the distant missionary who preaches Christ in the jungles and cities of Asia, or on the torrid sands of Africa, to the modest tract distributor, who threads the secluded alleys or the winding, creaking stair-cases of poverty and want, in hut or hovel, to shed a ray of moral sun- shine athwart the gloom of our own neighborhood ? And, if so, should it not be the study of all of us to ascertain how far we can promote them ?

Bear with us, then, while we add one or two prac- tical remarks, in relation to the whole subject.

1. Since liberal giving for the spread of the Gos- pel is the proper, the serious, the life-long business of the whole church, let us all resolve to share the labors of sustaining an efficient system of benevo- lence. A proper system is one which permits and invites all to do something, in proportion to their means of doing. It is not one which comes now and then with fervid appeals to the wealthy— by

270 Christianity and Liberal-giying.

implication undervaluing small gifts — aiming, by- spasmodic efforts, to push forward a subscription to the highest possible amount. Such an effort may be needful, once in a while, for an enterprise which makes its appeal but once in a life-time, which, w^hen once done is done forever, like the building of a Bible house or a university, which stands outside of the established circle of objects that represent the cause of human evangelization, and which, perhaps, is to be commended to the special care of those who can contribute by thousands or hundreds, or fifties. But a church-system of benevolence should be ad- justed so as permanently to reach, move, and in- terest all alike ; the old and the young, the strong and the weak. The youngest and the weakest may do something. Is any one of this class disposed to ask, " What can I do ?'' You may lay by every week some amount ; however small, you may bring it as a Sabbath-offering, a tribute of love to the Lord's treasury ; by word or example you may awaken in the minds of others, brothers, sisters or friends, an interest in the same good work, and thus you may form a habit of action in youth, which will be a germ of luxuriant fruitage in years to come. All may do something ; and the Head of the Church expects all to do what they can in this service. This business of a Christian church is the most noble that mortals can undertake. In the eyes of angels, the largest mercantile transactions at the Royal Ex- change, the Parisian Bourse, or the counting-rooms of New York, are of no great importance, compared with this. Art, science, trade, all forms of industry

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are invested with moral dignity, just so far as they are made subservient to the glorious aims of our Lord's commission, which bids us to gain the empire of the world for him.

2. The true secret of successful adaptation in a church-system of benevolence lies in providing for the reception of regular contributions, on the part of all, spontaneously and frequently. For the great mass of contributors, in every community, can give small sums frequently, better than large sums occa- sionally. Many a warm-hearted man or woman, artisan or laborer, in one or another department of busy life, will have at the end of the week a surplus of half a dollar, which can be well spared for the purposes of benevolence ; but if there be no call for its contribution, this person will not be apt to have double that amount of surplus at the end of the second week ; still less likely to have treble that amount of surplus at the end of the third week — and so on indefinitely. Then, when the periodical appeal is made for large subscriptions, the most of this whole aggregate is lost. And thus, too, multitudes, gifted with elements of power, grow up, live and die within the precincts of the church, without the least feeling of responsibility touching the blessed work that Christ has committed to his people, and without any fit means of developing their sentiments and emotions, into habits of manly and effective action. In this respect ** the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light," for the Eomish church, (so-called,) which is composed of nations, and rules empires, is really pushing for-

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ward her ambitious projects in our land by means of revenues drawn from the regular contributions of laboring families.

And, last of all, though this consideration be not the least of all, this lively, pervasive and increasing interest of the whole church in a common work, is quite essential to its spiritual welfare ; to its com- pactness, strength, and efficiency. Very widely throughout the churches of our land, it is a common sentiment that the chief business of a church, in what are called meetings for business, consists in receiving, discipling, dismissing, or excluding mem- bers. If nothing of this kind is to be done, the church has no business to engross its thoughts. And thus the mighty work of spreading, the tri- umphs of the truth throughout a hostile world, is well-nigh overlooked ; it does not actually attract the members of the church together in earnest delib- eration ; it does not task their highest talents ; it awakens no forethought ; it kindles no sympathy, and therefore fails to unite them by those bonds of love which are always created by the spirit of lofty and holy enterprise. " For this cause many are sickly among them, and many sleep.'' This is not "after the manner of God.'' The first Christian church which this world ever saw, composed of Gentile converts, was at Antioch, in Syria. The first fact recorded in its history, after its peaceful establishment, is that of its coming together for the purpose of sending forth missionaries to the sur- rounding heathen countries. The second fact, is that of its coming together to receive a report of

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what those missionaries had been doing. Trulj, that wa.-^ a body " fitly joined together." The mem- bers of that church were united by one noble aim ; they loved each other for their works' sake, and the voice of joy was in their tabernacle.

Christian Friends, may we not imitate them ? Do we not profess the same religion ? Have we not tlie same master ? Does not the same work still lie before us ? If we tread in their footsteps, and carry forward what they begun with a kindred spirit, may we not expect the blessing of Heaven in larger mea- sure than we have ever yet received it so that the world itself shall be constrained to renew the song of the ancient prophet, even though, like him, it may be loath to utter it — " Surely there is no enchant- ment against Jacob, there is no divination against Israel ; according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought I"

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PHILLIPIANS, III. 16.

Neverlh ' ss, wl »»reto v e have already attained, let us walk by the sf .me rale, let us mind the same thing.

A REMARKABLE feature of the mind of Paul was its enlargedness — a habit of taking wide, noble and benevolent views of men and things in the light of religion. There was in him a wonderful combina- tion of unyielding strictness in regard to the essen- tial elements of Christianity, and of comprehensive liberality in regard to all that was not of vital importance. This was the more wonderful, con- sidering his early character. In the Jewish school, he had been educated to narrowness. He was a Pharisee of the straitest sect ; in his code of morals, charity was no virtue, and he was even ready to hurl his anathemas against those who slighted the ceremonies which had no better basis than tradition. It is so natural for men in their changes of opinion, to rush from one extreme to its opposite, that it might at first have been justly supposed, that as Paul had been a bigoted Jew, he would have made

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a bigoted Christian. And so indeed he would, had the change been chiefly such as many think ; a mere change of creed, a belief in a new theological sys- tem. But in his case, it was a new spiritual crea- tion, which occurs in the case of every man who is " in Christ." The power which enlightened his mind, enlarged his heart ; the Christianity which he received was a religion of love ; its faith wrought by love, and the end of its commandment, was charity out of a pure heart and faith unfeigned.

An illustration of this trait of his character is found in the precept of the text. At the time in which he wrote, Christianity had been widely spread, and embraced within its pale men of diverse habits and opposing opinions. The Jew was still inclined to Judaize, to bring into the church a ritual as punc- tilious as that which marked the old economy ; and the Gentile was disposed to treat the notions of the Jews with as little respect as ever, when they were pressed on his conscience as a matter of obligation. Thence there was constant danger at the outset, of Christians forming new parties, and cherishing to- ward each other sectarian antipathies. It is delight- ful to see how fitted was the apostle for such an emergency. He, truly, magnified his office. Instead of entering into the details of disputation, he pro- claimed those principles of Christian liberty, whicli were suited to compose existing strife and to guide all future ages. Though he possessed the authority of an inspired apostle, he did not interfere in the dispute by saying who had the most of right and truth on his side the Jew or the Gentile ; but he

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seemed far more anxious that they should walk in love on common ground and cooperate as far as they were agreed, than that they should be all of one opinion. He desired more to see Christians diflfer- ing in belief, loving each other notwithstanding that difference^ than to see them all of the same opinion. We have in the text a specimen of his manner of exhorting on this subject when he says, " as far as we have attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.'' Let us proceed :

I. To consider more fully the import of this rule.

II. Its general excellence.

III. Some of its applications.

1. All true Christians, however they may differ in education or sentiment, have attained to the know- ledge of some principles of everlasting worth which are common to them. All who have been convinced by the law as transgressors, who have heartily turned to Christ the atoning Saviour, and led by the Spirit of God, have given themselves up to his service, are members of the same great spiritual family, and are united by bonds which can never be broken. These hold to each other a sacred and eternal relationship. Thence instead of magnifying their differences, they should strengthen their points of agreement, coope- rate, on ground that is common, for the good of the world, and respecting cordially the liberty of each other's conscience, should, as far as possible, be helpers of each other's joy. Whereunto they have attained, they should walk by the same rule and mind the same thing ; that is, should bring their

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commoii principles into active exercise and seek together the glory of Christ as a common object.

Now see how the cases of collision which occurred under the apostle's ministration, illustrate this rule. One subject of dispute in that day, was the propriety of eating meats sold in the shambles of idolaters. " One believeth he may eat all things, another who is weak, eateth herbs." Rom. xiv. 2. What is the direction '? Y. 3. " Let not him that eateth, despise him that eateth not ; and let not him that eateth not, judge him that eateth : for God had received him." Y. 15. " But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died." " For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink ; but righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." " Let us, therefore, follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another." Each Christian is exhorted to waive every privilege grievous to his brother, which is not a matter of conscience, and touching what is a matter of conscience, each is exhorted to respect the other's liberty, and to strive " whereto they have already attained to walk by the same rule, to mind the same thing."

Another subject of division, was the observance of holy days ; which were marked with honor in the Jewish calendar. E-om. xiv. 5. " One man esteem- eth one day above another ; another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." " He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord ; and he that regardeth not the dav,

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to the Lord he doth not regard it." That is, one man's disregard of the day is as much a matter of conscience touching his duty to God, as is the other's observance of it. " But why dost thou judge thy brother ? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother ? For we shall all stand before the judg- ment seat of Christ." " Let no man, therefore, judge you, in meat or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath-days, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is Christ." " And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye are called in one body j and be ye thankful."

Now it must be remembered, that in the mind of the Jew, the observance of these holy days, was a matter of great importance, consecrated as it was by ancient custom and the most sacred associations. Yet in regard to it the apostle seems far more anxious that each should cheerfully allow the other his liberty of conscience, that each should respect and love the other, notwithstanding a difference of practice, than he is to settle the merits of the con- troversy.

One of the most agitating subjects of discussion amongst the early Christians, was the right to eat meat in an idol's temple. The Jewish Christian thought it a species of profanity. The Gentile saw no more harm in eating meat there than any where else. In such a case, Paul wished the Jew to allow his Gentile brother to do as he pleased, as long as he did nothing in honour of the idol, and urged the Gentile to accommodate himself to the prejudices of

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his Jewish brother, inasmuch as he could do it with- out violating his conscience or without sacrificing any real good. Yea, he solemnly charged the Gen- tile to forego what might be called his privilege in those circumstances, wherein his example might have an " appearance of evil " which would lead others astray. In this connection he proclaims that grand, comprehensive rule of Christian morality, " whether ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God ; — Giving none oiOfence, neither to the Jews nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God. Even as I please all men in all things not seeking mine own profit but the profit of many, that they may be saved."

What a pure, enlarged, heavenly charity is this ! How comprehensive, how practical, how salutary ! How magnanimous is the spirit of Christianity ! It rejoices more in the sight of love and cooperation abounding among Christians differing in opinion, than it does in the termination of those very differ- ences. It declares that true religion does not con- sist in uniformity of opinion or observance, but in an inward spirit, in faith, love and long suffering — in righteousness, peace, joy and true holiness. These conform the soul to Christ. These are the springs of outward virtue. These enlarge the heart, bind together men of every variety of temperament and every grade of life, and leading each to overlook every thing that is not vital, causes him to hail joy- fully the image of Christ wherever it appears, and to say to all the members of a common spiritual brotherhood, " whereto we have already attained,

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let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing."

Such being the general import of this rule, it may be well to direct our attention more particularly to its benefits. Consider then,

II. Its excellence.

First. It tends to increase the mutual love of Chris- tians. It is an obvious truth, that nothing is more adapted to foster a warm and reciprocal attachment amongst any class of men, than a quick sensibility to those interests and objects of pursuit, which are common to them. How often has it been seen, that when the natural and worldly sympathies of men have become all dormant, some emergency has brought them out with a power, which made them appear like the development of a new nature. Some- times, for instance, when political excitement has been high, amidst the clash of party collision, it has seemed as if every trace of patriotism, were swept from the land. Men engaged in thinking only of the points of difference between them, have become alienated from each other, and have forgotten that there were any ties of brotherhood. But when in the course of events, these men have been called to act together, for the defence of their country, at once, all minor objects are overlooked, all petty alienations subside, and the interests of a mean and narrow selfishness are swept away before the deep, broad, powerful tide of patriotic feeling.

Now while we see such to be the natural effect of a concert of action in political life, there are not wanting proofs of something analogous in the reli-

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gious life. When the storms of persecution have swept over a land, how dear to the hearts of all Christians, have the bonds of a common Christianity become ! How precious that name whereby each is called I How fervent that love which unites all to Christ and thence binds each to the other ! And whence arises this new development ? Whence but from the fact that the contemplation of their points of agreement and the acting together on common principles will make those principles to appear in their real worth and will cause their power to be felt ? This striking effect has been seen on all ex- traordinary occasions, when Christians have been led as far as they had attained to walk by the same rule, to mind the same thing. And this, which has occurred at some times, would be seen at all times, if this blessed rule, were but heartily and habitually adopted. A single gleam of such a spirit, whether it appear in public or private life, shines by its own light, imparts a peculiar beauty to the character, and throws an abiding charm around the intercourse of Christians. As a pleasing illustration of this, it may be proper to mention here, what was once stated at a public meeting in England, that " a lady who solicited subscriptions for a Missionary Society in the town where she resided, called upon a pious tradesman who was not a churchman. On entering, she said, ' I wait on you. Sir, from the Church Mis- sionary Society, because I have undertaken to call at every house in my division, but, as I believe you are not a Churchman, I cannot presume to calculate upon your subscription : and, though we are happy

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to receive support from any one, I ought not perhaps to expect it from you ; and, therefore, having ful- filled my engagement by calling, I will now cheer- fully take my leave.' * Stop, madam,' said he, ' I cannot suffer you to go away thus. It is true,' he added, ' we have a Missionary society of our own ; but when I consider how long I have lived in this place, and how little comparatively has been done here in a religious point of view, until the formation of your Missionary society, I am truly thankful to God for his goodness, and you shall take the names of my wife and daughter, as humble, but cheerful con- tributors.' While he yet spake, * the springs which were in his head,' (as John Bunyan says,) * did send the waters down his cheeks.'

" The lady, after receiving the subscription of the Wesleyan, said, ' Now, sir, as you have been so kind and liberal towards our society, you must allow me to give you a testimony of my good will towards yours." Accordingly, she insisted upon his accept- ing from her own purse, a donation for the Wesleyan Missionary society. Truly when a charity so candid and reciprocal as this shall pervade the church, divi- sions will be comparatively nominal and harmless ; " for as the body without the spirit is dead," so sec- tarianism bereft of its selfish spirit is dead also.

Secondly. Thence we see that the maxim of the text, if acted on by all Christians, would increase their power of doing good. For all power is increased by a habit of action, and in all departments of soci- ety the social law is as fixed as any law of nature, that combined action concentrates and multiplies

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energy. If we connect with this the interesting thought that among true Christians their points of agreement are of more importance than their points of difference, we cannot but rejoice to think of the amount of power which the friends of Christ might bring to bear in behalf of a perishing world. Nor can we fail to deplore the amount of power which is wasted, while Christians wait for a unanimity of opinion on all disputed points, ere they heartily cooperate in behalf of principles which are clear, fixed and of supreme importance. Oh ! that the children of light were as wise in their generation as the children of this world ! Oh 1 that the sacra- mental host of God would rally round the ground which is common, maintain it, beautify it, and cheer each other on to wider conquests ! Then would Zion put on her strength and appear in her glory. Then would she gain the world and a spirit would be kindled which would consume all causes of dissen- sion and melt and blend all hearts in a holy, happy union.

Thirdly. This leads me to observe that the rule suggested in the text is the very best means to induce among all Christians a general unity of opinion and practice^ There is certainly at the present day a more deep and fervent desire among Christians at large, for an intimate and visible union, than has existed heretofore. This is a happy sign. It appears in every quarter. It is seen in the books which issue from the press, it is breathed from the lips of prayer in the public sanctuary and at the family altar But this event, so devoutly to be wished, is

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not to be brought about merely by cogent reason- ings, by well-set arguments, by earnest discussion, though in love, nor merely by prayer itself. All these must be connected with an active and hearty cooperation of Christians, on ground that is common for the general good. The principles which arc admitted must have wider scope, a freer operation in a clear field, before there can be a much greater approach to Christian union. Each must respect the other's independence of mind. Each must really be jealous for his brother's freedom of conscience, and then study how both can do the most for Christ's glory, on the ground of common principles, before the mists of prejudice can be dispelled, and the causes of separation dissolved, and heart be bound to heart, in the ties of a real and enduring union. Let this but be done, let the maxim of the text thus be practised, and candor will take the place of preju- dice, and confidence will take the place of suspicion, and charity will rule in the room of jealousy, truth will be investigated by new lights, with hearts more simple and eyes more single, till ere long, one mind will be seen approximating to another, seeking the same thing, using the same means, and reaching the same end, and so, at last, the full glory of the Lord will appear in Zion, her watchmen shall all see eye to eye, and lift up their voice in perfect harmony.

Fourthly. The excellence of this maxim may be seen if we consider, that in the practice of it, the evil of all difference of opinion would be in a great degree obviated, because the church would then in- fluence the world, by exhibiting a bright example

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of the Christian spirit. For certainly there is some- thing much more adapted to impress the mind with a sense of the reality and power of religion, in see- ing Christians of different opinions, loving each other and acting together for the glory of God, than in seeing a large body distinguished by a perfect unity of sentiment, joining in the same worship, and in observing the same ecclesiastical rules. Such a unity has long been the boast of the Komish church, but to what has it amounted ? What moral excel- lence was there in it ? What has it done for the world ? How has it honored Christianity ? Through- out her vast dominion, in the days of her power, when none ventured to mutter a word of dissent from her decrees, there was unity indeed, but the stillness which prevailed was the stillness of moral death, the silence of the sepulchre, when the spirit of true freedom and of real Christianity had expired together. And even now, if throughout the world, all Christians were called by the same name and acknowledged the same discipline and observed pre- cisely the same order, that unity would be by no means so impressive and effective, as the unity of the spirit kept in the bonds of peace, and manifested in a hearty cooperation for the spread of truth, the progress of society, the honor of religion, and the salvation of the world. In such a union as this the world itself sees a moral glory, feels its power, is forced to pay it homage, and to say, " it is of God." In this, the spirit of Christianity is revealed, and Christianity is proved to be the religion of love. Its subjects feel within them the working of a kin-

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dred spirit, and the strengthening of common bonds, love each other more and more, and so exalt Christ as to draw all men to him. Then is seen on earth the blessing Jesus sought, when he prayed for his disciples, that they all might be one, '' as thou Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us ; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."

III. Such being the excellence of this rule, let us now proceed to consider some of its applications.

First. It applies to the spiritual fellowship of Christians. All true Christians have attained to the knowledge of some truths which are of eternal worth, and which form the ground of an everlasting fellowship. All such have learned to prize Chris- tianity as the religion of sinners. They have all been convinced of sin by the law, felt and confessed their just condemnation, turned from sin with godly sorrow, trusted in the atoning merits of an Almighty Saviour, and feeling their dependence on the Holy Spirit, have panted for his sanctifying influences. All such, wherever they may be, whatever name they may bear, should love each other with pure hearts fervently. No Christian should fail to cher- ish and acknowledge a cordial fellowship towards any member of Christ's family, on account of the ignorance, or prejudice, or pride, or any infirmity which may mar or deform the image of the Saviour, in one whom he must still regard as a brother. He should love him in spite of these. These will all pass away, if the elements of Christian character are there, and that soul will shine in celestial purity on

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high. Each, therefore, should seek to make the most of the other here, to increase his purity and his use- fulness, and to cause all that he has, to redound to the glory of God. Such is the natural tendency of Christian principles when their operation is left un- embarrassed. It may be easy for men to raise nice questions on articles of belief, ecclesiastical councils may comprise their creed . in two points, in five, or thirty-nine, and say that to receive them all is ne- cessary to church fellowship ; yet after all it will be found that those who as lost sinners, have fled to Christ as a divine and atoning Saviour, and through the spirit of peace, are seeking to live to his glory, will recognize in each other kindred elements, " the unction from the Holy one," which quickens and en- lightens, will feel that this is true religion ; and though unlearned in every thing except the Bible, will discern here the impress of evangelical Chris- tianity. With the truth of this, I was once deeply impressed when on a visit to Switzerland, I happened one day to be in company with one of the oldest ministers of that beautiful country. It was on a Saturday morning. He was sitting in a summer house surrounded with trees and flowers, and sing- ing birds, preparing a sermon for the Sabbath. As the old man rose to bid me welcome, his benignant features, his white locks hanging around his should- ers, his gentle expressions awakened in my heart deep feelings of reverence and esteem. Very soon he made some inquiries respecting the state of theo- logical opinion in America, and expressed his dis- satisfaction with some views touching the mode of

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preaching the gospel, which he perceived me to fa- vor. Ere long he asked, " with what church are you connected ? '' I replied that I was pastor of a Bap- tist church. With quick emotion and frank expres- sion, he made known to me his dislike of the doc- trine which excluded infants from the rite of bap- tism. To this I said. Sir, I doubt not that you re- ject that doctrine for the same reason which leads me to embrace it ; that is, what seems to be the will of Christ, so that there, we are one ! That remark touched a chord in the old man's bosom, which vi- brated in unison with its spirit, and to it he cor- dially responded. After an hour of animated theo- logical discussion, I rose to leave him. Accompany- ing me to his garden gate, he said, *' My young friend, I think you are cherishing some errors, but you are a child of God's covenant, I trust ; a mem- ber of the Saviour's family." Then presenting to me the token of friendship which prevails in many parts of Europe, as well as in Eastern lands, the salutation with a kiss, he lifted up his hands, invok- ed on me the blessing of Heaven, a safe return to my native land — and so, bade me ^'' farewellJ^ How could I help feeling as I left him, that it was better for us to differ as we did in theological sentiment, and yet cherish this union of soul, than it would be ta agree on every point of doctrine and church or- der, with less of that spiritual fellowship which was the object of the Saviour's prayer, and which consti- tutes the bliss of heaven ! What is the chaff to the wheat ? saith the Lord. Secondly. This rule applies to the ecclesiastical

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fellowship of Christians. It were indeed devoutly to be wished, that our spiritual and ecclesiastical fellowship were commensurate ; that all who are members of Christ's spiritual family, could unite in one visible church. But in the present imperfect state of human nature, this seems to be impossible. From age to age, true Christians have differed not so much about the doctrines of the church as its con- stitution. Some have regarded the church as a na- tional institution, rightfully embracing all who were born within a certain political boundary, who were thus committed to her charge to be trained up for heaven. Others have regarded the church as em- bracing the children of believing parents, who have been dedicated at her altar. Some regard the church visible as being destitute of outward rites. Others regard the church as being destitute of a regular ministry. Some consider the church as consisting essentially of a Christian priesthood empowered to administer ordinances; and transmitted by virtue of successive ordinations from the apostolic age on- ward till now. Others view the church as consist- ing simply of an association of believers, combined on the ground of a common faith professed by a volun- tary baptism, in the name of Christ. Of course these different views involve different requisitions for membership in a Christian church. One church, therefore, will look upon another as not properly constituted. Now, the Christian rule demands, that for such difference, no one judge his brother, or exile him from his spiritual communion, but that he res- pect his liberty, and love him for his conscientious

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regard to what he deems the will of his Lord. Far more should I rejoice, to see a man striving to keep his conscience void of offence toward God, than that he should strive to agree with me in every opinion. If my ministering brother believe that ordination by the hand of a diocesan bishop, is necessary to qualify a man to preach the gospel, he of course ought to submit to it, nor ought I to charge him with aught uncharitable, if he cannot invite me to his pulpit, but rather to honor him for his consistency. If on the other hand, I regard immersion in Christ's name on a profession of faith, as essential to church mem- bership, and the outward communion, no one should think it at all uncharitable, if in those relations, I should unite with only those who have met the as- signed conditions. Each should ask, " what is truth," should study Christ's will himself, and do it from the heart ; and urging the same duty on his Chris- tian brother, leave him to follow out the convictions of his own mind, resolving still, that as far as we have attained, we will walk by the same rule, and mind the same thing. Oh ! what a beautiful scene would the whole garden of the Lord present^ if such a heartfelt, generous charity prevailed ! Then, how comparatively insignificant the evil of a difference of opinion ! How happily adapted, rather to en- large our hearts, to try the reality of our love, and to show " what manner of spirit we are of."

Thirdly. This rule applies to the efforts of Chris- tians, in the field of benevolent enterprize. He who looks upon the world with a Christian's eye, knows that this field is large enough to give full scope to

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all the power that can be enlisted on the side of righteousness. His spirit sometimes faints in view of its vast extent, of the amount of ignorance to be enlightened, of suffering to be relieved, of vice to be exterminated, of subtile wisdom to be baffled, the number of souls to be converted, and of improve- ments to be made in the progress of society. Now it will unavoidably happen, that in regard to the means to be used for doing all this, in regard to the right and expediency of some measures, there will be a difference of opinion. Each takes strong views of the case, in its various aspects. But, then, each is too prone to feel that he sees the whole, that he knows what is best, that wisdom is with him, that he lives exactly under the meridian blaze of truth, and to denounce those who do not see the path to be pursued in just the same line of light, as pitiably or criminally blind. Thence each in his narrowness, is too prone to link himself to some favorite object and favorite means of attaining it, to cast out all others from the sphere of his sympathy, and to disso- ciate himself from those who cannot work for his one object, in his one way. But this is not the manner of God ; this is not according to the mind of Christ. This contravenes the maxim of the text. That would lead us, if we cannot cooperate with a Chris- tian brother in all things, to unite with him in doing some ; if not in many, in a few ; if not in two, we should do it in one. He may seem to be bigoted, prejudiced, or ill-informed ; but then judge him not, abandon him not ; the way to enlarge his mind is to give play to the kindly feeling which he does pos-

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sess, and aid him to act out even in a narrow sphere, that one principle which he does avow, in unison with you. He may cherish some errors of judgment, and thence of practice which you deeply deplore — he may be blind to some truths, which seem to you the clearest of all — he may look coldly on some enterprize, which you regard as of the highest mo- ment— yea more, he may, quite unconscious of wrong, or submitting, as he thinks, to the hard law of his condition, hold your brother in involuntary servi- tude ; yet unless the circumstances of his case are such as to constrain you to say in the spirit of charity, *' this man knoweth not Christ, and the love of the Father is not in him," far, far be it from you, to deny the sacred relation which you hold to him, to

" Snatch from God's hand the balance and the rod,"

and doom him to a place without the pale of Chris- tian fellowship. If he be still in spirit a brother, own and honor him as such. If he conform to the constitutional laws of the outward church, acknow- ledge his standing there. Oh I turn not away from him, but ask how can I augment his usefulness and make what there is of the Christian in him, most available for Christ. So will your zeal prove itself to be not a spark struck from a heart of stone by the collision of outward events, kindling strife and setting on fire the course of nature, but a pure and heavenly flame, shining with a constant lustre, and diffusing a genial light and heat throughout the whole territory of Zion.

CHRISTIANITY AND SLAVERY.

Domestic Slavery, considered as a Scriptural Institution. In a Correspondence between the Rev. Richard Fuller, D.D., of Beaufort, S. C, and the Rev. Francis Wayland, D.D., of Provi- dence, R. L New York: Lewis Colby. Boston: Gould, Ken dall & Lincoln.

We have before us a remarkable book. In the lapse of ages, it will probably be regarded as an instructive fact in the history of Christian civiliza- tion, that in the nineteenth century, in the Republic of North America, — famed through the world as the asylum of the oppressed and the home of liberty, — two Christian ministers, distinguished for piety and learning, united in the common work of sending the gospel to the Pagan nations, should have felt them- selves called upon to engage in an earnest discussion of the question, Whether Christianity sanctions slavery ; or whether the continuance of that rela- tion between master and slave, which involves the acknowledgment of a right on the part of one man to hold the body and mind of another man as pro- perty, is compatible with the principles of Christi- anity,— with the letter or the spirit of its law ? Nor

294 Christianity and Slavery.

will the extraordinary character of this event be at all diminished by the consideration, that both of the disputants belonged to the denomination of Baptists, who had been often known in the world as the advo- cates of religious liberty, — asserters of the inaliena- ble rights of the human soul ; who, in the darkest ages of Romish tyranny, declared with a martyr- spirit, before kings and magistrates, that one funda- mental doctrine of the new dispensation, " that con- science should be free, and all men be permitted to worship God as they are persuaded that he requires;" and who, in different centuries, have been the perse- cuted champions of the great truth, that the Bible alone is the binding rule of religious faith, — that to its possession every man has a right, as by it every man will be judged.

Yet the volume before us furnishes proof that such a fact has occurred ; that, after all that has been written, even by avowed infidels, in praise of Chris- tianity, for its effects on the social condition of man; after all that has been done to elevate the poor and the oppressed ; after all that it has taught respecting the common origin and the common redemption of the race ; after all the prophecies which it has held forth, through many centuries, touching the design of God that mankind shall form a common brother- hood ; after all the evidence which theologians have urged in proof of its being a divine revelation, drawn from its influence on the abolition of slavery, — it k still boldly asserted by a Christian minister, that the essential principles of the slave-system itself Christi- anity does not reprobate, but that a man may claim

Christianity and Slavery. 295

to be by right the sovereign lord and owner of his fellow-man, and yet to be his brother in Christ, and faithful in the discharge of all the duties which are enjoined by " the new commandment." Such is the position of Dr. Fuller ; a position which we aver to be built on the sand, to have no foundation in the teachings of the New Testament ; a position such, that, if it were true, would show that the '' old com- mandment " of Judaism, which abolished slavery, was better than the new commandment of Christi- anity, which allows it j would show that Christianity was not fit to win its way through all the tribes of men, as a universal religion ; would show, in spite of all its pretensions to miraculous evidence, that as yet the Messiah op ancient prophecy, the Messiah of man, the Deliverer of the oppressed, the Desire of nations, the preacher of " liberty to the captive," has not come ; and that, with the Jew, we must take our place of lowly waiting for the " Consolation of Israel," and the Promised seed in whom "all the families of the earth " are to be blessed.

Eloquent as is Dr. Fuller in argument and appeal, fervent as is the religious spirit which he breathes, earnest though he be as a preacher of pardon to the sinner, yet, by advocating such a doctrine of slavery as an element of Christianity^ he has done greater disservice to the cause of religion and humanity, than could possibly be achieved by all the traffickers of human flesh whom the laws of Christian nations now condemn as public enemies of their race. We say this in sorrow, not in anger ; for to express one's deep calm, solemn conviction of a terrible truth, is

296 Christianity and Slavery.

not at war witli the law of kindness. The actual dealers of slaves, of whom we speak, avow their pro- fession to be that of rapacity ; their motive to be the love of gain ; and it is impossible for them to corrupt public sentiment, as may the Christian teacher. They commit a great sin ; but to misrep- resent Christianity on this subject is to take away the remedy for sin. They bring thousands of their fellow-creatures into bondage ; but to make men believe that Christianity sanctions a system of bon- dage which thus begins, is to cut the sinew of all the moral power in the world which can destroy that system. They can affect the opinions of society but little, because they are abhorred as the enemies of their race ; but the minister of religion is revered as the interpreter of the divine will. They can do nothing to erect the bulwarks of the law around their trade in men, and around the markets whose demands they supply ; but he does very much to rear a legal defence around a scheme of oppression, and to perpetuate a social wrong on earth, " which hell itself might shrink to own." What though it be said that in him God may account it as an error of judgment, and not a sin of the heart ? Be it so ; but charity to the man must not conciliate us to his error. We must still declare it to be an error ; and, with the New Testament in our hands, must say to the most amiable of men, " Though you, or an angel from heaven," preach this doctrine as a part of Christ's gospel, we pronounce the sentiment to be wicked, inhuman, antichristian, and "accursed." In speaking thus, we are far from denouncing,

Christianity and Slavery. 297

indiscriminately, all those who stand in the legal relation of slave-holders, as unworthy of being re- garded as Christian brethren ; for a man may hold this relation, in a legal sense, against his own con- sent. He may deem himself the victim of misfor- tune ; he may feel bound to avail himself of his legal power, for the protection of his brethren ; and espe- cially he may, before God, as a Christian man, abjure all right and title to his fellow-men as property. Such a man, though nominally master of a thousand slaves, is more truly a philanthropist, and more worthy the fellowship of the universal church, than is the Northern Christian who never saw a slave, and still declares that Christianity sanctions slavery. The former is a slaveholder in name, but not in truth and in spirit ; the latter is called a non-slave- holder, but a change of residence would make him an owner of men and women, and he is now a slave- holder in principle, in feeling, and in guiltiness. The author of the Sermon on the Mount assures us, that God judges men, not merely according to their overt acts, but according to the intents of their hearts, — the objects of their approval or abhorrence. Hence we have been deeply interested in the argument contained in these letters, conducted by a leading writer of the South and another of the North. Not being of those who would say, " This discussion belongs to the realm of abstractions ; it is better to let it alone, and to deal only with facts;'' we deem the discussion itself as a fact of the highest moment. For ourselves, we have not been aware, till recently, how extensively the opinion defended

298 Christianity and Slavery.

by Dr. Fuller prevails among Southern Christians, — how far they have departed from the purer doc- trines of their fathers. We supposed that, to a wider extent than seems now to be the case, they had agreed with us in believing that Christianity entirely condemns the slave system ; and that in proportion as their influence in the state was increas- ing, the day of emancipation was hastening on. We had often thought of them, as lacking a proper de- gree of zeal in the work ; as being timid and tardy, and too subservient to the schemes of worldly poli- ticians ; but we had never believed them so gene- rally to have embraced a corrupt doctrine, to have perverted the high principles of Christianity, and to have been pressing into the support of slavery a religion which came into the world " to comfort the broken-hearted, to lift up those who were bowed down, to break every yoke, and let the oppressed go free."

SECTION I.

THE MAIN QUESTION.

While there are many things in these letters inci- dentally thrown out on both sides, which may be worthy of notice at some time, we wish now to con- sider the main question proposed, and the way in which it is treated.

The main question is. Does Christianity sanction slavery ? Dr. Fuller asserts the affirmative in the clearest terms. He says : " I find my Bible con-

Christianity and Slavery. 299

demning the abuses of slavery, but permitting the system itself.'' Page 4.

" The matter stands thus : the Bible did autho- rize some sort of slavery ; if now the abuses admitted and deplored by me be essentials of all slavery, then the Bible did allow those abuses." Page 10.

" Slavery was everywhere a part of the social organization of the earth ; and slaves and their masters were members together of the churches ; and minute instructions are given to each as to their duties, without even an insinuation that it was the duty of masters to emancipate. Now I ask, could this possibly be so, if slavery were a ' heinous sin V No ! every candid man will answer no !" Page 12.

" I put it to any one whether the precepts to mas- ters, enjoining of course their whole duty, and not requiring, not exhorting them to emancipate their slaves, are not conclusive proof that the apostles did not consider (and as a New Testament precept is for all ages, that no one is now justified in denounc- ing) slave-holding as a sin." Page 194.

SECTION II.

DR. fuller's argument.

From these citations it is evident, that the argu- ment of Dr. Fuller, as to the teaching of the New Testament, rests on two points :

1. The fact that the relation of master and slave

300 Christianity and Slavery.

was recognized througliout the civilized world, by the law of the Roman empire.

2. The silence of the New Testament, as to the duty of dissolving that relation.

This argument has respect, necessarily, to the slave system recognized by the Roman law, which was then so extensively supreme, because there is no evi- dence that our Saviour or the apostles ever came in contact with slavery under the Jewish law. Among the people of Palestine, involuntary servitude had been brought to an end, hundreds of years before the Christian era, by the natural operation of the code of Moses. Every slave bought of the heathen received the offer of freedom at the end of every seventh year, if he were a Jewish proselyte ; and whether he were a Jewish proselyte or not, the jubilee trumpet sounded forth the decree of liberty at the close of every half century. The passage quoted by Dr. Fuller, from the xxv. chapter of Le- viticus, which forbids the purchase of bondmen from any except the heathen and strangers, saying : " Of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids, and ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession ; they shall be your bondmen forever j""^ must be under- stood, in consistency with the law of the jubilee, which had been laid down in a preceding part of that same chapter,:]: which says : " Thou shalt cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound, on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall

* Verse 46.

Christianity and Slavery. SOI

ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land ; and ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and pro- claim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the INHABITANTS THEREOF : It shall be a jubilee unto you : and ye shall return every man unto his posses- sion, and every man unto his family.""^ Such was the law of jubilee ; limiting the sales of men, as it did the sales of land, whereof it said : " According to the multitude of years after the jubilee, thou shalt buy of thy neighbor ; according to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it :" when, therefore, another law enacts that bondmen shall be purchased of the children of the heathen, instead of the children of Israel, it must be understood that the purchase is modified by the previous law, and that the meaning of the latter statute is not the entail of perpetual slavery on any class, but simply the confining of the Jews in the purchase of servants, always and forever, to the children of the heathen.

If there were any doubt on this point, our inter- pretation of the meaning of the law would be con- firmed by considering the fact, that the inspired prophets treated the continuance of slavery as incon- sistent with the spirit of the Mosaic precepts. In saying this, however, we do not mean to intimate that they ever had occasion to denounce any kind of oppression possessing the character of American slavery ; for nothing like that could have existed

* Yerses 9, 10.

302 Christianity and Slavery.

a single day in Palestine after the entrance cf the Israelites. American slavery originated in kid- napping men and women from Africa ; but this was the only kind of theft which the law of Moses made a capital crime. " He that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death." (Ex. xxi. 16.) The man- stealer, and the man-seller, and the slaveholder, were alike liable to capital punishment. The Mosaic law would have always prevented the slavery of the United States, and would destroy it instantly now, if put in operation. In Palestine, war, debt, pov- erty, and voluntary contract, originated, at different periods, a servitude which was temporary, the peri- odical abolition of which was provided for by law. Against this abolition, avarice would naturally re- volt, and seek to evade the law for the sake of gain. On this point the Prophet Isaiah lifted up his voice like a trumpet, instead of treating it as a subject too delicate to be mentioned, " cried aloud and spared not," saying, " Behold, ye fast for strife, and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness. Is not this the fast that I have chosen ? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?^^^ If the churches of the South should make proclama- tion of a fast like this, who would doubt that it involved the emancipation of the slave, and that this would be a fast most acceptable to God ?

Similar in spirit is the language of the Prophet

* Is. Iviii 6.

Christianity and Slavery. 303

Jeremiah in regard to an effort on the part of the covetous rulers of that day, to renew the bondage of the Hebrew servants after they had been released. See the xxxivth chapter, from the 12th verse onward. " Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying. Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying. At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother, a Hebrew who hath been sold unto thee ; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee ; but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear. And ye were now turned and had done right in my sight in proclaim- ing liberty every man to his neighbor, and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name. But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant and every man his handmaid, whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return and brought them into sub- jection unto you, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids. Therefore thus saith the Lord : Ye have not hearkened unto me in proclaiming liberty every one to his brother and every man to his neighbor : be- hold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the Lord, to the sword, and to the pestilence, and the famine, and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth, and I will give the men that have trans- gressed my covenant, into the hands of their ene- mies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and their dead bodies shall be meat unto the fowls

304 Christianity and Slavery.

of heaven and unto the beasts of the earth." And thus it was. Jerusalem was plundered and burnt, and the Babylonish captivity made short work with the remnants of Jewish slavery, which had resisted the spirit of the Mosaic institutions. It is with good reason, therefore, that Mr. Barnes, in his work on slavery, reaches the conclusion, that " slavery alto- gether ceased in the land of Palestine," and asks, " On what evidence would a man rely to prove that slavery existed at all in that land in the time of the later prophets, of the Maccabees, or when the Sa- viour appeared ? There are abundant proofs that it existed in Greece and in Rome ; but what is the evi- dence that it existed in Judea ? So far as I have been able to ascertain, there are no declarations that it did, to be found in the canonical books of the Old Testament, or in Josephus. There are no allu- sions to laws or customs which imply that it was prevalent. There are no facts, no coins or medals, which suppose it." Page 226.

Corroborative of this position is the fact, that the pictures of life and manners contained in the four gospels are not in harmony with the supposition of the existence of slavery among the Jews. In the parable of the prodigal son, which delineates the condition of a rich land-holder, the term to denote servants is f^i^adioc^ from uirfiog^ a reward, and is prop- erly rendered, hired servants. This word could not be applied to a slave. In the parable of the shep^ herd, in John x., the word fitadatTog^ from the same root, is used, and is translated " hireling." The same word is employed for the servants of the fisher-

Chbistianity and Slavery. 305

men, \z the beginning of Mark's gospel. There ib not furnished to us in the New Testament, or any contemporary history, the least vestige of a reason for believing that our Saviour or the apostles ever came in contact with slavery in their native country?

If this be so, there is very good reason why no instance can be cited from the gospel, of our Lord's rebuking the sin of slavery by giving a command enjoining emancipation. He uttered precepts ad- verse to all sin and all systems of wrong, but rebuked only the specific evils which fell under his notice. Hence we read nothing of his condemning the caste of India, the sports of Roman gladiators, or the vices of the theatre, which were censured even by the Pagan moralists themselves. No argument, therefore, can be drawn in favor of slavery from the lack of any specific rebuke of it in the teaching of our Lord. In his day, the Jewish law, instead of sanctioning any form of slavery, had already extir- pated it from the land.

Important as is this distinction between the social state of Judea and of the Gentile world, between the operation of the Jewish and of the Roman law, it is altogether overlooked by Dr. Fuller, and it does not appear that Dr. Wayland has given to this point any particular attention. Its bearing, however, on the main question, is direct and mo- mentous.

* See Appendix IV, p. 400.

306 Christianity and Slavery.

SECTION III.

DR. WAYLAND^S REPLY.

We now revert to the position of Dr. Fuller, that the Roman law established slavery ; that the scrip- ture addresses those who held the relation of master and slave, and is silent as to the duty of emancipa- tion. To this assumption Dr. Wayland readily con- cedes, remarking, " I think it must be efvident that the precepts of the New Testament furnish no justifi- cation of slavery, whether they be considered either absolutely, or in relation to the usage of the Roman empire at the time of Christ. All that can justly be said, seems to me to be this : the New Testament contains no precept prohibitory of slavery. This must, I think, be granted ; but this is all." Page 89.

The mode in which the new dispensation is sup- posed to have borne upon the slave-system is thus expressed by Dr. Wayland : " By teaching the mas- ter his own accountability ; by instilling into his mind the mild and humanizing truths of Christianity; by showing him the folly of sensuality and luxury, and the happiness derived from industry, frugality, and benevolence, it would prepare him, of his own accord, to liberate his slave, and to use all his influ- ence toward the abolition of those laws by which slavery was maintained. By teaching the slave his value and his responsibility as a man, and subjecting his passions and appetites to the laws of Christi- anity, and thus raising him to his true rank as an intellectual and moral being, it would prepare him

Christianity and Slavery. 307

for the freedom to which he was entitled, and render the liberty which it conferred a blessing to him, as well as to the State of which he now, for the first time, formed a part." Page 100. But this state- ment of the case, it appears to us, falls far short of the truth, and grants a great deal too much ; it involves a concession, which gives to the scriptural argument of his opponent an appearance of strength which it does not really possess. It is yielding to the advocate of slavery an advantage, which, in Dr. Fuller's hands, has been made to take on the aspect of a triumph. All the world confess that Dr. Way- land is an elegant writer and a strong reasoner : but the strongest reasoner cannot create truth ; the highest result that he can achieve, in a discussion like this, is to use effectively the elements of truth and power with which reason and revelation have furnished him. But after such a concession as this, we cannot conceive it to be within the scope of the human intellect to impart to the scriptural argument against slavery an appearance of great strength. To give it force and poignancy, to direct it with quickening and commanding energy to the conscience of the slaveholder, is impossible. Hence, when Dr. Wayland is borne along by the course of his reason- ing within the realm of philosophy, or utters in our cars the appeals of a Christian philanthropy, our hearts answer to him ; we feel the potent spell of " thoughts that breathe and words that burn," and bow ourselves with reverence before the majesty of truth. But when he speaks as an interpreter of the Bible, on this subject, seeking to give voice to the

308 Christianity and Slavery.

teachings of Jesus, he seems to have been " shorn of the locks of his strength," and to appear before us as anotlier man. What he says is well said, but the moral effect is weak. The utterance of God's reve- lation is feeble and tremulous, compared with the clear, bold, and awful propositions of philosophy. *' The mind of Christ," on a practical matter, of the deepest interest to humanity, for all time, is made obscure to the view of an earnest inquirer ; and though our Lord is seen to be, in fact, befriending the right side, yet he speaks to us ** as the scribes," and not " as one having authority." Who can avoid such an impression as this, on perceiving that the reply to Dr. Fuller's claim of a scriptural sanction, which fills several pages, contains a beautiful expo- sition of the true doctrine of expediency ; of the difference between opposing a deeply-rooted and organized evil, by positive enactments, and by the inculcation of a great principle which shall work like leaven and gradually subvert it ; of the superior wisdom of the latter method ; and then urges a defence of the apostles for tolerating slavery as a social evil, on the ground that, by this subtle and effectual method, they sought to accomplish its extinction? If the Christian doctrine "hath this extent, no more," it will be very slow in the work of delivering the American captive ; and our regret, therefore, on reading such a statement of it, has been increased by perceiving that Mr. Barnes has taken substantially the same position.

Chkistianity and Slavery. 309

SECTION lY.

THE CARDINAL MISTAKE.

But in all these exhibitions of the scriptural doc- trine, we doubt not that there is a cardinal mistake ; and that mistake is in defining the relation denoted by the words " servant " and " master," dovXog, and Kvgios or SeanoTTjg^ by the law of Rome instead of ** the law of Christ." In the community of Chris- tians this latter governed all relations. For unto whom were these three epistles of Paul and one of Peter, which contain the passages referred to, origi- nally addressed? To the world at large? No. To the subjects of the Roman empire, as such ? No. To men, as men and citizens? No. They were addressed to little communities of Christians volun- tarily united as churches, as those who were " called to be saints," " the faithful brethren in Christ ;" to those who had " come out from the world and been separate ;" to the regenerated, baptized, and sworn subjects of the Messiah's kingdom ; to those who had received, as their first lesson, the doctrine that, unless they could willingly give up "houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands " (or servants), " for their Lord's sake, they were not worthy of him ;" to those, and those only, who, having been " aliens from the com- monwealth of Israel, and strangers from the cove- nants of promise," had now been '' brought nigh by the blood of Christ, who had broken down the middle wall of partition between them, and made

310 Christianity and Slavery.

them to sit together in heavenly places." Before the epistles were written, all these persons had risen above the level of the Roman law to a higher moral realm, wherein Christ swayed a sceptre of sove- reignty ; unto whom, looking up, they could say, with the voice of a common adoration, in response to his own announcement to them. Thou alone art our master, and all we are brethren.

A change so great as this, expressed or implied in every title, formulary, and peculiar phrase of the apostolic epistles, modified at once all the permanent relations of life, — held forth to their view a new doctrine of right, a new standard by which to judge of all the duties pertaining to the connections in which they stood, and new motives of action, drawn from their communion as subjects of a common Lord, and heirs of the same heavenly inheritance. And after they had thus " learned Christ, the truth as it was in him," — even from the lips of apostles, who had preached to them, like Paul on Mars' Hill, in the days of their very paganism and unregeneracy, that *' God had made of one blood all nations of men to dwell upon all the face of the earth,"* did their case now require a letter of special instruction to inform them that on,e of their number had no right to hold the other as property, — to exact his toil by violence, or to bind him by the terrors of the civil law to do service against his own consent, lest silence on this subject should be fairly construed into a divine toleration of the prevailing heathen

* Acts xvii. 26.

Christianity and Slavery. 311

custom'? As well might we suppose that special instructions would be necessary to direct them not to sacrifice their children unto Moloch, or not to fight each other as gladiators, or not to obey the law of the emperor which commanded all faithful citizens to deliver up the Christians to the civil authority. Where the law of the empire was at vari- ance with the law of Christy who can doubt to which they would yield the supremacy ?

SECTION y.

THE EXTENT AND THE ABOLITION OP ROMAN SLAVERY.

That this view of the case is true and just, will appear further, if we consider how greatly a know- ledge of the law of Christ modified a Christianas sense of duty touching the other permanent relations of life. It is certainly an error into which many have fallen, to discuss this subject as if, by the law of Rome, the right of slave-property inhered only in the relation indicated by the words master and servant J whereas it pertained as really to the relation indi- cated in the New Testament by the words yovevg and 1EXV0V — parent and child. Any school-boy may learn the origin of this domestic slavery from the first chapter of Goldsmith's History of Rome. It is clear, not only from Cicero, in his treatise on the laws, but from nearly all the Roman writers, his- torians, and poets, that every father had the power of life and death over his children — could expose

312 Christianity and Slavery.

them to death in infancy ; and not only so, but a child was not deemed legitimate, or treated as such, unless the father took it formally from the ground, and placed it on his bosom. Hence arose the phrase ** toUere filium " — to educate. Dr. Adam, in his Roman Antiquities, presents the following state- ments : " Even when his children were grown up, the father might imprison, scourge, send them bound to work in the country, and also put them to death by any punishment he pleased, if they deserved it. Hence, a father is called a domestic judge or magis- trate, by Seneca. A son could acquire no property but by his father's consent ; and what he did thus acquire was called his peculium, as that of a slave.* The condition of a son was, in some respects, harder than that of a slave. A slave, when sold once, be- came free ; but a son, not, unless sold three times. The power of the father was suspended when the son was promoted to any public ofl&ce, but not extin- guished. For it continued, not only during the life of the children, but likewise extended to grandchil- dren and great-grandchildren. None of them became their own masters (sui juris), till the death of their father and grandfather. A daughter, by marriage, passed from the power of her father under that of her husband."t

In the emancipation of a son from the authority of his father, the law prescribed a tedious process, which the parties were obliged to observe. In the

* livy, XL 41.

f Roman Antiquities, 60, 61 N. Y. 1826.

Christianity and Slavery. S13

presence of witnesses, before the tribunal of a magis- trate, the father gave over his son to the purchaser, adding these words, ^^ Mancupo tibi hunc filium qui mens est" " But as, by the principles of the Roman law, a son, after being manumitted once and again, fell back into the power of his father, the imaginary sale was thrice to be repeated, either on the same day and before the same witnesses, or on different days and before different witnesses ; and then the purchaser, instead of manumitting him, which would have conferred a jus patronatus on himself, sold him back to the natural father, who immediately manu- mitted him by the same formalities as a slave. Thus the son became his own master. Sui juris f actus est. — Livy, YII. 16. In emancipating a daugh- ter or grandchildren, the same formalities were used, but only once ; they were not thrice re- peated, as in emancipating a son. Unica mancipatio sufficiehat,"

Tedious as these processes seem, they were rigidly observed ; and there was very little abatement of them until the reign of Justinian, five centuries after Christ. These laws were not a dead letter : the incidental allusions to paternal authority indicate that the severest executions of them were familiar to the minds of the people. Thus Sallust, in his history of Cataline's conspiracy (§ 40), says, "A Fulvius, son of a senator, was taken on the road, brought back to the city, and put to death by his father's orders." In his history of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Gibbon remarks, " The exclusive, absolute, and perpetual dominion of the

314 Christianity and Slavery.

father over his children, is peculiar to the Roman jurisprudence, and seems to be coeval with the foun- dation of the city. The paternal power was insti- tuted or confirmed by Romulus himself; and, after the practice of three centuries, it was inscribed on the fourth table of the Decemvirs. In the forum, the senate, or the camp, the adult son of a Roman citizen enjoyed the public and private rights of a PERSON : in his father^s house, he was a mere thing ; confounded by the laws with the moveables, the cattle, and the slaves, whom the capricious master might alienate or destroy without being responsible to an earthly tribunal. The hand which bestowed the daily sustenance might resume the voluntary gift J and whatever was acquired by the labor or fortune of the son, was immediately lost in the prop- erty of the father. At the call of indigence or ava- rice, the master of a family could dispose of his chil- dren or his slaves. According to his discretion, a father might chastise the real or imaginary faults of his children by stripes, by imprisonment, by exile, by sending them to the country to work in chains among the meanest of his servants. The majesty of a parent was armed with the power of life and death ; and the example of such bloody executions which were sometimes praised and never punished, may be traced in the annals of Rome beyond the times of Pompey and Augustus. Without fear, though not without danger of abuse, the Roman legislators had reposed an unbounded confidence in the sentiments of paternal love ; and tlie oppression was tempered by the assurance, that each generation

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must succeed in its turn to the awful dignity of parent and master."*

But now, to all this antichristian power conferred by the Roman law on the parent, there is not the slightest allusion in the epistles. Is the Christian father there commanded not to kill his son, as he had the legal right to do ? Is he told not to sell him ? Is he told not to treat him as a slave ? Is he urged to manumit him ? No — nothing of this. Let us ask, in the strain of the writers on slavery, whence this profound silence on these important points of Christian ethics, which must have attracted the notice of the apostles ? Is it not clear as the light, that this deeply-rooted and organized evil of filial slavery arising from Pagan ideas and usages, the apostles thought it expedient to tolerate awhile, but to inculcate broad principles which should work like leaven, gradually extirpate it, and so, in the process of time, raise the members of the Christian family to that dignity of freedom, that security of life, and to that equality of privileges, which were conferred by the Jewish law before the coming of Messiah ? Such is the apology to be made for the apostles in this case, according to the reasonings and concessions against which we speak. And is this the best defence which we, as Christians, can urge for the silence of Paul, and Peter, and John, respecting these things ? If so, well may they pray

* Milman's Gibbon, III, 169. Gibbon quotes the Justinian code, saying, Nulli enim alii sunt homines, qui talcm in liberos habeant potestatem qualem nos habemus.

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from their celestial exaltation, Lord, save us from our friends — shield thou our apostolic character from the imputations of those who are called by thy name and acknowledge our authority.

Thanks be unto God, we are not reduced to the necessity of acquiescing in any such apologies or explanations touching the silence of the apostles on the duty of setting captives or children free. These evils were not written upon, as practical matters, to Christian churches, because, under " the law of Christ," the son needed no emancipation. When that law was received, by a family, the son was already free. The father's right to govern him, during his minority, arose from his duty to guard him in years of weakness, and to train him up amidst the season of youth, ignorance, and inexpe- rience, "in the way he should go," so that, when old, he would not depart from it. Instead, there- fore, of an apostle's writing to Christian churches against such horrible evils as the Roman law entailed on the relation of father and son, or on the right of the son to liberty, or on the duty of emancipation, it was enough, simply to say, " Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this right. Honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first command with promise."* As in the spiritual king- dom of Christ, where his religion had sway, Christi- anity did not, for a moment, tolerate the filial

* Ephesians, vi., 1-3

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slavery of Rome, so neither did it tolerate her servile slavery. The silence of the apostles as to emancipation has the very same relation to the one kind of servitude as to the other ; and the idea of tolerating slavery, as a system, was not entertained by Christians in early times, until it appeared in company with the most abominable and fatal cor- ruptions.

Not only in the relation of the child to the father, but also in that of the wife to the husband, did the Roman law establish a power adverse to the precepts and the spirit of Christianity. In case of any offence whatever, the husband was the supreme judge, in- vested with authority to acquit her or to condemn her to death. The law placed her like a slave at his feet, and her life hung on his decree. Observe the testimony of Dionysius Halicarnassensis on this point : — " The law obliged the married women, as having no other refuge, to conform themselves en- tirely to the temper of their husbands. — But if she committed any fault, the injured person was her judge, and determined the degree of her punishment. In case of adultery, or where it was found she had drunk wine (which the Greeks would look upon as the least of all crimes), her relations, together with her husband, were appointed her judges, who were allowed by Romulus to punish both these crimes with death."* This law, of so ancient date, con- tinued to be operative under the empire. Tacitus mentions a case which occurred at Rome, in the year

* Diouys. Hal. ii. 25.

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57, in the reign of Nero : — " Pomponia Graecina, a woman of illustrious birth, and the wife of Plautius, who, on his return from Britain, entered the city with the pomp of an ovation, was accused of embrac- ing a foreign superstition. The matter was referred to the jurisdiction of her husband. Plautius, in con- formity to ancient usage, called together a number of her relations, and in their presence sat in judg- ment on the conduct of his wife.* It has often been said, to the honor of Roman chastity, that for more than five centuries not an instance of divorce tran- spired in Rome ; but it is very evident that this fact is to be accounted for, rather from the rigor of the law, which bound the destiny of the wife to that of her husband, than from the superior virtue of the people. There was little occasion for a formal divorce where a husband exercised the authority of an absolute despot, and where an offending wife had no right of appeal from his decision to that of a civil tribunal.

Another feature of the marriage relation, under the Roman government, deserves attention here. Between a citizen and a foreigner there could be no legal marriage,t and the offspring of such a union were deemed illegitimate. They were called Hy- bridae or Mongrels, and their condition was very little better than that of slaves. Livy mentions that when the Campanians were forced to go to Rome to pay their taxes, they offered a petition that

* Annal. xiii. 32.

f Non erat cum extenio oonnubium. Senec. Ben. iv. 86.

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tlie children, whom they had by Roman wives, might be treated as legitimate, and made their lawful heirs.* Indeed,, this sort of union was not dignified by the name of marriage, any more than was a union between slaves ; for in both cases it was stigmatized by the same degrading appellation.f Of this firmly established law there was no change until the days of the Emperor Caracalla. During more than two centuries of the Christian era, the children who may have sprung from the marriage of a Roman citizen and a Jew, or a Greek, were denied the rights and honors of a legitimate birth. Paul himself, who was a Roman citizen, declared that he had a right to " lead about a wife " with him ; but had he or any one of the Roman converts been pleased to marry a Galatian or a Syrian Christian, the law would, as far as concerned civil rights, have placed the offspring of such a union on a level with the children of a base and criminal connection.

Now, when we consider that the marriage relation lies at the basis of all organized and Christianized society, it may be well to inquire how it is, that in the epistles of Paul, all of which were addressed to persons living under the Roman empire, no care is taken to guard the churches against the specific evils of this Pagan legislation, which, in the eyes of mul- titudes, had been embalmed and hallowed by time ;

* Livy, xxxviiL 36.

•j- Connubium est matrimonium inter cires ; inter servos autem, aut inter eivium et peregrinae conditionis liominem, aut servilis, non •st cor^nubium sod conttibernium. Boeth. in Cic. Top. 4,

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had been blended with the very elements of domestic and social life ; had been sustained in every age by the most illustrious examples, and had interwoven itself with the earliest remembrances and associa- tions of the civilized world, touching human rights, the fitness of things, and the moral order of the uni- verse. Strange as it may seem to some, no husband, in all the realm of the Caesars, is told that his wife had been raised by Christianity above the level of her condition under the Roman law. No one is told that the domestic despotism, on which Roman society was based, was an abomination in the sight of heaven, and that it was a contravention of the original law of Paradise, which placed the man and the woman on the ground of a true moral equality. No Roman citizen is forbidden to scourge his wife for drinking wine ! Even her life is left at his mercy ; and in all the New Testament there is not issued a single com- mand forbidding a Christian man to kill his wife for any fault which might render her, in his judgment, worthy of death ! And yet Christianity arose and spread in a part of the earth where it found the exercise of such power not only common, but where that power was embodied in forms of law, enthroned in the palace, sustained in the pra3torium, and re- vered by public opinion. What now shall we infer from the silence of the sacred scripture on these points ? The domestic relations themselves are fully recognized, moral precepts are given to all who are united in them ; but why are these enormous evils, which affected so deeply the condition of innumera- ble wives and children, left untouched ? Is it that

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apostolic Christianity, with a wisdom and prudence worthy of all imitation, saw fit to tolerate all these things, being content to teach those broad and mighty principles which, working gradually at the core of society, would achieve its regeneration, after a series of ages, and thus, on grounds of expediency, withheld from its own disciples the plain truth of God with a view to ultimate effect ? Certainly ; according to the concessions of those who have con- troverted Dr. Fuller, this must be the explanation ; but, according to the reasonings of Dr. Fuller him- self, Christianity must have intended to sanction the legal powers which these relations had so long con- ferred, and only to guard against their abuse ! But will any man who has become converted to Christi- anity by reading the gospels, by listening to Christ's own discourses, and by opening his soul to their spirit, remain calmly satisfied with either of these positions? By no means. He will recoil equally from them both. Indeed, Dr. Fuller, in his reply to Dr. Wayland's explanation on this point, writes like a man who could not avoid despising the apostles themselves if they had held back the truth in that way ; and with the most of his earnest remonstrance we sympathize to the whole extent of our capacity of feeling. With truth and justness does he say, " The apostles took heaven to witness that they had kept back nothing f and in addressing, not only the people, but the pastors, who were to teach the people, and bequeath their ministry to their succes- sors, they asserted their purity from the blood of all men, because they " had not shunned to declare

322 Christianity and Slavery.

the whole counsel of God." Yet they had shunned even to hint to masters that they were living in a " sin of appalling' magnitude/' and had kept back truth, which, if you are right, was of tremendous importance.

These words must be felt forcibly by those to whom they are addressed ; but we thank God that the New Tessament presents no such difficulty as that which suggested this appeal on behalf of the apostles. The reason why those faithful guides did not hint to masters that they were living in " a sin of appalling magnitude," was not that slaveholding had been sanctified, but simply because these per- sons, at the era of their conversion to Christianity, had entered into a new spiritual kingdom, and inter- preted all their relations and duties by the light of its heavenly principles, and not by the light of the Koman law or any other human code. Their souls had risen superior to the Roman law, as a guide to duty or a rule of life, as truly as our Christian con- verts in China have risen above the law of " the celestial empire." Christianity had not yet become corrupted ; its public teachers had not quite yet begun to modify its oracles so as to suit a false philosophy, to harmonize with the prevailing ideas of Roman civilization, and so to turn away its disci- ples " from the simplicity that is in Christ." These first Christians used words which had a weight of meaning in them, when they spoke of their moral isolation from society, when they called themselves " a peculiar people," the subjects of a " new crea- tion," members of " the household of God," " fellow-

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citizens of the eommon wealth of Israel,"* and said " the world knoweth us not." The precepts of Christ had taken complete possession of their minds; had not only transformed their theology, but their moral characters, and their social relations. In their view, one sentence of Christ's Sermon on the Mount possessed more moral worth and lively effi- cacy, than all the lectures of the philosophers, and the laws of the twelve tables put together. Before they took the vows of their profession, they had " counted the cost," and were ready to suffer the loss of all things. As much as in them lay, they obeyed the civil law ; but in their lives they " surpassed the laws." So entirely did the word of Christ rule them, that they would not allow the civil law to arbitrate at all on matters which pertained to their own mutual relations. *' Dare any of you," says the apostle to some who needed special instruction, — " dare any of you, having a matter against another, to go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints ?"t Far from availing themselves of any power granted by the civil law to retain their brethren in bondage, their religion forbade them to refer to that law any question respecting their duties to each other.

Now in reading what is written to societies so constituted, it is a great error to infer that the apostles either sanctioned or tolerated any relation between man and man as established by the Roman law, because we do not find in their epistles a par- ticular denunciation of it.

* Ephes. ii. passim. f 1 Cor. vi. 1.

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In regard to any such relation which may be in question, the main thing to be ascertained is this : How do the precepts of Christ bear upon it ? These the early churches had acknowledged as their guide ; to these they had vowed allegiance. Whatever con- flicted with these, they had sworn to abandon, in the very act of their baptism, by which they had owned the sovereignty of the Messiah, in whose kingdom there was no place found for those distinctions of privilege, which, according to the Koman law, per- tained to rank, sex, birth, blood, and nationality : " For," says the apostle, " as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ ; there is neither Jew nor Greek — there is neither bond nor free — there is neither male nor female ; FOR YE are all one IN Christ Jesus."* That legis- lation which had raised one class above another, on the ground of those distinctions which are here named, primitive Christianity thus heartily re- nounced, as being incompatible with the law of Christ.

In order to feel the force of this statement, let any one fairly consider what a weight of argument the phrase which we have just repeated, carried with it to the ear of a primitive Christian. " The law of Christ !" In the apostolic age that was no mere abstraction. It was the Law of laws. Its authority was imperial. Its decision was ultimate. In ad- dressing the church of Calatia, Paul said, " Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of

* Galatians, iil 21, 28.

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Christ ;"* thus appealing to it, without citing the words of any precept, he implied that it was well understood. When it was referred to in this way, all knew that the law of benevolence — the law of mutual love — was intended, by way of eminence. The apostle James alludes to it in a similar manner, in a passage which contains a warning against dis- courteous treatment of the poor : " If ye fulfil ' the royal law ' according to the scripture, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well ; but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convicted of the law as transgressors."t Our Lord had laid it down, in his early teachings, among the first princi- ples of his religion : " All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them ; for this is the law and the prophets. "| The equal love of our neighbor be connected with su- preme love to God, and on these two commandments he declared that all true religion depends. § But when he proceeds to expound this law respecting our neighbor, what does he teach as to its bearing and extent ? Did he imply that it was to be re- stricted to a particular nation, or rank, or color, or proximity of place ? The majority of his audiences, we know, did limit it by their sectional prejudices, and national antipathies ; but in the parable of the good Samaritan, he taught them that the precept erases these bounds, enjoins love to man as man, our fellow-creature and our brother, and bids us to do

* Galatians, vi. 2. f James, ii. 8, 9.

\ Matthew, vii. 12. § Matthew xxii. 3*7-40.

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good to all men as we have opportunity. The Priest and the Levite of his day, who treated such an inter- pretation with contempt, he pictures to our view in all their native deformity. In addition to this " law of love," He gave another especially to his disciples, en- forced by a motive drawn from his peculiar relation to them, " A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another ; even as I have loved you, that ye also love another." However a refined and art- ful criticism may treat such precepts in these days, they were understood by the early Christians in their plain sense, and interpreted according to " the simplicity that is in Christ." A community govern- ed by such laws as these, could never make a man serve as a slave, nor would it be possible for one of them to hold his Christian brother in bondage against his will for a single hour.

Moreover, it may be well to observe, in this con- nection, that the distinction on which the temporary slavery of Judea had been founded by the Mosaic code was entirely abolished by Christianity : we mean the distinction between Jews and Heathen. The breaking down of this " middle wall of parti- tion " was the great glory of the new dispensation. "We know how deeply " the leading men " of our Saviour's generation were offended with his teach- ing on this point ; how bitterly Jewish pride must have scowled upon him, when he said, in allusion to a Gentile's faith, " Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven ; but the children of the kingdom shall be ^ast out into outeir

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darkness." The preaching of this doctrine was a bold feature in the ministry of the apostles ; and the mere mention of it, by one of them, caused a crowd in Jerusalem to give vent to their anger by casting dust into the air, and by crying aloud, " Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live."* Yet these martyrs to truth were faithful to their trust and conquered by " the word of their testimony." They were true reformers. In founding a new comfnunity, they laid, broadly and plainly, the basis on which it was to rest. And as the temporary structure of Mosaic slavery was made to depend on a distinction which it was the design of Christianity to abolish at the very outset, we can easily imagine how abhorrent from the convictions and sentiments of the first disciples must have been the idea of a slave-system in the Christian church.

SECTION YI.

THE EPISTLES OF PAUL CONFIRM THIS POSITION.

In exact accordance with these views, is the style and manner of apostolic address in the Epistles of the New Testament. The terms used to designate the relation of master and servant are not those which imply man's ownership of man ; and from the terms themselves, the advocate of slavery can prove nothing, because the same and corresponding terms

* Acts, xxii, 22.

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are used in lands wliere slavery does not exist. The exact import of the term will vary according to the law by which you determine the condition of a dou- los, or servant : just as it is now in this land ; in Carolina a servant means a slave, and in New Eng- land, it means a freeman voluntarily hired. But how entirely Christianity modified the relation, may be Been by consulting the direction which Paul gave to Timothy, respecting the discharge of his duty as a Christian teacher. It occurs in the sixth chapter of the first Epistle, the first and second verses. Here no advice is given to the young pastor as to his man- ner of addressing masters : it relates to servants only. And of servants, two classes are contemplat- ed ; first, those who were Christian servants of hea- then masters, are considered. This class is desig- nated by being " under the yoke." " Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own mas- ters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.'' This, as Christians, they were urged to do, even though they might be subjecIT to the worst oppression, in agreement with the address of Peter to the same class ; "for this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. ^^ A heathen mas- ter, interpreting the rights of a servant by the light of the Boman law, would be very likely to commit acts of gross injustice ; but the precept enjoining a meek endurance of this wrong, for Christ's sake, can, of course, furnish no sanction to the master's con- tinuance of it. But now, in this epistle to Timothy, Paul proceeds, in the next sentence, to speak of a

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different class of cases ; those in which both the par- ties were Christians. And here it is quite remark- able, that, instead of directing masters to treat their servants kindly, he calls upon servants themselves to beware lest they should despise their masters ! His words are, " And they that have believing mas- ters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren ; but rather do them service because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit." Who does not see that this exhortation arose from the fact, that, when both the parties had come under the law of Christ, Christianity had changed the re- lation in which they stood — had enfranchised the slave — ^had made him one of the " brethren " — had invested him with a new dignity and new rights ; so that now, instead of the master being under a new temptation to treat the servant wrongfully, there was greater danger lest the servant should abuse his elevation, should abandon the master's ser- vice, or treat him with contempt ?

Evidently, the style, the letter, and the spirit of these directions to Timothy, indicate a fundamental change which Christianity had wrought in the rela- tion of these two classes of persons, where both had come "under the law" of the new dispensation. They had now risen to that high condition described in the words of their common Lord, "One is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren." Violence, or involuntary subjection to bondage, was incompatible with such a change ; and now the apostle was chiefly anxious that the parties should not separate fr^m each other, but by continuing to-

330 Christianity and Slavery.

gether on friendly terms, and, in the discharge of mutual duties, should prove to the world that the law of Christian love is a better cement for society than the law of force. No class of persons had it in their power to afford a brighter demonstration of this, than that of enfranchised servants. If they availed themselves of their acknowledged rights to forsake their old masters, the new religion would be dishonored ; if they remained, and yielded faithful service from a principle of love and of religious ob- ligation, Christianity would, through them, reveal its moral and conservative tendency, and would be sure to gain new victories. The appeal which was made therefore to Christian servants on this behalf, has a most important bearing, and proves alike that they had all " been called unto liberty," and that it was expected that the spirit of their religion would dispose them not to " use their liberty for an occa- sion to the flesh."* If any one deem tho case to be otherwise, just let him imagine how preposterous it would seem for any grave and reverend bishop of our day, or for any public body in the country, to send a message to the young pastors of South Caro- lina, urging them to teach the slaves of Christian planters " not to despise their masters !" Surely, such a message would sound strangely to the plant- ers themselves ; and if it were carried into effect by some obedient Timothy, they would see " the fool- ishness of preaching," in a new point of light. The same idea of a change in the relations of these

* Galatians, v. 13.

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two classes accomplished by Christianity, is implied and indicated by Paul's address to those who be- longed to the church of Ephesus."^ There he first addresses servants, and urges them to be exemplary in rendering obedience to their masters, for the sake of honoring the cause of Christianity — " as the ser- vants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with good will doing service to the Lord, and NOT TO MEN." Undoubtedly, this precept was in- tended to be as unlimited as that given by Peter (1 Peter ii. 19,) that is, to cases wherein the servant was called to " endure grief, for conscience toward God, suffering wrongfully^ However froward or perverse ((^xoiiog) the master might be, however un- just his demands, the Christian servant was sum- moned to the exercise of patience and submission, in imitation of Christ, who, " when he suffered, threat- ened not, but committed himself to Him that judgeth righteously." Of course, Peter did not mean to sanction the wrong ; and so, too, in this exhortation of Paul to the Ephesians, he meant to urge the Chris- tian servant to bear wrong meekly, without giving a sanction to the wrong itself. Even if he were sub- jected to the worst of heathen masters, the apostle wished him to cultivate all fidelity in his service, not on the ground of right or justice, but because God would reward his submission to injustice, if it were exercised in order to promote the honor and triumphs of religion. The specific motive by which the Christian servant is excited to do this, is thus

* Eph. vl 5-9,

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expressed : " With good will doing service to the Lord, and not to men ; knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free."

But when, in the next sentence, Paul makes a tran- sition, and addresses himself to masters who were Christians, his words are few, but very significant ; for, while he tells them to remember that tribunal where there is no respect of persons, he not only forbids their using force in the government of their servants, but even to refrain from threatening to do so. He says, " Ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening, knowing that your Master also is in heaven ; neither is there respect of persons with Him." In the Greek text, the word aTfsdrjv, translated threatening, is preceded by the ar- ticle, and has a more specific sense. Dr. Bloomfield has evidently bestowed some labor on the passage, in investigating the force of the terms ; and says (in his Notes on the Greek Testament,) that the word, with the article, signifies the punishments awarded by the law." This being the case, the precept given by the apostle to Ephesian masters was a direct prohibition against their availing themselves of power conferred by the Roman law in the government of their ser- vants. It was an explicit command to them to rise above the Roman law in this relation, and to regu- late their conduct by the law of Christ, at whose judgment seat they must stand. But the Roman law being set aside, where could the Christian mas- ter find any authority in the law of Christ for hold- ing his brethren in involuntary servitude, by means

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of violence ? Such a pretension no man possessing ordinary self-respect, would venture to set up. An intelligent Southerner has aply said, that the slave system, as it is, may be defended on the ground of necessity, just as war is defended, in some cases, " because the government which it requires is no- thing more nor less than a prevalence of martial law." This witness is true ; but how a state of mar- tial law is to be maintained by men whose religion forbids them, not merely to remit legal punishments, but even to " forbear threatening," is a problem which yet remains for those Christian casuists who claim the blessed Jesus as the patron of slavery.

The passage in the epistle to the Colossians (iii. 22-25 and iv. 1) presents no feature of the case different from that which has already been exhibited. Christian servants were exhorted to cultivate the domestic virtues on those same grounds which have been already suggested. They are bidden to rise superior to the legal relation, and to yield a volun- tary service for the sake of their heavenly Master, and then follow these spirit-stirring words : " And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ." The spirit which glows in the address is abhorrent, from the idea that any man had a right- ful claim to hold these Christian brethren in an in- voluntary servitude.

The address which follows to the masters who had become Christians, is, in this case also, very

334 Christianity and Slavery.

brief. It simply commands them to be just, and to remember their own accountability. " Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven." There is not a free country in the world, and there never will be one, where this precept will not be appropriate and needful.

. There is, in the New Testament, another apostolic precept which relates to the relative duties of ser- vants. It is in the epistle to Titus (ii. 9, 10) ; but its letter and spirit are in entire accordance with those which we have already quoted. This class of persons are urged to make the relation in which they stood a means of advancing the Christian religion ; to do this by so living as to " adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." In that age of ardent Christian love, the promotion of the cause of Christ was deemed a counterpoise to every evil. No doubt, many of these servants would have gladly continued in subjection to Pagans, if by so doing they could gain new trophies for their Kedeemer, just as it has been known that Christians, filled with the missionary spirit, have actually sold them- selves into servitude, in order to extend the cause of human salvation. At a period glowing with this holy martyr-spirit, it was common for the friends of Christ to content themselves with any lot in which they could promote his glory, and easy for them to respond to the apostle's appeal : "Art thou called, being a servant ? Care not for it ; but if thou mayest be free, use it rather : for he that is called

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in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's free- man."*

As an incidental illustration of this state of things which we have been contemplating, it would be dif- ficult to imagine anything more expressive than the letter of Paul to Philemon. The whole of it is in exact accordance with that condition of the Chris- tian church, which distinguished the apostolic age, when it consisted of scattered communities in Pagan lands, who had come under the law of Christ, and had ceased to determine their duties by the civil law, or to avail themselves of the powers which it conferred, to promote their own worldly benefit by acts of oppression. Onesimus had been the slave of Philemon. He had fled away from his master, and became a Christian, under the ministry of Paul, at Rome. This converted slave the apostle wished to retain at Rome, to minister unto his own necessities; but he did not wish to do it without the concurrence of his beloved Philemon, his " fellow-laborer." Ac- cording to the law of Rome, Onesimus was still the property of Philemon, who, as a citizen, had a legal claim upon all his services ; but the letter does not intimate the slightest probability that Philemon, the Christian, would or could urge that claim. So far from this, it is distinctly asserted that the relation of the two parties had been essentially changed. How could that fact be more clearly expressed than in the following words : " For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldst receive

* \ Ck>r. vil 21, 22.

336 Christianity and Slavery.

him forever ; not now as a servant^ hut above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord ?"* This latter phrase effectually guards the interpretation of the letter against that sophistry which concedes that Onesimus was Philemon's brother, considered as a Christian, but refuses to extend the acknowledgment of brotherhood to civil relations and to common life. It shows that the apostle did not speak of brother- hood in some refined, ethereal, spiritual sense, which had no practical issues, but in a sense which would develop itself in substantial benefits to Onesimus as a man, as a fellow-creature possessing a kindred nature, and endowed with the same moral, social, and physical sensibilities as was Philemon himself. Certainly there need be no difficulty in admitting the fact of so great a change, when we see that Paul identifies the happiness and interests of Onesi- mus with his own, and says to his former master : " If thou count me as a partner, receive him as my- self."

Only a single observation further, on this letter, is necessary here ; which is, that the object of Paul's writing it, was not to beg for the liberty of Onesi- mus, but to perform an act of friendship towards Philemon ; to awaken in his heart a sympathetic joy over the conversion of his lost servant ; and to afford him an opportunity to do his own duty in the case, freely and cheerfully. The first impulse of the apos- tle's mind was to retain Onesimus, without sending

* Verses 16, 16.

Christianity and Slavery. 337

him back at all ; but he concluded that it would be most satisfactory, on the whole, to place it within the power of his old Colossian friend to express his own feelings towards Onesimus, as a man and a Christian. Mark the expression of this sentiment : " Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me, in the bonds of the gospel : but without thy mind would I do nothing, that thy benefit should not be, as it were, of necessity, but willingly." A similar phrase occurs in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians (ix. T), where Paul shows them, that, although they were bound by the law of Christ to contribute a supply to the wants of their persecuted brethren, he wished them to do it from a principle of love, and not by constraint : " Every man, as he has purposed in his heart, so let him give ; not grudgingly or of neces- sity." The style of address in the letter to Philemon is analogous to this ; for although the law of Christ forbade him to hold his " beloved brother " Onesi- mus in a state of servitude, by force or threatening, yet Paul deemed it desirable that Philemon should show openly that he was governed by Christian prin- ciple in this case, and not by a sense of hard con- straint, or the awe of an apostolic command.

We have now examined those precepts of the apostles, touching relative duties, on which the advocates of slavery found their argument. It ap- pears to us, not merely that they accord with the position which we have taken on the doctrine of Christianity, but that they cannot be clearly and consistently ui-derstood unless they are seen from

838 Christianity and Slavery.

this point of view. There is one statement of Paul, however, bearing on the whole subject, which ought not to be overlooked. It is one which shows that Christianity places the crime of man-stealing on the same ground of sinfulness as did the law of Moses. As we have already seen, by that law, it was not only a capital crime to steal a man, but also to have in one^s possession a man who had been stolen. Jewish servitude never originated in man-stealing ; and if in any house, or village, or town, or commu- nity, there had been found a slave-system which owned such an origin, the Mosaic law would have abolished it immediately when that fact had been established. Now, in the opening of the First Epis- tle to Timothy (i. 10), Paul views the crime thus treated of old in the same point of light, when he classes men-stealers with man-slayers, and perjured persons, and other transgressors of the divine law. But all know that American slavery did originate in man-stealing, which even the civil law has denounced as piracy. Those who now hold in their possession the descendants of the first captives, have not, in the sight of God, any more right to their persons as property, than our fathers had to the first captives themselves, whom they purchased from the hands of the bloody slave-dealer, fresh and reeking from the coast of Africa. If the men of the present genera- tion deplore their unsought relation to this oppres- sive system as a misfortune, — ^if it be their main anxiety to learn in what way they may set them- selves right in regard to it, — the Almighty, it may be hoped, will be long-suffering and forbearing

Christianity and Slavery. 339

toward their slowness, and will mercifully consider their difficulties ; but if, on the other hand, they ratify the sins of our predecessors, and vindicate their own right to possession by the assumed sanc- tions of religion. He whose stored vengeance hung over the Ammonites during four centuries, until ** their iniquity was full," will in like manner sweep this whole realm of sanctimonious oppression with the besom of desolation, and attest to the universe, by his mighty acts, that " the throne of iniquity hath no fellowship " with heaven.

SECTION YII.

RESPONSIBILITY OP AMERICAN CHRISTIANS.

Neither religion, philosophy, nor humanity, fur- nish any standing-place whereon a man may press a slave-holder's claim of right by the plea of prescrip- tion. There is nothing in human nature which re- sponds to such an argument, when we bring the case closely home to ourselves. Time was, we know, when in Algiers there were a large number of white slaves, both English and Americans. Suppose, for a moment, that our own government had never suc- ceeded in rescuing our fellow-citizens from that foreign bondage, and that now their descendants, our own relatives by blood and family, had become the inheritance of a new race of owners. What if, on demanding the release of these captives, their lords should meet us with such Christian arguments

340 Christianity and Slavery.

as are found in the letters of Dr. Fuller, should declare to us that they had not had anything to do with bringing those poor people there, that they had found themselves in a relation of ownership to them, that this had now become a permanent element of their social organization; that slavery had been tole- rated by our own holy religion in the Roman em- pire, and that they now appealed to us, by our regard to order, to justice, to civil claims of prop- erty which time had consecrated, and especially by our reverence for the primitive and prudent teach- ings of that Christianity in which we so much gloried, that we should show ourselves to be the lovers of peace, and leave them undisturbed, in the enjoyment of those rights with which Divine Provi- dence had so long invested themi Would our friends in South Carolina then be found yielding quietly to the power of these " sacred truths," and paying homage to the intellect of the Christian Teacher who had, by means of them, so wonderfully enlightened the minds of the Algerines? Would not then a single wail, wafted over the waters from a captive boy bearing the name of one of their own families, at once identify his cause with that of the first sufferers, and dissolve this claim to property in man founded on prescription? Would not every one of them feel the decisions of such a question at his pulse ? And surely, if this sense of right and justice in us, short-sighted beings, can arouse our souls to overleap a long interval of years, to dispel the misty illusions of time, and to look at things by the simple light of the'r own unchanging moral

Christianity and Slavery. 341

nature, let us not harbor the thought that time can consecrate wrong doing, or avert its penalties, under the government of that Supreme Ruler, before whom " a thousand years is as one day;" who has solemnly declared that he will " visit the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation ;" and who declared, through the lips of the Messiah, to the people of Jerusalem, that, unless they abjured the sins of their fathers, they would fall beneath the weight of a woe which had for ages been treasuring up its stores of fatal judg- ment.

It is with good reason, therefore, that we agree in sentiment with Dr. Fuller when he says, " Compared with slavery, all other topics which now shake and inflame men's passions in these United States, are really trifling."^ On this account it is that we feel how unspeakably weighty is the obligation which has, from the first, rested on the American church, to hold forth God's testimony touching the nature of the evil with unwavering fidelity. Dr. Fuller observes that slavery was introduced here " in spite of the protests of the colonies."t But why was this note of remonstrance permitted to die away, and to be changed, first, into soft tones of apology for the system, and at last into the voice of bold and elo- quent defence? Had the Christian church been faithful to her mission, the result had been very different. It is a truth, however, that in relation to this subject, the American church has, to a great

* Page 3. f Page 131.

342 Christianity and Slavery.

extent, laid aside the character of a true and faith- ful witness, and has incurred censures similar to those which are recorded in the second chapter of the Book of Revelation, against the ancient church of Pergamos, for holding back her testimony, in relation to the prevailing system of idolatry. The message there addressed to her, contrasts her early state of purity with that of the first decline of her character. "These things saith he who hath the sharp sword with two edges ; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is; and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth ; but I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication. Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth."

Now, here it is certainly interesting to observe, that, in order to prepare this Christian church for the rebuke which he was about to utter, our Lord shows to them that he was mindful of all the peculiar difficulties with which they were surrounded ; that, in estimating the results of a people's influence, he has regard to their place of residence, the state of society on which they operate, and the peculiar forms of depravity with which they may be called to wrestle. Pergamos was consecrated to the Ca-

Christianity and Slavery. 343

biri, a particular class of deities, and so drenched in the slough of superstition that every man and every child seemed to be mad upon their idols. The Athenians were given up to idolatry, but they loved it for its associations with art and genius, and in it they worshipped the beautiful ; but the people of Pergamos loved it more for its lower elements, and were more penetrated with its essential spirit. Of such a place it might be truly said, " Satan's seat is there ;" for although he is called " the god of this world," although, as we look abroad over the na- tions, every region bears the insignia of his sway, yet, comparatively speaking, some parts seem to be like tributary provinces ; while others, for their wickedness, appear to lie near the seat and capital of his empire. The recognition of this fact in the inspired message which we have here quoted, brings out to view an encouraging truth, that, although our Lord expects much of his church on earth, there is not an obstacle in her path which he has not fully measured.

The spirit of the accusation, then, against the Christians of Pergamos, may be thus stated, that, although the Most High would make the most mer- ciful allowances for the small amount of results accomplished by the church in that city, he would make none at all for their corrupting the principles of his religion — although he could bear with the small quantity of good influence which they had put forth, he could not bear with the deterioration of its quality. Small success in promulgating the gospel may be charitably accounted for, but to mutilate the

344 Christianity and Slavery.

gospel itself is a sin which he will visit with con- dign severity. The message itself gives evidence, that, after the church at Pergamos had resisted her outward foes with a holy and heroic spirit, she was yielding to the influence of those who were ready to accommodate their Christianity to the times, saying that an external conformity to the usages of idolatry was innocent and expedient. Perhaps some of them advanced, in effect, what has since been urged with zeal by the Papists, that the way to win the heathen to Christianity is not to be too rigidly separate from them, but to tolerate many errors for the present, and to turn a participation in the rites and festivals to a good account. The allusion to Balak shows that some of these Christians had already drunk of the " Ammonitish wine," which intoxicated the Is- raelites, which led them to honor Baal Peor and to forsake the law of God. Their conformity did not stop at the first step ; " their table became a snare and a trap," and their spirit of idolatry led to every species of evil. Their destiny, as a church, was involved in their fidelity to first principles. Henco the message sent to them from the isle of Patmos directs its woe against all those who pervert the Divine word, or bring down the standard of its principles to the level of their own convenience. That is a great sin, because it destroys the remedy for sin. A single Christian, or a church, may be able to make but little headway against a prevailing custom, against popular opinion, against a badly organized state of society ; but every church, every man, and every woman, may hold up a sound testi-

Christianity and Slavery. 345

mony, may state the truth of God correctly, and leave the consequence to Him, whether it be to let it work gently like leaven, or to be as the fire and the hammer which breaks the rock of flint.

This remark has respect to the proper treatment of all sins which are called " organic," — those which are deeply interwoven with the elements of the so- cial structure, as, for instance, idolatry or slavery. Time was when almost universally, throughout this country, men owned slavery to be a sin ; that is, a thing which is in itself a transgression of the law of righteousness. Scarcely anywhere could a man be heard to say, that either its commencement or its continuance was sanctioned by reason or scripture. Amidst the agitation of recent years, however, many leading men in the land have deemed the avowal of such a sentiment to be contrary to a safe policy, and have proclaimed slavery to be, not an entailed mis- fortune, but a righteous relation sanctioned by the Christian scriptures. Now, in this juncture, Divine Providence undoubtedly called the Christian church in the slave states to a great duty ; to proclaim, on the one hand, that she was averse to all fanatical violence, wrath, and strife ; and, on the other, that to her. Heaven had committed a pure and free Chris- tianity, which teaches that " God has made of one blood all nations to dwell upon the face of the earth," — that the men of Europe or America have no more right of ownership in the flesh and blood of the chil- dren of Africa, than the Africans have in theirs ; and that, not power, or wealth, or color, can give to mm a right of property in man. This testimony

34G Christianity and Slavery.

she should have held forth with a calm martyr-spirit, seeking nought by violence, but to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of his testimony. But, alas ! to a great extent, her ministry and mem- bers have succumbed to the laws, the politics, the statesmanship, and the spirit of this world, — have altered the testimony of Christ's word, and have publicly declared that his religion sanctions a sys- tem of slavery. If the apostle John, who was in- spired of old to warn the declining churches of Asia, could descend from heaven with a special message to this portion of the American church, its " burden " and its tone would probably agree with those of this letter to Pergamos, saying, " I know where thou dwellest, even in the midst of a system which Satan has devised to grind your brethren with hard bond- age. I know how little thou canst do to change the laws and manners of this people, and break the bands of oppression ; but I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of the devil, saying that this system is from me, and that it bears the sanction of your Lord and Master. Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against thee with the sword of my mouth." Of such a spirit, we believe, would be the message sent to a portion of our American church, if the oracle of Cod should illuminate another Patmos. The man who, in the view of the civil law, is regard- ed as a slaveholder, but who, in heart, abhors the system, testifies against it as unrighteous, and does what he can to bring it to an end, is guiltless, com- pared with him, either at the South or the North,

Christianity and Slavery. 347

who never owned a slave, but who says that Chris tianity sanctions slavery. The one is the unwilling victim of the system ; the other is the voluntary ad- vocate of a principle, which, if true, fixes on Chris- tianity all the guilt of the system itself. The one exerts an influence which tends to destroy the sys- tem ; the other, an influence which tends to perpet- uate it. The one utters a testimony, however fee- ble, in harmony with the voice of the Bible ; the other muffles God's trumpet, so that it can pour forth no note of warning, but only gentle sounds, which soothe rather than alarm the conscience of the op- pressor.

As we have said before, the truths involved in this message proclaimed by the voice of the inspiration, apply to the church's testimony respecting all or- ganic sins whatsoever, — to all wrong customs which have received the support of society. It will not do for a Christian, or an association of Christians, to say, We cannot alter them, and therefore yield to them. In many things we all may have been sub- jected to a false system, whose influence we have in- haled like a subtle atmosphere ; but at any rate we can testify against it ; we can hold forth the law of truth and righteousness ; we can make known the word of God, " uncorrupt and pure ;" and thus, bat- tling against one and another sin, may keep it from concealing its native vileness by enrolling itself in the authority of religion, and proudly wearing the sanctions of Christ, like stars in its crown of triumph.

APPENDICES.

APPENDIX I.

NOTB A— Page 28. THE HARVEST OF TRADITIONISM.

Evert reader of the public journals, who is accustomed to observe " the signs of the times/' has been led to watch, with increasing interest, for a few years past, the agitation of the Church question in England, to mark the progress of that mighty conflict of opposing elements now raging from the center to the circumference of the Establishment ; and, of late, espe- cially, has been struck with the fact that the tide of sentiment among English Churchmen has been turning toward Rome with a stronger and accelerated flow. When a paper like the London Times comes to express its sympathy with the " public surprise" that men of the highest rank and character, men who had won universal confidence as sturdy champions of the Anglican Church, should become " apostates," we may feel quite sure that Rome is garnering rich harvests from the fields of Oxford orthodoxy, that the boasts of Cardinal Wiseman are something more than " sounding brass," and that the reception of his " red cap" denotes something more than a mere empty parade.

Among the apostasies that have created a sensation in Eng- land, is that of Viscount Fielding, a young nobleman who has been signalized as a standard-bearer in the ranks of the anti- Puseyites, and whom the Chiardian says it was constrained to oppose at the last Cambridge election on account of his

350 Appendix I.

" bigoted denunciations — in language redolent of the platform of Exeter Hall — against any diplomatic intercourse with Rome." Now he has grounded his arms, has made his confession, and kneels at the feet of " the Holy Mother." Others have fol- lowed in his lordship's footsteps, and among them is the Rev. Henry Wilberforce, brother of the Bishop of Oxford, who was received into the Popish church at Mechlin, on the Continent, whither he had gone a short time before, in company with Archdeacon Manning, who is supposed to sympathize cordially with this movement. One of Mr. Wilberforce's early friends and fellow-students in the school of Dr. Pusey, was the Rev. T. W. Allies, ex-chaplain of the Bishop of London. He has just resigned the rectory of Launton, and from the pulpit de- clared to his congregation that " he could not endure the in- famy that contradictory doctrine, even upon the holy sacrament of baptism, was permitted to be taught even by the ministers of the Anglican Church ; and that, while they would be told in the church of Launton that infants were regenerated by God's Holy Spirit in baptism, they would hear just the contrary in the church of Bicester. He would, therefore, give them a sermon no more by word, but by deed, in that he would resign his living, teaching them thereby that they should follow the truth whithersoever it might lead them." Mr. Allies carried his purpose into execution, left a rectory worth nearly four thousand dollars per annum, and was received into the Romish Church at St. Winfred's, near Cheadle, by Rev. Dr. Newman, of Oxford memory.

In the eyes of Rome, the Bishop of Oxford's family was a fitting soil to receive and nourish the seeds of her doctrine ; for it appears that she received at her altars three sisters-in-law of that eminent prelate, and the Rev. G. Dudley Ryder, a con- nection of the family by marriage. We once had the pleasure of hearing a sermon from the Bishop of Oxford, who gave a hit at the Dissenters while he was extolling the Church of Eng- land : " a church," he said, " whose formularies contain, not the crude expositions of ignorance and presumption, but the piety, the learning, and the wisdom of ages concentrated !" It

Appendix I. 351

was the aim of his discourse to invest the church standards with the sanctions of Heaven as the infallible guides of faith. Who can wonder that the disciples of such doctrines should carry them to their legitimate issues, and seek the oracles of infallibility on the banks of the Tiber, whence the English bishops themselves received their ordination and their author- ity ? Must not men reap what they sow ? Can they gather grapes from thorns ? Can thinking and earnest minds really believe that their salvation depends on their receiving the sac- raments from the hands of rightly-consecrated priests, and then be disposed to risk their eternal destiny on such flimsy arguments as those which are alleged to justify the usurpations of Henry VHI.. who abjured the long-acknowledged supremacy of the Pope in England, and proclaimed himself the head of the church and defender of the faith ? Can such persons commit the life of their souls, derived as it is from the authorized ad- ministration of water, bread and wine, to the keeping of an order of priests sprung from that race of men who all hung in abject dependence on the nod of Elizabeth, a queen who had it in her power to say to the Bishop of Peterborough, that if he did not do as she bade him, " By God, I will unfrock you ?" Surely, in the view of these '- perverts,"' as they are called in England, salvation is a serious business ; and, according to the principles which they have been taught, they have taken the safe course, they have faithfully followed " the law of devel- opment."

In fact, the Church of England, during the re»ent agitation of fundamental questions, has felt herself pressed by the horns of a dilemma, which was pointed out by the Archbishop of York, in the year 1558, during the debates of Parliament. The bill before the House was for attaching the supremacy of the church to the queen. According to Hansard, the archbishop said, that if the Church of England withdraw from the Church of Rome, she would, by that act, directly forsake and fly from all general councils ; and he proceeded to prove that the first four councils, of Nice, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalce don, had acknowledged the sup emacy of Rome. He then pre-

352 Appendix I.

sented this alternative for consideration : Either the Church of Rome is a true or a false one. If she be a true church, then we will be guilty of schism in leaving her, will be excom- municated by her, and the Church of England will become herself a false church. If the Church of Rome be a false church, then she can not be a pure source of apostolical succes- sion 5 and the Church of England must be false, because she derived her ordination and sacraments from that of Rome. This argument of the archbishop is as strong now as ever against those who would establish the claims of their church on the basis of a regular priestly succession. The High Churchmen of England, to a great extent, believe the Church of Rome to be essentially a true church ; and cherishing this conviction, they dare not brave the hazards of remaining vol- untarily in a state of schism. As Mr. Allies declared for him- self, they " will follow the truth whithersoever it may lead." We can not but sympathize with the anxieties of those sin- ceje inquirers after the way of truth, and after " the old paths," who have been brought up in England under such teachings ; nor less, with the feeling of difficulty on the part of those who have been reared in the Episcopal Church of America, which, as a branch of the Parliamentary Church of England, is beset with the same troublesome questions that take their rise in the doctrine of apostolical succession. After having been taught to place their hope of acceptance with God on the validity of sacraments ; after this doctrine has become an essential ele- ment of their creed, and has interwoven itself with all their cherished forms of religious thought, it becomes a momentous business to assure themselves that they are favored with the ministrations of a priesthood that can connect itself with the Apostles by an historical chain whose links have never been broken. Who can tell what gloomy periods of painful sus- pense such inquiring spirits are called to pass through ? And while they hear their own priests acknowledge the Church of Rome to be a true one, and know that this " true church", de- nounces the one to which they belong as being heretical and echismatical, denying the authority of her priesthood, and the

Appendix I. 353

validity of her sacraments, who can "wonder that they choose what must, in that case, appear to them to be the safe side ! Who can wonder that they should hail, as a welcome refuge, amidst their longings for mental repose, the altars of a churjch whose antiquity is undisputed, whose priesthood they had held as sacred, and whose sacraments they had revered as God's ap- pointed channels for conveying the balm of life to the sick and perishing ? No, we wonder not. There are many in this land who-, by such steps, have reached this conclusion, and there are many others now tending toward it by a drift of influences which it is morally impossible for them to resist.

It is said that Lady Fielding has been for some time engaged in building a beautiful church on her estates in Wales, in- tended, at the first, for the Church of England, but now des- tined to be dedicated to the service of Rome. In England, this change has produced a sensation. Here, as well as elsewhere, there are many who expect that within the realm of religion we may sow tares and reap wheat. They deny that the Bible alone is a sufficient guide of faith and practice ; they im- plant the elements of traditionism in the hearts of the young, and then are quite astounded when the natural crop of Romish errors appears in full bloom and fruitage.

In New York, as we have learned, there is at the present time an Ecclesiological Society, designed to revive a taste for mediaeval arts and fashions, which, in this latitude, are in- vested with a charm of novelty. From the moss-covered ruins of a decayed ritualism, it culls all the pretty fancies which it may be convenient to naturalize among us. Octagon fonts — knives and spoons for the communion with handles of cross- form — cloths for the communion-table of different colors for dif- ferent holy seasons — bier covers with monograms and crosses — superaltars and candlesticks of canonical patterns — these, " and such like things," this society looks after, and offers many of them for sale, " cheap for cash," so as to facilitate their restoration to the popular customs. Thus, while, on the one hand, transcendentalism is laboring to destroy all reverence for the authority of the Word of God, on the other hand, tradi-

354 Appendix T.

tionism is aiming to overlay it with the miserable rubbish of the superstitious ages.

What should be the effect of these things upon the enlight- ened and true-hearted Christian? Certainly it should be to strengthen his love and increase his zeal for that pure Word of God which is " sure, making wise the simple," to quicken his resolution to do all that lieth in him to diffuse the knowl- edge of it ; by means of Bible classes, Sunday schools, and family instruction, to have our youth rooted and grounded in its wholesome truths, and thus to aid in hastening that glori- ous victory over error which the redeemed in heaven shall celebrate in the song which the pen of inspiration has already written — " Thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy name?''

NoteB. Page 2a

INADEQUATE IDEAS OF A STATE CHURCH.

The course pursued by the excellent Baptist Noel, in aban- doning the Church of England, called forth many censures from evangelical ministers ; not only from those who are con- nected with the English Establishment, but also from those who hold distinguished positions among the Episcopalians in America. A few years ago, such censures filled many a column in the religious papers on both sides of the Atlantic. Even now, they are occasionally repeated. It has been said that the point of offense, the cardinal error, was, not in his becoming a Baptist, but in his leaving a church in which he might have been useful, and to which he owed a sacred allegiance. Ameri- can clergymen have been heard to utter language respecting Baptist Noel, very much like that which Southey wrote respect- ing the author of the Pilgrim's Progress when he extolled the

Appendix I. 355

liberality of the English Church toward him, and declared that Bunyan was not persecuted for his opinions, but only legally restrained from exhorting persons to " regard with ab- horrence that Protestant Church which is essentially part of the constitution of this kingdom, from the doctrines of which church, except in the point of infant baptism, he did not differ a hair's breadth."

From the tone of Southey's remarks, it is pretty evident that he overlooked one thing ; namely, that Bunyan considered the simple fact that a church should be essentially a part of the constitution of a kingdom, as a flagrant violation of the consti- tutional laws of Christianity. And many intelligent men, who have uttered their opinion respecting the course which Mr. Noel aught to have taken, have made the same mistake in regard to him, and have failed to see the relative importance •which he attaches to the union of the Church with the State as a fundamental error in religion, as the proof of apostasy from the teachings of Christ, and from the essential character of apostolical Christianity. The Christian dispensation is dis- tinguished from all others by its spirituality. This is one of its leading features, and one which our Lord placed among the initial truths that he taught, as we see was the case in those in- structions that he gave to the woman whom he met at the well of Samaria.

The Jewish economy was national, and persons became parts of its Church-and-State system by natural birth. But the first truth which our Lord taught an inquiring Rabbi was, that under the reign of the Messiah it should not be so ; for, '■ except a man be born again he can not enter into the kingdom of God." Christ's harbinger touched the same point first of all, directing the shafts of truth against that reliance on a connection with the Abrahamic covenant which was then so popular, saying, " think not to say within yourselves we have Abraham to our father." He called on men to repent and believe, and then, by receiving baptism, to become visible and acknowledged mem- bers of that newly organized assembly which he was gather- ing, " the people made ready for the Lord," the church of the

356 Appendix I.

Messiah. He addressed men as individuals, and refused to re- ceive them on any other ground than that of a personal faith, professed in a spirit of obedience. With him and with his Master, circumcision was nothing, uncircumcision nothing, but " faith which worketh by love."

These things being so, it is not merely impolitic, but it is contrary to the genius of Christianity, contrary to its essential elements of doctrine, to admit any one to any rite of the church on account of his having been born within its pale, or to make the church itself a part of a political system of government. He who sees this truth as clearly as Mr. Noel sees it, can not keep " a conscience void of offense," and yet maintain a con- nection with a State Church, governed by a Parliament, and owning a queen as its legal head. To any one who takes the New Testament as the standard of Christianity, it is saddening to look over the world and see how a simple religion, sent from heaven to attract men thither, has been subordinated to the low views and mean interests of a temporal and secular policy. It is saddening to see how the governments of the world, which have set themselves up to patronize Christianity, have para- lyzed her power and shorn her of her glory. It is saddening to see how, under the pretense of exalting her, they have debased her spirit, and disgraced her name ; how, while pretending to establish Christianity by law, they have established a merely human authority, and have caused her to echo the dogmas of courts and councils. And then, is it not saddening to see that, as the last and worst of all. they have praised this establish- ment as the true, and only true church of Jesus Christ ? As if the church of Christ could he established by human law? As if a spiritual religion, which addresses itself to the free choice of men, considered as free agents, could be enforced by legal enactments ! The thing is impossible. It involves a contra- diction. However honored maybe the history of any church on earth, however far it may be extended, with whatever names it may be distinguished and adorned, its pretense of being as to its outward constitution, the true church of Christ, is nullified by the fact that it is a church established by human

Appendix I. 357

law. So far as it is established by law so far it is a part of a political system, and just so far, constitutionally considered, it has lost the character of a true church of Christ. So that the mere fact, that a church is established by the legislation of a State, furnishes a sufficient reason why a Christian man should leave it, as having in its constitution those elements which are at war with the spiritual nature, the primary principles, and the high moral ends of the Christian dispensation.

This connection of religion with politics has been from age to age the prolific source of unnumbered and unspeakable evils. It has blinded men to the real nature of religion. It has dead- ened their hearts to a sense of its claims. It has made religion to appear as a mere creature of circumstances, depending, as to its obligations, on the accident of birth in a particular country. It has made attachment to Christianity to be a matter of mere patriotism or prejudice. It has tended to bind the weaker class of minds in the fetters of human creeds, formularies, and ob- servances, and to alienate the stronger from all religion what- soever, as being the contemptible appendage of political craft. True religion, left to itself and its voluntary advocates, will earn its own triumphs ; for, " it is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." And yet it is a solemn fact, deserving to be thought of, that the majority of nominal Chris- tians in the world at the present time would regard these say- ings as containing enormous heresies, and also, that there are clergymen in this country who regard the legal establishment of Christianity as the great want of America.

Hence, while we care for a benighted world, we have every reason to pray that religion may everywhere be free, that the governments of the world may neither oppose it by their power nor contaminate it by their patronage, but that they may yield to its moral sway, and give it •' free course," that it may be glorified.

358 Appendix L

NoteC. Page 35. THE CHRISTIAN CITIZEN'S DUTY TO CIVIL GOVERNMENT.

A WRITER in the Christian Review^ in an article on Harper's edition of Blackstone's Commentaries, takes occasion to recom- mend the study of that work to readers of every class and pro- fession. He says, " The general principles of our institutions and laws are matters of immediate and profound interest to every individual citizen; and we hold it to be even culpable for any citizen to remain in ignorance of those principles, who has the opportunity to cultivate an acquaintance with them. W^ith such views, we would urge the study of the present edi- tion of Blackstone, which Mr. Wendell has so well American- ized, upon intelligent readers of all classes and occupations." This is sound advice, and in connection with it, we would ob- serve that a school-book on " the science of government" should have a place in every system of American education. Black- stone can be read by comparatively few ; but a work of this latter kind might be, and ought to be placed in the hands of every school-boy throughout the land.

A great duty, which every Christian citizen owes to himself, to his children, and to his country, is to keep his mind well-in- formed respecting the Constitution of the Commonwealth, and of the nation, respecting public men and public measures. In despotic countries, the more ignorance the more peace; but where the people are the source of the law, " intelligence is the life of liberty." Of a good government, sleepless vigilance is the only safeguard.

Moreover, every citizen needs to be impressed with his obli- gations to use the elective franchise in the fear of God, and in the spirit of enlarged patriotism. It is a noble legacy, be- queathed to us by those who bought it at the price of toil and pain, exile and blood. To prostitute it to the narrow aims of

Appendix I. 359

personal interest, of private friendship, of a party, oi a faction, is a great " breach of trust" in the sight of Heaven. And all party becomes faction except when it is bound together by some important principle, or by measures in which the public good is involved. For any one to throw away the right of suflfrage, is, in most cases, sadly to negelect his duty to his country and to mankind ; and equally so is it to use this power in order to exalt any candidate to office, except the one whom he deems, on the whole, to be best qualified to fill it.

Besides, as it is essential to a good government to attain its ends by the use of only righteous means, every citizen is bound to exert his influence against the sanctioning of any other. Governments are really bound by the laws of righteousness, as well as individuals, however often the reverse of this may have been practically assumed by this world's statemanship. It is this, indeed, which renders the diplomatic history of Europe so sickening to an honest mind. Nowhere in the history of pirates, highwaymen, and swindlers, can darker deeds of fraud, chi- canery, and intrigue be found, than in the negotiations of one country with those of another. It is, as Adam Smith, author of " The "Wealth of Nations," long ago observed : " Truth and fair dealing are almost totally disregarded. Treaties are violated, and the violation, if some advantage is gained by it, sheds scarcely any dishonor on the violator. The just man, who, in all private transactions, would be the most beloved, is regarded as a fool and an idiot, who does not understand his business, and he incurs always the contempt, and sometimes even the detestation, of his fellow-citizens." This is a true witness. The only antidote to such an evil, is a virtuous public opinion, and in order to strengthen this against every infraction of the principles of right or justice, every Christian citizen should earnestly protest. Thus only can the blessing of the Almighty Ruler of the universe be secured. " Shall the thrones of iniquity, who frame mischief by a law, have fellow- ship with Him?" No; " He will speak to them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure ; he will rule them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

360 Appendix I.

The truth which we have now stated becomes especially im- portant in this our age and Republic, because it is so common now to advocate the doctrine that, even on a moral question so momentous as that of war, the individual should yield up his belief and his conscience to the decision of the government ; that, if a man believe a war to be aggressive and unjust, he should, nevertheless, engage in it, or sanction it, from a prin- ciple of allegiance to government. By men of opposing posi- tions, like that of Mr. Brownson, the defender of Popery, on the one hand, that of Cassius M. Clay, the defender of universal freedom, on the other, this doctrine of loyalty is promulged. Than this, there are probably few political teachings which could be more properly called anti-Christian. Where a gov- ernment demands that of an individual which contradicts his convictions of eternal justice and the divine will, the right answer is that of Peter and the early Christians to the Sanhe- drims of their time ; " Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye !"

"What !" says one. " must every individual be allowed to set up his own judgment in such a case against that of the govern- ment ?" Undoubtedly he must, as far as his own conduct is con- cerned, and, moreover, he must act on the convictions of his own conscience, at the peril of losing his soul — the peril of final con- demnation from a higher than an earthly tribunal — the dis- pleasure of that just God, who, to his adversaries, is " a con- suming fire." To this case belongs the warning of the Saviour : " Fear not them who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do ', but fear Him, who, after that he ha-th killed the body, hath power to destroy both soul and body in hell ; yea, I say unto you, fear Him."

" But then," says the worldly statesman, " what, in the emergency of war, would become of the public interests ?" It is worthy of observation here, that while it has been well said, that " war is a game, which, were their subjects wise, kings would not play at," it is also true, that, in an enlightened and free Republic, the servants of the people who conduct the gov- ernment, will always understand, that they can never wage a

Appendix I. 361

war with success or hope, unless they carry the convictions of good men with them. They will also understand, that in the view of Christians, if a demand of government is opposed to the revealed will of God, at that point the rightful authority of government ceases. Let these maxims be abandoned, and then, as far as all the great aims and ends of a man's being are concerned, the citizen of a republic is really enslaved as much as the Russian serf under a military despotism. His conscience is crushed, and he can not say that his soul is his own. It is always a terrible evil for a government to misjudge the ques- tion of war — to declare that to be just which is unnecessary and unjust ; but it is a far greater evil, one which more deeply wounds a nation's honor, and depraves a nation's conscience, for a government or a people to confess that a war is wrong, and yet to command their armies to fight it out in spite of justice, resolving from year to year to furnish the means to carry it forward with resistless energy.

The great want of our country at this time, is a larger body of enlightened, leading men, who will look at things in the light of reason and Christianity, who will follow higher guid- ing lights than the corrupt political maxims of the old world, who will be true to their own convictions, who will speak them forth with moral courage, and will act on them with consist- ency. Such men are God's gifts, and it becomes Christians to pray that He would raise them up in our midst, in accordance with the prophecy,

" I will make thine oflacers Peace, And thine exactors Kighteousnesa."

/

362 Appendix I.

Note D. Page 36. CHRISTIANITY AND SLAVERY.

An earnest writer, in a respectable religious journal, while deprecating agitation on the subject of slavery, expresses in the following sentence a widely-spread opinion :

" Christianity, which, by its healing and purifying processes, obliterated slavery in the Roman Empire, will doubtless do as much for our Republic ; especially as the Bible is now satur- ating the public mind with its light, liberty, and love."

Two questions are here suggested to us.

1. How can a Christianity which sanctions the slave rela- tion, and prescribes its duties, gradually overthrow it ? We believe this to be impossible. One practical proof of this is the fact, that those who advocate the perpetuation of slavery, are constantly claiming for it the sanctions of Christianity. The overthrow of the system will never be the trophy of such a Christianity as that. Would Christianity have overthrown idolatry, if, instead of opposing, it had sanctioned the system ?

2. On what grounds is it asserted, that " Christianity oblit- erated slavery in the Roman Empire?" So far is this from being true, the stern fact stares us in the face, that the Roman Empire itself was destroyed by slavery. Perhaps, if a school- boy were asked the question. What overturned the Roman Empire? his first answer would be. The conquests of the northern barbarians. But then, the question returns. What caused that weakness of the Empire, which gave the barbarians a chance to overturn it ? The answer is. The slave system within the Empire corroded the core of its strength, and ren- dered it a mere shell, unable to resist the pressure of its enemies.

This is the truth of history, Tacitus informs us that the Romans feared to let the number of their slaves be known, and

Appendix I. 363

forbade the wearing of a peculiar di-ess, lest they should be- come aware of their strength. But in our country, the God of nature had furnished a peculiar dress for them, which statute law can not remove. On the point of which we speak, how- ever, Allison gives us a clear and simple statement, in the In- troduction to his " History of Modern Europe." (See Harper's edition, page 22.) He says, " The steady growth, unequaled extent, and long duration of the Roman Empire proves the wisdom of their political system ; but it fell a prey, at length, to the dreadful evil of Domestic Slavery. It was this incur- able evil which, even in the time of Augustus, thinned the ranlcs of the legions ; which, in process of time, filled the armies with mercenary soldiers, and the provinces with great proprie- tors ; which, subsequently, rendered it impracticable to raise a military force in the southern provinces of the Empire, and at length consumed the vitals of the State, and left nothing to withstand the barbarians but nobles, who wanted courage to defend their property, and slaves, who were destitute of prop- erty to rouse their courage."

Well, if the Roman Empire fell a victim to slavery, why do we hear it so often repeated, that Christianity obliterated slavery in the Roman Empire ? Modern Christian Europe is not the Roman Empire, any more than the Mexico of our day is a part of the Spanish Empire. Undoubtedly, if the Roman world had received the pure Christianity of the New Testament as Christ preached it, slavery would have been destroyed, and the Empire would have been both renovated and saved. The barbarian conquests, which were the immediate occasion (not the cause) of the fall of the Empire, gave rise to the modern kingdoms of Europe; and these invaders, having professed Christianity, developed those elements of the true religion which they received, in the gradual destruction of slavery.

But, in regard to European and American slavery, there is a very important distinction to be noticed. European slavery was an institution inherited from Paganism, and, like other Pagan institutions, disappeared from modern Europe before the march of Christianity. But American slavery was originated

364 Appendix I.

hy Christian nations themselves, under the sway of a corrupt and warlike Christianity. From its first triumphs in Africa until the present hour, it has sought to invest itself with the sanctions of our holy religion. For ages past it has heen strengthening itself on this .continent, aiming at extension, and claiming to be let alone^ on the ground that it is a Christian in- stitution. Pulpits, presbyteries, associations, and religious presses, like the Observer^ have long been saying aloud, " The apostles let slavery alone, and we should follow their example." And as an argument for this, we are gravely told that this slave system, which began under Christianity, if left undis- turbed, will fall by the power of that very Christianity which sanctions the relation ! Can any thing be more absurd than this ? We have no belief in it, and for it we have no respect. The laws of nature and Providence may destroy slavery by the severe penalties which they inflict, but the destruction of tho system can never be the trophy of a Christianity so corrupt in its essential elements.

What, then, is the proper ground for the Christian Church to occupy ? Evidently, she should hold forth a faithful testimony as to the original doctrines of Christianity touching human rights, touching the natural equality of all men before God and before the law, and also the doctrine of Christian brotherhood. In the early ages, we know that true Christians lavished their money freely to redeem their brethren from bondage, because, as they said, " Christ died for all alike ;" and they believed, with the apostle John, " We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." For a professed Christian voluntarily to hold a brother in bondage, against his will, is as inconsistent with Christ's teachings as any crimes whatsoever. Let these great truths, as taught in the Sermon on the Mount, be restored to the Church at large ] then, and not till then, will she put forth a moral power sufficient to extirpate slavery from the land, and elevate her captive children to " the liberty wherewith Christ hath set them free."

Appendix I. 365

NoteE. Page3& MOHAMMEDAN AND CHRISTIAN POWERS.

A MEMORANDUM OF THE TEAE 1849.

Among the strange spectacles that Europe exhibited in the year 1849, there was none more instructive than the contrast of positions occupied by the Sultan of Turkey, and their Chris- tian majesties the Emperors of Russia and Austria, in relation to the cause of freedom. There is at this hour more religious liberty enjoyed in Turkey than in those Christian States which lie upon her borders. For some years past Turkey has been turning her steps into the path of progress and improvement, and taking lessons from England, France, and America in regard to Science, Art, and Education. She has had French officers to discipline her troops, and American architects to construct her ships. The young Sultan, now upon the throne, is treading in the steps of his father, who began this course of innovation with a high hand, in spite of the inveterate preju- dices which centuries had strengthened. And now we have seen Austria and Russia, professing Christianity, defending the worst forms of ancient despotism by the union of their arms, while Mohammedan Turkey has become the asylum of the oppressed and the champion of human rights. Into what a false position is the Christian religion thus thrown by its being made to coalesce with systems of political oppression. Thanks to Providence, there is one gentleman upon a European throne, although that throne is not called Christian.

The course of events in the present century has brought to view no change in relations of States more wonderful and unexpected than that which is now becoming the talk of the whole world ; namely, that Turkey, which so lately seemed to be sinking into decay, is in fact developing new elements of life, and rising up to be the bulwark against the baptized bar-

366 Appendix I.

barism of the North. The fact is instructive. It exhibits a Mohammedan power in an attitude of dignity superior to that of its Christian neighbors. It indicates to us how little there is to choose between the nominal religion of the Greek and Catholic Christians and the religion of Mohammed. The simple Christianity of the New Testament bears on its front the evi- dence of its heavenly origin, and is the greatest blessing which a people can receive; but it is often seen that the greatest blessing, when perverted, becomes the greatest curse ; and so that nominal Christianity which is established by law, which is the creature of politics and the tool of kings, which is taught by a state-paid priesthood and maintained by the sword of per- secution, is a more deadly antagonist to the moral progress of a nation than the religion of " the false prophet," or even some forms of Paganism. Many Christian writers of England and America have been conciliated to the prospect of Russian domination over Turkey by the thought that the cross would then supplant the crescent ; but unless the crescent can be supplanted by the peaceful teachings of the New Testament it had as well retain its place. A Russian Christianity with all its oppressions would deserve and receive the contempt of infidels, and would verify the saying of the apostle, " The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written."

But the favorable changes which are now beginning to be seen in Turkey are owing in a great degree to the peaceful influence of Christian principles, co-operating with the course of Providence. American missionaries, as well as others, have long been at work in Turkey without seeming to accomplish any good. The American Board deserves great praise for its perseverance in maintaining the heralds of tho gospel in that dark land when scarce a ray of light dawned upon their pros- pects. They chose " to bide their time." Their time has come. New openings greet them on every hand. The little leaven is beginning to spread through the lump. The buried seed is rearing its blade above the surface, to be followed by " the ear, and then the full corn in the ear " The mighty

Appendix L 367

element of missionary influence, so long in silent operation, will soon have larger scope and verge, and will show itself in results that will stand as memorials of its triumph on the broad field of History.

Moreover, cheering prospects have been opening before us of late, in regard to the progress of freedom among the Oriental people of the Old World.

Lord Palmerston stated in the English House of Commons that the Bey of Tunis had prohibited within his dominions, not only the slave-trade, but the slave system. The Sultan of Turkey had issued firmans forbidding the slave-trade among his subjects in the Eastern seas. The Imaum of Muscat had abolished it within certain latitudes. The Arabian chiefs, in the Persian Gulf had also abandoned it, and the Shah of Per- sia had published a firman against it.

It will be perceived that these decisive proceedings have taken place in Mohammedan countries, and they are the effects, chiefly, of British influence. It has been asked when will this " free country " follow in the wake of such noble examples in the cause of freedom ? In answering this question it may be well to observe that the religious sentiment of Mohammedans is, in one important respect, in advance of the religious sentiment of a great multitude of Christians in this land. A Mohammedan deems it a sin to enslave his brother in the faith ; but American Christians, teachers and preachers here, publicly declare that the slave relation is allowed by Christianity, and is perfectly consistent with the relations of Christian brotherhood. Now this difierence of religious belief touching slavery must render it more easy to abolish slavery among Mohammedans than among Christians, just so far as this difference exists. In the view of Mohammedans, slavery is, to a certain extent, inconsist- ent with their religion. But in the view of many American Christians of the highest standing in the Church, slavery is sanc- tioned by Christianity. While such a state of sentiment pre- vails among the churches of America, freedom will not be much indebted to their religion for her triumphs. Nevertheless, this class of persons tells us that they are, in principle^ friends of

368 Appendix I.

freedom. If so, it is as men, not as Christians, that they are friends of freedom. Their religion does nothing in the work of emancipation. Their humanity, their philosophy, their political economy may do something, but their Christianity must be utterly ineffective. If Mohammedanism should prevail universally, personal freedom would prevail also ; but if this sort of Christianity should gain the world, even then slavery might be perpetuated. Truly we may say to these men, " The name of Christ is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written."

Note F. Page 40. COMMERCE AND SLAVERY.

In a leading political paper there appeared an article headed " Commerce versus Abolition," which is intended to furnish a clue to the policy of the North, as projected by some of our states- men, and to sound the key-note to the doctrines which are deemed essential to the preservation of northern interests. It states that in the city of New York there are about twenty-five millions of dollars invested in the coastwise trade with the Southern cities of the Union; that from the immense trade connected with steamers, ships, brigs, and schooners, moving in fleets to Balti- more, Norfolk, Cape Fear River, Charleston, Savannah, Darien, Apalachicola, Pensacola, New Orleans, Galveston, and other Southern ports where slavery exists, millions of dollars go into the hands of our shipbuilders, shipwrights, blacksmiths, wood- cutters, sailmakers, ropeweavers, and men employed in other kinds of business. Picturing forth in glowing colors the com- mercial prosperity of New York, it declares that if the anti- slavery doctrines, proclaimed by the democrats on the platform at BuffalOj and by a Whig Convention at Syracuse, shall be

Appendix I. 369

sanctioned by the voting masses of the North, all this property will be wrecked, made worthless, and utterly annihilated. Such is the thrilling appeal which it addresses to the pocket of the merchant, without one word of comfort or of hope to the conscience and the heart of humanity.

The sentiment of this article is not singular. It accords with the tone of other papers, chiming in harmony with the South Carolina doctrine, that the slave system of the United States is designed to be a perpetual institution. It deprecates all agitation of the slavery question. It involves principles which our fathers repudiated, which are directly opposed to our Declaration of Independence, to the spirit of our constitu- tion, to the elements of moral science, to the teachings of Christianity ; and all this under the guise of an enlarged spirit of nationality. " For substance of doctrine," it maintains this position in solemn earnest — that between the South and the North there should be an implied contract, a bargain understood on both sides, that in consideration of the gains of Southern trade, we will yield to a small body of planters the right to rule the free millions of the country, to mold our national policy, and to fix the color and complexion of our destiny for- ever.

Shall this be so ? This has become the great question of our time — a question for the men of the present generation to decide. The responsibility is inevitable, and is the leading feature of that national probation which God is calling us to pass. Many, no doubt, would gladly close their eyes to this reality, would gladly pursue what seems to be the interest of the hour, and leave it to Providence to work out the welfare of humanity without their co-operation. But this can not be. American freemen must either passively consent to be the tools of that great colossal slave-power which now bestrides the land from the borders of Mexico to the Canadas, or they must rouse up, like Sampson, from their benumbing sleep, breaking asunder, not the " green withes," nor the " new ropes," but the golden chains with which they have been bound, and so achieve deliverance for themselves and their posterity.

370 Appendix I.

Numerous and varied have been the changes rung, of late^ upon the commercial ties that unite the North and the South. Again and again have Southern politicians threatened to break them ; again and again have Northern politicians responded in accents of real or affected terror, and in pledges of subser- viency. The writer referred to, like Demetrius of Ephesus, aims to rouse the craftsmen by the rallying cry, " Our trade is in danger;" to fan their fears into a storm of passion, to lead their hosts to fall prostrate before the shrine of Commerce, and to take up the strain of the Ephesian mob as a kind of Amer- ican Marseilles Hymn — " Great is the Diana of New York." The North, he says, have now the monopoly of the Southern coastwise trade'; but unless the North shall become quiet on the " delicate subject," the boon will be granted to another people. As if the legislation of the South had granted com- mercial favors to the North in the spirit of patronizing kind- ness, grace, and magnanimity ! As if the principles which regulate commercial wealth, and the interchanges of commu- nities, rested on so shallow a basis as men's arbitrary enact- ments ! As if the God of nature had not constituted society with those pressing wants which render mercantile intercourse an imperative necessity ! Why, even during the war with Mexico, American merchants were engaged in large transac- tions with Mexican houses in the exercise of mutual confi- dence. And even now, if Mr. Calhoun's darling project of a Southern confederacy were realized, the South would not let her surplus products rot in her fields, but would send them to the most profitable market, and would buy the things necessary to supply her wants just where she could do so to her own advantage. The South has not helped to make New York what it is in the spirit of a generous legislation, but by following those mighty laws of wealth which God established before the cotton had grown in her fields, or the sweat of a slave had moistened her soil.

Far be it from us to depreciate commerce on the ground of moral and religious principles. We honor the spirit, but not the wisdom, of those old Waldenses who abjured trade as a

Appendix I. 371

profession on account of its corrupting tendencies, and treated it as unlawful because of the " lies and trickery" with which it was connected. But the best gifts of Heaven may be abused, and commerce is abused when it is made the minister of op- pression. This has often been done. We learn from Scrip- ture that the cry of " unjust gain" has pierced the skies, and brought down heavy judgments. Commerce has its dark and its bright side, its aspects of honor and of shame, of dignity and of meanness. It has exerted the most benign agencies ; it has found men ignorant, rude, isolated, selfish, and savage, and causing them to feel an interest in the common welfare of their race, has become the great promoter of art, civilization, and humanity. On the other hand, it has often been seen lending its aid to the "powers of darkness ;" it has lighted up the flames of war on the coast of Africa, it has doomed mil- lions to the horrors of the middle passage, it has reddened the Atlantic with the blood of captives, it has rent the sacred ties of domestic relations, it has ministered to intemperance and every form of satanic lust, and is threatening now, unless counteracted by Christianity, to demoralize this whole nation, to poison the deepest springs of public sentiment, and to sub- ject us all to schemes of policy which will cause our children to blush over those pages of their country's history that are yet to be written.

All honor, we say, to American commerce for the good it has done — for the aid which it has yielded to the cause of phi- lanthropy and religion. In the hands of faithful men it has made many a wilderness to bloom. Its triumphs, we hope, are but just begun, and that a bright career is before it. Therefore let it be the prayer of Christians everywhere, that our Commerce may be consecrated to Truth, to Justice, and Freedom. Let them pray that it may nourish in us all that is manly and heroic, that it may impart the moral courage to attempt, as well as the power to do great things, that it may be the friend and servant, not the idol and god of the people.

372 Appendix I.

Note G. Page 46.

GOD AND THE CONSTITUTION. A MEMORANDUM OF THE TEAR 1850.

" God and our country" is a phrase which has long been consecrated as the watchword of the Christian patriot. True religion is always consistent with true patriotism. When the Jewish people were carried as captives into Babylon, they were bidden by the prophet to seek the good of the land which was to be their home ] how deeply, then, must they have felt that the love of their native land was sanctioned and strengthened by their religion ! " If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning," was the breathing of a senti- ment in which piety and patriotism were united. The prophet Jeremiah, who rebuked the evils of his times without the fear of courtiers and kings, was denounced as the enemy of his country ; but succeeding ages have always pointed to his fidelity as the proof of his patriotism. The spurious patriots of the day were wont to cry " Our country, right or wrong," in a spirit which led them to maintain and defend the wrong when once adopted and avowed • but the prophets of God pro- nounced heavy woes on those who called evil good, and sounded forth the message, " If ye be willing and obedient ye shall eat the good of the land ; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."

True patriotism is always faithful to that high moral prin- ciple without which no nation can prosper, and shrinks from crying " Peace, peace," when there can be no peace. And in no country where there is an enlightened public opinion, where there is a Christian conscience, can there be peace if the estab-

Appendix I. 373

lished Constitution be of such a nature that it can not be inter- preted into harmony with the laws of God and the dictates of eternal justice. Christianity, truth, and virtue have all died out from among a people who can practically cry — the Consti- tution and God, instead of God and the Constitution. In that case Divine Providence ever furnishes a stern commentary on the saying of Jesus, " Verily, I say unto you, the first shall be the last, and the last first."

We have reason to be thankful that in this country we live un- der a Constitution so much in unison with the principles of true Chr)ptianity. The demands of the slave-power, however, have jarred against this harmony. The word slave was intention- ally left out of the Constitution by its framers, expecting as they did that slavery would come to an end, and that then the terjns of the Constitution would be adapted to a state of uni- versal liberty. On this point, the expressions of Mr. Webster, in his late speech in the Senate, are very clear and explicit. He says, " The eminent men, the most eminent men, and nearly all the conspicuous politicians of the South, held the same sen- timents, that slavery was an evil, a blight, a blast, a mildew, a scourge, and a curse. There are no terms of reprobation of slavery so vehement in the North of that day as in the South.

Then, sir, when this Constitution was framed, this

was the light in which the convention viewed it. The con- vention reflected the judgment and sentiments of the great men

of the South They thought that slavery could not

be continued in the country if the importation of slaves were made to cease, and therefore they provided that after a cer- tain period the importation might be prevented by the act of the new government. Twenty years was proposed by some gentleman, a Northern gentleman, I think, and many of the

Southern gentlemen opposed it as being too long You

observe, sir, that the term slave or slavery is not used in the Constitution. The Constitution does not require that ' fugi- tive slaves' shall be delivered up. It requires that ' persons bound to service in one State and escaping into another shall be d^^'vered up.' Mr. Madison opposed the introduction of

374 Appendix I.

the term slave or slavery into the Constitution ; for, he said, that he did not wish to see it recognized by the Constitution of the United States of America that there could be property in men." Such is the testimony of Mr. Webster, and he makes two things very clear: 1, that the spirit of the Consti- tution is opposed to slavery ; 2, that the letter of the Constitu- tion was intentionally adjusted to a state of liberty, which was expected to have prevailed, ere now, over the whole ex- tent of the United States.

If these things be so, if it be true that the spirit of the Con- stitution is at war with slavery, that the letter of the Consti- tution was purposely framed so as to suit itself to the extinction of slavery — an event which the fathers of the Republic sup- posed to be nigh at hand — we earnestly put this question to any honest man : How does it follow from such premises that fidelity to the Constitution now requires a more "stringent law" to facilitate and secure the restoration of "fugitive slaves ?" Do our constitutional obligations require us to do a thing, the mere anticipation of which would have been revolt- ing to the authors of the Constitution, which they believed would never be required, and against the necessity of which they supposed themselves to have made adequate provision by the destruction of the slave-trade ? We say, not at all ! The Constitution is faithfully observed when it is interpreted and carried out according to the views, the intentions, and the spirit of those who formed and adopted it.

'The more closely we look at this subject in the light of authentic history the more clearly will we see that, as the Constitution contains no provisions specifically adapted to secure the restoration of captives into bondage, it designedly left the whole matter to be regulated practically by public sentiment ; and did this in the firm belief that the public sen- timent of the country would extirpate slavery, and would, therefore, leave no room for any one to apply its clause re- specting " persons held to service," to " men held as prop- erty !" Mr. Webster himself has made this as clear as the sunlight ; and yet. forsooth, we are told that a sense of honor,

Appendix I. 375

a true fidelity to the Constitution, requires that public senti- ment do violence to itself, and pass a law, which, for our day, the authors of the Constitution would have pronounced morally impossible. Surely, we may exclaim, as did the Hebrew prophet unto Egypt — "Where are they — where are thy wise men ? they have caused thee to err, even the chief pillars of thy tribes !"

These views of the question before us may be amply con- firmed by the most incontrovertible testimonies ; and standing on the rocky grounds which they furnish, we maintain that those Senators were right in their position who asserted, that, when the public conscience is against a more stringent law, a more stringent law is unconstitutional. If the provisions of the Constitution are now found to be ineffectual to secure the restoration of slaves to bondage, it is because they were so made as ultimately to lose their stringent force. But, then, a change has come over the spirit of the South. As Mr. Web- ster observes, " Slavery is not regarded in the South now as it was then." And how does he account for this change? The answer is, cotton! To quote again the Massachusetts Senator : " The age of cotton became a golden age for our Southern brethren !" Here we have the case in a few words — cotton versus the Constitution — cotton against conscience ! And now (O tempora .'j, the learned counsel, the legal wisdom, the enlightened religion of the North " turn aside like a deceitful bow" in the day of battle, abjure the principles of our fathers, and declare to all mankind that high statesmanship demands that the Constitution shall not be interpreted by the law of conscience, but by the law of the cotton interest !

Christian men, friends, and fellow-citizens, this is a plain, sober statement of the truth. To this position our political leaders have been drifted, and some religious presses, from which we should have expected more truthful expositions of the matter, have faltered with them, have proclaimed the Constitution to be at war with God and justice, and then in the sacred names of Christianity and Peace have added, " Let the Constitution be supreme !" Believe them not — look at

376 Appendix I.

the question for yourselves. Our fathers have not brought us into such a predicament. They legislated for us rather than themselves. They thought that they had saved us from such a dilemma. Would he, who, vv^ith his eye on the slave system, said, '" I tremble for my country when I remember that God is just" — would Jefferson's patriotic coadjutors, who avowed a still higher and purer tone of Christian sentiment than himself — would the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, and passed the ordinance of 1787, and denounced the slave-trade as piracy, and announced their purpose by de- stroying the slave-trade to destroy the slave system — would they have knowingly put a clause in the Constitution which would require their sons, in the middle of the nineteenth cen- tury, to establish the bulwarks of slavery, and become them- selves subservient to the behests of those who advocate the perpetual thralldom of an oppressed race, as their darling poli- cy ? Never; never. " This wisdom cometh not from above," nor from our fathers, nor from the Constitution, but is modern, mercantile, corrupting — " earthly, sensual, and devilish." Trample on such an interpretation ; link not your policies with those which set the Constitution at variance with Heav- en and Humanity, but, carrying out in your generation the noble sentiments of the men of '76, let your motto be — "God and the Constitution !"

APPENDIX II.

Note A — Page 74.

THE PRINCIPALITIES,

Moldavia, which has figured so much of late in European diplo- macy, became, we perceive, a Turkish province half a century be- fore the capture of Constantinople. With this notice touching the entrance of that ill-fated province into the history of Turkish affairs, it may be well to connect a few observations drawn from the journal of the author, while pursuing a voyage up the Danube in the year 1839. These observations relate not only to Moldavia, but also to the neighboring principahty of Wallachia.

After a stormy voyage on the Black Sea, we entered the Danube on a pleasant afternoon, under a bright sun. Eor a sea steamer, even of the smallest size, to enter one of the mouths of this river in the early spring, is a matter of considerable moment ; for in our course there lay a bar, around which the current generally varies its direction during the winter. On this account great care is requisite. "We proceeded slowly, the captain and pilot anxiously looking out, and all seemed to breathe more freely when we reached the main cmTcnt. Here a large number of vessels were lying on both the Turkish and Russian shores, waiting for an opportunity to sail. Not able to proceed with a full cargo, they sent a part before them in lighters, and received it again after having passed the bar. The entrance of the steamer for the first time in the season produces a sensation, and the vessels are full of gazers. The land at the mouth of the Danube lies very low, and the houses which line the shore do little to relieve a dreary landscape. An eagle careering in the air greeted us with an inquiring eye, and groups of white pelicans clus- tered on the bank, or moving gracefully on the water, kept a respect- ful distance, and made off slowly on our approach.

378 Appendix II.

In ascending the Danube, no object of interest engages the atten- tion until, after having passed the mouth of the river Pruth, wo reach Galatz, the port of Moldavia. Here a small forest of masts indicates the activity of commerce. As evening was drawing near, the shore exhibited a scene of pastoral beauty, as large flocks of sheep were feeding on the plains, and herds were driven to the river for watering. The arrival of the steamer made a gala-day for the people ; a salute of seven guns was fired, and a great throng of every class and size welcomed the Ferdinand, and Captain Evcrtson, her gentlemanly commander.

The shore and shipping arc the most pleasing objects which Ga- latz presents to the eye of a traveler. These seemed somewhat picturesque ; but on entering the town the charm dissolves. It contains about five thousand people ; the houses are of wood, low, unpainted, and open to the street, except a few in the upper part which are whitewashed, tiled, and have glass windows ; the streets are formed of logs laid crossways, making a corduroy road. Every thing has a comfortless aspect. Yet the commerce of the place is considerable, and we were astonished to see the number of vessels from England and the isles of the Mediterranean which find their way here. Moldavian exports are chiefly wax, wool, tallow, skins, barrel-staves, beans, cheese, corn and wine. The chief imports are cotton, coffee, sugar, oil and iron. Living is cheap. A fine goose costs twelve and a half cents, a fat sheep seventy-five cents, and other things in proportion. This port is the outlet not only of Moldavia, but also of the neighboring principality of Wallachia.

Passing the mouth of the river Sereth, we come to Ibraila, the port of Wallachia, containing twenty-five thousand people, and largely engaged in commerce. Its articles of export are the same as those of Galatz, and more than five hundred cargoes of wheat, barley, and oats, of two hundred tons each, have annually left this little town. Cattle, sheepskins, and cantharides are also exported in abundance. A good horse may be bought here for fifteen dollars, and this is an indication of the scale of prices for all articles con- nected with agriculture. Yet under a good government the products of t!iis principality might be greatly increased. As it is, one can easily see that it opens a large sphere of commerce, and many Eng- lish vessels from "the United States of the Ionian Islands" are

Appendix II. 379

engaged in it, but we doubt whether any vessel from the United States of America has ever unfurled her flag in these Danubian ports.

The provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia extend from the Dan- ube to the Carpathian Mountains, one hundred and fifty miles, and from the Pruth to Orschova, three hundred and sixty miles along the river. Moldavia derives its name from the river Moldau, and was the early home of the Venedi, who have been called " the bear- ers of the human race " — the same people who settled the part of England now called Cambridgeshire, whose name is derived from the Teutonic word fen, who lived on low lands, dammed up the small rivers so as to cover the marshes with water, and lived on the wild fowl and fish which fattened in their watery domain. "Walla- chia derives its name from the lUyrian word vlach, which is by in- terpretation a herdsman. The Eomans colonized the territory with thirty thousand people, and held it for three hundred years, but were obliged to withdraw their protection as they did from Britain, when the empire became weak and the barbarians strong. Nevertheless these civilized colonists influenced the character of their barbarian conquerors, and, as Gibbon observes, "the Wallachians still preserve many traces of the Latin language, and have boasted in every age of their Eoman descent." It must be confessed, however, that at the present day the people of neither of these provinces have much that is Eoman in their aspect, manners, or habits. The rough dress, the sheepskin coats, the rude implements of agriculture which now prevail, are fashioned in the same style as those which are sculptured on Trajan's column in Eome, er-ected more than seventeen hundred years ago to commemorate his conquest of this very land, which then bore the name of Dacia. What a sad proof is furnished hero of the immobility of this part of Europe ! Eor seventeen centuries it has not made one step of progress, and no sign of an onward movement has appeared, except the recent impulse communicated by the establishment of steam-navigation. In this point of view tlie curious throng gathered around our steamer was an interesting and significant fact, foretelling a brighter future !

The population of these two provinces is about a million and a half. The prevailing religion is that of the Greek Church, a form of nominal Christianity which does nothing for popular improvement,

380 Appendix II.

and has in it nearly all those elements of degenerate superstition which belong to Popery itself. Let it bo always said in its praise, however, that it allows the Bible to the people ; but the Wallachians never had the Scriptures in their vernacular tongue until they were introduced by the Greek Hospodar, Constantine Mavrocordato, who in the year 1735 had the Old and New Testaments printed in the common dialect. In order to accomplish this he had to invent a new character, composed of Greek and Slavonic letters, as the patois of the country had never before been reduced to writing.

As in other parts of Northern Europe, the peasantry of these provinces are in an abject condition. They are, in fact, the slaves of the aristocracy, and wholly in their power. The physical appear- ance of all classes is considerably similar, and perhaps influenced much by the climate ; they are low of stature, plump, timid, inert, having soft, silky hair — characteristics that may be found alike in the rich proprietor who reclines in his gilded carriage, and the laborer who is jolted along in his rickety, old-fashioned wagon. In the north- em parts, wolves and bears infest the Carpathian jungles, but even these have a more gentle and timid character than their several species in other lands.

In these provinces the contrast between north and south is very marked, the former sections being undulating, varied, and pictu- resque, the latter marshy and dreary. As has been intimated, there is much of fertile soil, but there are few stimulants to enterprise. The political power is really in the hand of Russia, nominally in that of Turkey. The Sultan appoints the Hospodar or Governor, but he dares not name one whom Eussia dislikes. A million of piastres, is the tribute which the Hospodar has been accustomed to pay to Turkey for Moldavia, and two millions for Wallachia. K these principalities were blessed with freedom and well-managed, they would furnish a fine mart for manufactured articles, for which they could give so many products in exchange ; but at present their education is so limited, their tastes and habits so barbarous, that they have few of those wants which civilization creates.

In these countries may be seen everywhere large groups of gypsies ; that singular, wandering race, restless, idle, thievish, superstitious ; living like Ishmaelites, with their hands against every man, and every man's hand against them, yet dwelling in the presence of their

Appendix n. 381

brethren. They exhibit the same traits, whether found in Egjqjt or Spain, in Hungary or Wallachia. In the two principalities their number is one hundred and fifty thousand. Their immigration offers a curious and difficult problem. It has been said that they manifest everywhere not only the same features, but almost the same name, " for in the words Zingani and Tchingani we trace the etymological root which points to Egypt as the native soil of the French Egyptian, the English Gypsey, the Spanish Gitano, the Italian Zingano, and the German Zigeuver." Like owls, they seem most happy at night ; we have seen them grouped around their fires full of life and glee at midnight, while in the day they appear more sombre.

As might be expected, not much can be said in favor of the general state of morals in Moldavia and Wallachia. The marriage tie is weak, divorce is common for the most trivial causes, and, of course, all social bonds are lax. Scarcely a good servant can be found : every one is depraved, and especially thievish. If the people were heathen, there might be some hope for them ; for in that case they would present an inviting field for missionary effort. But being nominally Christian, and under the protection of Russia, " the door is shut." In view of such facts, an enlightened Christian is con- strained to pray that the great Northern despotism may soon meet the doom which is predicted in the second Psalm against the gov- ernments of the earth that impede the progress of Christianity : " He shall break them as with a rod of iron, he shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

382 Appendix II.

Note B— Page 78. ORIGIN OF THE HUNGARIANS.

The origin of the Hungarians has been much discussed by Euro- pean antiquaries ; they themselves, however, are wont to boast of their descent from the Huns, and place Attila in their list of kings, with a feeling of pride as strong as that which led the hordes of Attila to vaunt themselves of a descent from those ancient Huns who had been of old the terror of China — warlike tribes against whose invasions the great Chinese wall, fifteen hundred miles in length, was erected three hundred years before the Christian era. It is a curious fact, that some believe the modem Hungarians and the Turks to have been of kindred blood, and that both came from Turcomania (the ancient Annenia) ; a theory sustained by the affinities that are detected between the languages and the physiognomies of the two nations. Coincident with this theory is the curious fact, that at the foot of Mount Caucasus are the ruins of two neighboring towns, called Magyar and Torek (pronounced Turuk) ; the latter name being one which might easily be changed into Turk. Undoubtedly there was a mixture of various tribes in the settlement of Pannonia, now called Hungary, but general opinion concedes to the Magyars their claim of carrying in their veins the blood of the Huns who owned the sway of Attila. A thought like that inspires many of the Hungarians with the hope that as their ancestors overturned the throne of Rome, it may yet be their own destiny to overturn the throne of Austria, which boasts of having succeeded to the sceptre of Roman empire.

In the streets and squares of Buda, groups of Austrians and Hun- garians may often be seen mingled together, exhibiting a contrast of appearance and manner which can not fail to arrest the attention of a stranger. As was observed by an English traveler, " The Austrians are in general of low stature, sturdy limbs, broad chests, and so re- markably thick about the neck and shoulders that they seem hump- backed. They have large heads, broad faces, and coarse but good- natured countenances. The Hungarians, on the contrary, are tall and slender, with narrow shoulders, thin necks, and slight limbs,

Appendix IL 383

with an upright gait. Their heads are small, their features sallow, with dark eyes, and a certain wildness in their looks, as if they had not entirely divested themselves of the character of their Tartarian or Scythian ancestors. Their dispositions form as strong a contrast as their persons. The Austrians are slow and phlegmatic, the Hunga- rians quick and irritable ; and their feelings on the same subject are often totally diflFerent." Both, too, we may add, are fond of music ; Hungarian minstrelsy is not unknown in America ; but the Austrian taste and culture came from the German schools, while those of the Hungarians were derived from Italy, in the days of Mathias Corvinus, a monarch who was devoted to the cultivation of literature and art in Hungary.

Note C— Page 80. MOHAMMED'S BRIGANTIKES.

There have been various opinions as to the distance over which these brigantines were carried. The following remarks from the pen of Rev. E,. "Walsh, LL.D.jWho resided several years in Constantino- ple, in the suite of Lord Strangford, are worthy of attention :

" The place where this extraordinary passage over the land was effected, which decided the fate of Constantinople, is a subject of much local discussion ; and the point assigned for it is now called Balta Limen, about half way up the Bosphorus to the Black Sea. Balta was the name of the Turkish admiral who commanded on the occasion, and this little port retaining his name is considered decided proof of the fact. From hence to the harbor the distance is ten or eleven miles, which induced Gibbon to say, for the sake of probabil- ity, that ' he wished he could contract the distance of ten miles, and prolong the term of one night.' Now, had Gibbon visited the spot, he might have spared his wish, and established the probability. The place where the ships were drawn over was not at Balta Limen, but

384 Appendix IL

at Dolma Bactche, where a deep valley runs up from the Bosphorus to join that of the harbor, and they were only separated by a ridge of a few hundred yards in breadth. This valley is in the immediate vicinity of Galata ; and the Genoese sailors of that town are known to have materially assisted the Turks in this transportation, the whole distance of which was not more than two miles, and might easily be performed within the time stated by the historian. I might further add, that Balta Limen, the sujDposed place,was not so called from a Turkish admiral, but from a Turkish word, balta, an axe — as the valley was formerly filled with wood, which the Baltages or woodmen were accustomed to cut down for fuel. I mention these facts to show you how necessary the actual view of a place is to the accuracy of historical detail, and to remove your skepticism on this point at least, as I would wish to do on every other, where it may have been excited by passages from Gibbon."

APPENDIX III.

NoTK A — Page 95.

THE RIGHT OF PRIVATE JUDGMENT.

The existence of this right, within the realm of religion, has been extensively denied both in times past and in the present. The Church of Rome has denied it. The national Protestant churches of the continent of Europe have denied it. A large portion of the Church of England have denied it. Bv this latter class, especially the Pusey- ites, the denial of it has been m.aintained of late years with intense strenuousness. The ground has been taken that private men cannot understand the Bible — that they are too liable to be misled by false interpretation — that, therefore, there is need of a church-authority to interpose between the reader and his Bible in order to fix its meaning; and that to this voice of authority every individual is bound to listen and submit. In all cases of doubt, the advocates of this dogma say, " Hear the church ; " and this they propose as a panacea for divisions, a sovereign balm for the sore wounds of con- troversy and discord.

Miserable physicians these ! For when they quote Fathers and councils and homilies, they only enlarge the scope for disputation ; the sense of this or that quotation may be as severely contested as the sense of an apostle, and new fuel will be added to the flames of controversy. Paul's encomium on the sufficiency of the Scripture is as plain as any homily, or the sense of any council, or the words of any Father ; and it says, " all the Scripture is profitable " — for whom 1 For the priesthood, or for a learned ministry ? Or for the church as a body 1 No ; but for the individual ; profitable for in- struction, that THE MAN of God may be perfect and thoroughly fur- nished unto all good works.

386 Appendix III.

So, too, when Christ preached those sermons which are recorded in the New Testament, he addressed them to individuals, to the con- sciences of private men ; and bade these men by the light of the sacred Scriptures to examine the teachings of those who were the min- isters of a divinely appointed church. Those teachers themselves he charged with making "God's word of none effect," and predicted that on them the displeasure of Heaven would fall weightily. As they sat in Moses' seat he directed the people to do those things which they urged on the ground of Moses' authority ; but at the same time commanded his hearers to discriminate between sound doctrine and traditions, to observe the examples of their rabbles, and to avoid their works. Quickening the consciences, and awaken- ing the private judgment of the individuals who came to him with questions, he did not say, " Hear the church" on disputed doctrines, but *' What saith the Scriptm-e 1 " " Have ye not read ? " The in- quiry with which he met those who brought to him their doubts sug- gested by the discussions amongst the " wise men " of that age, was, ** Have ye not read 7 " — always rousing the individual to feel the majesty of God's oracle — that it was wrong for him to tuxn away from the inspired word to listen to the voice of men, and that, if from " the Father who seeth in secret " he would seek direction, the Father himself would reward him openly.

Nevertheless, while it becomes us to plead for the right of private judgment, we mtist not neglect to urge the duty of exercising it. Too many who have contended for the right have there stopped, seeming to be indifferent whether it were used or not ; and if at all, in what way. They have advocated intellectual liberty, vindicated the people's right against the pretensions of ecclesiastical authority, and then have coolly regarded it as a thing of no account how med treated the word and authority of God.

Now, our Saviour not only declared the right, but also the obliga- tion to exercise it ; held it forth as a solemn duty before God — that in his presence the individual stands accountable — that on the man- ner in which he uses this endowment his destiny must ttu-n — that pride, prejudice, passion, or unbelief may blind him fatally — urging him to search the Scriptures because they reveal eternal life, saying : " If any man reject my Word he hath one that judgeth him ; the WoKD that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.**

These are soul-sturing considerations — arguments of awful mo

Appendix III. 387

ment. It is a solemn thought that such a responsibility rests on every man, and inheres in his immortal nature — that we are all under sin, and have a message from God touching the remedy which we must consider and act on, or perish — that there is only one Being in the universe who can save us, even Jesus Christ — that if we go astray from Him, no ministry of man, whether apostolic or non-apos- tolic, can redeem us — that if any priesthood, or church (so called), cause one to err, it cannot help him in the end, but that such priest- hood, or church, and the deluded individual, incur the peril of per- dition together, because " he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." Blessed, indeed, is he who readeth and understandeth the words of this Book !

Note B— Page 96.

GIBBOK'S GREAT MISTAKE.

It is a remarkable fact that in spite of all the objections to Gib- bon's History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, the genius and learaing of Christendom have never been able to displace it by another work. In the realm of history, he alone has wrought a finely arched bridge spanning the chasm which separates the an- cient from modern civilization. It were devoutly to be wished that the constructor of such a pathway for the feet of successive genera- tions had been a true Christian. Yet it is well worthy of notice that to almost all the sceptical objections against Christianity to be found in the volumes of Gibbon, one answer will suffice. This answer is that his ideas of Christianity are not derived from a pure source — not from the New Testament, but from the church-history of ages succeeding that of Christ and the Apostles. His subtle shafts have no force against our holy religion as taught by the Saviour and his disciples, but only against that spurious Christianity which developed

388 Appendix III.

itself in state-establishments after it had been more and more deeply corrupted by the mixture of worldly elements.

Tliis view of the case has been obvious to many, and must arrest the attention of any reader who has been accustomed to distinguish between the Christianity of the New Testament and the Christianity of what is called Church-History. This distinction, and the effect of overlooking it, arc well stated by Milman, in one of his notes, in which he says : " The art of Gibbon, or, at least, the unfair impres- sion produced by these two memorable chapters (the tifteenth and sixteenth), consists in confounding together in one undistinguishable mass, the origin and apostolic propagation of the Christian religion with its later progress. The main question, the divine origin of the religion, is dexterously eluded or speciously conceded ; his plan en- ables him to commence his account, in most parts, below the apostdic times ; and it is only by the strength of the dark coloring with which he has brought out the failings and the follies of succeeding ages, that a shadow of doubt and suspicion is thrown back on the primi- tive period of Christianity. Divest the whole passage of the latent sarcasm betrayed by the subsequent tone of the whole disquisition, and it might commence a Christian history written in the most Christian spirit of candor."

In this note the learned editor of Gibbon utters a true testimony ; and in this connection it is instructive to remember the fact that Gib- bon was educated among Christians who did, themselves, confound these different things and habitually overlook these very distinctions. The celebrated History, of which we speak, illustrates the effect of this confusion on the mind of an independent thinker. He had not been taught to regard the New Testament as the one simple, all- sufficient standard of Christianity, but to look for that standard in church-tradition or church-history. The same error is now com- mitted and defended, not only by Papists, but by Protestants of va- rious names ; by Puseyitcs, and by all who agree with the Lutheran school of Pennsylvania, under Dr. SchafF, in the doctrine that Christianity, as a religion, was gradually developed in ages succeed- ing that of the Apostles. Multitudes, adopting this belief, arc not satisfied with the Scripture as a sufficient guide to faith and practice, but look to tradition and history for the standai'd or canon by

Appendix III. 389

which to settle the question — what is Christianity ? This princi- ple is well adapted to raise up other Gibbons in time to come, by throwing back dark shadows of doubt and unbelief over the divine origin of Christianity itself. Men of naturally tame and timid mind, and all men in whom sentiment predominates over intellect, will be easily led by such a principle into the labyrinths of supersti- tion, while men of bold, inquiring spirit will bound away from it over the trackless wastes of infidelity. Hence, the principle itself, liarmless as it may seem to some, is more dangerous than any system of avowed and open infidelity ; it is a " cockatrice's egg," smooth and fair to the eye, but capable of developing from within itself a double progeny of poisonous vipers.

The Christianity of the New Testament is one thing ; the Christi- anity of Tradition is another thing. The word of the Lord — that shall stand. The material heavens and earth may pass away ; that " shall not pass away." The system which is built on that rests on eternal rock ; every other foundation is of wood, hay and stubble, that can not stand the crucible of God's refining fires.

Note C— Page 99.

BEAUSOBRE 0'^ THE AUTHORITY OF " THE FATHERS."

Beausobre was a very learned French writer of the seventeenth century. He was a warm-hearted Protestant, a powerful preacher, and wielded an eiiective pen. When the royal signet was put upon the door of a Protestant church in France, in order to prevent pub- lic worship, he broke the signet, and on that account was forced to be an exile. In the year 1694 he went to Berlin, and became chap- lain to the Court of Prussia. We read many things, now-a-days, which remind us of a passage of his writings on the authority of " The Fathers." He says, in his critical history of Manichaeism, " Some will charge me with speaking, disrespectfully of the Fathers.

390 Appendix III.

I grant, some expressions may have escaped me, which I might have softened ; but then, narrations notoriously false, or monstrously ex- aggerated, bad reasonings, a blind belief of every thing reported to disgrace heretics, a reigning passion to render their persons odious — all this irritates an equitable mind. But what provokes beyond all patience, is to see that selfish abuse which some writers make of the names and testimonies of the Fathers. A sort of false reasoning, which I call the sophism of authority^ hath been long introduced, and now continues to be applied to the most pernicious purposes. Kea- son and religion are oppressed, and in order to defend opinions evi- dently false, and practices grossly superstitious, a sentence is quoted from an ancient writer, and puffed off with the vain title of a saint and a great saint. People, on hearing this superb title, are seduced into an imagination that they hear an oracle, and sincerely believe that justness of thought, accuracy of expression, solidity of reason- ing, and demonstrative evidence are necessarily connected with saint- ship and great saintship. They even fancy that such men were under the immediate influence of the Holy Spirit, inseparably connected with their writings. Reason, abashed and timid, durst not resist ; or if it dare be so bold, admirers of antiquity will exclaim first at presump- tion and pride, and last at heresy. In vain Jesus Christ said, * One is your Master ; ' and Paul, ' Be ye ■ not the servants of men.' Never did Constantine "VI. discover more wisdom and prudence than when he forbade the title of saint to be given to any except the Apostles. He saw the abuse, and endeavored to correct it. I esteem and honor the Fathers, but I do not think them infallible, either as evidences of a fact, or as just reasoners from facts allowed to be true. Even they who incessantly plead for their authority, occasion- ally criticize them. They have done more. They have corrupted their writings in an infinite number of places, and this they call cor- recting them."

These remarks are as worthy of attention in the present age, as they were when first published. It would seem as if some men had been given up to the power of judicial blindness, and to the super- stitions of a corrupt Christianity, for the sin of forsaking Christ, to follow the authority of men. Even now, how few there are, com- paratively speaking, who, before joining a church, come reverently to the New Testament, resolved to find a church in that, and that

Appendix III. 391

alone. How many, bearing the name of Protestants, regard the New Testament as containing only the germs of Chiistianity, while the full development is to be looked for in church history, tradition, and the books of the Fathers. Oh that they could understand the sufficiency of the Scripture, and the voice of Him who saith, " I am the Light of the world ; he thsitfoUoweth me shall not walk in dark- ness, but shall have the light of life."

Note D— Page 114. "THE BIBLE ALONE."

From several notices which have appeared in the English papers, we perceive that the friends of evangelical religion in the Church of England are gradually concentrating their forces in definite plans of action for the purpose of church reform. One grand design which they have in view is the alteration of the Prayer-Book, so as to ex- clude from it those elements of Popery which now mar its pages, and to render it more exactly conformable to the Word of God as the only standard of Christian faith. Lord Ashley is a prime leader in this movement. A metropolitan association has been organized to act in concert with kindred societies already formed in various sections of the country, and there is good reason to believe that there is nigh at hand some great change of sufficient moment to be reck- oned as an historical era.

While these things are in progress, the Puseyites are daily mani- festing their affinities with " the Mother-Church," and are rallying their energies for a desperate onset against " the Evangelicals." The signs of the times indicate that there are now gathering in Eng- land the elements of a religious excitement unparalleled since the days of " the great Beformation," and that the same questions which then agitated Christendom are coming up afresh. But, thanks to God, they are coming up in a very different state of the world.

392 Appendix III.

The fires of Smithfield cannot now be kindled; the rack and the thumb-screw cannot now be used as means to enforce conviction ; but the controversy must be determined by moral forces only, and the final issue will furnish a grand commentary on the saying that is written, " Thou hast magnified tht word above all thy name."

Nevertheless, while the contest waxes warm between tradition- ism on the one hand, and evangelical religion on the other, it is an interesting question, What relation does popular infidelity hold to the general progress of opinion ? Infidelity has dofi'ed its old garbs and titles, and now stands forth as the friend and champion of the masses, under the banner of Christian liberalism. It " lifts up an ensign to the people," and we see emblazoned on its waving folds those taking words, " Social Reform." It openly professes to honor Christ and to hate the church. It wars against Popery and it scofi*s at evangelical religion. It declares, in the language of Ronge, that " if Roman Catholics have a Pope at Rome, the Protestants hare made their Pope of a book, and that book is a dead letter," It af- firms that the disciples of Jesus have, hitherto, misunderstood him ; that his kingdom is of this world ; that Socialism is Christianity adapted to the times, creating all things new, and aiming to produce on earth a heaven of peace and plenty. It is far mightier in Europe than in America ; it is attracting multitudes to its camp ; in view of the great moral battle of civilization, it deems itself " the immortal phalanx," and has been called by some intelligent writers the great moving power of the European mind. What, we ask, is its real re- lation to Popery, to Christianity, to Society ?

Hugh Millek, in his " First Impressions of England and its People," says, " That which, apart from religious considerations, is chiefly to be censured and regretted, in the zeal of the Rouges and Shenstones, Michelets and Eugene Sues, is, not that it is inconsis- tent, but that it constitutes at best but a vacuum-creating power. It forms a void where, in the nature of things, no void can perma- nently exist, and which superstition is ever rushing in to fill ; and so the progress of the race, wherever it is influentially operative, instead of being conducted onwards in its proper line of march, becomes a weary cycle, that ever returns upon itself. The human intellect, under its influence, seems as if drawn within the ceaselessly revolv- ing eddies of a giddy maelstrom, or as if it had become obnoxious

Appendix III. 393

to the remarkable curse pronounced of old by the Psalmist : I quote from the version of Milton :

' Ky Godl oh, make them as a wheel ;

No quiet let them find ; Giddy and restless let them reel Like stubble from the wind.*

" History is emphatic on the point. Nearly three centuries have elapsed since the revived Christianity of the Reformation supplanted Roman Catholicism in Scotland. But there was no vacuum cre- ated ; the space previously taken up in the popular mind by the abrogated superstition, was amply occupied by the resuscitated faith ; and as a direct consequence, whatever reaction in favor of Popery may have taken place among the people, is of a purely political, not religious character. With Popeiy as a religion, the Presbyte- rian Scotch are as far from closing now as they ever were. But how entirely different has been the state of matters in France ! There are men still living who remember the death of Voltaire. In the course of a single lifetime, Popery Las been twice popular and influential in that country, and twice has the vacuum-creating power, more than equally popular and influential for the time, closed chill and cold around it to induce its annihilation.

** The literature of France, for the last half centuiy, is curiously illustrative of this process of action and reaction — of condensation and expansion. It exhibits during that period three distinct groups of authors. There is first a group of vacuum-creators — a surviv- ing remnant of the Encyclopedist of the previous half century — adequately represented by Condorcet-and the Abbe Raynal; next appeal's a group of the reactionists, represented equally well by Chateaubriand and Lamartine ; and then — for Popery has again become monstrous — we see a second group of vacuum-creators in the Eugene Sues and the Michelets, the most popular French writers of the present day. And thus must the cycle revolve, * unquiet and giddy as a wheel,' until France shall find rest in the Christianity of the New Testament."

These apt remarks of the Scotch Geologist well illustrate the con- servative power of a simple New Testament religion, and exhibit the truth and value of the great Protestant principle -^ " The Bible

394 Appendix III.

alone, the rule of our faith." They contain, moreover, although not so intended by him, a striking commentary on that remarkable prom- ise which God sent from heaven to the church in Philadelphia by the mouth of the beloved apostle : " Because thou hast kept my word I also will keep thee." And so it was. The church of Philadelphia stood in the early ages like a column amid ruins. Her piety was fed at the fountain of pure truth, and this made her adequate to every emergency. In the Divine Word itself there is a mighty con- servative power, of which, at the present day, Scotland presents a fine exemplification. In no country of the world is Scriptural knowledge more widely diffused among the people, and therefore, while England is destined to reel under the shocks of Papal and anti-Papal excitement, Scotland will stand firm on the rocky grounds of her faith, and survey the troubled scene with the serenity of a sage and friendly observer.

NoTB E— Page 119.

CONVERSIONS TO THE ROMISH CHURCH.

For a considerable time past, it has been a subject of remark in the religious circles of this country, that here and there were to be seen sons and daughters of American Protestants abandoning the temples where their fathers worshipped, and seeking repose for their souls in the rites and forms of the Romish communion which claims to be the Ploly Catholic church. These changes have occuiTcd not amongst the uneducated and the ignorant, but in some families who have been known in the most favored walks of life. To many, these changes have been an occasion of astonishment. In this feeling we have not participated ; we have often wondered that such changes were so rare, considering that such multitudes of American youth grow up, amidst associations nominally Christian, without any clear conception of the evidences of Christianity, or of the

Appendix IIL 395

claims of the Bible as a divinely inspired and infallible standard of faith.

In every Christian country, where there is freedom of conscience and means of knowledge, the greatest danger to the religious senti- ments of the community arise, not from a bold and open Infidelity, but from the natural tendency of the human soul in its fallen state to seek rest and peace in religious Formalism. This was the course of things in the time of Christ. The Jews gloried in a divine reve- lation, but He told them that they made it void by their traditions. It was not eflfectually denied or opposed, but overlaid by a human authority that boasted of a divine origin, and professed to be armed with divine sanctions. This is the very pretension of the Catholic church, and connected as it is with the plea of a sacred antiquity, with a gorgeous system of worship, with an organized priesthood, with a unity of aim and effort, with an artful adaptation to character, and with every possible appliance for addressing the imagination and the senses, it must present a strong attraction to many restless and inquiring souls, who, having been " tost to and fro " with the agitations of scepticism, have never learned that the Scripture is a supernatural and divine counsellor, " sure, making wise the simple." Recoiling from the issues to which Infidelity would lead them, and scared back from its course by the social evils which they have seen disclosed, bewildered with doubt, groping their way without a guide, seeing no light worthy of trust, they are often lured at last to find rest and peace in the sweet persuasion that they may lay the responsibility of their salvation on a holy priesthood commissioned to dispense it, and yield to a safe and heavenly repose in the bosom of a " true mother church." In this way it is, that the more widely either sheer ignorance or learaed Infidelity prevails in any land, the more numerous the conquests which the Romish church will be sure to gain. Infidelity may hate her, but is too weak to resist her. A simple, wide-spread faith in God's word alone can accomplish that. And if in time to come Transcendentalism (or Parkerism, as it is locally named) shall make progress here, just in that proportion will another generation see a mighty rush of educated, earnest, intel- lectual American youth to the serene shelter of the Papal throne, the altar, and the confessional. Indeed, it is in this way that Rome calculates to regain Germany. Thus she did regain Prance. She

396 Appendix III.

reasons, that the free inquiry of Protestantism will produce infidel- ity; and then, tired of the social turmoil and chaos of infidelity, men will he glad to return to the church for peace, just as the dove of Noah with wearied wing turned from the stormy sea to the ark of safety. And so it is likely to be in the end, unless a lively faith in the word of God can be restored to half-apostate Germany. That is the only conservative element for that land or for this. Such a faith alone can preserve us from a disorganizing infidelity on the one hand, and an oppressive superstition on the other.

From this view of the case, no reflecting Christian can fail to see the argument which hence arises for earnest eflPort to promote the study of the Bible, to have our youth "rooted and grounded " in its evidences and principles. Christian parent, are your children edu- cated thus 1 Can they " give a reason to every man that asketh '* for receiving the New Testament as a divine revelation ? If not, in spite of their respect for you, they may become the victims of a fatal infidelity, and die, at last, the devotees of that Christless superstition which Kome is so intent and so busy to propagate. The church history of all the past is one impressive comment on the truth and bearing of the message sent from Patmos to an ancient church, ** because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the face of the earth."

Appendix III. 397

Note F— Page 119.

"THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENT."

In the conversation of multitudes, in the discourses of modem Transcendentalists, in the writings of those who claim to be " liberal Christians," we hear and read much which implies an utter igno- rance of the great distinction between spiritual Christianity and the natural development of the religious sentiment in man. All sincere religionists are regarded as developing essentially the same sentiment under different forms of culture, and the difference between one and another is considered as being merely accidental. This is the view which the old eclectics took of the matter, for they endeavored to cull out something good from all schemes of religion, and to nour- ish their religious sentiment from the best parts of every system. And there are many among us now, talking and writing in favor of Christianity, who cherish the same doctrine, nor, although they have the New Testament in their hands, have they ever advanced one step beyond this exploded Greek philosophy.

It ought to be remembered, however, that what we denominate the religious sentiment is a part of the human constitution, which may manifest itself in most impressive forms without any connection whatsoever with goodness, virtue, truth or holiness. Every kind of superstition, the most irrational, diabolical, and cruel, is a manifes- tation of the religious sentiment. It is as really a part of every man's nature, whether he be good or bad, as is conscience, memory, or social affection. Nevertheless, we meet with those who, looking over the world, and seeing in Pagan lands what immense treasures are lavished on temples, altars, and sacrifices, will say, " these peo- ple are very religious and very sincere ; and their worship, therefore, must be as acceptable to God as that of others ! " Then, surveying the state of things in a Mahometan country, and seeing the Mussel- man's exact observances, they tell us, ** these people are very strict and sincere religionists, and, doubtless, their system is best for them ! " Then, in a Catholic country, like Italy, observing the multitude of priests and worshippers, the regular attendance at matins and vespers, the confessions, feasts, fasts, penances, and prayers, they will say,

398 Appendix III.

" these people exhibit a very sincere devotion, and we cannot but admire the strength of their religious sentiment ! " Still further, looking at a community in which a simple and evangelical Christi- anity gives tone to public character, they will gravely say, " here the religious sentiment is strongly developed, and we cannot but sympa- thize with this simplicity and earnestness of devotion." This is the language of religious eclecticism. It confounds things that differ in their nature. It attributes dignity to a religious system according to the degrees of energy with which it brings out the religious sentiment ; whereas, this sentiment often appears the strongest in the worst of men ; as was seen in the case of an Italian bandit who was hired by Pope Sextus Fourth to murder two members of the family of the Medici that were hostile to him. After much deliberation, the Cathe- dral was the spot fixed upon for the assassination to be eiOfected, amidst a solemn service ; on which account the robber refused to act his part, saying, that although he was accustomed to commit murder, he was not used to sacrilege ! Nevertheless, a priest was found who consented to combine both crimes in a single act, for the pleasure of the Pope and the welfare of the church.

This view of the character which pertains to the religious senti- ment was expressed by Paul in his discourse on Mars Hill at Ath- ens. From the place of his observation he saw the whole landscape studded with temples, statues, and altars, with fanes dedicated to all the gods whose names were known, and an altar to the God that was unknown. According to the English version, the Apostle com- menced his address by an expression not remarkably fitted to concil- iate the attention of his fitful audience, charging it upon them as a national folly that in all things they were " too superstitious," and citing as a proof of it the erection of an altar to that God whom he desired to preach to them. But, as Dr. Campbell has ably shown, what Paul really said was to this intent — that he had observed the Athenians to be in all things a very religious people. He remarked that among them the religious sentiment was highly cultivated. In this he said nothing that was disparaging, neither did he pay them any compliment. He merely asserted an obvious fact ; for, the reli- gious sentiment, in itself, like social affection, is neither good or bad, except according to the direction which is given to it. It may be so perverted as to foster all that is low and wicked in our fiillen nature,

Appendix III. 399

■while under the guidance of a renovated heart it may fit the soul for the companionships of heaven.

But this religious eclecticism, which " sees good in everything/' which aims to bring virtue and vice, sin and holiness, heaven and hell, together into one beautiful system, is not a plant which our " Heavenly Father hath planted," but a vine of Sodom, full of deadly poison. It is very fashionable in some quarters, pervades all the Transcendental literature, is the very life of Parkerism, and imparts its hue to much that is distinctively Cambridgian. Its spirit was fairly expressed by a certain picture-vender, in whose shop-window appeared a colored engraving of the celebrated dancer, Madame Taglioni, in one of her most meretricious attitudes, alongside of a likeness of Rev. Dr. Lyman Beecher. The incongruity of the ar- rangement being noticed, he was understood to say,

" Oh, there is so much that is angelic, almost divine, in Taglioni's dancing — and surely there is much that is good and heavenly in Dr. Beecher's preaching ! "

The fact deserves record ; for it is one of the " signs of the times,'* a true expression of the spirit of the age in the direction of " eclecti- cism."

In our view it is a matter of small moment to ask in what degree a system develops the religious sentiment which is common to man ; but it is a matter of vital importance to ascertain whether that senti- ment be brought under the control of a renewed heart to develop it- self in accordance with the law of truth and righteousness as set forth by Jesus Christ ; whether the great object towards which it turns the affections be the God of purity and love ; whether it lead a man to worship the Sovereign of all in acts of faith, gratitude, and cheerful obedience. This is the great question touching a religious .system, whether by it the religious sentiment is brought " into cap- tivity to the obedience of Christ." Otherwise, the more of the reli- gious element there is in any system the more deleterious it is ; like that Israelitish eclecticism under whose influence " the people wor- shipped the Lord and served their own gods," sacrificed lambs and offered swine's blood, killed oxen and slew men, burned incense to Jehovah and invoked the idols of the heathen.

APPENDIX lY.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR OF THE RALEIGH, N. C, BIBLICAL

RECORDER.

Eev. and dear Sir :

In your recent article touching the argument contained in my Review, you say : " Suppose we admit that, at the time of Christ's mission, slavery by the law of Moses was extinct — and that, in the land of Palestine, at the same time, there was no such thing known as either slave or slave-owner ; — what has all this to do, we would inquire, with the argument of Dr. Fuller? It is no part of that argument, that there were slaves under the Mosaic law, nor in Judea, nor in any other country, nor under any other law, out of the churches."

Now, it is a very curious thing which here develops itself, the facility with which you assume that slavery existed in the Christian churches of Judea, while you are willing to admit that Judea was a free country ; to admit that the law of the land had extirpated sla- very, and yet assume that the system had a place in the new realm of Christ's kingdom ! How do you get at this important fact ? You allow me to extinguish the light by which Dr. Fuller sees it there, and then continue to assert that there was slavery in the churches. This is to me very astounding. Surely, in the account given of the early church of Jerusalem, there is no hint of a slave- system, or any arrangement which implies it. Their old relations to society were broken up, " they had all things common," " neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own," and yet you seem to be quite prepossessed by the idea that

Appendix FV. 401

they retained slave property ! 1 do not believe that they had any such property ; there is no intimation of it in the scripture history ; it would not have been in harmony with their condition, or the ground of the new dispensation as Luke exhibits it ; and why should you assume it without proof? Do you imagine that the Pentecostal church held slaves as a part of their common stock, or sold them oflf to increase their common fund ?

Thus it is also in regard to the slave-code of the Eoman Empire. You admit what I have advanced to be true, that this code could avail nothing to determine the relations of a Christian community governed by the laws of Christianity, and yet you ask, What has all this to do with Dr. Fuller's argument, so long as slavery existed in the churches ? But then I ask again, If slavery did not get into the Gentile churches under the code of Rome, under what code could it get in at all 1 Did Christianity originate it 1 Did the new dispensation provide a new basis for slavery, and sanction it as its own peculiar institution ? Again, you coolly permit me to put out the light by which Dr. Fuller professed to detect the system in the early Gentile church, and yet continue to speak of its existence there as a thing not to be doubted.

Not only so, but you persuade yourself that I concede this as a fact. I could not guess on what you grounded such an assertion, until you came to quote from my Review a few words which you took to be proof of it. You say of my work in your second article, " "We are aware that much that he has written seems to be based on a de- nial that any such relation as that of master and slave was known among the primitive disciples. If it did not exist, in his view, we would ask. What did he mean by saying, * The domestic relations themselves are fully recognized 1 ' p. 29. What did he mean by the expression, * modified all the pei-manent relations of life V p. 20. If the permanent relations of life were modified by the gospel, slavery was one of those relations, and must have been modified and adapted to the condition of the churches, as well as others." It was quite a relief to me, I assure you, when you actually cited what you regarded as tangible proof that my book treated the slave-relation as a thing existing and recognized among primitive Christians. For it seemed to me to be somewhat of a mysteiy when I saw that your previous expressions implied such an idea. And now, when I

402 Appendix IV.

look at the two phrases you have quoted, and consider the connec- tions in which they stand, I am amazed to find that any one should put upon them such a sense. Having so often spoken of the slave- relation as an infraction of the law of righteousness, it appears to me that any reader would understand, of course, that by the perma- nent relations of life, I mean the universal relations which God has himself established for the family of man ; the relations which are in consonance with the laws of nature, the dictates of reason, and the fundamental principles of our religion. In this view, the do- mestic relations are those of parent and child, husband and wife, master and servant. This latter, as well as the two former, Christi- anity recognizes. But you, my dear sir, cannot hear the word ser- vant pronounced, or see it written, but at once you have before you the image of a human being whose body, time, and faculties are not his own ; who can assert no right to the disposal of himself, even though he be a sane man and guiltless of crime. But, let me as- sure you, that when a Christian, in a free country, uses the word master, he does not mean a man-owner, nor by the word servant does he mean a slave. Throughout the Christian world, apprentices are accustomed to speak of those of whom they learn their trades as masters ; amongst ourselves, domestics of European origin apply the term to their employers, and domestics generally are wont to speak of "going out to service." It will always be the case in every land that men of property, and heads of families, will have many things to attend to, and need the service of others ; while it will be equally true that a large portion of society will need to avail themselves of this want for their own benefit. Contracts for service, therefore, will never cease to exist ; they are a natural want of society : and although they render one man, for a limited period, the master of another man's time and labor, they never confer that legal right of property in one's person, which is the essential element of slavery. A domestic institution, involving such a right, Christ has never established for any caste or class of men : it is the natural product, not of Christianity, but of heathenism ; and so far from being permanent, 1 believe that our Lord pronounced sentence against it when he said, *' Every plant which my Heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up." But on what foundation is it that you depend for sustaining your

Appendix IV. 403

constant assertion, that slavery exisisted in the Gentile churches ? Is it on the natural force, the obvious meaning of the word doulos, by which in the New Testament the relation of a servant is denoted ? Do you mean to set it forth as a philological fact, not to be disputed, that the word doulos necessarily means slave, and that this settles the question 1 If so, nothing can be more easy than to prove the entire error of such a statement, and to do it, not by the authority of great names, but by citing such examples that every English reader may see it for himself.

That such a conviction, however, is the groundwork of your as- sertion is very evident. For, in your third article, you quote, from page 36th of my book, the passage where it is affirmed that the terms used to designate master and servant in the New Testament are not those which imply man's ownership of man, and that the exact import of the term will vary according to the law by which you determine the condition of a doulos or servant, just as it is now in this land : in Carolina, a servant means a slave, and in New Eng- land, a freeman voluntarily hired.

Of this passage you say, " Here it is aflS.rmed, 1 . ,that the terms used in the New Testament to denote the relation of master and slave are not those which imply man's ownership of man : 2. that the Greek terms despotes and doulos correspond exactly with our English words, master and servant: 3. that the said Greek terms are used in lands where slavery does not exist, etc. These are all very important positions. If they are true, they must annihilate the argu- ment of Dr. Fuller, and effectually stop the mouth of every opponent who pleads for New Testament usage."

This is a fair statement of the case ; and it is certainly a manly thing on your part to face boldly such an issue. No part of your articles gave me so strong an impression of your sincerity as this. In the succeeding paragraph you say, " Mr. Hague will confer a favor on us, and perhaps on others, by answering the following ques- tions : 1. What are the Greek terms used in the apostles' day, which properly denote or imply man's ownership of man ; in other words, which properly signify slave and slave-owner 1 2. As mis- thios was the proper scripture term for designating a free or hired servant, what was the proper scripture signification of the term doulos ? 3. In what laud was the term doulos ever used, where slavery

404 Appendix IV.

did not exist, and where was it employed, as he says, to designate a freeman voluntarily hired 1 "

Let us look at these questions in their order. To the first I re- ply, the Greek term which was used to denote specifically a slave, or one owned by another, was andrapodon. This word was used by the standard Greek writers, as Plato, Xenophon, Plutarch, etc. It is composed of two words, denoting " the feet of man," because a slave is one who is supposed to bow at his master's feet. This word is not found in the New Testament, to denote any relation ex- isting among Christians. The apostles had but little occasion for its use, and there is only one form of it occurring in the epistles. This is andrapodistes, 1 Tim. 1 : 10. In Liddell and Scott's Greek- English Lexicon, the word is rendered slave-dealer. In our version of the scripture, being used in the plural, it is translated men-stealers ; and Paul placed it in company with words denoting the greatest transgressors. In his work on slavery. Dr. Barnes remarks on this tenn, " The proper word to denote a slave, with reference to his mas- ter's right of property in him, and without regard to the relations and offices in which he was employed, was not doulos, but andra- podon, defined by Passou, * a slave, servant, especially one who as a prisoner of war is reduced to bondage.' " He observes, moreover, " The Greeks were accustomed to exact distinctions," and used the word andrapodon " to denote a slave regarded as property."

To the second question just cited, I answer, that while andrapodon denotes a slave specifically, and misthios denotes a free hired servant, doulos is a generic term, denoting one who is under any sort of obliga- tion to yield obedience of any kind whatsoever, and is always to be interpreted, like our English word servant, by the condition and cir- cumstances of the subject to whom it is applied. I cannot define it more accurately than I have done in my Review, page 36th, in the passage above cited by you. It is a word which is applied to proph- ets and apostles as servants of God, to ChiistianS in the discharge of their offices of mutual love, to friends in their obligations to aid each other, to subjects in relation to a sovereign, to soldiers in rela- tion to their chief or their country, to ministers in relation to the church, to disciples in relation to their master, to laborers in relation to their employer, and to slaves denoting those who are in bondage under a slave-law. The Greeks had a number of specific terms to

Appendix IV. 405

denote particular kinds of servants, but doulos was applied to every class of them.

It is a word, therefore, to be defined by its connection, and its im- port varies according to the law by which you determine the condi- tion of the subject.

These statements may be corroborated by plain examples.

As the Greek translation of the Old Testament, called the Septu- agint, was universally read in the days of the apostles, and often quoted by them, it is well fitted to aid us in determining the usage of language. In 1 Sam. 29 : 3, it is said, the Philistian King Achish, addressing his princes, asks, " Is not this David the servant {doulos) of Saul king of Israel 1 " No one can suppose that the king's son-in-law was here spoken of as his slave.

In 1 Kings 11 : 26, Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, a mighty man of valor, and ruler over the charge of the house of Joseph, is called Solomon's servant, doulos. All know that Jeroboam was not a slave.

In 1 Kings 12 : 7, we are told that when the people went to King Rehoboam to demand lower taxes, the elders said to the monarch, " If thou wilt be a servant (doulos) unto the people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words unto them, they will be thy servants (doidoi) forever." Now, here the elders advise the king to appear before the people as their doulos ; but no one imagines that they urged the sovereign to take the position of a slave. Moreover, they promise that the people will willingly be- come his douloi ; but who supposes they pledged all Israel to per- petual slavery under Rehoboam ?

In accordance with this general application of the term, is the usage of it in the New Testament. Schleusner, in his Lexicon, says that doulos denotes one who is engaged to do the will of another " for any reason whatever " — cites passages from Xenophon where the word is applied to royal officers or governors, and remarks that this fact illustrates our Lord's application of the term in Matt. 18 : 23, where he declares, " The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants [doulon) — and one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents." This was a vast and princely fortune, more than fifteen millions of dollars, and shows that the word doulos applies to a high officer who had charge of revenue, or ruled a province. So great were the resources

406 Appendix IV.

of this doulos, that he promises payment after some delay. Slavery was the penalty Avhich hung over this man, for he was in danger of being sold for debt according to ancient custom. As yet, however, he was a man of authority, which he abused, by casting into prison his fellow-servant {sundoulos) for a trifling delinquency.

Again, in Matt. 20 : 27, Christ says to his disciples, " Whosoever will be chief among you let him be your doulos." Here it denotes a voluntary service for religious ends. See also Mark 10 : 44, where the word is used in like manner.

In Matt. 27:51, Mark 14 : 47, John 18 : 30, it is applied to Mal- chus, an officer of the High Priest, one of the company sent to ar- rest Jesus. There is no ground to suppose that he or his compan- ions were slaves.

In 2 Cor. 4 : 5, Paul says, " We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants {douloi) for Jesus' sake." Here the apostles are not represented as the slaves of the church, but as voluntary servants. This same Paul had written to the same church, 1 Cor. 10 : 1, " Am I not an apostle ; am I not free 1 "

In Rom. 6:18, this idea of voluntary service Paul uses in a figurative sense, to illustrate a doctrine, — " Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness ; " that is, being delivered from the bondage of sin, ye obeyed the law of love.

Remembering your request for brevity, it may suffice to say sum- marily, that in harmony with this usage are all those passages in which all the holy in the universe, angels in heaven, and the church on earth, are called douloi, servants of God. They do not yield the service of slaves, but that of sons, with a free, filial, and joyous spirit.

Paul often calls himself the doulos, servant, of Christ, not on the ground that he was the property of Christ, but of his being freely dedicated to him. "If,'' says he, "I should seek to please men, I should not be the servant of Christ," Gal. 1:10. Even in such a ease he would continue to be the property of Christ, but not his doulos, in the sense he intended ; that of a, freely devoted servant.

In view of such citations as I have produced, it seems to me that all must acknowledge the justness of Dr. Barnes's remark on the word doulos ; that " its mere use in any case does not of necessity denote the relation sustained, or make it proper to infer that he to

Appendix IV. 407

whom it is applied was bought with money, or held as property, or even in any way regarded as a slave," p. 65. The very same obser- vation which that writer makes on the Hebrew word ebedh, applies to this : " We can ascertain the meaning of the wokd from the FACTS in the case, not the nature of the facts from the use of the word. If the kind of servitude existed which does now in Eng- land, and to which the word servant is applied, it would accurately express that ; if the kind which existed under the feudal system, it would express that ; if the kind which exists in Russia, it would ex- press that ; and if such a kind as exists in the Southern States of this Union, it would express that." Of course it becomes evident that by the force of the word itself no one can sustain the opinion that there was slavery among the primitive churches.

The third question above quoted, is, I presume, sufficiently an- swered. In those lands where the Greek language was anciently spoken, slavery, like idolatry, was a widely spread institution. But in relation to domestic slavery, Palestine was a free country, and there we see it was used at all times as broadly as our word servant is used in Europe or America. It was used to denote very often a free voluntary service ; and in each case its meaning must be gradu- ated by the law which determines the condition or relation of the subject to whom it is applied.

Now, my dear sir, as far as my limits will allow, I have indicated the nature and extent of the proof that doulos is a generic term to denote a servant, and not a specific one to denote a slave. And as you freely conceded that to do this, is to remove the proof on which Dr. Fuller's argument rests, or, using your phrase, " to annihilate it," I must now leave it to your good sense to judge of the bearing of these statements, and to decide whether it will be possible for you to show by any sound philology that doulos is a word of as narrow dimensions as yon have supposed it to be. If not, then you per- ceive that the foundations of your own reasoning must give way, and that, as far as your article shows, you have no means of proof left for your position that slavery existed in the early Gentile churches.

I cannot but hope, too, that the views presented in this letter will suggest to you the absolute necessity, if you would maintain that position, — the existence of slavery among the early Christians, — of

408 Appendix IV.

your falling back on the ground of Dr. Fuller ; namely, that the uni- versal establishment of slavery by the Roman law is proof that the relation existed among them, and was recognized by the silence of the apostles as to emancipation. But you have already conceded the utter fallacy of any attempt to determine the mutual relations of those little, isolated, and peculiar communities of the first century, the apostolic churches, by the law of the Roman Empire. How can you avoid the conclusion, that unless the law of Christ did itself provide a foundation for slavery, unless the pure and expan- sive religion of the New Testament which the apostles taught, planted the germ in the garden of the Lord, it could have found no place there under the ministry of inspired men, who counted life itself not dear in comparison with their work, and in whose sight the soul of a single Roman slave was of more worth than the diadem of the Caesars, or the wealth of a thousand empires 1 I am, dear sir, your brother and obedient servant,

William Hague.

Oct. 9, 1847.

Rev. and dear Sir :

In your last communication there are two or three paragraphs which I have already noticed ; and several others which derive their meaning from the assumption that there were slaves in the primitive church held as property by Christian masters, and that I have con- ceded this as an evident fact. Having already shown, as clearly as I am able to do it, that I have never made any concession of this sort, and that the grounds on which such an opinion are entertained are altogether invalid, I come now to consider what you denominate a "grave charge," which I have brought in my Review against the Southern church, of having " succumbed to the laws, the politics, the statesmanship, and the spirit of the world, and altered the testi- mony of Christ's word by publicly declaring that his religion sanc- tions a system of slavery." You complain of this as an accusation without proof. I know that the charge is a weighty one. It was no pleasure to me to utter it ; but I did not do so inadvertently. Would to Heaven that after serious reflection I could make some abatement

Appendix IV. 409

from it ; but in reaiBrming it I only utter my profound conviction of a solemn truth. The cliarge, however, does not apply to the South- ern church alone, but to all that portion of the Northern church who concede that inspired apostles tolerated a slave-relation among prim- itive Christians. Such an opinion is the direct antithesis of that great and distinguishing doctrine of early Christianity, the common BROTHERHOOD of Christians which Paul expressed when he said, touching the new dispensation, ** Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free; but Christ is all and in all" (Coloss. iii. 11). Here we see that it was the design of Christianity at the very outset to abjure, within the realm of the church, those distinctions on which the slave- systems of the old world had from the first been founded.

If there was any single point in regard to wliich the early church was an object of admiration and astonishment to the Pagan nations, it was their doctrine of a common brotherhood, exemplified in their treatment of each other. So mighty was this band of brotherhood that it became the all-engrossing relationship, and put an end to every other that conflicted with it. This is evident, from the fact that in those days of prevailing heathenism a Christian was forbid- den to carry any legal dispute with a brother before a civil tribunal (1 Cor. vi. 1 ), but was commanded to submit it to Christian brethren, who would determine it according to the law of Christ. That phrase, so often quoted from the lips of Pagans, " See how these Christians love one another," alludes to a peculiar state of Christian society which sprang directly from the essential and fundamental principle of a common brotherhood. Neander says, in his Church History (p. 269), " The masters no longer looked upon their servants as slaves, but as their beloved brethren." In the old Pagan world, you know, religions were local; national antipathies were strong, bondsmen were held as property, and women were relatively degraded. These were the wicked and antiquated distinctions which Christianity swept away within the true sphere of its operation ; so tliat Paul only reminded the Galatians of a first principle when he said (chap. iii. 27-28), "As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ ; there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female ; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." The apostle taught that under the new dispensation, every

410 Appendix IV.

believer, whether Jew or Gentile, enjoyed the same relative position as to dignity and privilege as did the son of Abraham under the old economy ; for he adds, " if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed."

Observe, again, that the slave-system of the most enlightened heathen people was based on a denial of the common origin of the human race. Neander quotes Aristotle on this point, to illustrate his statement that these ancient Pagans, like that philosopher, as- sumed " an original difference of races, in virtue of which some by their reason were destined to rule over others, and these latter with their bodily powers to serve them as tools." * Now this prevailing doctrine of Paganism, Christianity opposed without compromise. In Athens, where Aristotle taught it, Paul refuted it ; for it was in his discourse on Mars Hill that he declared, " God hath made of one blood all nations to dwell upon the face of the earth." By such testi- mony it was that Christianity took away the very foundation of the ancient slavery, and left no resting-place for it within the bounds of a pure Christian church.

Long after Christianity as a practical system had become much corrupted, this primitive sentiment was fervently cherished, and de- veloped itself in expressions of the strongest abhorrence against the thought that a Christian could allow a brother to remain in slavery if it were possible to prevent it. Notice the words of Cyprian of Carthage (Ep. 60, quoted by Neander), on the subject of raising money to redeem some Christians from slavery amongst the Numid- ians. He says, " and not love alone, but religion ought to urge and stimulate us to redeem the brethren who are our members. For when the Apostle Paul in another place asks, ' Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you 1 ' we must be reminded that it is the temple of God which hath been made captive, and that it doth not become us by delay and in care for our own distress to suffer that temple to remain long in bondage. And when the same apostle tells us that * as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ,' we are bound in our captive brethren to see Christ, and to redeem him from captivity, who hath redeemed us from death ; so that he who delivered us from the jaws of Satan, and who now himself dwells and abides in us, may be

* See Neander, Torrey's translation, p. 46.

Appendix IV. 411

rescued from the hands of the barbarians ; and so he may be ran- somed for a sum of money who has ransomed us by his blood and cross. Meanwliile he has suffered this to happen to try our faith, whether each one of us is ready to do for the other what in like cir- cumstances he would wish to have done for himself. For who that respects the claims of humanity and of mutual love, ought not, if he is a father, to consider it as though his own child were among these barbarians, and if a husband, as though his own wife were there in captivity, to the grief and shame of the marriage bond 1 "" Such was the echo of the thu-d century to the apostolical doctrine of the com- mon Christian brotherhood. And was it anything more than the application of Christ's own words to be repeated in the final judg- ment of mankind, " Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto me 1 "

Not only was Christianity distinguished by this feature of brother- hood from the false Pagan religions, but also, by its very expansive- ness in regard to this principle, it was distinguished from the Jew- ish religion, which, though it was true, was local and preparatory. Hence, Chi-ist's teachings were so replete with inculcations of the new commandment, which was based on the peculiar relations of Christians to Christ, and which, in a moral sense, involved the idea of equality. " A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you." The Apostle John understood this to mean, that, if need be, " we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." Who does not see that obedience to this precept can- not consist with the right to hold a brother in bonds against his will, to exact labor by force, or (as Dr. Fuller expresses it) " by a violent motive," " without his own consent? " Who does not see that this primitive idea of a Christian brotherhood is incompatible with the essential elements of the slave-system, which is simply a state of martial law 1

Now, when I look at these primitive Christian doctrines on the brotherhood of the human family as having a common origin, as owning one Father of all, on the common brotherhood of Christians arising from their peculiar relation to Christ, and then look at the fundamental principle of the slave-system, which is the right of prop- erty in another's person, or the right to exact another's labor for per- sonal advantage without regard to his own consent, I do in the sight

412 Appendix IV.

of Heaven and of man, and in the view of my final account at the judgment throne of our adorable Lord, declare my belief, that any church which sanctions a relation of slavery within itself, is in a state of deplorable apostasy from the Christianity of the New Testa- ment. It is deficient, not in a practice which relates to mere expe- diency, but it has apostatized from a vital doctrine of our holy reli- gion ; and not only so, but from that very doctrine by which its Author intended to distinguish the Christian system from Paganism, and send it forth to reform and elevate the social condition of mankind. I confess to you that this aspect of Christianity, this expansiveness of its principles, this universality of its benevolent precepts, is, in my mind, intimately connected with those evidences of its divine origin which command my faith in it as a system revealed from Heaven. Deprive it of this feature, bring it down from its high position of a lofty superiority to those prejudices of men respecting caste, color, and condition, which heathenism originated, and you essentially change its character, and come nigh reducing it to a moral level with the system of Mahomet, or the other false religions which have shared the blind homage of our fallen race.

In this connection, indeed, I cannot forbear alluding to the great dishonor which our common faith has suffered when men have actu- ally fled from a nominal connection with it, and have embraced the religion of the Ai-abiau prophet in order to secure their liberty. When Dr. Walsh was travelling in Turkey, he was surprised to find that his Tartar janissary was a native of Switzerland. He had been enslaved by an African corsair, but by embracing Mahometanism became free, and enjoyed all the immunities which pertain to a fol- lower of the Prophet. Mahometans deem it a sin to make their brethren of a common faith subjects of bondage and of trafl3c; but Christians say that their religion sanctions it ! In regard to the sub- ject of this discussion, Mahometanism comes nearer to primitive Christianity than does that form of doctrine which has found place among the slaveholding churches of this Republic.

In bringing this correspondence to a close, allow me to assure you that I have not written under the influence of any sectional or party feeling. It is too serious a matter to allow this. Believing slavery to be opposed to reason and Christianity, I have no idea that the system can be permanent. " The stars in their courses " fight

Appendix IV. 413

against it. It depends on the present generation to say whether it shall come to a violent or a peaceful end. I have long hoped for the latter, while believing that the religious sentiment of the South was against it. But recent publications cloud the prospect of this happy- issue.

If the men of the South would but awake once more to the con- sideration of this subject in the spirit which prevailed in the days of Washington, they would find the men of the North disposed to share their burdens in the accomplishment of a peaceful emancipation, even to the extreme of self-denial and of sacrifice. Those who avow this sentiment are not the men of mere words who have nothing to give up in achieving this object ; but those who have the most to lose are foremost in proposing plans which will bear on themselves with a proportionate weight. There are now before me two letters, addressed by the Hon. David Sears, of Boston, to Ex-President Adams, recom- mending a petition to Congress touching a scheme of emancipation, which would transfer the burden from the slaveholders to the nation. The proposal has been responded to by many intelligent men of the North (some of them, like Mr. Sears, being among the most wealthy in New England); believing, as they do, that to remunerate the planters for their pecuniary loss would be as practicable as it has been to bear the expense of the last war with England, or as it will be to bear that of the present war with Mexico. Deeply impressed with the absolute necessity of some measure of emancipation in order to preserve this Union, Mr. Sears remarks, " We would manage it if possible so as to gain the approbation of those most interested, and be prepared to meet them on terms of mutual concession for common preservation. Compensation must be made for every emancipated slave, and an obnoxious feature in the Constitution removed." If the planters would meet the demands of this proposal fairly, man- fully, in due season, and in as kind a spirit as animates the commu- nication just alluded to, the one great trust devolving on the men of the present generation in this country would be accomplished, and in ages to come their posterity would bless them.

And in regard to the doctrine advocated in these letters, that the slave-system is a violation of the laws of Christ, does it not find some corroboration in the fact that the workings of Providence are against it 1 It has been remarked by a writer who is always accu-

414 Appendix IV.

rate in his statistics, tliat in the two Caroliuas the rate of increase in the population averaged one and one fifth per cent, between 1830 and 1840, and that it would require several centuries to duplicate it according to this ratio." Surely a slaveholding community may well say of its peculiar system, in the language of Job, touching the effect of wrong (ch. xxxi. 12), "It is a fire that consumeth unto destruction, and would root out my increase."

Dear sir, it is my earnest desire and prayer, that, instead of your continuing through life to strengthen such a system by endeavoring to invest it with the sanctions of Christianity, you may yet lend the influence of your pen and your position to the great work of bringing it to a peaceful termination. Fondly cherishing this hope, I remain, with great respect,

Your friend and obedient servant,

William Hague. Nov. 6, 1847.

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KITTO'S POFULAB CTCZOF^niA. OF BIBEICAJO JLITEFA- TTTItE. Condensed from the larger work. By the Author, John Kitto, D. D. Assisted by Ja^ies Taylor, D. D., of Glasgow. "With over five hun- dred Illustrations. One volume, octavo, 812 pp., cloth, 4.00 ; sheep, 5.00 ; half calf, 7.00.

A Dictionary of the Bible. Serving also as a Commentart, embodying the products of the best and most recent researches in biblical literature In which the scholars of Europe and America have been engaged.

KITTO' S SISTOBT OF FAZESTINE, from the Patriarchal Age to the Present Time ; with Chapters on the Geography and Natural History of the Country, the Customs and Institutions of the Hebrews. By John Kitto, D. D. With upwards of two hundred Illustrations. 12mo, cloth, 1.75.

vsr A work admirably adapted to the Family, the Sabbath School, and the week-day School Li- brary

WESTCOTT'S INTJRODTTCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE GOS- PELS. With Historical and Explanatory Notes. By Brooke Foss Westcott, M. a., late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. With an Intro- ductiou by Prof. H. B. Hackett, D. D, Royal 12mo, cloth, 2.00. 0^" A masterly work by a master mind.

EJjEICOTT'S life of CHRIST HISTORIC AZjIT CONSID- ERED. The Hulsean Lectures for 1859, with Notes Critical, Historical, and Explanatory. By C. J. Ellicott, B. D Royal 12mo, cloth, 1.75.

90" Admirable in spirit, and profound in argument.

BAWLINSON'S HISTORICAI EVIDENCES OF THE TRUTH OF THE SCRIFTURE RECORDS, STATED ANEW, with Special reference to the Doubts and Discoveries of Modern Times. In Eight Lectures, delivered in the Oxford University pulpit, at the Bampton Lecture for 1859. By Geo. Rawlinson, M. A., Editor of the Histories of Herodotus. With the Co- pious Notes translated for the American edition by an accomplished scholar. 12mo, cloth, 1.75.

" The consummate learning, judgment, and general ability, displayed by Mr. Rawlinson in his edition of Herodotus, are exhibited in this work also." — North-American.

18

GOULD AND LINCOLN,

59 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON,

Would call particular attention to the following valuable works described in their Catalogue of Publications, viz. :

Hug-h Miller's "Works.

Bayne's Works. Walker's Works. Miall's "Works. Bungener's Work.

Aiumal of Seientifle Discovery. Knight's Knowledge is Power.

Krummach.er'B Suffering Saviour,

Banvard's American Histories. The Aim-well Stories.

KewcomVs "Works. Tweedie's Works. Chambers's Works. Harris' "Works.

Kitto's C!yelopaedia of Biblical Literature.

aire. Knight's Life bf Montgomery. Kitto's History of Palestine,

"Whewell's Work. Wayland's Works. Agassiz's "Works.

^iKri*f^rAiS£

■Williams' Works. Gnyot's Works.

ThCMttpBCsn's Better Itand- Kimball's Heaven. "Valuable Works on Mlssiona.

Haven's Mental Philosophy. Buchanan's Modern Atheism.

Crodea's Condensed Concordance. Eadie's Analytical Coneordance,

The Psalmist : a Collection of Hymns.

Yaloable School Books. Works for Sabbath Schools.

Memoir of Amoa Lawrence.

Poetical Works of Milton, Cowper, Scott. Elegant Miniature Toltizaes.

Airvine's Cyclopaedia of Anecdotes.

Bipley's Notes on Grospels, Aets» and Homans.

Spsague's European Celebrities. Marsh's Camel and the Hallig.

Boget's Thesaurus of English. "Words.

Eaekett's Notes on Acts. M'Whorter's Tahveh Christ.

Siebold and Staanius's Comparative Anatomy. Marcou's G-eolojirical Map, IT. S>

Beligious and Miscellaneous Works.

Works in tlie various Departments of Literature^ Science and Art.

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