The life of John Price Durbin : with an analysis of his homiletic skill and sacred oratory

PRINCETON, N. J

BX 8495 .D8 £62 1893

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Roche, John A. 1813-1898.
The life of John Price
Durbin

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THE LIFE

JOHN PRICE DURBIN, D.D., LLD

AN ANALYSIS OF HIS HOMILETIC SKILL AND
SACRED ORATORY.

JOHN A. 'ROCHE, M.D., D.D.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION

RANDOLPH S. FOSTER, D.D., LL.D.,

Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

" The proper study of mankind is man." — Pope.

'Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." —2 Tim. 2. 13.

FOURTH EDITION,

NEW YORK: HUNT & EATON
CINCINNATI: CRANSTON & CURTS
1803

Copyright, 1889, by
JOHN A. ROCHE,

New York.

TO

THE YOUNG MINISTERS OF METHODISM:

IN

WHOM THE SUBJECT OF THIS BIOGKAPHV CHERISHED THE
DEEPEST INTEREST;
FOR

WHOSE ADVANCEMENT IN PULPIT POWER HE WAS EVER READY TO
EMPLOY THE BEST MEANS AT HIS COMMAND ;
AND

AS AN EXPRESSION OF THE HIGH SENSE ENTERTAINED

BY

THE AUTHOR
OF THE VALUE OF KEEPING BEFORE OUR RISING MINISTRY
SO NOBLE AN EXAMPLE
OP

THE POSSIBILITIES OF THEIR HOLY CALLING :
THIS BOOK IS
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.

PREFACE.

IX the May number of the Methodist Review of 1887
there appeared an article designed to sketch the life
and characterize the ministry of Dr. John P. Durbin.
So deep was the interest thus awakened in the subject,
that many and earnest requests came to the writer to
give some larger account of this great man. The in-
telligence of the persons expressing this wish compelled
the inquiry as to available material for a biography.
Great weight was given to these private suggestions by
the action of the Wilmington and the Philadelphia
Conferences, which at their last session passed strong
resolutions requesting the writer to prepare a life of
Dr. Durbin. These two Conferences had formed but
one body nearly all the time of Dr. Durbin's member-
ship in the Philadelphia Conference, and felt a com-
mon interest in his character and services.

The New York East Conference, of which the writer
is a member, passed a similar resolution. To such ex-
pression no one of sensibility could be indifferent.

But candor constrains the confession that the writer
had long entertained the thought that " Homiletics and
Sacred Oratory," taught with so much care and profit in
text-books and by able professors, might be impressed
by example of their most weighty and influential prin-
ciples. The writer's knowledge of Dr. Durbin for
forty years presented him as an illustration of the great-
est number of those principles that he had met in one
minister. The consideration led him to commence the
waiting of this book. It will be seen, therefore, that

vi

rREFA CE.

its object is twofold: 1. To narrate the life of Dr.
Durbin ; ?nd, 2. To analyze his powers as a preacher.

The writer makes his grateful acknowledgments to
all who have in any way contributed material that
served the ends of this volume. He is under pre-
eminent obligations to Mrs. Augusta A. Whitaker, of
Philadelphia, and to Alexander C. Durbin, Esq., of
Montclair, N. J., the surviving children of Dr. Durbin.
They have placed at his disposal the manuscripts in
their possession. From an autobiographical fragment
the most accurate and comprehensive information con-
cerning Dr. Durbin's early labors has been furnished.

The author cannot in adequate terms express his
indebtedness to remaining members of the family of
Christopher Smith, Esq., of Cincinnati. From and
through his son-in-law, Edward Sargent, Esq., new
sources of knowledge have been opened to the writer.

Cordial thanks are rendered Judge Jacob Chambers,
of Eaton, Ohio, for the minutes of a quarterly confer-
ence kept by young Durbin. A like expression is due
the Rev. J. O. Roberts for his account of the early
efforts of Durbin; and to a lady friend in Philadelphia
who has permitted the writer use of memoranda of great
value. Thanks are also due the Rev. G. W. Lybrand,
of the Philadelphia Conference, for original matter as
well as for numerous references; and to the Rev. G. D.
Carrow, D.D., for material that was sought with care.

The writer cannot express his obligations to those
who have furnished letters concerning Dr. Durbin.
Among those is one who had the highest honor in the
first graduating class of Dickinson College under Dr.
Durbin, whom the Church now honors as its senior
Bishop, Dr. Thomas Bowman.

CONTENTS.

PART I.

Memoir op John P. D CUBES', D.D., LL.D.
CHAPTER I.

Ancestry — Youth — Father's death — Mother's energy and character
— Wise care of his brothers— Learns cabinet-making — Troubled about
a call to preacli — Searching question of his grandfather — Sent as a
preacher to Limestone Circuit, Ky., in a week after joining the Church
— Counsel of Benj. Lakin Page 3

CHAPTER II.
1819. Received into Conference — Greenville Circuit — Little salary
— Judge Chambers's fac simile of his Quarterly Conference Minutes —
Close student — Rules of conduct — Account of jerks — Preaches on the
deity of Christ. 1820. At Lawrenceburg— Studies English Grammar
by the aid of his colleague, James Collord — Learns of fruit of his first
ministry — Circulates tracts — Means of a conversion. 1821. Hamilton
Station— Studies Latin — Attends Miami University — Conversion of
his host — His skill. 1822. Lawrenceville Station— David Young coun-
sels him. 1823. Lebanon— Trouble in the Church— Depressed.
182-1. In Cincinnati — Happy home with Christopher Smith — Enters
Cincinnati College— Encouraged by General William Henry Harrison,
afterward President of the United States— Graduates with honor.. 17

CHAPTER III.
Exalted character as student and preacher made in seven ypars —
Professor in Augusta College — Marries — Agent for the college — His
vigorous efforts — Resigns his chair — Elected Professor of Natural
Science in the Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn \1

viii

COXTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.
Chaplain totheUnited States Senate — Viewsof usefulness — Reports
of the difficulties of the position— What he found — His influence in
the place — His studies — ("lay's eloquence — Daniel Webster's tal-

ents 59

CHAPTER V.
The persistent student in Baltimore and Washington — Fame does
not impair his energy 79

CHAPTER VI.

Elected editor of The Christian Advocate and Journal — His intel-
leciual vigor — Just estimate of the duties of the place — Weighty
lessons that he impressed on people and preachers— Progressive. .88

CHAPTER VII.

Presidency of Dickinson College — Its history — The faculty — Dr.
Durbiu secured— Success 98

CHAPTER VIII.
Travels in Europe and the East — His observations and interest. 109

CHAPTER IX.
The General Conference ofl844— The great men— Debates on tho

case of Bishop Andrew — Dr. Durbin's part 122

CHAPTER X.
Pastorate and presiding eldership in Philadelphia — Full of work —
Great influence 141

CHAPTER XI.
The Missionary Secretaryship — His interest — Plans — Labors — In-
fluence— Success 156

CHAPTER XII.
Sermons on special occasions — Their wonderful power 165

CHAPTER XIII.

Correspondence concerning Dr. Durbin in the places that he filled. 180

CONTENTS. ix

PART II.

Analysis of Hrs Power. Ho.miletics and Sacred Oratory.

CHAPTER XIV.
His eloquence — Suramerfield — Bascom — Less vehement in advanc-
ing life — More concentrated — Was he an artist ? 229

CHAPTER XV.
His style as a means of moving men — Plain, animated, sublime. .248

CHAPTER XVI.
His imagination, dramatic power, voice, unction, as elements in his

ministry 257

CHAPTER XVII.
Extemporization — Extent of its use— Conditions of success 278

CHAPTER XVIII.
Homiletic taste and skill — Subjects — Treatment 295

CHAPTER XIX.
The influence of a conscious call to the ministry — Prompts, justifies,
sustains 313

CHAPTER XX.

Eloquence a worthy study — What it is — The efforts others make for
its attainment — Not less valuable to a minister — That few attain high
excellence is no reason for its neglect — Wesley's encouragement —
Durbin's example — Bascom and Durbin compared — Resemblances and
contrasts ■ 326

CHAPTER XXI.
His death — Relations — Family — Friends — Conference — His person
— Intercourse — Tn Conference — Christian character— Common sense
— Uncommon mental power — A consecrated life — Contrast between
the labors of the Christian minister and an arch infidel — His life a
moral folio for the study of young ministers 347

INTRODUCTION.

BIOGRAPHICAL art is as rare as genius. Except
to the stupid most biographies are stupid — mere
arid recitations of matters of no interest whatever. A
sufficient reason for tlie dullness, in a great majority
of cases is no doubt that there was no reason why
the life should be written. It is astonishing how
few lives, even of conspicuous men in high posi-
tions— statesmen, men eminent in the professions, or
who have won distinction in literature or art, or in
any other way — have in them any thing deserving of
commemoration after they have passed away from the
earth. Immediate relatives and partial friends, unwill-
ing to have them forgotten, seek to prevent it by
publishing a biography which perhaps they read or
glance through, but which no one else finds interesting
unless it should be some one, or some classes, who, un-
acquainted with more profitable reading, derive some
entertainment and possibly some profit from the recital.
Where there are few books, any thing — an old almanac
— is better than nothing. After all there is scarcely a
poor excuse for inflicting a biography on the present
age of even a more than ordinary person in his peculiar
line ; if he be less than really extraordinary, or unless
there be that in his character and achievements and the
incidents of his life which is suggestive and inspiring,
it is better that he be permitted to go quietly to rest.
The age is too busy and full for commonplace. Many
a man who has shone with noticeable brilliancy in the

xii

INTRODUCTION.

pulpit, at the bar, in the senate, and who not only won
but deserved admiration, even wide fame, will not bear
the strain of a biography. The attempt to dress him
up for such a show is little short of abuse. He ought
to live in traditions, in the glamour of affectionate
memories, in the innocent exaggerations which simply
rank him with sufficient indefiniteness as among the
great men of the generation of giants who lived in the
age just gone. The growing fables will be greatly
more just to his memory than any narrative can be.
The imagination will do better by him than the facts.
We protest, in the interest of a class of worthy men
who have well served their time and deserve to be
well thought of and affectionately remembered, against
their being paraded and dwarfed in the pages of dull
biography.

There are occasional men who, for one reason or
another, or even for many sufficient, reasons, deserve to
be handed down to posterity in the embalmment of a
book; not necessarily greater than other men or the
very greatest of all, but for some unique qualities, or
possibly some accidental environments, or some inex-
plicable magnetism, or some triumph over peculiar and
great difficulties, or some marvelous influences which
emanated from them, or the conspicuous part which
they played in their generation, or some incident or in-
cidents of their history which are suggestive and help-
ful, especially to the young, or for other reasons.

It is a happy conjuncture when such a man finds a
Boswell to enshrine him or a biographer worthy his
subject ; and it is not always to be deplored when, as
in the case of the great essayist, the affections of the
biographist render him sensitive to the finest traits of
tbe subject, or even if the reflected imngo, tinted by
overfondness, should possibly flatter the original. The

INTRODUCTION.

xiii

imagination may safely play a part. A photograph
or portrait in any style ought to be characteristically
realistic rather than ideal ; but it ought not to be com-
plained of when it gives the best expression, or even
though it should in a degree, not grossly exaggerate,
but mildly drape the form.

American Methodism rank among all her gifted and
eminent sons, in any work of official distinction or min-
isterial service has never had one, if we except her first
Bishop, and he only by the accidents of his position,
who more richly deserved a classic niche in her temple
of fame, or who has furnished a finer subject for the
pen of genius than John P. Durbin. If there have
been greater or more loyal sons we do not know of
them. If any have excelled him we are not able to
name them. He came on the stage in the heroic days
of the nati n and of the Church, and for fifty years and
more, without a flaw or failure, stood in the public gaze
only to be honored by those whose respect is discrimi-
nated praise, and by whom to be esteemed great is
proof of real greatness. He was not simply the pride
of his own Church, but equally of all those of other
Churches, whether in pulpit or pew, and of the cultured
of no Church as well, who were capable of appreciating
sacred eloquence or admiring the charm of noble and
magnetic manhood. Modest as a child in mien and
spirit in the common intercourse of life, he was, when
at the post of duty and roused with the mighty themes
of his great commission, impassioned, fervid, irre-
sistible as the electric flash or the great forces of
nature when stirred to their wildest fury; but whether
in the cloister or amid the amenities of social life, or in
the pulpit careering on the storm of matchless eloquence,
alike in all places he won and swayed all hearts. No
orator ever had more complete mastery of his audi-

xiv

INTRODUCTION.

ences ; but it was always as the ambassador of the
great King that he delivered his messages and reached
his loftiest climaxes. He was never forgetful of his
great commission, and never compromised the dignity
and glory of his adored Master.

The Church and all the admiring friends of the
great Durbin have reason to congratulate themselves in
his biographer. Dr. Roche brought to his chosen task
the indispensable conditions of success : deep personal
affection ; long and intimate acquaintance ; special op-
portunities for the observation and study of his sub-
ject; a discriminating understanding and appreciation
of sacred eloquence ; dramatic skill of arrangement ;
to which must be added spiritual sympathy. Through-
out he is on fire with his theme ; never wearies of it ;
never grows dull or vapid. He lives it over, from the
boy on the Kentucky " blue-grass " farm, through all
the windings of a grand and beautiful career, even to
its culmination. There is nothing wanting, nothing
omitted to mar the charm uf the mind picture. He
makes it live as he tells the story.

The rare charm of the volume, the highest stroke of
biographical skill and genius, is that it is full of Dur-
bin himself. From the first he is present with you ;
you see him, hear the tone of his voice, feel the charm
of his sympathy ; he is talking with you ; drawing you
to him; you are with him on the circuit; at the homes
among the people where he stopped ; reading the books
he read ; thinking his thoughts. Further on, after boy-
hood has widened into manhood, and early promise has
grown into fruition, and study has ripened into scholar-
ship and position, you are sitting before him in
the college chapel feeling the spell of his prayers, his
loving, reproving, and persuasive counsels, in the reci-
tation-room, thrilled by his inspirations and lilted by

INTRODUCTION.

xv

his instructions : anon you are with him in the senate
house, where his sermons and prayers hold the mighty
men of the nation spell-bound ; and yet, over and over
again you are bearing those wonderful sermons which,
in great city pulpits and from the rude stands of the
camp-ground, swayed the multitude as the tempest
bends and lashes the forests.

There is so much reproduction from memory gathered
from different sources, and so much from his own pen,
that you seem to be listening again to the matchless
orator and hearing the very tones of his voice, and find
yourself crouching under those amazing gestures of his
which no one who beheld can ever forget. That Hash,
rather shall I say glare, of his eye startles you as it did
when you sat before him, that, transfigured countenance,
that upturned face, that wand of the uplifted hand, to-
gether with the words that made him the most magic
of preachers, come to you over and over again as you
read the interesting pages.

I must not detain you. Dr. Roche has nobly done
his noble task. If I mistake not the book will not only
be read with thrilling interest by multitudes of the
present generation who knew and admired the great
Doctor, not indeed in the glory of his prime, but in the
toned autumn of his declining age ; but it will live on
as a classic of the now rapidly- vanishing mythic age of
our church life ; the age amid whose shadowy outlines
we discern with sufficient indistinctness to magnify
their forms the heroic men who laid its foundations.
" Distance lends enchantment to the view ; " but there
were great men in those times. None among them all,
in the best respects, excelled the hero of this story.

The young men in the ministry of the present gener-
ation, who come upon the stage with such improved
equipment, entering as they do into the labors of these

xvi

INTRODUCTION.

honored fathers will not permit their memories to
perish or their laurels to fade ; but coming again and
again to the study of their struggles and story of their
successes will strive to emulate them in spirit and power.
They will continue forever to be the great legion in
our traditions and in our affections.

The Church will not grow weary of the story of the
past or of the men who made it illustrious. We com-
mend Dr. Roche's book with unqualified indorsement.
Let it be read by our children in the thousand homes
of our Methodism in city and country. It will not fail
to inspire them to a noble life as well as entertain them
with the fascination of a romance. Let it find a place
in every Sunday-school library for the more advanced
youth it will inspire them with love for their Church.

There are hints and rules as to the use of time and
habits of study and methods of preparing sermons
which cannot fail to be educating in a high degree to
young ministers. The book abounds with allusions to
other men in all the professions, but especially the most
celebrated preachers of all Churches who were the con-
temporaries of the subject of the memoir, so that a
most valuable light is thrown upon the age itself. There
is scarcely a celebrity that has not a discriminative and
appreciative analysis of his peculiar powers. It is really,
in the closing chapters, a treatise on sacred eloquence
as well as an historical resnme of the men and their
peculiar styles of thought and speech who in the forum
and the pulpit impressed the generation just gone — as
Webster, Clay, Calhoun, among statesmen ; Bascom,
Olin, Maffit, among pulpiteers ; as well as the great
orators of all countries and all times. The book is thus
rendered rich in a remarkable degree.

I cannot close this brief Introduction without per-
sonal mention of the distinguished subject of this ex-

IXTRODUCTIOX.

ceedingly interesting sketch. I feel under personal
obligation to the author for doing that, and doing it so
admirably well, which I had almost despaired of seeing
done at all. It seemed that the man who most of all
deserved a memoir was not to find a biographer. It
must have been an inspiration that led Dr. Uoche to
undertake the work. Perhaps no other living man
could have done it so well.

My recollection of the great Doctor dates back nearly
fifty years, just at the time when he was in the zenith
of his fame. He had just passed out of his youth into
the full strength of his mature manhood. It was when
Bascom and Hamline were at the height of their power.
Simpson was just in the dawn of his rapidly-rising
popularity. I think it is safe to sav that Methodism
has never since had four comparable names, and prob-
ably never will again. Circumstances have greatly to
do, certainly, with the quality of men's fame ; possibly
with the cpuality of men themselves.

The country was new. The age was uncritical. The
pulpit was the great throne of power. The pen and
printed page were less in use. The people were eager
to hear. Impassioned speech thrilled and swayed the
vast expectant assemblies who rushed for miles to hear
the famous orator. There was eloquence in the air.
All the circumstances conspired to kindle enthusiasm.
It was inevitable that, standing in the focus of such
forces, the speaker should be at his best. The effect
was inchoate before he began. Hungry of combustion,
the assembly took fire at the first spark. On the eager
flame, the orator himself more impassioned, rose and
soared to the sublimest heights of inspired eloquence.
The effect was often magical. It is impossible for ibis
generation to conceive of it. The waves of feeling
that rushed over the assembly were as visible as the

xviii

INTRODUCTION.

effect of the storm on ocean or forest. Hundreds
would rise to their feet under unconscious impulse,
lean forward, press toward the speaker, weeping, sob-
bing, or shouting, under the thrilling appeal. Many
times numbers fell like the slain in battle. Under
Durbin and Bascom I have repeatedly witnessed all
these effects myself. It would not accord with truth
to say that there are not as great men now living ; but
the times make it impossible that any should produce
such visible signs of emotion as attended those mighty
and glorious men. I must stay my pen. Read the
book, and you will read it again, and will thank Dr.
Roche that he has set in order his admirable words
commemorative of the great life whose spell still lin-
gers with us.

R. S. F.

PART I.

MEMOIR OF JOHN P. DURBIN, D.D., LLD.

2

MEMOIR OF JOHN P. DURBIN, D.D., LL.D.

CHAPTER I.
Ancestry— Youth— Early Ministry.

HUMAN greatness commands the savage and the sage.
It inspires the genius of the poet and is the chosen
theme for eloquence. History records its results and
wisdom avails itself of its benefits. In exalted reputa-
tions and influence men are "not born to die." Their
lives do honor to our nature and their history is the
heritage of the race. When, therefore, one has sub-
limely served his generation by the will of God, duty
may demand that we gather up the facts that made him
illustrious, and thus impress lessons of value upon those
who survive. The Bible immortalizes, by name and deed,
the great and good, and teaches that no man liveth to
himself and no man dieth to himself. Tamerlane was
accustomed to read of his progenitors, not for boast-
ing, but to improve his virtues. The noble acts of our
predecessors may lure us from paths of indolence and
awaken a just ambition to imbibe their spirit and follow
in their steps. Worth begets worth. As from the ashes
of the phenix others rise, from great men others are
produced.

Few men in any Church have ever occupied and filled
with efficiency and honor so many important positions
as Dr. Durbin. We may, then, be allowed to say, "As
some entranced limner seizes the setting of the golden
sun to sketch the landscape when lighted up with rays

4

JOHN P. DURBIN.

still glowing, though fast fading away — as filial rever-
ence seeks the artist's skill to portray a parent's face
while expressions of the past yet play amid the wrinkles
of age; or as the Kestor of some old philosophy en-
circles it with the last halo of enthusiasm ere yet new
theories are called to occupy the uppermost seats," so
would the writer, were it in his power, present the feat-
ures of a character that remains and perpetuate the
memories that linger to enshrine the man who, while
living, achieved so much for the cause of Christ, and
who, though dead, may be to the ministry so grand an
illustration of what the conscientious application of all
our powers to our appropriate work will enable us to
accomplish.

In a record prepared by himself John Price Durbin
says: " I was born October 10, 1800, in Bourbon County,
Ky., three miles from Paris. My paternal grandfather
was from Havre-de-Graee, Md. My maternal grand-
father was from Georgia. Both their families settled
in Kentucky among the first who immigrated thither.
They were of industrious, plain habits, and hence made
a comfortable living approaching wealth. My maternal
grandfather and family were among the first Methodists
in Kentucky, and continue to this day (January 28, 18:50).

"My father, Hozier Durbin, married my mother,
Elizabeth Nunn, A. D. 1799. I was their eldest child.
There were five sons of us, all living at the death of
my father. . . . My father was a generous and highly
honorable man, professing no religion. His fortunes
were ruined by the faithlessness of friends whom he
trusted. . . . He died suddenly in March, 1813, and
left us to the protection of my mother and the clem-
ency of the world. Fortunately, she was a woman of
extraordinary constitution, though small and delicate in
appearance, and has rarely been equaled in point of in-

MEMOIR.

5

dustry, perseverance, economy, and the government of
her family. In the last particular she was considered
by some as too severe. But she had sons to rule and
none to help her. To her we are indebted for whatever
we have of morals, industry, or a sense of honor and
propriety. I can never think of her but with gratitude
and wonder. Assisted in some degree by her father,
she supported us by her own industry until we w ere old
enough to be put to trades. She spun and wove the ma-
terial for our clothes, and, when w oven, made them with
her own hands. We were raised before the simplicity
of the West yielded to the extravagance of the present
day."

In the History of Methodism in Kentucky, by Rev.
A. H. Redford, D D, Vol. I, p. 316, Dr. Durbin says,
in a letter of March 5, 1868, "My mother was married
to Mr. Theobold, of Grant County, Ky. A son and
daughter were the fruit of that marriage. The son is
dead, but the daughter, now Mrs. Sayres, of Grant
County, is still living, and is the mother of a large
family of children."

Again, Dr. Redford says:

"Among the distinguished women of the Methodist
Church in Kentucky no one presented a brighter Chris-
tian example than Mrs. Durbin. Devoted to the Church
of her choice, as well as to the common cause of Chris-
tianity, she contributed the influence of a holy life and
a liberal hand to promote the great ends of religion.
Endowed with an intellect of superior cast, with a heart
sanctified by grace, and with an inflexible purpose to
accomplish the highest aims and ends of life, whether
by the bedside of affliction or in her own family circle,
or pouring out the devotions of her heart around the
altars of the Church, she seems every-where an angel of
mercy. Through many years her house was consecrated

6

JOIIX P. DURBIN.

to God, and beneath her hospitable roof the faithful
minister of Christ found a welcome and a place of rest."

In a brief biography written by her pastor soon after
her death, lie says: " Many there are who bless God that
she ever lived. Her place in the Church and family
circle cannot be easily filled. In her death a pillar of
Christianity has been broken and a moral guiding light
extinguished. Her children and society have sustained
a loss that time' cannot repair. She in an eminent de-
gree trained up her children in ' the way they should go,'
and had the high satisfaction of seeing them all soundly
converted and exemplary members of the Church, while
two of them became eloquent ministers of the Gospel
of Christ." For several years she suffered from severe
affliction, yet her last attack, a disease of the throat,
was brief. After a few days' illness calmly and easily
she passed away.

In the record kept by Dr. Durbin, he says:

" As I advanced to manhood my mother, of course,
became more infirm, and, as if by common consent, the
care of the younger brothers devolved on me. As it
was very evident to me that they could not expect to
rank in point of inherited fortunes with their near rela-
tions I determined it was best to remove them from
their native State and place them among strangers. I
had two reasons for this:

" 1. For fear they might be moved by some disagree-
able feeling by seeing their friends growing up in pros-
pect of better fortunes, and to which they might, and
justly too, feel they had a partial claim, which I foresaw
never could be realized.

"2. Because I had seen enough of the world to know
that when one's fortune depended on his own exertion
he is more successful and better sustained among
strangers than among friends or relations. For if

MEMOIR.

7

among his relations be will naturally look to tbem for
some support, and if he does not receive it he feels
grieved and injured. Moreover, when among strangers
he looks for no indulgence or favors other than such as
his virtues, industry, and success may authorize him to
expect. He feels himself responsible to the community
and dependent on himself in respect to his conduct and
fortunes, and these things awaken in the heart feelings
and resolutions and energies of such elevation and
character as cannot be felt or formed by the person who
grows up in prospect of ease and protection in the
bosom of an indulgent family. From these circumstan-
ces I thought it best to remove my brothers from the
house of their parents and scenes of their childhood that
they might, as I have done, and expect always to do,
try their fortunes among strangers, and make and keep
friends only by their virtues and merits. Nor have I
been disappointed in them yet, and feel pretty well as-
sured that even my best wishes will be realized in re-
gard to them.

" The same course should be pursued in reference to
all youth, no matter what their prospects are. Place
them in circumstances which require all their energies
and make them depend on themselves. It is the only
possible way to make them active, efficient, and in-
dustrious citizens, and to prevent them from being de-
based and useless drones, an expense to their families,
and a loss to the community. The history of the
brightest gems of our free and happy country will at-
test what I have here written."

This is rare reasoning for one of his age. The polit-
ical economist who, in the maturity of his intellect and
the most careful consideration of that which pertains to
a State or a nation, reasons out safer conclusions than
J. P. Durbin reached in relation to the best temporal

8

JOHN P. D URBIN.

interests of his brothers and young men in general
shows a wisdom that makes him worthy of his exalted
study.

In 1868 Dr. Durbin wrote, "Myself and my brother
William (third son) are the only ones living." That
brother still lives in the State of Indiana and is a de-
voted member of the Church. His youngest brother,
Hozier J. Durbin, was a member of the Indiana Con-
ference, and at the time of his death was agent of the
American Bible Society. On August 11, 1851, while
energetically prosecuting its interests, "he was killed in
a storm by the limb of a tree falling on him." Before
this he had been a member of the State Legislature in
Indiana. He was a speaker of " persuasive eloquence "
and a "powerful preacher."

The early life of J. P. Durbin was spent on a farm.
"His education up to his fourteenth year was of the
commonest kind of the frontier. When fourteen years
old he was apprenticed to a cabinet-maker in Paris, Ky.,
with whom he remained till he learned the trade."

He says, " About my eighteenth year I became per-
manently serious and was admitted a member of a class,
mainly with a design, as I afterward learned, to procure
a recommendation to the Quarterly Meeting Conference
for license to preach. The license was granted on No-
vember 19, 1818, and signed by that truly good and
great man, Alexander Cummings. . . . On Tuesday
following the grant of my license to preach I was sent
by the presiding elder, Mr. Cummings, to Limestone
Circuit, in the Kentucky Conference."

He was converted at Riddle's Mills; but "one of his
young friends was pungently convicted, struggled hard
and long, and was powerfully and suddenly converted
in his presence." Durbin assumed that his experience
must be of the same kind in order to be genuine j but

MEMOIR.

9

as it was gradual and tranquil, without violent signs,
he began to distrust it, when by a gentle, yet clear im-
pression on his mind he was convinced that " God for
Christ's sake had pardoned his sins and accepted him in
the Redeemer."

The Church had seen his change of life, and while he
hesitated it moved. The action of the Quarterly Con-
ference, presided over by such a man as tilled the chair,
and the conduct of the presiding elder in placing him
immediately on a circuit, showed remarkable confidence
in his character and talent, and also illustrates the care
with which the Church marked its material for the
highest service.

Twelve years after his entrance upon the itinerancy
he thus writes: " If any one period of my life is more
dear to me than another it is that in which I entered
the itinerancy. I can never reflect on the incidents
attending it without gratitude. The impression in re-
gard to preaching the Gospel fastened on my mind long
before I became permanently serious. This may seem
strange ; it is even so to myself, and yet it is true. When
I was very young, hearing my father say to a friend
that he intended to make me a physician, I asked him
if a doctor could be a preacher. I well recollect that I
concluded in my own mind if a doctor cannot be a
preacher I will not be a doctor. When I found it was
necessary to go to a trade, I did it cheerfully ; not be-
cause I expected to get my living by it, but because I
found it was the only way in which I could pass my
time satisfactorily to my friends or, indeed, as things
were, to myself. I therefore learned the cabinet-mak-
ing trade. I followed it to some profit for a year or
more ; but during the last year I had but little peace,
because of the strong impression resting on my mind in
regard to preaching the Gospel. I often resolved with

10

JOHN P. BUBBLY.

myself to go cheerfully, but as often proved faithless
to my resolutions. At length I resolved when a certain
engagement was out I would disclose my mind to my
elder brethren for their advice. But I failed, and was
on my way to a second engagement when, walking
alone on my way, I felt so overcome with a sense of
my obstinacy that I sat down by the way-side and wept
until the sound of a horseman roused me, and I arose
and went on. This engagement lasted about a month,
after which I returned to the house of my grandfather,
Mr. Ilai Nunn.

" I was much dejected, which he observed, and said to
me, '■John, tell me the truth, do you not feel that you are
culled to preach the Gospel f I was compelled to ac-
knowledge it with tears, perfectly astonished that he or
any other being should have suspected any thing of the
kind. He then gave me the following advice :

" ' Go and explain your feelings and views to Mr.
Lakin. He is an old Methodist traveling preacher of
experience and good judgment, and he will advise you
properly.'

"1 took his advice and visited the Rev. Benjamin
Lakin, and found him in his bed somewhat unwell, as
he was then worn out by long service in the Church.
He was one of the first Methodist preachers that visited
Kentucky. It was his custom to preach in the dwell-
ings of those who would give permission, and he
dressed, as the people generally in those early days,
in a hunting-shirt, wrappers (or leggings), and moc-
casins. He lived to see the Methodist Church numer-
ous and respectable, and spread over the western coun-
try, and still lives, enduring patiently the frailties of
old age and the infirmities brought on him by his early
and continued ministerial labors. The name of Ben-
jamin Lakin is dear to the hearts of thousands, and is

MEMOIR

I 1

consecrated in my memory as among my most endear-
ing recollections.

" When I was shown into the room where he was rest-
ing, in the house of Mr. Lakin, of Bourbon County,
Ky., the old man of God arose and sat on the side of
his bed and read the letter which I brought from my
grandfather with tears in his eyes. After some con-
versation he said, ' I advise you, first of all, imitate no
person in the style and manner of your preaching; copy
not their tones of voice nor gesture; study to speak in
that style and manner, accompanied with such gesture,
as will be perfectly natural to yourself. Let your
whole performance be that of animated conversation,
with such elevation of voice as will be suitable to the
size of the assembly. Make choice of plain subjects,
and, of course, plain texts, and endeavor rather to illus-
trate them perspicuously than laboriously and finely.
Recollect that you should benefit the great body of
your hearers and not the few. Simplicity and utility
are the best traits in the composition and delivery of a
sermon. These two properties will create interest and
feeling; and in order to give full effect to them, with-
out becoming incoherent and wild, you must make,
either on paper or in your own mind, a draught of your
discourse before you go into the pulpit, containing at least
the general propositions and outlines of the subject —
and, if it be a difficult one, the minor points and principal
arguments in brief — and the mind will well recollect and
finish them out when you come to preach. Give attention
to reading also. It is a great mistake to suppose one can
do his work well as an evangelist who is not studious.
Study, unaccompanied by religious character and the
call of God, will not qualify for the work of the ministry ;
neither, on the other hand, is religious character and the
call of God sufficient without study. Cultivate your own

12

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

language closely. You have to use it as the medium
of communication to sinners. Cultivate biblical litera-
ture as of the first importance, but by husbanding your
time you will find opportunity to cultivate every branch
of literature in some useful degree. And, recollect,
every species of knowledge is, or may be, useful to a
minister. Recollect that you will find it more difficult
to command your time than any thing else, because
in traveling you pass into different families every day,
and each will regard you as a visitor, a guest, not recol-
lecting that you are always somewhere in the same
character. Resist this tax on your time prudently, and
they will shortly see you inclined to improve your time
and talents, and will also see the good effect of it in
your ministry, and instead of complaining of you as
morose and churlish they will approve, and assist you
by providing you with every convenience when you
come. This is my best advice. Go, and the Lord go
with you.' Such is the outline of the advice which
this excellent man gave me. It is true that, as I im-
proved by it very much, I have added a little by way
of enlargement as the result of my own experience.
But I am indebted to him for the nucleus around
which all the minor points are associated."

From the narrative of young Durbin's anxious and
painful experience concerning his duty to preach and
the impression he made on those who best knew him
Ave can judge their conduct in pressing him into the
work in which, notwithstanding his convictions, he was
so slow to engage.

That his grandfather, a man of commanding influ-
ence in the Church and in the community, a pioneer of
Methodism in Kentucky, should have addressed to him
the searching question that opened up the whole mat-
ter of his solicitude, is evidence how God, who in

MEMOIR.

18

ancient times "revealed to his servants," still holds
such access to their minds as to induce conduct that is
not wholly of themselves.

The wisdom of Mr. Nunn in sending young Durbin
to Mr. Lakin for aid in his perplexity may be seen in
the character of the man and in the estimate placed
upon his counsel by the inquirer.

3Ir. Lakin was an experienced and honored minister
in Methodism. He understood the demands made upon
a young preacher. He knew his difficulties and his
dangers, as well as his mental and moral possibilities.
He had a clear intellect, and was a calm though ear-
nest thinker. He was distinguished by conscientious-
ness, by self-sacrifice, by strong faith and burning zeal.
He had industry and methodical habits. He seemed
to be steadily governed by the rule of our Discipline,
"Never be unemployed; never be triflingly employed."
He was a great reader, and it was his practice to make
abstracts and write an analysis of the books he studied,
lie thus accumulated large stores of knowledge. He
was accustomed to prepare notes of li is sermons, and
sometimes wrote them " in full," but only to impress
them perfectly upon his mind. With energy of char-
acter he was conservative. He had marked prudence,
and his executive skill inspired confidence in his adminis-
tration.

Such facts gave force to his advice, as his practice
was an illustration of the principles he inculcated. He
retired from the ministry the year that Durbin en-
tered it, and on the same circuit. He died February
5, 1849, in the eighty-second year of his age and in the
fifty-fifth of his ministry. Can we trace any resem-
blance between the attributes and habits of the coun-
selor and the counseled ?

These were the circumstances under which the Dur-

14

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

bin of eighteen years, in a few days after his connection
with the Church, entered upon the Limestone Circuit,
where he labored for eight months with Walter Griffith
as preacher in charge. In later life he said, " When
I look back at this period of my ministerial labors I
am astonished that the people bore with me at all. I
was young and inexperienced. My manners must have
been rude, though, I presume, artless and unpresuming.
My knowledge of divine things was very limited,
and my manner of explaining what I did know must
have been unsatisfactory to a great many, and probably
disgusting to some, as I was not acquainted with the
English grammar. My reading at this period was very
limited and desultory. I had no system for study
either in regard to books or time. Hence I learned
nothing, or very little. Yet with all these disadvan-
tages it pleased the Lord to bless my labors in some
degree. It is still refreshing to me, and I will record
it here for the comfort of others, to recall one inci-
dent. I had been absent from the Limestone Circuit
several years. As I returned to see my friends I called
on my friend Johnston Armstrong, of Maysville, Ky.,
and dined with him. After dinner lie observed, 'I have
never yet told you that you were the instrument under
God of my conversion. It is even so. I shall never
forget it. It was in August, in the old white church,
the last sermon you preached for us.' This came to
my pilgrim heart as the rain to the parched fields, and
I thought to myself, as I have a thousand times, the
minister of Jesus Christ does not, nor will he know, the
good he is doing in this world until the Lord judges the
world in righteousness. My Brother Armstrong has been
an ornament to his profession from that, time until this.
I hope he may be faithful unto death and die in peace.
"Iu this circuit I also met with one judicious and

MEMOIR.

IS

faithful friend, Mr. John Todd, formerly of Balti-
more. He was then a journeyman in Maysville, and
very remarkable for his piety. ' You are about,' said
Mr. Todd to me, ' to leave our circuit. You are now
young, and should seize the opportunity of improving
your mind and confirming yourself in the habits of
piety. I would suggest to you that possibly you have
been too conversant, too much given to talk with all
persons, on all subjects, and in all places. It is diffi-
cult to break our habits with old acquaintances, but
recollect when you go to a new circuit you will be a
stranger. Begin from the first to rule yourself down
to a few words, and even this only on necessary occa-
sions. Make a good selection of books to read and
devote yourself to reading and prayer. Read one book
at a time ; read all of it and read it carefully. Study
the English language closely, and make yourself master
of a perspicuous, correct, and strong style.'

" This is about the substance of the advice which I
received from this young man. It was of much service
to me. Connected with a few other circumstances this
advice directed my course chiefly during the next year."

The means of education that society affords to one
disposed to team are incalculable, and the readiness that
the capable show in contributing to the worthy ends of
the modest and meritorious is one of the greatest ad-
vantages of human intercourse. Durbin found friends
in every place and sphere. The: supply seemed equal to
the demand. Where the least hope might have been
cherished the most positive benefit was bestowed. He
was eager to learn, and his receptivity was equal to his
need. A hint was help. With him life presented not
the question of ease, but of possibilities and duty. His
ambition was sanctified, and his auxiliaries sustained
his purpose.

16

JOHN P. DURBiy.

How unlooked-for and yet how valuable was the coun-
sel of his "journeyman friend ! " That Mr. Todd knew so
well the wise course for a young preacher to take as to
conversation, reading, and style, is evidence how closely
we may be criticised and how accurately we may be
judged by persons who rarely approach us to tell us our
faults and " show us how to mend." Nor can we fail
to think, if young Durbin was ever addicted to the
things named by Mr. Todd, either the remarks of his
friend or his own reasoning made a complete change.
His life, as we knew it, showed an utter freedom from
such tendencies as here became matters of caution.
How refined and judicious was the statement of the dif-
ficulty of some of the changes named, and how intelli-
gent was his recognition of the advantages that our
itinerancy affords to one who enters on a new course!

Did ever student from college or young man from the
office of his preceptor more fully exhibit the impress of
character or wisdom that such contact gives ?

On this circuit it must have been that, from vehemence
in delivery, he failed in voice and health; returning to
his home with the apprehension that his ministry had
ended. Another friend opportunely appeared, and ad-
vised him to visit the cabins of the colored people and
talk religion to them. Again he accepted counsel and
found the benefit. In six months his voice could fill
the largest house, and he resumed his work.

MEMOIR.

17

CHAPTER II.

Greenville Circuit, Lawrenceburg-, Hamilton,
Zanesville, Lebanon, Cincinnati.

HE says: "I was appointed in the summer of 1819 to
Greenville Circuit, which lay in the north-west part
of Ohio, and was at that time a frontier settlement,
and bordered on the Indians. It was my first appoint-
ment from the Conference, and I was alone, of course, in
charge. From the circuit I received in all about fifty-five
dollars in depreciated paper, worth about seventy-five
cents on the dollar." Through the kindness of Judge
J. Chambers, of Eaton, ()., the writer is furnished with
a transcript of the second Quarterly Conference of the
year, when Walter Griffith was president and J. P.
Durbin acted as secretary. The minutes are in his own
hand, as now contained in the stewards' book. The
members present are distinguished by capital letters
opposite their names. Thus, J. P. Durbin, T. P.; Will-
iam Stubbs, L. P.; James Dwiggius, C. L. The stewards
are Henry Eidson, Daniel Lease. The salary of J. P.
Durbin is thus rendered: "From August 1819, to
August 1820, $48 62i" Mr. Durbin says: "I found
about 140 members on this circuit. The country was
very new, very few houses which had more than one
room — log-cabins not exceeding twenty feet square.
In this one room frequently a whole family, consisting
of six, eight, ten, or a dozen sons and daughters, as well
as myself, ate and lodged, and in the winter all the cook-
ing was done here. This was used for chapel, parlor,
3

18

JOHN P. DURBIX.

kitchen, dining-room, and chamber for the whole fam-
ily. As would be naturally supposed, the fare was
coarse. Sometimes I could not tell whether to call what
I was drinking tea or coffee, nor what it was made of.
To some persons this would be a gloomy prospect; but
all this was counterbalanced by the cordiality with
which they received me and the cheer and pleasure
with which they offered me what they had." There
were very few appointments except at private houses
such as have been named, with all their inmates and dis-
comforts; but he found treasures of knowledge that
were to him more than homes of capacity and splendor.
On this circuit was an old German who was not too
poor to have Clarke's Commentary in numbers. These
he borrowed, and slipped two numbers at a time into a
tin canister about four inches in diameter and lashed it
behind his saddle, and thus carried it around his circuit.
As soon as preaching was over and the class dismissed
he sat down in the midst of a frontier family with pen
and ink to study and take notes of Clarke. His own
words are, "During that year I studied English grain-
mar considerably, and read all of Mr. Wesley's and
Fletcher's Works, and Dr. Clarke's notes on the Penta-
teuch and New Testament, and Josephus. All these
works I read closely and made abstracts in my own lan-
guage from them. This exercise gave me two great
advantages; namely, First, it fixed the sentiments of
ihe authors in my mind. Second, it gave me a habit of
composition, and, by consequence, a command of lan-
guage. But some might be at a loss to know how I
found time and means in such a circuit to read so much.
1 answer thus :

"1. I made it a rule to go to bed at nine and rise at
live. This gave me sixteen hours for business.

" 2. I made it a rule to be ready to read at six,

MEMOIR.

19

after having washed, said my prayers, and taken a
walk.

" 3. I made it a ride always to have my books, paper,
pen, and ink at hand.

"4. I made it a rule immediately after preaching to
sit down to read, even before dinner, or while the peo-
ple were not yet all gone; and if any wished to talk
with me merely out of civility or sociability, and not
on necessary business, I gave them so careless an answer,
continuing to read at the same time, that, after making
repeated trials to converse with me without effect, they
departed.

" 5. When the people saw that I was bent on improv-
ing my time, instead of being offended they seemed
pleased, and afforded me every facility in their power,
such as the following: lent me books, provided me
candles, and when this could not be done provided dry
wood or bark to give light, gave me a room to myself,
or, when they had no room to give, ruled the children
into silence that I might have an opportunity to read.

"Under these regulations I prospered much in knowl-
edge and piety, and came to Conference with a good
report.

" While on Greenville Circuit I was compelled to
study and defend the character of our Lord Jesus
Christ against the Arians, called in that country New-
Lights. They were numerous in that part of the coun-
try, having settled it principally from Kentucky, where
the sect first took its rise among the Presbyterians
of Bourbon County, in a neighborhood called Cain
Ridge. There was a large sacramental meeting
among them. The Lord visited them wonderfully; it
insensibly and wit hout design grew into a camp-meeting,
and the people remained for seven or eight days. At
this meeting began the inexplicable exercise called

2Q

JOIIN P. D U It BIN.

jerks. It was involuntary, and in some cases so violent
that two or three strong men could not confine one
female, and if they did attempt to hold her it always
caused a great soreness to her. In some instances the
arms would he violently thrust forward and backward
alternately — that is, one arm forward, the other at
the same time backward. Sometimes, and most gen-
erally, I believe, the head would be violently and quickly
thrown backward and forward, moving on the shoulders
(the shoulders also moving in the same direction slightly)
with such velocity that the hair of females would come
down, and when loose crack like a whip, and with such
force as to draw the blood from the face of the by-
stander if it cut it. The strongest and most wicked
men were equally subject to it with the weakest and
most superstitious females. It would generally come on
suddenly, frequently when the person was not in any
religious assembly, and sometimes when alone, engaged
in ordinary employment. Some would be silent and
appear sullen, some resigned, and some mortified; some
would be enraged and swear profanely; all dreaded the
exercise. It is said that it first seized a Presbyterian
minister while preaching. It was not confined to any
denomination. There was certainly no advantage in a
religious point of view in being the subject of it, nor
was it peculiar to the religious. Physicians examined
the subjects both during the paroxysms and afterward,
and in some instances gave medicine, but without effect.
I have never been the subject of it . but I have witnessed
it, and asked others who had been the subjects in regard
to their feelings and views, but could never obtain any
satisfaction. All declared it involuntary and inexplic-
able and painful. Some have been known to be jerked
to the ground in an instant, others have laid hold of
trees and have been jerked round them until they were

MEMOIR.

21

literally belabored and the tree partially lashed. These
are the facts; the explanation I leave to others."

The writer has at various times and from different per-
sons had some account of the exercise called " jerks."
Some thirty- seven years ago he had a strong and
strange statement from a Presbyterian minister who
had been in the West and was supposed to have
knowledge of what he spoke. But at no time has he
had so minute, comprehensive, and graphic a narrative
of the operations as that furnished by Mr. Durbin. The
account comes to us, in the present instance, in a way to
admit no question as to its certainty. Whatever may
have been the cause, Mr. Durbin both witnessed the
affection and inquired of those who were its subjects.
A more competent witness or calmer investigator of the
facts might not be found. In vain would we search for
a trace of superstition or fanaticism in him. If the
physicians who examined and tried to treat the cases
could not by their knowledge of the human system and
its liability to be operated on by external forces and
influences ; if from their study of physiology and psy-
chology, or from any science, observation, or experience
that they had to help them, they were unable to ex-
plain the phenomenon, and if Mr. Durbin called the
affection " inexplicable," we certainly shall not attempt
to do more than he or the physicians could accomplish.
We may have as good a right, if we have equal intelli-
gence, to render a judgment as to the cause as those of
that day. With no more science and knowledge of the
human system, and no better acquaintance with the facts,
we may be alike unable to satisfy the mind.

At this same meeting five or six Presbyterian minis-
ters took the incipient steps which led to their separa-
tion from their brethren and to the formation of a new
sect called " New Lights." They were Arians in doctrine.

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

Of these ministers all except one or two returned to the
Presbyterian Church. They had a considerable follow-
ing in the West. Their preachers laid down these two
great rules of action :

1. Human creeds are injurious to religion. Hence,

2. That they should not dwell on the controverted
points in theology in their ministrations, or but very
rarely. As a consequence of these things there was no
consistency or uniformity in their religious opinions; nor
did the people generally seem disposed to believe them.
Many of their people were not Arians in sentiment.
This state of things continued more or less for above
twenty years.

"At the time I was on Greenville Circuit," says Durbin,
" their sentiments began to assume tangible form and
the people to be sensible of the difference between the
New Lights and others. This difference became more
apparent as it regards the Methodists from the following
circumstance. I had an appointment in the court-
house in Eaton, Preble Circuit, O. At the same hour
an elderly gentleman, Mr. David P., had one in the
same place. As I had the prior appointment I proffered
to Mr. P. to preach first. He did so, and devoted two
hours and some minutes in attempting to prove that
Jest/s Christ w<is not even the thirtieth part of a god.
This doctrine he said he had believed for twenty years,
but he had not been in the habit of proclaiming it.
During his sermon I felt alarmed, being very young
and inexperienced, and he aged and wise. But when
he said: 'Some indeed affirm that our Saviour had, and
has yet, two whole and perfect natures in his person,
namely, godhead and manhood,' and ' If this could be
proven then would I instantly give up the point and
yield to the doctrine of a trinity:' it instantly occurred
to me that the Scriptures were explicit on this point,

MEMOIR.

£3

anil the following passage, among others, came to ray
mind: 'Of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came'
— here is his humanity; ' who is God over all, blessed
for evermore' — here is his divinity. Instantly a flood
of light burst on my mind, and I have not been embar-
rassed since. I rose after he had concluded and made a
few remarks. Since that time I have pursued the light
which I thus received, and have found, on close exami-
nation, that the Scriptures which speak of our Lord
Jesus may be classed under three heads, by observing
which the reader will find them free from confusion
and contradiction :

" 1. Sometimes they speak of our Lord as a mere man,
having reference to his human nature, as when they
say, 'he wept,' 'he hungered,' 'he knew not, but the
Father,' or any other expression which implied or ex-
pressed his inferiority.

" 2. Sometimes they speak of our Lord as the true
God, as when he says of himself, ' I am the Almighty,'
'the first and the last,' 'the Alpha and Omega,' and
when John says, 'The Word was God,' and when he is
presented as the object of worship, etc.

" 3. Sometimes they speak of our Lord as having both
natures combined, as 'Who was the son of David, ac-
cording to the flesh' — here is his humanity; 'declared
to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit
of holiness' — here is his divinity. Again: 'Of whom,
as concerning the flesh, Christ came' — here is his hu-
manity; 'who is God over all, blessed for evermore' —
here is his divinity. By observing these simple distinc-
tions in the Sciptures you will discover the most per-
fect harmony running throughout them. I once made
this statement at a camp-meeting where was one of our
oldest and best local preachers, who had once been ex-
pelled the Church for his Arian opinions, but came

24

JOHN P. DURBIX.

back again and promised to be silent in regard to them,
and was restored, lie continued to be embarrassed
with his difficulties on these points until he heard this
simple analysis of the Scriptures in reference to our
Lord, which I gave on that occasion. The moment
he heard it his eyes overflowed, his countenance lighted
up with joy, and from that hour he has been unembar-
rassed. The thing is so simple. The three classes of
Scripture sustain the three corresponding proposi-
tions:

" 1. Our Lord Jesus is really and truly man.
" 2. Our Lord Jesus is really and truly God.
"3. Our Lord Jesus is really and truly both God and
man."

In 1S20 he was appointed to Lawrenceburg, Ind. lie
says: "My colleague this year was James Collord, a
truly worthy and pious man, who entered the traveling
connection a young married man with a growing fam-
ily, and traveled Jioe years without receiving $-500 in
that time. The consequence was he had to locate,
and returned to New York and engaged in business.
I recollect well the Saturday evening on which I ar-
rived in the circuit. The first appointment was in
Lawrenceburg. The sun shone on the two small
steeples, one on a tavern, the other on the court-house,
and gleamed at a distance on the eye of the traveler as
he gazed on them from Hardentown, two miles above
Lawrenceburg, on the Big Bottom. I called at the
house of my much-esteemed friend, Isaac Dunn, Esq.,
who lias long been a pillar in the church there. Him-
self and Mrs. Dunn were not at home, but returned in
an hour or two. They received me kindly, though they
had not much confidence in our religious prospects. We
performed service in the court-house, having no church
at that time. But before our Conference year was out

MEMOIR.

25

we had large additions to our society, and the founda-
tion of an excellent brick chapel was laid.

"This was a year of great prosperity and peace to us
all. I was much indebted to my colleague, who was a
critical English scholar, for his assistance and encour-
agement in the study of the English grammar. I not
only attempted to learn the rules, so as to parse accu-
rately, but I endeavored, both in composition and public
speaking, to be always correct. Thus I improved my
style and corrected early-contracted improprieties.

" While on this circuit I was in the habit of carrying
with me always a number of religious tracts, purchased
at my own expense, in order to distribute as I found
occasion. Sometimes I would inclose them in a letter
form, sometimes drop them in the path when I saw
some one coming, and sometimes give them personally.
I recollect on one occasion to have called to a young
man who was plowing in the field as I rode by, and
asked him if he would have a book. He answered he
had no money to pay for it. I asked him if he would
read one if I would give it to him. lie answered he
would. I gave him four tracts. This I was induced to
do partly because I had seen him in class-meeting the
day before and he seemed to be serious. I saw no more
of the young man until some years after, when, dining
in Cincinnati at a friend's house, a young man sat oppo-
site to me and seemed to regard me very earnestly. At
length he observ ed, ' I presume you have forgotten me,
Mr. Durbin, but I have not forgotten you.' I observed
I believed I had not the pleasure of recollecting him.
'Do you not,' said he, 'recollect the young man to
whom you gave the tracts while plowing in the field ?
I am he. From that day I have sought the Lord in ear-
nest, and have attached myself to the Methodist Epis-
copal Church.' "

•26

JOHN P. DC KB IN.

Dnrbin says <>f Greenville and Lawrenceburg circuits:
" They were comparatively new, and had few appoint-
ments except in private houses," and these such as have
been described, with fare of kindred character. But then,
he writes, " I have reckoned, and do still reckon, these
years the best of my life. In them I made as much prog-
ress in divine things as in any other, and did as much
good, apparently. I ever found it convenient to read
much, notwithstanding I had no apartment to retire to.
. . . My manner of reading was this: I always read but one
book at a time besides the Bible. I did not even allow
myself to read a newspaper. I took care to read this
one book carefully, noting down its contents briefly
with my pen. ... I did not wait for an opportunity
to read, but always made one. In this way I proceeded,
generally reading 500 or 600 pages a week, besides the
Bible.

" I am aware that many young men among us say they
cannot find time and opportunity to read, write, and
study. I have detailed the manner in which I found
it. They could do the same, and I may add they
must do the same, or they cannot do the work of the
Lord as they ought to do it.

" One of the injunctions of Paul to Timothy was,
' Give attention to reading.'

" In the fall of 1H21 I was appointed to Hamilton
Station, Ohio Conference. Methodism had just been
planted there, and the society had built them a neat
little church. We had a peaceful, prosperous year in
our Zion.

"At the instance of Dr. Martin Ruter I commenced
the study of the Latin grammar and language. I com-
mitted the grammar well, and immediately commenced
reading Virgil's works, reciting once a day to Mr.
Monfort, a Presbyterian minister. I pursued this course

MEMOIR.

27

for some time and then declined reciting, and read and
studied without assistance from any person. . . .This
year I read Virgil's works and committed the Greek
grammar to memory and commenced reading the Greek
Testament. I read also Newton on the Prophecies and
some other works." While at Hamilton he studied in
the Miami University, and returned to his charge, a dis-
tance of twelve miles, on Friday afternoon.

"I cannot omit recording a little incident which hap-
pened this year, and in order to make it understood, I
must give the proper preface. The society heing small it
was quite an effort to support their preacher. Mr. Jo-
seph Hough, a merchant in the place, as his wife was a
member, was in the habit of inviting the preacher to
live with him the principal part of the year without
any charge whatever. After I had been in the station
some weeks he called and invited me to come and spend
some time with his family. I complied. Of course I
had family prayer in his house. At first, having been
raised a Quaker, he would stand up very respectfully;
after a little he kneeled down on o;;eknee; then at last
he kneeled down on both, as did the re-^t of us. Cold
weather came on. His ice-house stood in his back yard.
They were filling the house one day with ice, and Mr.
Hough was in the house packing the ice away. There
was a long plank from the wagon to the bottom of the
icediouse, or rather to the surface of the last layer of ice,
down which plank the ice was slid into the house. Some
person engaged in the wagon in sliding the ice down
the plank threw it against Mr. Hough's foot and injured
it severely. Mr. Hough, upon receiving the injury,
swore at the man profanely. But at that moment I
happened to be passing the ice-house, and looking in at
the door, beheld Mr. Hough without his perceiving me,
and heard him swear. I said not a word, but passed on

28

JOHN P. Dl'RBIN.

unobserved by him. On the Saturday evening follow-
ing he came into my room (which he kindly afforded
me, with every convenience) and sat down and engaged
in conversation, during which I observed (not knowing
he was accustomed to use profane language), ' Did I
not hear you swear in the ice-house, Mr. Hough '? '
He smiled, with a little flush on his countenance, and
answered, ' he thought it was probable he did, as he
was in the habit of swearing without knowing at all
times when he did it, and I remember I did at the ice-
house, when one of the hands threw a piece of ice
against my foot and hurt me. But I know it is a very
unbecoming and ungentleinanl y practice, and I wish I
could quit it ; but I am inclined to think I cannot,
as I do it unconsciously from habit.' I then urged him
to try. After some conversation he said, 'I will try,
and will inform you next Saturday how I succeed.'
Next Saturday came, and in the evening he came into
my room and sat down. There was a mixture of serious-
ness and lightness and an inclination to smile, and he
was evidently a little agitated. I said nothing on the
subject of swearing, and he also was silent for some
time. At length he said, ' I have come to tell you
that I have sworn twice since I was here ; but I am de-
termined to quit it; I am more and more dissatisfied
with the practice.' As he said tins he seemed morti-
fied and concerned, and I immediately replied, ' You
cannot cease from profane language unless you will
pray' 'Pray!' said he; ' I never prayed in my life ; I
was never on my knees in my life but once, and that
was to gratify Parson Wallace, and I then laughed the
whole time.' Indeed, he seemed a little amused at the
idea of his praying. I insisted he could not cease to
swear unless he would use prayer. He became silent,
and alternately thoughtful and amused. At length he

MEMOIR.

29

said, ' I will try to pray once if you will never mention
it.' ' Very good,' said I, and we parted. Two or
three days afterward he came into my room, and sitting
silently a few minutes, he said, smilingly, ' I told you I
could not pray; I have tried twice, and when I kneeled
down 1 could not utter a word. I knew I could not be-
fore.' While he was saying these things I could perceive
an increased concern in his countenance; I therefore in-
sisted on his continuing his efforts, which he did, in-
creasing every day in earnestness, until in less than three
months he was a member of the Methodist Church, and
was such the last time I saw him.

"This circumstance, as well as several others, con-
firmed me in the opinion that the smallest beginning
in religious matters should not be disregarded, but sed-
ulously cherished, both by the subject of them and the
minister of religion.

" In the fall of 1S22 I was appointed at the Marietta
Conference to Zanesville Station, though I shared
the station witli Brother B. Westlake, owing to the
illness of his family. Hence I was on Zanesville Circuit
half the time. I was informed that this appointment
was made with design to promote the gracious work
which was begun in Zanesville. The year was not so
prosperous as I could have wished, notwithstanding
we had precious seasons. I found in this station, as is
the case in all large societies, a few turbulent spirits,
and their course since is an additional proof of an al-
most well ascertained fact, that such never can be at
peace, not even if they be first in all things. They
have since withdrawn and associated themselves with
the radicals of the present age of the Church. These
have taken the denomination, 'Associate Methodist
Society.'

"I cannot omit to record the name, services, and friend-

•1 0

JOHN P. DURB1N.

ship of Brother David Young, all of which are associ-
ated with the events of this year. A good understand-
ing well improved, and deep piety, made him a desirable
acquaintance. His experience and sincerity made him
a valuable friend. He admonished me of my errors in
preaching, specially in manner and length; he also
taught me the proper principles of the composition of
a sermon, and added to his own remarks a recommen-
dation of Claude's Essay on the Composition of a /Ser-
mon, which lie very kindly lent me. In his house I
experienced every thing which a Christian brother
could ask. With him I prayed often, and for him I
have and hope still to pray often. He is now one of
the oldest and most valuable of the traveling preachers.
He was a pioneer in this Western world, and continues
in the work, so gloriously enlarged, which he himself
assisted in planting."

After going to the West in his early ministry David
Young was identified more than almost any of his con-
temporaries with the progress of Methodism in Ohio.
He had a superior intellect. It was cultivated, disci-
plined, and finely furnished. " He knew theology, was
well acquainted with philosophy, general history, na-
tional law, and whatever pertained to our Federal or
State affairs. He was especially familiar with Church
history and Methodist jurisprudence."

Bishop Morris said, "No man conducted public re-
ligious service more solemnly and impressively than he
did, especially in reading the holy Scriptures or in prayer.
He was deeply experienced in the work of grace."

In the pulpit he was a master. He had logic, style,
and energy. "His voice enabled him to be heard at
the largest camp-meetings, where he was a favorite
preacher." Under one of these sermons Bishop Morris
saw his sin and danger.

MEMOIR.

31

The Hon. John McLean, LL.D., said, " When his soul
became stirred, as it sometimes did from its lowest
depths, he would enchain an audience beyond almost
any of his contemporaries." He died November 15,
1858. As proof of his abiding love for the ministry he
left his choice library for the use of the successive pas-
tors of South Second Street Church, Zanesville, Ohio.

Was there a man in the Church better fitted to crit-
icise and direct the promising preacher than he ? His
character gave weight to his words, and they lay on
Durbin's intellect and heart.

" 1823. In the fall of this year," says Durbin, " I re-
ceived an appointment to Lebanon, Ohio, a small station,
but in a neighborhood remarkable for many years for
the flourishing state of Methodism. In this society there
is a strong proof of the importance of brotherly love.
Two of the best men (as is commonly supposed) differed
in the settlement of a partnership, and the simple fact
of each one seeming to incline to his own interest infused
suspicion into both minds, and tainted them, I fear, for-
ever. Suspicion being attached, each, to clear himself
from it, proposed to yield the claim, but each refused
a settlement on principle of gift, or the acquisition of
property when the one giving it up did not think it was
proper, being offered merely for peace' sake. Their
sense of independence and honor refused the adjust-
ment of claims in this way, and as they could be ad-
justed in no other they remain unadjusted and still
rankling in the vitals of the individuals, and gradually
poisoning the existence of society.

" In this station I toiled hard, and I think faithfully
and saw but little fruit of all my labors. Immediately,
however, on the commencement of the next Conference
year ten or twelve young men came in to brighten the
hopes of the Church. During this year I applied myself

32

JOHN P. DURBIN.

closely to my classical studies in the house of my much-
loved Brother Reeves. I must here record the kindness
of this gentleman and his family to me. It continues
mutually until this day.

" 1824. In the fall of this year I was appointed to
Cincinnati Station as assistant preacher to my dear
Brother William H. Raper, whom I love sincerely in the
Lord." This was a critical period in the history of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. "The Reformers" in
the West, as in the East, were seeking a radical change
in the form of our government; strong men took sides
with them. Prudence at such a time was a cardinal
virtue. The spirit of reform showed its greatest power
in some of our strongest centers. Cincinnati had its
share in the excitement. Raper and Durhin were not
the men for incautious action, but neither of them es-
caped the criticisms of adverse reasonings.

At the Chillicothe Conference a resolution was offered
disapproving the course of one of its members in preach-
ing for the "Reformers," who were organizing "Union
societies." Mr. Durhin supposed this resolution would
do harm, and opposed it for half a day, and finally got
it laid on the table, and presented a substitute as an act
of tenderness to the brother concerned. " It, was merely
to direct the president of the Conference to request the
brother not to preach for the 'Reformers' owing to the
present state of excitement in Cincinnati." This gave
offense. Language of keenness was indulged when
words of kindness were merited.

It is painful to see how devout and intelligent people
are sometimes separated by facts which, in themselves,
have no moral quality. Churches, like individuals,
have had memories that they could wish the last trump
might not awaken. Time, if not greater charity and
wisdom, has effaced many of the difficulties that iu

MEMOIR.

33

earlier days divided us, and no one more certainly
joyed in this than did Dr. Durbin.

His appointment to " the Queen City of the West "
was a flattering testimonial to his talents. A leading
member of " the Stone Church " had heard him in one
of his first appointments and was charmed with his
earnestness and simplicity, and saw in him the promise
of a great future. He was anxious to secure his serv-
ices for the charge. Then, as now, the judgment of a
layman of intelligence, piety, and strength justly com-
manded influence with the episcopacy, and Mr. Dnrbin
Mas appointed. Young as he was he "showed himself
a man."

A friend of Dr. Durbin says, " His marked ability,
refined and courteous manners, soon attracted the at-
tention of prominent men in Cincinnati, among whom
was General William H. Harrison, afterward President
of the United States, Judge McLean, the best talent of
the bar, and some of the most distinguished members
of other Churches, Unitarian as well as our own peo-
ple." While in this charge he resided in the family of
Mr. Christopher Smith, whose house was to the close
of his life his Cincinnati home. Mr. Smith was a prom-
inent man in the Church, and was a member of the first
Methodist class in Cincinnati. He knew a preacher's
heart. Now Mr. Durbin had the best opportunity for
study. He immediately entered the Cincinnati College,
located in the city, and his people gave him six months
of special devotion to his college course. But mean-
while he attended to all the duties of his station. Here
was, indeed, a contrast to the embarrassments of his
early studies.

At Mr. Smith's he had as real a home as if he had
been a son. As his time was at his command he em-
ployed it to his mind. One of the perils of his position
4

34

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

was like that of a man with a voracious appetite, long
restrained, before whom, for the first time, a banquet is
spread with liberty to eat to satisfy. Indulgence might
be death. With him such was the luxury of learning
that in his application to his books there was danger of
impairing health and so defeating his purpose of greater
usefulness. With every facility, comfort, and encour-
agement his efforts and progress were amazing. But as
in other things, so in this, reason restrained his ambition
and directed his energies. " His wonderful application
and great economy of time were soon noticed by his
friends; each day was systematized, each hour had its
own special work." He was an early riser, and was at
his studies long before the family were astir. "The
house was surrounded by ample grounds, which offered
many quiet spots. To one of these in pleasant weather
he usually took his book, after the morning meal, to pre-
pare for the hour of recitation. The after part of the
day he gave to pastoral work, and study in his own
room."

He seldom accepted an invitation for company, feel-
ing his time at this period of life was too valuable to be
spent otherwise than in positive duty. Yet he remem-
bered that the bow that is constantly bent loses its elas-
ticity, and in his own way he unstrunsr it. But he was
careful that its fiber was not impaired or the string
broken by any contact or use.

After a day of hard work he devoted the evening
hour to the family circle, and his moods and manners
and stories charmed thp children.

His labors and experiences made their impression,
and helped to form his intellectual and social habits.
Years after he walked past the old home, looking at the
windows where he had sat and studied, exclaiming,
" Dear me, what hard work I did in that room ! " This

MEMOIR.

35

place was as real to him in its memories as Bethel was
to Jacob.

Thence he went with his completed purpose of col-
lege graduation. Thence he went, with the knowledge
that all his duties as a Methodist minister had been
sedulously observed, that they had commanded his at-
tention, elicited his energy, and shown their fruits. He
had noi done the work of the Lord deceitfully or
partially, nor had he offered to God that which cost him
nothing. Study meant study, whether in college or
cabin, in forest or by the fireside. But he was not more
certainly the " earnest student " than the attractive
preacher and the faithful pastor.

In due time (1822) he was ordained deacon, and in
1824 he received elder's orders. He was graduated with
honor, and as a special reward of diligence and scholar-
ship the college at once conferred the degree of
"Master of Arts."

Who can fail to honor the Providence that, after
testing a man, uives him what his character deserves?
As in spiritual things, "He that goeth forth weeping,
bearing precious seed," comes again with rejdcing,
bringririsr his sheaves with him, so in faithful labor the
reward is certain, and the contrast between weeping and
reaping may be in a short period realized.

The foundation of his future reputation in the de-
partment of education was now laid and the problem
of his labor had found its solution.

The richest resources of man are in himself, and their
depth and fullness are never so revealed as when under
the pressure of adverse circumstances he is roused to
the most vigorous and persistent effort. A great soul
may show its impatience of restraint, but difficulties
do not conquer conviction. Only the first man was per-
mitted a paradise to his mind, and with him it soon

36

JOHN P. BUBBLY.

ceased. Some of the grandest achievements that his-
tory records have been performed amid embarrassments
best calculated to repress energy and forbid hope.
There are great elements in all great natures, and it is
for their possessors to determine whether difficulties
shall destroy or develop them ; whether they shall be
as water to extinguish the fires of genius or as wind to
fan them to a flame. A great spirit spurns no auxiliary
to its advancement, but is ever ready to adopt the best
means for the end proposed. The wise man does not re-
fuse the ladder to a true fame. John P. Durbin knew
that the college would advance him in the purposes of a
sanctified ambition. We speak of self-made men. All
that are really made are so made. None are great by
accident. No one receives enough from ancestry or
environment either to make him truly great or really
small.

" Men at some time are masters of their fates;
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."

But while we have marked the progress, admired
the courage, and rejoiced in the success of the college
student, we have had no adequate idea of his power in
the pulpit. Modesty forbade a full record of facts.
Some fruits, indeed, he has named; some trials he has
stated; and we have seen through him the theological
errors that he encountered, and that caused " the
Spirit of the Lord to begin to move upon him " for
their refutation. But the years of his close study were
years of grand, if of diverse, experience as a preacher.
In the pulpit he had his trials as well as his triumphs.

The Rev. J. O. Roberts, of Kansas, in an article in
The Christian Advocate, of New York, July 2, 1885,
says that " at a quarterly meeting held near the village
of Dayton young Durbin was put up to preach on Sat-

MEMOIR.

37

nrday night, that being the time to try the boys. Dur-
ing the sermon the cx-ufficio presiding elder ' asked
tin' Lord to give patience.' A brother who knew said,
'John would have preached a good sermon if he had had
half a chance.' "

One of the fathers is represented as declaring he
might as well go home, as there was not much in the
young man. Time soon showed that there was enough
in him to commend him to the notice of the world.

Mr. Roberts, who refers to his failure at the quarterly
meeting named, says, " The following August, when the
Methodist hosts within a radius of thirty miles were
gathered at a camp-meeting, some thirty miles south-
west of Dayton, on Sabbath morning, before sunrise,
the Revs. John Sale and Arthur Elliott, presiding
elder and preacher in charge, were in consultation
touching the order of the day. Looking up just as the
light was breaking from the purpling East the former
exclaimed, 1 Why, there comes white-headed John Dur-
bin.' 'Yes,' said Elliott, 'and we must put him up to
preach.' But Sale objected, referring to the Dayton fail-
ure. Elliott was persistent, and declared he would be re-
sponsible for costs. The presiding elder finally agreed,
holding the other to the responsibility. 'But,' said he,
' \vr will put him up at eight o'clock, and if he fails,
we will have him out of the way.' Elliott immediately
ran to meet John, took him in his arms, and told him
to be ready to preach at eight o'clock, leaving him at a
tent for refreshment. Prompt at the hour the trumpet
sounded, and to the astonishment of thit great com-
pany of elect men and women, instead of greeting one
of the giants present there stood before them that deli-
cate-looking boy. His reading of the hymn was with
trembling, the prayer humble, but there was a holy
unction about it. The introduction of the sermon was

38

JOHX P. BUBBLY.

faulty ; it was slightly drawling and embarrassed ; but
Lark ! there sparkles a sentence of beauty ; others
follow in rapid succession of marvelous splendor, unc-
tion, and power. 'Bless the Lord,' said the presiding
elder.' ' Amen ! The costs won't be much,' replied the
preacher in charge. Soon the vast throngs arose to their
feet, crowding to tlie glowing orator and swaying
like trees under the blast of a tornado, while the shouts
of 'Glory to God in the highest !' were heard afar off."

As his ability had become known, lie was requested by
the presiding elder to preach at a camp-meeting near
Lebanon, Ohio. The occasion was greater than he had
supposed. The day came, and the preacher pondered
his theme and asked God to prepare his heart. The
plan was formed and his mind was filled with the sub-
ject. He returned to the preachers' tent, and was lying
upon the straw, as if he had already learned one of the
most important lessons in connection with pulpit prep-
aration, namely, to allow the intellect rest befoie it
makes the greatest effort. The elder, seeing him at
ease, said, "John, are you ready to preach to the
crowds that are pouring in to hear you ? " " This,"
said he, in after life, "gave me the first intimation that
any would come twenty miles to hear me," as he was
told they were then doing. The result of that sermon
is not yet forgotten. God made the place of his foot-
steps glorious. Preachers and people were in trans-
ports. None came too far, nor did Durbin study too
long to prepare, nor rest too long to deliver that dis-
course. While yet in the West he was requested to
preach at another camp-meeting. It was in a com-
munity where "the Trinity " and " Triune " were words
regarded with disfavor. He was impressed to deliver
a sermon on the deity of Christ. His mind and henrt
were full of the subject. It took possession of him.

MEMOIR

39

Awed by his theme, and stirred by the demands of the
occasion, he entered upon his duty with faith in God.
He commenced the discourse with unaffected modesty,
but realized his authority as a teacher of the divine
word. There was nothing vague in his thoughts,
nothing dubious in his language, nothing indifferent
in his manner, his expressions were vigorous, his con-
victions profound and active. He was in a moral mood
for great service. He plied them with Scripture, he
pressed them with facts, he urged them by arguments.
Logic was on fire. Sentence after sentence shot forth
with convicting force, and the strength of every op-
posing argument was broken. He brought his proofs
from two worlds. The infinite attributes of Jehovah,
as illustrated by Christ in time, and his glories as the
Son of the Highest in eternity. He showed them " God
manifested in the flesh," and now seated with the
Father on his throne, with the redeemed casting their
crowns at his feet and saying, "Thou art worthy, O
Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power, for thou
hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are
and were created." Light flashed in every direction.
The divine page was illuminated, and the Saviour, as in
his transfiguration, appeared with claims as pure and
countenance as bright as the raiment through which
his glory shone when the voice came from the cloud,
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ;
hear ye him." And they did hear him, to confess his
claim, to honor his mission, and seek his power. The
genius of the speaker was forgotten. The "brightness
of the Father's glory filled the horizon of their vision,
and the unbelieving, like Thomas, exclaimed, " My Lord
and my God ! " The eye of Durbin, that in a climax
seemed never equaled, revealed his soul. Truth was
riveted. Looking round in the pulpit he saw a min-

40

J OILY P. BUBBLY.

isler who had been in great perplexity on the sulx
ject, and, to use the words of Dr. Durbin, "the big
tours, like bullets, were rolling down his cheeks." The
work was done, the snare was broken, and he had
escaped. Only in the next world can it be known how
many clouds were that day dispelled, how many doubts
were dissipated, and in how many cases the true faith
was established. His fame spread, and the marvels of
God's power that day through him have made many a
thrilling narrative. The reputation then gained rested
upon nothing meretricious or sensational, but upon the
wise, the weighty, and the eloquent presentation of es-
sential truth. The people who were so impressed were
not strangers to able and popular preaching. It was
the West of a William Beauchamp, from whom light
broke upon the most bewildered understanding ; of
Itussel Bigelow, of pure taste, ponderous thought, great
emotion, intense earnestness, and in the language of
Bishop Thomson, " of an eloquence of the most ex-
alted kind ; " of Samuel Parker, keen in perception,
forcible in logic, elevated in style, with a voice that
was rich, mellow, and harmonious, of whom Bishop
Morris declared that before him multitudes of people
melted like snow before an April sun." It was the
West of John Strange, " one of the brightest lights
of the American pulpit, formed by nature to be elo-
quent." " A man who could transport his hearers in
one moment to the third heavens, and make it bright,
glorious, present, and real to them, and the next he
could bear them away to the world of woe and freeze
their blood with images of terror." A man of whom
Aaron Wood said, " He breathed into his sentences his
own strangeness, which can't be imitated or described/'
It was the land of James Quinn, of James B. Finley,
and of John A. Waterman, "men of mental caliber and

MEMOIR.

41

moral might ;" it was amid such ministers, and hy their
confession, that John P. Durbin rose and stood the
acknowledged prince. Nor is it to be accounted for,
except on the ground of his pre-eminence, that when-
ever in after years he went to the West people of all
C hurches and conditions nocked to his ministry and sat
with rapture under his discourses.

If ever the ability of Durbin was a problem, it was
solved before his habits and history had made him the
scholar.

42

JOHN P. DURBIN.

CHAPTER III.

Exalted— Character Made in Seven Years— Pro-
fessor in Augusta College.

DEEDS express character. We have si en the youthf ul
Durbin, and he has made his impression of energy,
aptitude, and success. At the age of fourteen years, for
reasons sufficient to influence a mature mind, he deter-
mined upon a trade. When eighteen he had not only ac-
quired a knowledge of the business, but had " followed it
to some profit for a year or more." By what power did
lie in so short a time make it available to himself? Cab-
inet-making requires skill, but he had learned and used
the art. Have we felt no surprise at his accurate think-
ing and wise conclusions in regard to the present good
ami future welfare of his younger brothers? At eight-
een we have seen him entering upon the work of his early
taste and of his moral convictions, and then rising above
the difficulties that beset his path as a student. We
have seen him at the age of twenty-five the peculiarly
honored graduate of college, while as a preacher he has
risen to an eminence that places him in the nation's
eyes.

In seven years John Price Durbin was made.

The foundation of his future was laid, the attention
was directed, the confidence was inspired, and the
power was evoked by which he was conducted to the
positions that distinguished his after life.

1. What teas he made?

We answer, a Methodist minister, with his sympathies,

MEMOIR.

43

experiences, and purposes; a herald of the cross that
could be satisfied with nothing short of spiritual char-
acter, of ardent worship, of a ministry that instructed,
convinced, persuaded, and was the means of saving men.
The zeal that prompted him from his own meager means
to purchase, carry, and distribute tracts, putting them
in the path of the traveler, or seeking and with avidity
supplying the plowmen from the field, reveals his
spirit; such assiduity gives us insight as to his earnest
wish to do all the good he could, in all the ways in his
power.

WhiTe the results that crowned his efforts speak with
eloquence to every one, " Be instant in season and out
of season," the report that reached him years after he
left the circuit on which the presiding elder placed him,
showed, in addition to facts previously known, that his
"labor was not in vain in the Lord," and became to his
soul the joy of sitccess. The convei-sion of his host at
Hamilton maybe regarded as an illustration of the influ-
ence of character and intercourse in securing access to a
heart difficult to reach, and of even so conveying rebuke
that it was received with welcome; and the delicacy with
which he dealt with his friend shows that he had early
learned that "he that winneth souls is wise." While
he maintained his solicitude he would not, by overdoing,
defeat his purpose. In this he shows a holy art that
is sometimes our greatest help in bringing souls to
Christ. If the important question that is sometimes
so pungently put concerning a young minister, "Has he
fruit?" is asked in relation to Durbin, we answer, Yes,
he has fruit — real, rich, ripe, and manifest fruit.

As an orator he had commanded thousands.

But his power as a speaker was not merely in fluency
of utterance, beauty of language, and force of logic ; it
was still more in the interest he showed, the spirit that

44

JOHN P. DUHBLV.

energized, and the unction of the Holy One that the
people felt.

As a scholar he was made.

His attainments in seven years caused him to be
eagerly sought as Professor of Ancient Languages in
the first Methodist College in the land, and to remain
in highest demand in the most distinguished institutions
of the Church.

2. How was he made ?

Shall we briefly say, God made him, that he called
him, sent him, sustained him, and honored his labors ?
Of this we have no doubt. John Newton said, "Only
God can make a minister." We accept the statement ;
but to be more particular, how did God make John P.
Durbin a preacher ? We answer, by so influencing him
to recognize the divine economy in him, the man, as
to nesjlect no power, and to employ to the best purpose
all the talents, time, nnd means at his disposal; to use
every endowment, to discipline every faculty, to devote
every energy that centered in him to the achievement
of highest intellectual and moral results. Then God
made him, by his stature and symmetry of character, a
force in the ministry that genius alone never reaches,
and that divine grace only makes perfect — a grace
always at the command of him whose " sufficiency is
of God."

He gladly accepted the help of men.

He was one of the most teacludde pre.ichers. He knew
his want, and he rejoiced in the aid of the competent.
And as a man's " gift makes room for him, and brings
him before great men," so the singleness of a worthy
aim, the continuance of noble conduct, and the unre-
served devotion to duty of all his resources, constrained
those who had the ability to facilitate his advancement
to make their contribution to his just ambition. Thus

MEMOIR

45

men helped Durbin, as they saw he deserved it, and
would reward their attention.

The grandsire roused the youth to duty. Mr. Lakin
spoke wisely to his wants; Collord helped his grammar,
Rater incited him to linguistic knowledge; the German
furnished Clarke's Commentary to aid the study of
tlie Scriptures. The journeyman made the correction
of faults easy. David Young gave highest criticisms
and presented hasis for abiding fame. When vehemence
of speech had broken the voice and impaired the
health, and sent him home in apprehension that his work
was at an end, a plain man suggested the effective
means that in six months restored his voice for any
service, and secured to him in the conversational address
a secret of power that philosophy never transcended,
and that to his latest life showed its benefits.

It was not the day of " theological seminaries."
Misled, indeed, is the young man who, having the op-
portunity, declines their advantages ; but let us honor
our fathers in the help they rendered us ere Method-
ism provided the schools.

When on one occasion Dr. Doddridge was commend-
ing to his theological students modern authors of
merit, he paused to praise the Puritans, and said,
" There were good sense and learning in our fathers'
days, as well as in our own — as our grand-mothers had
beauty, though their antiquated dress might disguise it
in some measure."

Yes, honor to the fathers ! But the stone must be
of the right quality to receive the shape and take the
polish that the sculptor seeks to give and that the lapi-
dary labors to impart, or all is vain.

It is not for want of means and helpers that there are
not many Durbins. Helps indeed he had ; but they did
not make the scholar, the divine, or the preacher.

46

JOHN P. DTJRBIN.

As we read his studies, consider his circumstances,
ohserve his labors, and mark his devotion, we can hardly
marvel that such a man should obtain any thing upon
which he set his mind and heart. Will he who would
attain the highest excellence consent to emulate his
virtues as a student and his habits as a preacher ?

May we not reverently say, as the course to the divin-
est riches is through a " strait gate and narrow way "
of sacrifice and effort, so the most valuable and abiding
wealth of the mind is through the strait gate and nar-
row way of the renunciation of ease and the acceptance
of labor?

When a king asked Euclid, the mathematician,
whether he could not explain his art to him in a more
compendious manner, he answered that there was " no
royal road to geometry." Might and money may seize
and secure other things, but knowledge is the result of
careful, if not painful, search.

1825. Mr. Durbin writes, "At the Conference of
this year I was appointed professor of languages in
Augusta College, Kentucky." Scarcely had he re-
ceived the seal of his alma mater before he was invited
to a chair in the first college established in the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church. The reputation that he had
made as a scholar and the distinction he had attained as
a preacher justified and commended this election. His
conviction of the Church's duty in higher education
was a worthy motive for his acceptance of the place.
It was not from indifference to the value of colleges
that our fathers did not before this time have them in
successfid operation. In 1780 John Dickins, a fine
scholar, advocated an academic institution for Method-
ism. In 1784, the year of our organization as a Church,
our two Bishops, Coke and Asbury, were engaged in
laying the foundation of a college at Abingdon, Md.

MEMOIR.

47

In 1 7S7 Asbury consecrated and opened it with public
ceremonies. As evidence of their identity with it
the names of the two Bishops blended in the title of
the institution. It was Cokesbury College. But neither
name, nor purpose, nor consecration, preserved it from
devouring flames. In 1795 it was destroyed by fire. A
second edifice was provided in Baltimore, and this fell
as the former. These adversities, following in quick
succession, tempted the thought in some minds that
Providence frowned on our effort, or at least that the
time had not come for us to engage in this work.
Though such reasonings for a time repressed ardor
they did not extinguish the fire of the Church's zeal.
The flame burned on, and in different localities a jet
would shoot forth giving evidence of the presence of
much more that would soon show itself in a broadened
flame.

Asbury encouraged hope of brighter days at hand.
In 1818 Dr. Samuel K. Jennings, a graduate of Rut-
gers College, New Jersey, and other Methodists, at-
tempted a college in Baltimore; but this failed.

Before the admission of Kentucky as a State into
the Union the Methodist Episcopal Church was in the
van of other Christian denominations in inauguiating
measures for the education of youth. The building of
" Bethel Academy," and the noble efforts made by our
fathers to sustain it, though unsuccessful, showed the
vigor of their purpose and furnished ground for faith in
the future. The formation of the Kentucky Conference,
in 1820, placed the Church in a position to consider her
resources and rise to the measure of supposed duty.
Ohio, as well as Kentucky, felt the need of a college.

James B. Finley, at that time presiding elder of the
Lebanon District, exerted his influence in its behalf.
Aware that neither Conference alone could support such

48

JOHN P. DUItBlX.

an institution, Ohio and Kentucky united in the un-
dertaking, and the seat of the college was fixed at Au-
gusta, Ivy. It was properly chartered by the Legislature
of the State, Dec. 22, 1822. The Rev. John P. Finley
was appointed professor of languages in 1822 and
afterward had charge as president. He died on the
8th of May, 1825.

In 1825 the college edifice was erected, and Dr.
Martin Ruter was elected president, Joseph S. Tomlin-
son became professor of mathematics and natural
philosophy, and John P. Durbin took the professorship
of languages. A little later, in 1831, Henry Bascora
was chosen professor of " moral science and belles-
lettres."

"Who that reads these names and knew those minis-
ters can fail to wonder at the early power of Method-
ism to raise up men for its necessities? It was a
wonderful concentration and combination of mental and
moral forces ! It showed astonishing ability of adap-
tation to the Church's demand ! It is difficult to think
of these four men in one college, and that our first.
The world had long witnessed our success in saving
souls. It was our glory. To this we were trained.
Nothing was ever to impair this power or disturb this
purpose. On this we had fixed our thoughts and to
this we had directed our spiritual energies.

Some knew, however, that with all this zeal for con-
version Methodist preachers could, amid the difficulties
of the itinerancy, cultivate habits of study, and make
progress in learning. Among them were logicians and
linguists, metaphysicians and natural philosphers, nu n
acquainted with various sciences, well read in history
and familiar with general literature. Though unaccus-
tomed to "college shades " they made shades for them-
selves, and buried themselves in their depths -while they

MEMOIR.

49

explore 1 systems, exploded errors, and solved difficult
problems. "Through desire they intermeddled with
all wisdom." They had in those days but small libra-
ries, yet they knew their contents and could use them
to advantage. It was not with them so much a question
how many books they had upon their shelves as how
much of their contents was in their memory. Their
study for thought and their closet for prayer were one
and the same, and after far-looking beyond the skies they
often found their minds were clearer and keener to see
the things at hand. Then they showed a mental acuteness
that made them mighty men. They could delve as
well as soar. They knew where some of the richest in-
tellectual mines are found, and they spurned the theory
of "the unprofitableness of deep mining." They ob-
tained more than the labor cost. Some of them were
not only walking concordances, but living cyclope-
dias.

We may glance at the men whom the Church first
called to this new department of her solicitude and
service.

The Rev. John P. Finley, named as first president of
Augusta College, was a brother of Rev. J. B. Finley.
"Under the instruction of his father he had acquired a
competent knowledge of the sciences and of the Latin
and Greek languages ; and of the English language
Bishop B 'scorn pronounced him a perfect master."

The father under whom Mr. Fijalev studied was a stu-
dent in the " College of New Jersey " under Dr. Wither-
spoon, and, according to the testimony of the son, James
B., he passed through the regular college course at
Princeton, though for some unknown reason his name
does not appear on the list of graduates. — Spraguc's
Annals of the American Methodist Pulpit.

The first President of Augusta College was "an ami-

50

JOHN P. DURBIX.

able and highly gifted man, an excellent teacher, and
an earnest and impressive preacher."

Dr. Martin Ruter was one of the earliest men in
Methodism to receive the degree of doctor of divinity.
This honor was conferred by the Transylvania Univer-
sity, Kentucky, in 1822. It was at a time when the
degree meant more than honor. In 1801 he was admit-
ted on trial in the New York Conference and filled
stations of high responsibility. In 1818 he was placed
in charge of the New Market Wesleyan Academy, un-
der the patronage of the New England Conference. This
afterward became the " Wilbraham Academy." From
1820 to 1828 he had charge of the Western Book Con-
cern at Cincinnati. Thence he was called to the presi-
dency of Augusta College, which he accepted, and re-
mained there till 1832.

His heart was in the regular work of the ministry,
and he longed to return to that service. This he did
in the Pittsburg Conference, and was stationed in that
city. There he remained till 1837, when Bishop Hed-
ding appointed him Superintendent of the Texas Mis-
sion. To this field Littleton Fowler and Robert Alex-
ander accompanied him, and in Texas he laid the
foundation of a splendid superstructure. He had just
entered upon his work with consuming zeal and im-
plicit faith when the Master said, " Well done." lie
died in Washington, Texas, May 1G, 1838. All
Methodism mourned ! He sleeps in a missionary grave
on the banks of the Brazos, in Texas. The fine scholar,
the trained teacher, the early friend of John P. Dnrbin,
who so encouraged him in his classical studies when on
the circuit, served as president of Augusta when Dur-
bin was professor. As a writer his name has found
an abiding place in his work on " Church History," so
V>ng a text-book in the Conference course of study.

MEMOIR.

51

Joseph S. Tomlinson, after an apprenticeship at
the saddlery business, entered Transylvania Univer-
sity, and for his support depended principally upon his
trade, to which he devoted his spare time. lie gradu-
ated with honor and was called to Augusta College,
and there at various times tilled the professorships of
languages, mathematics, natural science, moral phi-
losophy and belles-lettres. In scholarship and in brill-
iancy of intellect, as a conversationalist, a debater and
preacher, he was one of the rare men of Methodism.
After serving as professor he was at last chosen presi-
dent, and remained in that oftice till 1849. He died at
Neville, Ohio, on the 4th of June, 1S53. Art, science
and religion mourned his untimely end.

Henry Bidleman Bascom, who tilled the chair of
moral science and b< lles-lettres, was one of the most re-
markable ministers in Methodist history. He had no
advantages of early education, and the need of his
family demanded his utmost energy and care as a boy.
But he entered our itinerancy in his seventeenth year,
and through incredible difficulties and painful prejudices
made his way to the very front of the American pulpit.
So great was the influence of his eloquence upon Henry
Clay that, through his advocacy, in 1823 he was elected
chaplain to the lower House of Congress. In 1827 he
was elected president of Madison College, Pa. He filled
in succession the most distinguished positions in the
Church, and in 1850 was made Bishop of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South. On September 8, of the
same year, he died at Louisville, Ky., in the fifty-fourth
year of his age.

In this college, distinguished by the talents, virtues,
and labors of these men, John P. Durbin began his life
as an educator. There he showed his ability to simplify
truth, to communicate thought, to impress principles,

52

JOHN P. DUHBLV.

and to impart to young men the noble sense of their
responsibility, their duty, and their hope. Here he so
explained the difficult that the least receptive imbibed
knowledge, and the dullest intellect could not say " the
subject is dark." Here he added to his already remark-
able ability in judging men.

Will they who recall those days of their college-life
at Augusta ever forget them? Will they forget these
honored teachers, these sublime preachers? Will they
ever forget their massive and eloquent sermons, the
eagerness with which they heard them, the miles they
sometimes walked to listen to the discourses — when they
preached at distant points?

Will the writer be pardoned for expressing the belief
that never on this continent has any college had more
able and eloquent and overpowering discourses than
those delivered by the men of that faculty in this our
first college?

The desirableness of Methodist colleges, and the fruits
of this one now established at Augusta, were soon seen
in the students that entered it from Methodist families
at even remote points, and the position in society that
they took after their return from this institution. The
writer well remembers on one of his first circuits — Acco-
mack County, Va. — two young men wdio went to Au-
gusta, and on return cherished happy memories of the
college, and showed in their wider spheres the advan-
tages of their course. Robert J. Poulson, son of Major
Poulson, of Onancock, in a short time represented his
county in the Legislature of Virginia, and Albert Melvin,
son of a devout widow near Horntown, graduated to
the bar in Drummondtown, of his native county.

From New York went one son of the Rev. Samuel
Merwin, the present Rev. John B. Merwin, D.D., long
an honored member and now the oldest effective minis-

MEMOIR.

53

ter in the New York East Conference. Nor can the
Church forget what she has received through two of
the early students of Augusta still with us, Bishop
Randolph S. Foster, D.D., LL.U., and the Rev. John
Miley, D.D., Professor of Dogmatic Theology in "the
Drew Theological Seminary."

One of the first cares of Professor Durhin was to ob-
tain funds for the college, and he spent the year 1825
in the South and East making collections in money and
books for the school, and he says, "I collected about
$4,0u0 in money and 1,000 books." This result might
astonish us at this time when colleges receive such
princely donations. It might be supposed that this was
only gleaning. No, it was reaping ; and that when the
sickle was in a skillful hand. If John P. Durbin did
not know how to appeal to the intelligent and strong
men of the Church and to collect for a college, then the
writer, who had evidence of his labors, is at a loss to find
the man who does. Yet, with all his ability, one year
gave him only 84,000 in money. It is not easy for those
who live sixty years after those days to judge the facts.
Our country in 1825 was rich in territory, in talent, in
patriotism and virtue, but not in money. The popula-
tion was sparse ami there were few men of wealth
among us. Methodists were not rich, and to them
chiefly was the appeal.

The writer remembers when, for the raising of 81.000
at the dedication of one of our ablest churches, the fact
was heralded as an illustration of what great things
Methodists can do when they fully set themselves about
it. Nor has he forgotten that when in a borough of
8,000 people lie undertook to build a church it was as-
sumed if we could get the strongest man in the society
to give 8100 we should accomplish the work which,
from the lack of such liberality in former times, had in

54

JOHN P. D URBFN.

repeated trials caused failure. The $100 was given by
the man, and $50 was afterward added. The walls rose and
the church was dedicated, and still stands, and is crowned
with honor. It was $100 for their own purposes that
was asked.

Nor must it be forgotten that $4,000 then would go
as far, perhaps, as four times that sum now.

1826. Professor Durbin writes: " Nothing of great
consequence occurred this year except my acquaintance
with my wife, and this is not of much consequence to
any but myself." On entering the ministry he adopted
for his motto Job xxxi. 1: "I made a covenant with
mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?" It
might excite no wonder that with his experience of less
than $50 a year, and with the fact before him that bis de-
vout and educated colleague in five years had not received
more than $500 or $600, and then had to leave the min-
istry and go into business, one might justly ask, Why
should I think upon 'a maid? Surely not to take care
of her, and he might not wish her to take care of him.
In the days of early Methodism many ministers had to
leave the itinerancy when they married, as they could
not obtain support. It was a grief to Bishop Asbury,
who never felt that he was in a position to take proper
care of a wife. Up to 1836 the Discipline required a
young preacher to remain single four years, or at least
till admitted to the Conference.

But a weighty reason for Mr. Durbin's making this
covenant was, that he wished to give himself wholly to
study till he had compassed his end and made a charac-
ter. But now the seven years were passed, the condi-
tions of the covenant had been kept, and he allowed
himself to think upon a companion, and on the 6th of
September,1827,he was married to Miss FYances B. Cook,
daughter of Alexander Cook, Esq., of Philadelphia, and

MEMOIR.

55

in his noble companion God showed him how in a wife
he can honor him who first seeks the divine honor.

In 1828 he writes, "I have anticipated 1827." This
was in his marriage. He says: "We spent a pleasant
year with Mrs. Sarah Armstrong, with whom we boarded,
and who is one of the excellent of the earth. On the
16th day of December of this year our first child was
born, a daughter named Augusta, after our collegt, .aid
Ann, after her grandmother Cook." . . . No change of
relation or domestic cares relaxed his energy in the
work of God.

In 1829 he says: "In the fall of this year we visited
Philadelphia to see our friends." But he spent the year
in making collections for the college. The winter was
passed chiefly in Washington City, endeavoring to get a
hill passed giving the college a township of land. He
says: " I got it reported, passed to a second reading, and
then it was laid on the table in the Senate." Here, as
in every place, we see the man in purpose, in his re-
sources, in his perseverance. He put himself into what-
ever he undertook, so as to secure all that earnestness
and effort made possible. Had he been successful in his
proposition to Congress a future would have been se-
cured to the institution that the innovations of time
might not liave harmed

In 1829 he was nominated to the chaplaincy of the
United States Senate. There was a tie vote, and John
C. Calhoun, President of the Senate, gave the casting
vote against liim. On receiving additional information
he regretted his action and sent for Mr. Durbin and
apologized, and some of the political friends of Calhoun
told him he had made the mistake of his life. Mr. Cal-
houn assured Mr. Durbin he voted for the other candi-
date only because he was a minister of the same church
to which his mother belonged.

56

JOHN P. DUB BIN.

In 1830 he says: " I sent to London for some apparatus
for Augusta College."

The Rev. D. Stevenson, of Barbourville, Ky., writes:
" The only piece of apparatus of any value that still re-
mains in the old college building is a telescope secured
to the college by the labors of Dr. Durbin."

Professor Durbin says: "On the 16th of November,
1830, our second child, a daughter, was born in Augusta,
Ky., whom we called Margaret, after her aunt Margaret
Cook." This daughter was the late Mrs. Fletcher Har-
per, Jr., an honor to her sex, and a benefactress in society.
Of 1830 Professor Durbin says: "This was a year of a
good deal of anxiety and some perplexity which 1 need
not describe ; but losing a little confidence in the institu-
tion's prospects, especially pecuniary, and not seeing
how to remedy it, I determined to resign, and did so
August 6, 1831." He adds: " Upon my resignation at
the commencement of the college information from
Philadelphia of the dangerous illness of Mrs. Cook
arrived. Myself and family set out for Philadelphia
August 8." They reached the city through many diffi-
culties from modes of conveyance and the sickness of
Miss Margaret Cook, who had been stopping with them
in Augusta. They accomplished their journey in time
to see Mrs. Cook pass from the cares of earth to her
reward in heaven. September 25 he writes : "At the
invitation of preacher and trustees of the church in
Baltimore I spent a quarter of a year with them. It
was a season of great peace to my own heart and of some
good, I hope, to the church. I generally spoke publicly
three times a week, and as I did not like preaching at
night I preached at 3 o'clock P. M."

Professor Durbin had done his utmost for the inter-
ests of Augusta College. Much of his time had been
given to the raising of means to sustain the efforts,

MEMOIR.

57

meet the expenses, and maintain the reputation of the
institution. But all who read the history of our colleges
know that while a few are richly endowed, many, with
the hest men at their head, and planted when the de-
mand seemed imperative, have languished and expired.
Diekins.iji College came into our hands after having in
its trustees some of the greatest men in America and in
its faculty some of the ablest scholars and preachers,
and that when the locality made so strong an appeal
and Presbyterian prestige was back of it. So, alas!
after long and painful struggles to sustain itself, in
1S49 Augusta College, with all the hopes that it had
inspired, and with all the good it had accomplished,
broke down from the withdrawal of the patronage of
the Kentucky Conference and the repeal of the charter
by the legislature of the State.

Of the deep devotion of Professor Durbin to this col-
lege we have most eloquent proof in the name of hhfirst
bom, now Mrs. Augusta A. Whitaker of Philadelphia.
Though the college has ceased she lives, and we trust
■w ill long live to perpetuate the virtues of her parents
and the name of the institution that was a demonstra-
tion of the zeal of Methodism in higher education, that
received so much of her father's sympathy, suppo t, and
wisdom, and that for nearly a generation was so highly
honored in the men it graduated.

While the extinction of such a light in Kentucky
leaves gloom in the community it is the Church's joy
that there are now twenty-six universities and col-
leges, fourteen female colleges, and sixty-one semi-
naries and academies, all of them denominational
institutions, under the immediate patronage and control
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. To these are to
be added three well-appointed and well-endowed theo-
logical schools. The buildings and grounds belong-

58

J GUN P. DUBBIN.

ing to these institutions are valued at $8,000,000. Their
endowment funds amount to near $6,000,000, and their
annual income is not far from $800,000.

For the cause of education the Church now makes
such an exhibition as justifies exultation. If the first
light in Kentucky ceased, a hundred others blaze over
the land, and Methodist education shines all through
the republic.

In the department of education a wide door was
quickly opened for Professor Durbin, as in 1831 he was
appointed professor of natural science in the Wesleyan
University, at Middletown, Conn. He had evidently
cherished fondness for this department of study. His
first appearance of which we have knowledge in the
way of authorship is in an improved edition of the
Mosaic History of the Creation of the World, by
Thomas Wood, A. M.

The original work, by Mr. Wood, shows research and
learning. The later, of Professor Durbin, greatly broad-
ens and advances it in the more modern discoveries <>f
science. The introduction, written by him, is brief, di-
rect, and intelligent. The Notes through the book are
many, ample, and weighty. They show an acuteness
and discipline of mind that are an honor to an author
of thirty-one years. About this time he also edited for
J. & J. Harper LyelVs Geology.

These Notes of Professor Durbin, in their scope, de-
sign, and influence are largely of the character of the
Bridgewater Treatises, showing the power, wisdom, and
goodness of God. They also antagonize the theologi-
cal teachings of Dr. Priestley.

MEMOIR.

59

CHAPTER IV-

Chaplain to the United States Senate.

E have seen that in 1829 Professor Durbin failed
of election to this chaplaincy on a tie vote, in which
John C. Calhoun, as president of the Senate, through
misapprehension, gave the casting vote for another.

But on the 19th of December, 1831, writes Professor
Durbin : " This day I left Baltimore for Philadelphia,
where my family is. Next day I received intelligence
from Washington City that I was elected chaplain to
the Senate of the United States. This was very unex-
pected news indeed. I had not solicited the place ; I
had not been to Washington for nearly two years; I
did not know that any such project was intended until
the fact was announced to me in Philadelphia. The
election was made on the day I left Baltimore. As I
had already accepted the appointment of professor of
natural science in the Wesleyan University at Middle-
town, Conn, I hesitated about accepting the appoint-
ment of the Senate. Finally, upon weighing the whole
subject, with advice from friends and consent of the
president of the university, I accepted, and arrived in
Washington, January 3, 1832."

In the following papers he gives his reasoning as to
the acceptance of the honor, the responsibility it in-
volves, and clearly shows the spirit with which he entered
upon the duties ami strove to discharge the obligations
of the place, while he justly conceived and forcibly ex-
pressed the possibilities of usefulness in one who prop-
erly filled the office.

60

JOHN r. DURB/.V.

We have the reasonings of a clear mind and the as-
pirations of a devout heart as lie withstood those prej-
udices that statements of the difficulties of the place
would have created.

It is to the honor of those whom he served, and a
commendation of the discretion, the dignity, the Chris-
tian devotion, and the eloquence of the man, that as
chaplain he had encouragements and supports that
probahly transcended his strongest faith. He says :

"I undertook this duty with fear and trembling;
and do earnestly pray I may prove the means of coin-
fort and good to those to whom I minister.

"I preached in the hall of the House of Representa-
tives, January 8, 1832, from ' Christ was once offered
for sin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to
God,'' and again on the 23d, from ' Fight the good fight
of faith,' etc.

"Judging from the deep and almost breathless atten-
tion, and other indications, I have presumed to hope
some good was done in the immense assembly. Indeed,
I have since seen some little fruit of it. On the 24th
of January I received a letter signed 'a young man,'
expressing his great distress, and wishing my prayers;
and this day (January 24) one of the members (Mr.
Howard, of Baltimore) requested me to call and see Mrs.
Howard, at her earnest request. He seemed concerned
that I should call, and observed his wife was a Presby-
terian, belonging to Mr. Nevins's church, Baltimore, but
hoped that would not prevent my calling. Surely not ;
and I promised to call. . . .

The Senate.
" Previously to my serving in the capacity of chap-
lain I had supposed that the Senate and House of Rep-
resentatives showed very little respect for religion or

MEMOIR.

(51

religious services. I had taken up tlvs opinion from
the remarks of some who had served, and others also.
Rev. Mr. B. told me he resigned because of the irrev-
erence of the members. But I must here do justice to
both Houses, and say I have not seen them deficient or
disrespectful in regard to religious services either in
the ordinary morning services or those of the Sabbath.
I cannot hope to say prayers for a more respect fid body,
and I am sure I cannot desire to preach to a more re-
spectful and attentive assembly. Some, no doubt, will
dissent from this. I cannot help it ; I speak and write
what I see and know.

" I do not intend to say that the members are relig-
ious when I say they are respectful to religion ; but let
religion approach them as she ought and she does not
meet with a rude repulse.

1832. Washington City.

" Employment of Tune. — As the winter had already
set in before I left Philadelphia Mrs. Durbin did not
accompany me, and I am here alone, boarding in the
family of a worthy friend, Mr. Enoch Tucker. 1 have
a delightful room in the third story (the second being
parlors, and the lower kitchen and dining-room), well
furnished and completely retired. My windows look to
the south, a little east. I leave one window-curtain
drawn aside that I may see when 'jocund day stands
tiptoe on the misty mountain's top.' I usually rise then,
sometimes before, shave with cold water, dress, say my
prayers, and, if the morning be favorable, take a walk,
or rather a run, throwing my hands about and lifting
up my arms as high as I can, in order to stretch my
limbs and dilate the chest, etc.

" I find this good exercise, and return to read a por-
tion in the Old, and one in the Xew Testament, before

62

JOHN P. BUR BIX.

proceeding to the morning reading, which is now geol-
ogy. If I find any thing curious or doubtful in my
Scripture lessons I consult some commentary as a help.

"I shall not say any thing of my scientific reading
here, except to mention the authors. I have just finished
Bakenelly's Geology, having made extracts and memo-
randa of it in a book for that purpose.

" I generally go to the Capitol, when it is my week to
serve, at half past eleven A. M. ; when it is not my
week to serve, 1 go up between eleven and twelve
o'clock, and devote the time to miscellaneous reading
in the splendid library saloon, which is well furnished
with books, chairs, tables, ink, pens, paper, etc., and kept
well-manned.

"The chaplains generally serve alternately for a week
and preach in the hall of the House of Representatives
alternately on Sabbath morning. We serve the House
first; go into the hall five or ten minutes before the
time; when the Speaker comes in he knocks on the
clerk's desk with his knife, and all rise and stand during
prayer, which occupies about one and a half or two
minutes; which should generally be ended with the
Lord's Prayer, as some of the members requested a
chaplain before me, and which is certainly proper. The
chaplain then immediately repairs to the Senate cham-
ber and performs prayers in a similar manner. Both
houses are generally very respectful to the services.

" I am convinced many ministers misjudge the manner
in which religious services should be performed here.
I make them as simple and devout as I can in morning
prayers, varying occasionally with grateful reference to
the providence of God in giving us independence and
liberty, filling our land with peace and plenty, and to
the necessity of wisdom and heavenly guidance in order
to be able to do the duties of legislators for a great

MEMOIR.

63

nation, and to the necessity we are under (for I identify
myself in prayer with the members) of' commending our
families to the puterivd guardianship of Heaven. In
preaching, select plain and important subjects — impor-
tant because they present some grand leading point in
the salvation of men. Discuss them calmly, clearly, and
forcibly, with a mixture of argument, reflection, and (if
judiciously done) anecdote rarely, and apply the whole
at every opportunity, and, in conclusion, with as great
earnestness and power as you possibly can.

" I have not the presumption to hope I shall be the
instrument of great immediate good to the members,
as their political employments and associations stand
greatly in the way. But I do hope for three great ad-
vantages:

" 1. To elevate and impress the national mind favor-
ably to religion by the uniform and profound respect
which our national Congress evinces toward its institu-
tions and ordinances.

" 2. By this same respect, to cause religion to find a
lodgment in their minds which shall shut out infidelity.

" 3. To make good impressions on individual minds
which may awake to life in alter years and under bet-
ter circumstances, and bear the fruit of salvation.

" I will simply record my opinion here of the great
advantage to any Church to have an efficient and able
minister as chaplain to Congress. It brings that Church
more before the eye of the world. The vast concourse
of strangers as well as members, from every part of the
country, then hear the words of life occasionally from
a Methodist minister who had been in the habit of sup-
posing no such minister could be fit to preach. A fa-
vorable impression is thus made, and tolerance and even
liberality of feeling, which is often improved into good-
will and respect, grow from these occasions. Our

64

JOHN P. DURBfN.

friends should not contend improperly for the place, but
should take any reasonable and proper means of having
it filled efficiently.

"Saturday, Jan. 28. — Saturday and Sabbath I gener-
ally devote to religious and moral reading, and I must
here say by 'miscellaneous reading' in the library I do
not mean strolling from alcove to alcove, and from chap-
ter to chapter, and from book to book ; but I select a
book and read it through, or read throughout the sub-
ject I have selected in it.

" I have hitherto appropriated my miscellaneous read-
ing to Germany. It is an interesting country, and not
generally well known. I have read the papers in the
American Quarterly Review on ' German Literature.''
They are very good, and would bear a reperusal. I
read the first volume of Hodyskirts Travels. This is
good in order to get an insight into German manners
and customs in the lower walks of life. He was a pe-
destrian traveler. His second volume is devoted exclu-
sively, or nearly so, to Hanover, its government and
statistics of every description, and to German literature
and universities. Of these I did not think him a com-
petent judge, and therefore have commenced reading
Russell's Travels in Germany. His volume is a very
good one, though it is deeply tinctured with irreverence
for religion, if not actual hostility to it.

" I felt, of course, more interested in the schools and
literature of Germany. Scarcely a century since Ger-
many could be said to have a national literature.
Wieland, Klopstock, Schiller, Goethe, Herder, etc., laid
the foundation of German literature. All of these, ex-
cept Klopstock, were collected at the court of Weimar,
and chiefly around Amelia the duchess. Hence Weimar
may be said to have taken the lead in the higher litera-
ture. It is very probable we have not yet correct and

MEMOIR.

65

full ideas of the extent and excellence of German
literature.

" Their universities are founded on the same general
plan ; namely, a small fixed salary, with privilege of
lecturing on any suhject they please, hesides the one
committed to them by their appointment. Hence there
is great, and in some cases unpleasant, competition, as
one professor may invade the province of another, and
there is no remedy hut superior talents and popularity.

" They do not generally have university and college
buildings, as other European universities. For instance,
at Gdttingen the number of rooms registered for the
accommodation of students was above 1,000 in various
parts of the town. Each student selects his own room
and restauretum, or boarding house, from those regis-
tered, and he is registered on the books of the university
accordingly. If he change, the change must be regis-
tered. The students are allowed to attend such lect-
ures as they may choose. There are from 800 to 1,200
students generally at Gottingen, and above seventy
professors. Such were the facts of that period.

"Their recitation rooms are provided by the profess-
ors. The library is the first great concern of the uni-
versity, and its general fixtures, collections, etc., in
which there is much more attention to utility than to
splendor. Hence the means of education are at Got-
tingen more abundant and probably superior to any
other university.

"Notwithstanding the reputation of this university
and its professors they can scarcely provide suitably for
their families if they should die. Hence there is a
widows1 fund attached to the university, partly given
by the Government, partly by private donations, partly
by the professors, for the support of their widows and
orphans in case of their death.
6

66

JOHN- P. DURBIX.

" Prussia is said to be very careful of the interests of
education. Education and religion are joined and are
committed to a proper minister of the crown, resident
at Berlin, who has charge of the whole interest. The
ministers of the Church are made to serve an appren-
ticeship to school teaching before they take charge pas-
toral. The minister of education and religion directs
the department by means of the consistorium in the
several districts of the several circles of the Government.
Education is said to be more generally diffused in Prus-
sia than in any country in the world.

" Austria, capital Vienna, 300,000 population — very
luxurious and very licentious. No liberty of speech
because of the secret police, no liberty of press because
of the censorship. In a population of 23,000,000 of
souls about thirty newspapers. Austria has very lit tie
sea-coast; Trieste her only sea-port, properly speaking.
But she has an ample and fertile territory, and some of
the noblest rivers in the world.

" There are districts of great interest to the mineral-
ogist and geologist. The salt mines, not far from Cra-
cow, in Poland, and the quicksilver mines in Idria, in
the mountains at the head of the Sarc.

"Austria is justly considered the most despotic and
intolerant government in Europe. She does not encour-
age liberal education, but rather takes every means to
keep her people in ignorance. Prussia, in this respect,
has set Austria a noble example. Under the adminis-
tration of Stein and Hardenberg she created the peas-
antry real and independent land-holders, and instituted
universities, and supports them liberally. Yet the great
mass of the population in Austria is as contented as in
Prussia, except her Italian subjects. But they are con-
tented on different principles; namely, the enjoyment of
a great majority of the political arrangements which

MEMOIR.

67

benefit a country. The Austrian population is happy
because it is devoted to pleasure, and the fertility of
the soil is such as to prevent actual want; and they are
not concerned about the administration of the govern-
ment, in which they have no part.

" From these circumstances the Austrians are fond
of the fine arts and exhibitions which impart pleasure,
but can scarcely boast a single Austrian author of ce-
lebrity. They are passionately fond of music, operas,
dancing, theaters, etc. ; but they have no native com-
posers or performers of merit; and though all play on
many or even most instruments of music, they are
chiefly imitators, and perform well from practice.

" 1832. Monday, Jan. 30. — Yesterday morning I
preached in Georgetown to a good audience and saw
some of my old friends.

" Tuesday, Jan. 31. — Went to Alexandria to assist in
a missionary meeting of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
A pleasant meeting.

'* Wednesday, Feb. 1. — Called to see Bishop McKen-
dree at Mr. McKenney's, Georgetown, and found him
quite unwell. He is a venerable old man, full of days
and good fruits, and his end doubtless will be peace.
May it indeed be so."

He Gives His Estimate of Clay and Webster.

" Thursday and Friday, Feb. 2, 3.— Mr. Clay. I have
heard this gentleman on the great question of the Amer-
ican System, in the Senate of the United States. It is
allowed on all hands it was his master effort. I have
heard him with deep interest, and after careful reflec-
tion I must say he is not a finished orator according to
the rules. He has not the elegance, grace, and dignity
of action and speech which become his years, his rank
(senator), and the place in which he was speaking.

08

JOHN P. DURBIX.

Yet he is eloquent, very eloquent ; he has the power of
arresting the attention forcibly and detaining it irre-
sistibly, and this must be eloquence. He is very vehe-
ment at times: frequently pleasant, and sometimes too
low in his style, evidently evincing a disposition to
make himself agreeable to the superficial when he should
win the judgment of the profound. Upon the whole he
is a good parliamentary speaker, and well calculated to
be a leader of a party. He is a powerful man, a strong
intellect, but he has not the intellectual resources and
power of Webster. He has too much volatility to make
commanding and permanent impressions.

" As it regards Mr. Clay's policy in the American Sys-
tem, I must think his general principles correct; their
detads in the present tariff may be injudicious."

United States Senate, Feb. 0, 18.32.
" I heard Mr. Clay nearly three hours to-day on his
motion to reduce the revenue by taking off the duties on
imported articles. He didnotexcel himself to-day, though
he was able. I have no doubt but his policy is the true
interest of this country; yet he does not advocate it
always with becoming dignity. In speaking of his
willingness to reduce the revenue as low as any gentle-
man of tlie United States, he said: 'They shall not out-
brag me.' His references to sacred Scripture and sacred
subjects were not always happy nor always correct —
sometimes savored of profanity. For instance, he said
he would 'take his oath on the holy evanyelists of Al
'nihility God that General Smith (of Maryland) was an
enemy to the American System.' But the termination
of the session was a personal altercation between him-
self and Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith rose and said he could
unfold something, but would not be personal. Mr. Clay
called to him to speak out. Mr. Smith repeated the ex-

MEMOIR.

69

pression, he could but would not. Mr. Clay, with a great
<k :il of vehemence, said to him across the Senate cham-
ber: 'I dare you! I dare you!' 'Order! order!' from
several parts of t lie Chamber and from the Chair.
Senate immediately adjourned."

Daniel Webster.

" I called on Mr. Webster this morning. He was
affable, yet dignified. As my call was merely respect-
ful, our conversation was promiscuous and diversified.

'• There is something sui generis indeed in Mr. Web-
ster, and he does not seem to be insensible to it, as I
heard one of his friends remark that he (Mr. W.) on
being asked why his card was simply Mr. Webster, and
not Daniel Webster, in order to distinguish himself from
others of the name of Webster, answered: ' I am Mr.
Webster.'' Others, of course, might put their given
names on their cards; he need not. Mr. Adams's card is
simply 'Mr. Adams ' also, and probably for the same
reason.

" Several opportunities of hearing Mr. Webster and of
observing him have confirmed the opinion I had taken
up two years since; namely, that he is the most per-
fectly full and ripe man of this country. You cannot
hear him speak or be in his presence without feeling
that he is a superior intellect, every way exceeding his
fellows in strength and majesty of mind.

" Yet Heaven gives not every thing excellent to one
being. It was Mr. Webster's political fault or misfor-
tune to be too closely allied to the measures of the op-
position in Xew England to the last war; and this gave
his enemies a great advantage over him.

"Mr. Webster is justly considered the great bulwark
of our Federal Constitution, and I think it probable
that he may be more serviceable to the country in time

10

JOHN' P. DURBIN.

to come than any man in it. I believe he is held in great
respect even by his political enemies, and every stranger
feels a curiosity to see Mr. Webster, and all who can
call on him. I could not but observe the great number
of visiting-cards stuck in his mantel glass of the must
distinguished personages in the country. The number
and respectability of visiting-cards which collect in one's
drawing-room may not be an incorrect measure of the
consideration in which he is held. I observed that
Chief Justice Marshall used no printed cards, but wrote
his name with a pen.

"Feb. 22, 1832. — To-day was one of the proudest
days of America. One hundred years have rolled away
since the birth of that greatest of men, George Wash-
ington. To celebrate this day in an appropriate man-
ner seemed to be the desire of the whole nation. A
joint committee from both Houses of our National Legis-
lature for the purpose of making arrangements for its
celebration directed divine service to be performed in
the Capitol. This was well done — wisely done; it will
be grateful to the nation ; we owed it to that God
whose special superintending providence guided and sup-
ported us through our Revolutionary struggle. The per-
formance of the service was left to the two chaplains.
It fell to my lot to preach. It was a heavy lot indeed.
Yet I determined to speak in honor of my Master. I
knew the rulers of the land would be there, and the
Supreme Court, and the bar; indeed, I never expect
again to see such an assembly; I therefore determined
to present the worship of God as a national obligation."

We copy the following from a paper of the period :

Outlines of a Discourse,

delivered at the request of both Houses of Congress,
in the hall of the House of Representatives of the United

MEMOIR.

71

States, on the Centennial Birthday of George "Washing-
ton, by the Rev. John P. Durbin.

" Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory and honor and
power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure
they are and were created." Rev. iv. 11.

The subject which the text presents immediately to
our consideration is the worship of God ; and our
appearance in this hall, by a joint resolution of both
Houses of our National Legislature, for the purpose of
divine service, clearly indicates how deeply the national
mind is impressed with its obligations to Heaven. Our
obligations to worship Jehovah are founded, mainly, on
his infinite excellence, our relations to him as his creat-
ures, and his benefits to us.

It is fairly to be inferred that the present service was
intended to recall, in some degree, our national obliga-
tions to God for his beneficent providence toward us as
exhibited in the events connected more or less inti-
mately with the person and actions of George Washing-
ton, whom we rightly call, under God, the lather of our
country.

It certainly was not intended that the present serv-
ices should partake in any degree of the nature of fun-
eral obsequies or of a eulogium on that illustrious man ;
but rather an offering of thanksgiving to our common
Lord for our chief national blessings, the possession
of which is so clearly referred to his agency by all who
bestow a moment's reflection on our history.

It would be a pleasing and profitable employment,
and might well consume an hour, to contemplate the
blessings we have received from God, in all their bear-
ings, as a cause of worship and gratitude to him. In
such an exercise each individual heart should burn with
devotion, which would be abundantly increased by con-
templating the innumerable benefits to mankind by the
wide diffusion and firm establishment of the light and
institutions of religion.

But as this is a national jubilee, I propose to contem-
plate a few of those national blessings which are of
national interest, and which ought to inspire the national

12

JOHN P. DURBIX.

mind with a sincere and permanent devotion to God.
It is scarcely possible to mention one of those which
may not, by a very little effort of faith, he referred
either prospectively or directly to that great man whose
centennial birthday we celebrate.

1. The settlement of a transatlantic population from
Europe on ihe shores of North America has commanded
the astonishment and awakened the admiration of the
whole civilized world. The causes which drove the
pilgrims from their homes in the Old World, the strongly-
marked providences which directed them to the New,
the unearthly fortitude with which they encountered
and endured the unparalleled perils and difficulties of
their novel situation, the high, holy, and apostolic piety
which marked their general character, all point out a
superintending, paternal, and almighty hand.

2. Passing over a wide chasm of time, from the land-
ing of the pilgrims to the commencement of the diffi-
culties between the colonies and the mother country, it
is impossible to contemplate the ascendant spirit of that
period without perfect astonishment and the deepest
conviction that it was awakened and sustained by the
special agency of our heavenly Father. This is a fact
of vast importance to virtue, to religion, and to our
country, and has been too generally overlooked.

It is impossible to account for the deep and ardent
spirit of liberty and patriotism which agitated every
American bosom at that period, from any existing
principles or elements, either on this side the Atlantic
or the other.

We can indeed readily find the immediate cause which
set fire to the match ; but we cannot find the origin of
those principles which oppression in the mother country
forced into action, except we look to the special agency
of Providence.

In other countries oppressions were felt more severe
and intolerable than those which pressed upon our
fathers, and occasional patriots, or bands of patriots,
appeared and struck for their country ; but the spirit
of virtuous freedom and well-regulated patriotism had
not gone through the land to sustain those friends of

MEMOIR.

73

mankind. In this respect the history of America is
■without a parallel. The world has never seen, possibly
may never see again, so many distinct colonial govern-
ments lying through so many degrees, from Massachu-
setts to Georgia, having so many various interests, all
awake with Mich simultaneous impulse and resolution
to resist encroachments upon their liberties.

The uniformity and energy of this spirit of freedom
I could not even shadow forth, much less illustrate.
The only correct picture ever drawn or that can be
drawn is composed of the unexampled fortitude, hero-
ism, and devotion of the army and country.

3. The unexampled diversity of talent which was
associated in the direction of the action of the spirit of
liberty at thai period must also be referred to a special
providential agency, which prepared in anticipation the
materials for this astonishing revolution. It would not
require an American mind to be convinced, nor an
American tongue to declare, that the sun never shone
before nor since on such an a>sociation of patriotic
talent.

But amid all these elements which were engaged for
the civil redemption of mankind, and which had made
their first unconnected and unconcerted efforts, there
was one necessary agent wanting still — a master spirit
which could command the confidence of the whole,
concentrate their forces, or distribute them at pleasure.
All felt that this superior spirit was wanting, and all
looked around to discover him. Without management,
without the machinery of modern political decisions,
as if by revelation from Heaven, George Washington
stood forth that, spirit. Nearly six thousand years had
rolled away, and no such man, with such peculiar destiny,
had appeared. One hundred years have passed away
since, and such has not appeared a second time.

It is not so much my province to-day to illustrate his
personal excellencies as to show that he was the
peculiar gift of Heaven to us; the instrument by which
God gave us our national liberty and blessings. He is
not, therefore, so much an occasion of boasting or ex-
ultation as of gratitude to God, who raised him up and

JOHN P. BUR BIN.

preserved him, and guided him through all that event-
ful era of our national parturition and infancy. From
this view of his character and destination by Heaven
his political sentiments and example should be held but
little less, if indeed less, than sacred by all American
citizens.

That he was the peculiar gift of God to us, and
his special servant, his history and actions sufficiently
show; that he was the special care of Heaven, inso-
much that we may say, in the language of a great man
on another occasion, he was immortal until his work
was done, his almost miraculous preservations attest.

4. His own mind seems to have been deeply impressed
with the same view of this subject ; so much so that all
his public papers, general orders, and private letters
during this period have constant and frequent reference
to a special superintending providence over himself and
our affairs.

His orders on the day after the surrender of York-
town closed as follows : "Divine service shall be per-
formed to-morrow in the different brigades and divis-
ions. The commander-in-chief recommends that all the
troops that are not upon duty do assist at it with a
serious deportment and that sensibility of heart which
the recollection of the surprising and particular inter-
position of Providence in our favor claims."

In his address to the governors of the different States
at the close of the war reference to a superintending
Providence is made no less than eight times. It closes
in these words: "It remains then to be my final and
only request that your Excellency will communicate
these sentiments to your Legislature at their next meet-
ing, and that they may be considered as the legacy of
one who has ardently wished, on all occasion*, to be
useful to his country, and who, even in the shade of
retirement, will not fail to implore the Divine bene-
diction upon it.

" I now make it my earnest prayer that God would
have you and the State over which you preside in his
holy protection ; that he would incline the hearts of the
citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedi-

MEMOIR.

75

ence to government ; to entertain a brotherly affection
and love for one another ; for their fellow-citizens of
the United States at large, and particularly for their
brethren who have served in the held; and, finally,
that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us
all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean our-
selves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper
of mind which were the characteristics of the divine
Author of our blessed religion, without an humble imi-
tation of whose example in these things we can never
hope to be a happy nation."

In his address which accompanied the resignation of
his command of the armies of the United States, which
took place at Annapolis, there is one paragraph which
cannot be read by an American without the deepest
emotion. It is this: "I consider it as an indispensable
duty to close this last solemn act of my official life by
commending the interests of our dearest country to the
protection of Almighty God, and those who have the
superintendence of them to his holy keeping."

Many instances of his devout and religious feeling
could be given; but surely these are sufficient to show
all American statesmen and patriots that the father of
our country always carried with him a profound respect
for the Christian religion, and considered a deep and
permanent sense of religious obligation a necessary
principle in every good citizen's character. These
quotations also will answer the anxious inquiries of
many heaits in regard to Washington's religious senti-
ments and feelings, and will place the recollection of
him and his deeds, if not in a higher, at least in a holier
shrine in the memory of his country.

5. As was to have been expected, the fruits of his
patriotism and that of his compatriots and countrymen,
under the special governance of God, have been indeed
national blessings.

They have been so abundant there is danger that our
hearts may become proud and forget the God of our
fathers. Yet scarcely are the fruits begun to be gath-
ered. The harvest is not ours only ; the world is reap-
ing, and shall reap largely from it. Our success under

76

JOHN P. DURBIK

God has given a powerful impulse to the spirit of free-
Join and sent it abroad into the Old World. Nothing
can enchain it or lay it to rest but our political degrada-
tion and tall. If we stand the world is free.

6. The stability of our civil and political institutions
is desired by all the country. The all-absorbing inquiry
is, How can it be insured? A glance at this question
will close our discourse.

It is neither my will nor my province to allude to those
political measures which may affect our stability as a
nation. No; I have to refer to a higher and ulterior
cause, namely, the respect we pay as a nation to the rea-
sonable service and worship of God.

The theocracy and history of the Jews as developed
in the Old Testament completely establish one fact:
that a nation may fill up the measure of its iniquity as
well as an individual, and then God visits it with na-
tional calamities. The history of all the nations of the
earth which have fallen by great and dreadful evils
is a luminous commentary on this fundamental prin-
ciple.

The national morals, therefore, is a subject of vastly
more importance than particular political measures.
Because when these are sound no measures can be ab-
solutely fatal. But when the degradation of these
passes the limits of the forbearance of Jehovah, no
measures can save us from national ruin.

7. Finally, I hail the services of this day as an aus-
picious omen, to which the rulers of our land will do
well to take heed. They should recollect, also, that in
this, as in all other countries, the public morals take
more or less their complexion from the morals of the
government and rulers of the land. The subject of good
morals, which can be based on a proper influence of re-
ligion only, should be ever in their thoughts — should
occupy the thoughts of every good citizen. Let it en-
gage our earnest and constant prayers; so shall the
blessings of Heaven rest upon our country. The light
of our institutions shall illumine the political world, and
our national happiness become an irresistible example
to awaken the patriotism of all countries and bring to

MEMOIR.

the nations that state of national liberty which is to
precede the universal establishment of the kingdom of
peace.

Thus writes Professor Durbin in relation to this
effort :

'■ Surely a whole life-time will not he sufficient for me
to express my gratitude to God fortlie special and unex-
ampled aid he gave me on this occasion. Undismayed,
because I trusted in the living God to be able to glo-
rify him on this great occasion ; calm, collected, and
earnest, because I felt full conviction of the greatness
and goodness of my cause, I chose the subject which
would give me occasion to present these two great
truths: 1. A special superintending Providence pre-
pared the materials of our national existence and inde-
pendence, and made George Washington a special gift
to us, ami his peculiar servant to accomplish this great
work. 2. That our stability as a nation depends ulti-
mately on our national morals, which are intimately
connected with the reasonable and constant service of
God.

" Never did T see a more profoundly attentive as-
sembly. I iiope the effort will not be without its
fruits. I ask the blessing of Heaven upon it."

Yielding to the demand of this memorable occasion,
we have from Professor Durbin's own pen what seem
to be roords of the heart upon entering upon the duty,
his forceful expressions on the delivery of the discourse,
his evident conviction of the presence of a higher power
that gave calmness to his spirit and control to his
thoughts and energies, while he glows with gratitude
for the manifest results.

As we consider the outline of this discourse we
honor him in the choice of his theme, we admire the
train of his thought, commend the logical coherence of

78

JOHN P. DURBIN.

the parts, and mark the progress of his subject, and
clearly see what a climax the orator could secure. Who
feels not the force of his appeal to the mighty men
before him ?

But vain is any attempt to reproduce the power of his
culmination. He was one of the last of men to be judged
by the words he employed. There was so much in his
utterances besides the language used that his sentences
were inadequate as a conveyance. And we can as
readily paint the vivid lightning's flash when it dazes,
or show the rending bolt from the artillery of heaven
when it sunders the gnarled oak of a century or shiv-
ers the massive tower that has stood forages, as to hope
for any complete exhibition of the eloquence of Dur-
bin at a time like that, when patriotism made its strong-
est appeal — when before him sat the mightiest states-
men of the republic listening to a discourse that they
had invited on the mnn "first in peace, first in war, and
first in the hearts of his countrymen." Sense of duty
woke the mind and set the speaker's heart on fire,
when the heart threw its brightening flame on the in-
tellect, and love of God, more powerful than even that
of country, constrained the just recognition of the
Providence that, through our immortal Washington,
gave us our territory and our triumphs. None may
wonder that when he was at his intellectual and moral
height his magnetic eloquence awed and transported
that vast assembly. At the close of the discourse
John C. Calhoun approached him, shook his hand, and
said, "I advise you never to preach again," as this, he
assumed, could never be reproduced. Tlie same state-
ment is made by Governor Wickliffe, of Kentucky.

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79

CHAPTER V.

The Persistent Student in Baltimore and
Washington.

IS it not proof of the greatness and the essential en-
ergy of a human mind when by no progress in
knowledge or achievement of skill it can be long sat-
isfied, but is ever reaching out for something beyond ?
Is it not evidence that that which is done is unequal to
the mind that did it, as "he that built the house is
greater than the house." God, that made the worlds,
is greater than the worlds he made. Nor can we con-
ceive of him as unemployed. And has it not been
a fact, through all the ages, that however long the
life and multiplied and brilliant its successes, the light
of all great minds has gone out in death while yet
there remained some work of supposed importance to
be accomplished ? Thus death is a perpetual nonplus.
He who is profoundest in wisdom,

" Dying, sighs to see how little lie has learned."

Why is this? Why these undying aspirations?
Why such fruitfulness in devising and ingenuity in
employing means for a higher end ? Shall we call it
mental instinct? Intellectual intuition? Is it that the
mind can find no proper rest but in labor? Is it that
man, made in the likeness of God, retains in his in-
tellect so much of the original impress that he still
feels the stirrings of that which is only less than the
infinite ?

80

JOHN P. D IIRBIN.

Does the Author of our being thus speak within us in
relation to our faculties, as lie does without us in
regard to moral investments, saying, " Occupy till I

come ? "

As in our graces, so in all our endowments, we are to
"go on to perfection." This is the law of our being,
and He only may not obey it who is a law to himself as
the eternally perfect One. O. W. Hervey, Esq., related
to the writer a fact of which he avails himself as illus-
trative of the experience of one distinguished in his art.
" Soon after Thorwaldsen, the great Danish sculptor,
had finished his celebrated colossal statue of Christ for
a church in Copenhagen, a friend called at his studio
to see it. During the visit the sculptor remarked : 'I
think my faculties are failing.' ' Why do you so
judge?' asked the friend. 'Because,' replied Thor-
waldsen, ' with this statue I am satisfied. I can find no
fault with it. From this state of mind I infer my
ideal of perfection is decaying, for never before have I
been able to satisfy its demands.'" With the great
artist the creation is not equal to the conception.

The achievement that relaxes energy by the satis-
faction that it has given must always be regarded as a
misfortune for the future reputation. It prevents prog-
ress and precludes what was the possible ; but he
who studies our complex nature sees that even the
greatest minds are liable to impulses and habits that
interfere with the noblest designs and throw the in-
tellect off its guard. There are susceptibilities that
war with each other — as Paul found in his moral nature
the good and the bad, that made strife. There is in
him who has grand purposes the inert as well as the
vital — passion as truly as reason. Success may ener-
vate or energize. Powers from without exert them-
selves to exalt or depress. Adversity may dispirit,

MEMOIR.

81

criticism impair, adulation puff up, and wind may take
the place of nerve and muscle. There is no "pressing
toward the mark." The eye is taken oft*. The ardor is
cooled. Such can now "sacrifice unto their net and
burn incense unto their drag." Apathy, in its silent
encroachments, closes the keen vision of the intellect.
Mental obliquity has carried the man from the straight
line of duty upon which he entered, and when the di-
version is discovered the innovation has gone so far as
to set effort for recovery at defiance. If indolence enter
the mind it is a foe difficult to dispossess It is a strong
man armed with logic and proneness to self-indulgence.
Of the facts so presented, the ministry, as well as others,
have felt the influence. Candor makes the confession
and intelligence deplores the results. That praise or
blame should quench the ardor of a flaming herald of
the cross, that any thing should suppress the vigor of
one called of God to preach, might excite amazement.
But history is vocal. He who ceases effort at advance-
ment, at accomplishing more in mind and heart and
ministry, either from reputation gained or from appre-
hension that success is not within reach, makes a mis-
take that is little less than a sin against his nature and
his calling. He immolates his greatest self, or the most
of himself, in his undeveloped powers, upon an altar
whose sacrifices God always spurns. What follows?
Character is fixed. Improvement is at an end. Satis-
faction in what he has done, or faithlessness in Ins en-
dowments, has induced rest; but it is rest on the edge
of an anguish that future results will awaken. He that
does not advance declines. Were it only a rocket
none could expect more than that, when it exploded in
mid-air, by a law of gravitation what remained would
descend. But there are forces and tires in man that
remain to act as long as they are possessed. He is
7

82

JOHX P. DURBIX.

kindled as a light to shine brighter and brighter to the
perfect day — that is, when all the beams of the intel-
lect give forth their effulgence.

When from any cause one concludes the acme is
reached, whether it is high or low, we look in vain for
close application. In five, ten, fifteen, twenty years,
are comprehended the mental labor of one who in age
reaches fifty or seventy years. It is soon remarked
that freshness of thought is gone and there is no fruit
of present study. The observant say, " He has gone
to seed." Has it not been seen that some who prom-
ised most have never risen above the reputation of the
first five years of their ministry? Why is this? Is it
so in secular professions? Is it so with a live lawyer —
with the worthy physician? Does not the scientist
grow ? Is it not of the nature of the mind to reveal
its powers when encouraged ? Is not advancement a
normal result of exercise? Shall the lines of Ovid
apply to the minister whose reputation is soon made:

"Succeeding years thy early fame destroy:
Thou who began'st a man, wilt end a boy ? "

This is not God's order. We grow from boys to men,
not from men to boys. It is as if the sun rose with
meridian splendor and at noon gave only the early
dawn.

Dr. Samuel Johnson has said that "the advance of the
human mind toward any object of laudable pursuit may
be compared to the progress of a body driven by a
blow. It moves for a time with great velocity and
vigor, but the force of the first impulse is perpetually
decreasing, and though it should encounter no obstacle
capable of quelling it by a sudden stop the resistance
of the medium through which it passes . . . will in a
short time . . . wholly overcome it. Some hinderances

MEMOIR.

83

will be found in every road of life, but he that fixes his
eye upon any thing at a distance necessarily loses sight
of all that fills up the intermediate space, and therefore
sets forward with alacrity and confidence, nor suspects
a thousand obstacles by which lie afterward finds his
passage embarrassed or obstructed/'

It was remarked of Hannibal that lie wanted nothing
to the completeness of his martial virtues, but "that
when he gained a victory he should know how to use it."
Nor is it less necessary to a great general that he should
be superior to a defeat. Commanders that are immor-
tal have snatched victory from the hand that had con-
quered. He is the great soldier whose courage rises and
whose skill improves from the adverse issue, and
achieves, by greater skill, the purpose of the conflict.
Thus, too, the faithful preacher who has left the pul-
pit for the day with a sunken spirit has returned to
witness the grandest moral conquest.

If early success in learning or in preaching would im-
pair his energy, few men have had such temptation as
we have seen in J. P. Durbin. He early rose to favor;
but it may be a question whether he was ever a more
persistent student or a more assiduous minister than
when the positions that he filled were best calculated to
satisfy a different nature. He resembled the general
who would deem nothing done while there remained
any thing undone.

That he had been invited by the pastor and trustees
of the Methodist church in Baltimore to spend three
months with them, preaching the word, was one of the
most convincing proofs of their estimate of his ability.
In no city of this land might Methodism boast a more
intelligent membership or a more efficient ministry.
He went there, not as an evangelist or revivalist, but as
an edifying and eloquent preacher who could build up

84

JOH.V P. DUI.'DLV.

the Church and extend its influence. Three times dur-
ing the week, as well as on the Sabbath, he delivered
his powerful discourses. The numbers who crowded
to hear the word were immense, and the Lord helped
him mightily.

But the biographer who should overlook the use that
he made of his time while in Baltimore and Washington
would fail in seizing facts essential to the integrity of the
narrative. With work of such magnitude and responsi-
bility as that which engaged him in Baltimore, with
services in which the mind and heart took so dee}) an
interest, with successes such as crowned his efforts, with
the attentions and hospitalities that continually forced
themselves upon him from a people famed for their
entertainment of preachers, it might be supposed he
would be perfectly absorbed, and that any thing out-
side such interests and engagements could not be al-
lowed. But his record shows that he found time to
increase his scientific knowledge and to improve his
mind. Thus lie writes: "I attended lectures, or some
of them, in the University of Maryland medical depart-
ment, also mineralogical lectures in the department of
science." He adds : "I must here record my grateful
recognition of the gentlemanly professors who so kindly
proffered me their tickets gratuitously, but must be
more particular with regard to Dr. Cohen. He was not
only so kind as to admit me to his lectures, but to his
collection of minerals daily, and offered me his aid in
familiar and personal explanations. I can never forget
his friendly and gentlemanly conduct toward me, and I
felt this all the more acutely because he was a Jqw — a
child of Abraham in whom I have always felt especial
interest. He came once to hear me preach the Lord
Jesus Christ. I do sincerely hope that he may yet find
him to be the Hope of Israel."

MEMOIR.

85

Elsewhere Durbin says: "About this time I com-
menced reading lire's Geology a second time. I thick
him a man of great research — self-taught. His lan-
guage is strong, rather imperious, and sometimes severe."

Professor Durbin was no sciolist. The superficial did
not satisfy him, and dogmatism passed for no more than
its worth. His mind delved, grasped, and utilized. Ashe
had opportunity, he sought the reason of things. When
his own mental penetration and breadth were unequal to
the inquiry he bowed to a superior intelligence. He
could not brook the imperious of men, or think of being
" wise above what is written." He would illustrate the
fact that mental culture, moral growth, and spiritual
usefulness may co-exist and co-operate in the aggregated
influences of him who pleads for God and souls.

But if possible, we are more deeply impressed by
the tenacity with which, while in Washington, he ad-
hered to his habits of study and the success with which
he prosecuted his purpose to increase his knowledge
in science and literature. He who reads his convic-
tions of the possibilities of usefulness in the chaplaincy,
and observes his solicitude to accomplish all that was in
his power for the spiritual benefit of those who had
chosen him, will know that he neglected nothing that
would be profitable to them. He brought beaten oil
that would afford the best light to those he would guide.
No time was too long that this required. His sermons
before the great men of the nation were not perfunctory
deliverances. They were of vital thought — were living
words — often as "goads and as nails fastened." They
had sentences that were " swords piercing to the divid-
ing asunder of soul and spirit." Sermons they were
with facts and force which the most rebellious and ob-
durate might not readily resist. Of this an illustration
is furnished in the desire of the member from Balti-

86

JOHN P. DURBIX.

more. Cases of conscience might be submitted to him by
men in public life — cases requiring great skill and much
t hought for their adjustment. lie w ho keeps in mind what
there is in the national metropolis during Congress to dis-
tract and dissipate the mind — the demands of etiquette,
the calls of friends, the visits of persons from a distance,
the courtesies expected from him by ministers of his
own Church and of other Churches, the appeals made for
services in various places — these required the devotion
on his part of much time, and often awakened deep
sympathies which made sad inroads on his nervous sys-
tem, and demanded rest. Then a man of his capacity
and taste would often feel a deep interest in attending
Congress to hear great arguments and witness the effects.
It was, as we have seen, the days of Henry Clay, of Dan-
iel Webster, of John C. Calhoun. Besides these greater
lights there were other stars of acknowledged brilliancy.
He would naturally desire to see and enjoy their beams.
Of the care with which he heard the mightiest of them,
and the candor with which he judged of mind, of char-
acter, and of eloquence we may form some idea in the
expressions he gives of his estimate of Clay and of the
result <>f his call on Webster, and of the impression that
intercourse and hearing produced. lie was not more
reulhj a student of subjects than of men.

With such duties as we have named to engage a chap-
Iain, besides many of which we have no knowledge, we
would naturally say study outside his chaplaincy was im-
possible. Desultory reading must satisfy him. We would
be inclined to say "the thieves of time" are too many,
too active and artful, to allow more than this. He did
not permit them to invade the precinct of conscience and
rob it of its dictates. It told him to " redeem the time."
He did it. He that had learned to study by the back-
woodsman's fire, that secured mental serenity in the

MEMOIR.

61

room of the log-cabin with six or twelve of various ages
about him, with as much difference in the matter of dis-
cipline as there was in age, he who could under such cir-
cumstances reveal his intellectual and moral manhood
would not yield to the diversions and difficulties of study
in the city of Washington during a Congressional session.
He rose early, took exercise, attended to his devotions,
entered upon the public work of the day at half past
eleven o'clock, went to the duties of chaplain, then en-
tered the library of the Capitol, not to go from alcove
to alcove, from chapter to chapter, not from book to
book to open and shut it, to examine the table of con-
tents, and then assume knowledge of the author. But
he selected his book, and then, if necessary for his pur-
pose, read it " from end to end," or as much of it as his
reason for studying it induced. He was there as the
close, consecutive thinker, making progress in science,
broadening his acquaintance with the best English lit-
erature in the lines that lie perused. The record he
left speaks for the man. He did not, according to the
figure of Dr. Johnson, allow the "blow" that the mind
had received to send it " toward its object," to spend
its force till the end for which it was given was reached.
That end was his highest improvement and greatest
efficiency. He measured the distance, considered the
force, adopted the means, reached the end. In Wash-
ington he was the chaplain and the student. He secured
honor in both relations.

88

JO UN P. hURBIN.

CHAPTER VI.

Editor of the " Christian Advocate and
Journal."

ON the 26th of May, 1832, Professor Durbin was
elected by the General Conference editor of the
Christian Advocate and Journal and Eton's Herald,
Youth's Instructor, Child's Magazine, and of Tracts and
Sunday-school Books. This was a remarkable evidence
of the confidence reposed in his literary ability and
adaptation to the place'. He was not then, nor had he
ever been, a member of the General Conference. He
was but thirty-two years old. He entered upon his la-
bors with a promptness and intellectual vigor that
showed his deep conviction of the importance of the
duties that his place imposed, and with a manifest pur-
pose to exert the proper influence of this great denomi-
national office.

July 27, 1832. In an article on the design and
progress of the Chartered Fund he urges the duty of
the people to save the pastor from perplexing care and
the obligation of the preacher to give himself wholly
to his work. He is to " give himself to reading that his
profiting may appear," as says the apostle ; and the
Discipline says the minister should give the morning to
rending, at least five hours in the day. If all preachers
would do this how differently would their performances
appear in the pulpit ! How clear, well arranged, and re-
freshing would be their discourses, and consequently
how their power and influence would be elevated and

MEMOIR.

89

extended in the community for good ! Then he urges
upon the people the importance of the fact that a studi-
ous man must have a study, must have many and vari-
ous books, and says, " few have the means." Then, as
through all his life, he considered the duty of the minis-
ter to seek by all the means in his power the culture in
mind, as well as grace in heart, to make him the greatest
power among his people. On Sept. 6, 1833, he writes
upon a subject ami expresses a judgment that is pleas-
ant to recall — the first Commencement of Wesleyan Uni-
versity at Middletown, which took place August 28,
1833. He says : " We were struck with the absence of
that excess of pomp and splendor, both in diction
and gesture, of the speakers, which is too common on
such occasions. Most of the sentiments in the compo-
sitions were elevated and just, and many of the para-
graphs were elegant and chaste. Their gesture was
sometimes very fine, often appropriate, rarely excessive.
President Fisk presided to the entire satisfaction, per-
haps I ought to say to the admiration, of the whole
assembly, and Professor Whedon's inaugural address
was very good, abounding with some new thoughts,
many new combinations of thought, and excellent reflec-
tions and inferences. Finally, we are assured that this
first Commencement of the Wesleyan University is, or
ought to be, a new era in its progress to complete suc-
cess."

On October 4, 1833, he records another fact that
goes with our history. This is the first visit of the
Christian Advocate and Journal to its subscribers from
the new building erected in Mulberry Street, between
Broome and Spring streets. New York, for the accom-
modation of the General Book Concern. He gives its
history in the issue of October 4, 1833.

December 6, 1833, he writes of the morality of the

90

JOHN P. DURBLV.

theater, and says in his editorial, " The theater repre-
sents the highway to destruction, degradation, and
ruin, especially to youth."

The Sunday-school of the Church became an early
and a constant care, and he discussed the system of re-
wards and methods of instruction with a clearness and
candor that showed the attention he had given to the
work. He made weighty suggestions for its increase,
intelligence, and efficiency. Early in his editorship he
projected the publication of the Sunday-school Library,
and edited many of its earlier volumes. " This,"
says Dr. Longking, " was a favorite enterprise with
him."

He gave the closest attention to our doctrines, econ-
omy, peculiarities, and, as far as need suggested, to
our administration.

The deep reverence that Dr. Durbin associated with
public worship, and the proprieties to be observed in re-
gard to attendance, show his exalted moral sense. Nor
are his suggestions to the preacher as to the proper
spirit of reproof to the people for delay and irreverence
of less value to him who is striving to do good, but
who by incaution may do harm.

He says : "There are those who seem to think that
the power of public religious services to do good was
considered too generally to rest almost wholly with the
preacher. Congregations calculate and prepare but
very little, it is to be feared, to enter into and sustain the
spirit and forms of public services. Hence but few are
serious, fewer still join reverently, devoutly, and uni-
formly in the public prayers, and many, at least too
many, make very little account of reaching the church
in time, and often leave it as soon as the service is
closed. Their object seems to be simply to hear the
sermon. They do not appear to enter themselves into

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91

public services and take a suitable part in tbe worship
and praise of God. The deficiency can be remedied,
measurably, at least, by the prudent, firm, and affection-
ate conduct of the ministry. If they will on all suitable
occasions insist in proper manner, in a spirit of kindness
and respect, not of scolding or satire, upon the people's
being all quietly seated in the church before the time
of commencing the services, and in the same affection-
ate manner upon their remaining until dismissed, these
important points can be carried effectually."

In editorials of the Christian Advocate and Journal
of September 13, 1833, and October 25, 1833, we have
a calm, clear, and vigorous setting forth of the doctrine
of the "Witness of the Spirit" to our conversion, in
reply to an article in the Evangelist on "Premature
Hopes," in which the writer says, "The settlement of
our controversy with God is a business which respects
our whole past life." Dr. Durbin replies, " Surely, it is
unspeakably important that our hope be built upon a
rock, and that we have an assurance of an interest in
his favor ; our holiness as well as happiness is so con-
nected with it that neither can be stable or nourish
without it." lie sees the mind confused from the sub-
stitution of the word " hope " for " assurance." He says,
"The inspired writers never employ the word hope for
what is matter of experience and present possession. . . .
We Bee or know the things that are freely given to us
of God. Here substitution of the word 'hope' for the
word 'assurance' in relation to Christian experience
is not a matter of small moment ; it has the effect to
lower the standard of Christian experience ; to bring
into the Church a host of merely awakened sinners
and to weaken the springs and motives of holy obed-
ience. It is difficult to see how the fruits of the
spirit, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, good-

92

JOHN F. nun BIN.

ness, faith, can subsist in the soul without the 'Witness
of the Spirit.' "

In an editorial on " The Building up of the Church"
he remarks :

" Next to the conversion of souls the leading on of the
Church to the perfection of holiness should be the object
of the ministers of Christ. The honor of Christ, the
prosperity of the Church, and the happiness of indi-
viduals all require them to pursue this course.

"And here we may inquire why so little has been
done in reference to this object? It cannot be that
the necessity is not apparent. Look which way you
will, lukewarmness and the love of the world are pre-
vailing evils among Christians. From the evil roots
which remain in them every evil practice may spring
up, to the wounding of the cause of Christ, the grief of
the few truly pious, and the exultation of enemies. All
of which evils would be prevented by the perfection of
holiness.

" Why, then, we ask, has so little been done to perfect
the saints? To this we may answer, that little com-
paratively has been done to set the subject fully before
the Christian. The evils growing out of this neglect are
frequently felt, and almost as frequently palliated by
saving, 'That is human nature;' 'We do not expect
perfection here,' or something to the same effect.

" Sometimes, indeed, the duty of perfecting holiness is
asserted, but to little effect, while Christians are given
t<> understand that they cannot be perfectly holy in
this life (we speak only of moral holiness); nay, that
they can never rise above being carnal • sold under
sin while they remain in the body.

" Now we cannot think t hat the minister of the Gospel
does his duty while he asserts the duty of holiness but
offers no encouragement to expect it. Holiness can only

MEMOIR.

93

bo obtained by faith. If, therefore, we repress expec-
tation, we repress faith, or rather cut it up root and
branch, and induce a state of hike warmness as the nat-
ural result of our erroneous instruction.

"To such teachers we woidd put the following ques-
tions: Is not God infinitely well pleased that his
rational creatures should possess perfect moral holiness?
If this be his will is he not able to effect it? Mas he
not made provision in the Gospel for this very thing ?
Is not the blood of Christ efficient to cleanse from all
sin ? And is not the Holy Spirit able perfectly to re-
new us in the spirit and temper of our minds ? Would
it not be for the glory of God thus to renew and save
us 'i Indeed, we want but two points yielded (neither
of which can be denied) to enable us to infer this, the
possibility of holiness, with the utmost certainty;
namely, that it is his will that we should be practically
and perfectly holy, and that he has made provision for
this in the Gospel. But our presentobject is not so much
to prove the assertion as to ascertain why those who
believe it make so little use of it. One branch, at least,
of the Christian Church has been highly famed for the
last half century in having the doctrine of holiness,
both in precept and in promises relating to it, clearly
set before them. The great and good men whom God
has raised up among them have clearly explained and
powerfully proved tha doctrine of Christian perfection
or complete moral holiness. They have not only shown
this to be the doctrine of the Bible, but they have shown
also that the thing is attainable. Many have believed
the divine testimony and entered into the enjoyment of
this, the greatest of all blessings. A considerable number
at the present day can testify 'truly that they have fel-
lowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ,'
and that ' the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin.'

04

JOHN P. DURE IN.

"But it is a serious question whether the number of
these bear a fair proportion to the instances of conver-
sion among us at the present day — that is, whether
these are increasing in the same ratio as conversions
are. In truth we must say they are not. . . .

" The standard of Christian holiness is not to be
taken from the creeds and writings of men, but from
the word of God. That commands us to love the Lord
our God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength,
and our neighbor as ourselves. Did we fulfill the former
of these commands we should devote ourselves, our
whole selves, our life and health, time and substance,
to the service of God; not in profession merely, but in
deed and and in truth. . . .

"Did we fulfill the latter there would be no war, no
oppression, no defaming or slandering one another, no
strife of tongues or angry disputations, nor any of those
passions which embroil society. . . .

" The views which the Scriptures give us of the per-
fection of holiness lead to the conclusion that it is a
distinct thing from what is commonly understood by
regeneration ; distinct, not in nature, but in degree and
in its completeness. This being the case, all who ob-
tain regeneration should be taught to seek that high
moral state of evangelical righteousness which the
Scriptures describe as the perfection of holiness. And
if they seek it with all their heart they shall obtain it.
For, 'if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unright-
eousness.'

"But how can this succeed without the aid of the
ministers? These must show the 'household of faith'
what is in this respect the hope of their calling, what
the length and breadth of the commandment, what is
implied in the provisions of the Gospel, and what the

MEMOIR.

95

character of the covenant of promise. Let a conviction
of remaining depths of depravity in the nature be
deeply fixed in their consciences, and let an earnest de-
sire after a full conformity to the will of God be pro-
duced within them. This will enable the minister to
point out the course and to 1 lead them like a flock.' He
must be as attentive to this branch of his work as to that
which goes before it ; and never till this is the case will
this work revive with power and appear in all its glory.

" Here is the great responsibility of the ministers of
Christ ; and yet here they most frequently fail, not, in-
deed, in respect to preaching this doctrine occasionally,
but in following it up in private as well as in public, in
introducing it into prayer-meetings, class-meetings, and
love-feasts. And here let me mention one thing more
which deserves the most serious attention of all minis-
ters, and that is the institution of meetings expressly
for this object. Till this is done little will be done to-
ward filling the earth with righteousness and peace.
While it is impossible for a number of Christians, how-
ever small, to meet together for this object without
being benefited, on the other hand, if no meetings are
instituted, this work, when it occasionally revives, will
be greatly limited and decline. Brethren, let us think
on these things."

As an exhibition of his desire to advance our minis-
try in learning and pulpit power we have an editorial
of July 18, 1834, giving his views on "An Educated
Ministry," and approving a "Theological Seminary."
And this at a time when even Bishop Hedding could
go no further than recommend a " Biblical Institute."
This was a long step, and at first a staggering one ;
others soon followed of greater steadiness.

Dr. Durbin says : " It is hoped the reader will not
be alarmed at the words which stand at the head of the

96

JOHN P. DURDiy.

article. They are intended simply to open a very grave
ami weighty question for the consideration of the
Church. It is not intended to decide the question in
its details, but to present it for calm and prayerful ex-
amination. This is done the more cheerfully, and in
some degree in the discharge of our duty, because our
correspondence, conversations, and observations made
exclusively clearly develop the interesting fact that the
question of an educated ministry among us is occupy-
ing the thoughts, eliciting the attention of many of the
wisest, best, and most experienced both among the
preachers and the people. ... In order to consider
this question fairly it is necessary to divest ourselves
of our prejudices against theological seminaries as we
have been accustomed to see and understand them.
There was a time when these seminaries were chiefly
employed in educating young men for the ministry
merely as a profession, without proper regard to their
morals and evangelical piety. The profession was too
much a matter of calculation for subsistence, as the law
or medicine. But, in our opinion, most of these insti-
tutions have rapidly approximated the true and tenable
genius of an educated ministry, the grounds which we
ought to occupy if, upon calm reflection throughout the
Church and free exchange of opinions privately and
publicly, it should be deemed advisable to act in the
case. The grounds are these:

" 1. Let none be educated in view of the ministry but
such as are called of God to this work and approved by
the proper authorities.

" 2. Let the education be solid and useful, directly in
view of the work they are called to do.

" ;3. Let its extent and time consumed depend very
much upon the demand for laborers in the work and the
progress they have made."

MEMOIR.

97

Among the advantages lie gives are these:

"1. It would advance and establish the young minis-
ter's personal piety and deep rational devotion.

" 2. It would impart a moral and intellectual power
which cannot be derived in any other way. This is the
general rule ; of course there will be exceptions.

" o. Such an education would en-ible the ministry to
perform its pastoral duties much more successfully, to
fill our churches and retain our families — they go else-
where."

While editor, Durbin's literary taste, mental fur-
niture, Christian spirit, denominational loyalty, just
perceptions, and sound judgment made the paper a
means of intellectual and moral culture to the Church,
and a power in building up Christ's kingdom in the
world.

The Advocate was like eyes to the Church to over-
look her territory, to discover her opp >rtunities, to re-
veal her resources, to awaken her energy, to encourage
her hope, to broaden her sense of obligation, and to in-
spire the purest ambition for the grandest future.

Never were the doctrines and institutions of Method-
ism more sedulously guarded or vital piety more con-
sistently enforced. Dr. Durbin resigned this place to
fill the presidency of Dickinson College; duty seemed
to demand such action.
8

98

JOILV P. DURBIX.

CHAPTER VII.
Presidency of Dickinson College.

THE war of the Revolution had hardly closed and
our independence been established before great
men in the nation, looking to the future of the country,
saw we had need of all the advantages that education
could give to enable us to meet the high demands of
the Providence that had strangely set us free.

The Pilgrim Fathers, with their religion, had sought
to establish education on the best basis. Harvard was
organized and did its work. Yale's influence was com-
manding. William and Mary gave advantages to the
youth; and Princeton, known as the "Log College,"
had entered the field for needed service. But now
that independence was established several gentlemen
of high character determined to have a college west
of the Susquehanna River. Among tliese men were
the Hon. John Dickinson, whose name the college bears,
and who was then Governor of Pennsylvania; Dr. Ben-
jamin Rush, William Brigham, and others noted for
their public spirit and benevolence. A charter having
been obtained from the State the first meeting of the
Board of Trustees was held on the 15th of September,
1783. " The attention of the board was probably directed
to Dr. Nisbet, as a suitable person to lay the founda-
tion of the college, by Dr. Rush, who is believed to
have made his acquaintance during his residence in
Scotland." Dr. Nisbet was accordingly elected presi-
dent of Dickinson College on the 8th of April, 1784.

MEMOIR. 99

The prospects of the college were gloomy enough, ex-
cept in the glowing imagination of its projectors. A
report was made to the board at the very time of Dr.
Nisbet's election which stated the total amount of the
funds of the college, including money, stocks, and
lands, to be £2,889, 12s. and Gd., Pennsylvania cur-
rency, I he productive portion of which yielded only
£130 per annum. The trustees relied for increase of
the funds upon the liberality of the public and of the
State Legislature, and yet they offered Dr. Nisbet a
salary of £250 sterling, a house rent free, and the pay-
ment of his expenses from Scotland to Carlisle. Dr.
Rush wrote to him repeatedly in pressing terms, mak-
ing the most unqualified promises, indulging the most
sanguine prophecies of success, and pledging the honor
and estates of the trustees for the payment of the obli-
gations. . . . Dr. Nisbet finally yielded. On the 23d
of April, 1785, he sailed from Greenock with his family
and landed in Philadelphia on the 9th of June follow-
ing. He reached Carlisle on the 4th of July and was
received with highest marks of respect. On the next
day he took the oath of office as president of Dickinson
College, and commenced his duties at once. ... "It
was a period of unvaried labors, constant anxiety, and
mortifying disappointments on his part." . . . Promises
failed, assurances of success did not avail. The country
languished for years after the close of the exhausting
and protracted war. The derangement of the commerce
and currency, and the prevailing scarcity, presented diffi-
culties for which the trustees were not responsible. They
who were disposed to be liberal toward the college
found themselves so embarrassed that they could neither
give money to its aid nor educate their sons in its halls.
Dr. Nisbet was grieved, depressed, and humiliated in
seeing the failure of the trustees and the people to sup-

1(H)

JOHN P. DUMB1N.

port the institution as had been promised. He resigned
the presidency. It was not from apathy. It was tliat
they had been incautious in the steps they had taken,
and had raised false hopes in one who did not so well
know the condition of the country as they who invited
him were supposed to know it.

Dr. Nisbet was a man of exalted reputation. He
had graduated in the ministry at Edinburgh, had re-
mained six years in Divinity Hall, and had filled po-
sitions of high responsibility as a preacher. In 1767
Dr. Witherspoon applied to him to permit his name to
be presented among the candidates lor the presidency
of Princeton College. He was regarded as among the
most learned men in Scotland. He was a hard student,
and was called the " walking library," and his memory
bordered on the prodigious. The late Dr. Samuel
Miller, of Princeton, says, " He was one of the most
learned men of his day." After Dr. Nisbet, in 1804,
Dr. Robert Davidson was elected. Then followed, in
the order named, Dr. Jeremiah Atwater, Dr. John
McKnighr, Dr. John M. Mason, Dr. William Neil, and
Dr. Samuel B. How.

President after president came to the chair, and every
one to witness the failure of his hopes. The institu-
tion did grand work for those who entered it. It grad-
uated some of the first men of the country. There
James Buchanan, late President of the United States,
graduated, and it was the Alma Mater of Chief Justice
Taney.

In December, 1821, Dickinson, that had entirely sus-
pended for several years, received as its president that
princely preacher, Dr. John M. Mason. As a scholar,
teacher, and divine he had great influence among the
first men of the nation. He had been the intimate
friend of Alexander Hamilton, and delivered a famous

MEMOIR.

101

address at his funeral. On going to Carlisle, Dr. Mason
took with him as students some of the most promising
young men of the country, among "whom were the late
Dr. George W. Bethune, Drs. Morris, Erskine Mason,
Bishop McCroskey.

lie had an able faculty, and the college enjoyed the
labors of that brilliant genius and eloquent preacher,
Dr. Alexander McClelland. Despite the erudition and
eloquence of Dr. Mason, despite his reputation as a
great preacher and the encouraging patronage that his
presidency secured, despite the cherished hopes, distin-
guished talent, and earnest effort of the faculty, the
institution failed, and in 1824 Dr. Mason resigned his
place. The trustees elected as his successor Dr. William
Neil, of Philadelphia. Dr. Mason congratulated them
in procuring "a gentleman of such standing." For
eight years Dr. Neil filled his position with scholarship
and personal dignity; but, failing in his purposes and
plans, lie resigned his place.

Under such circumstances and with such a history of
the college, Dickinson was offered to the Methodist
Episcopal Church. Bishop Emory was residing within
the bounds of the Baltimore Conference, and he, with
the Rev. Alfred Griffith, took such steps as resulted in
the acceptance of the offer. To the memory of Bishop
Emory the Church and the ministry owe a debt of
gratitude that time may not repay ; himself a very schol-
arly man in Methodism, it was his effort to raise the
standard of ministerial qualifications, and afford to the
Church the advantages of college education. On reach-
ing the episcopacy, at the early age of forty-four, he
turned liis attention to preparing a Course of Study for
Candidates to the Minist ry. He soon after issued a small
volume, entitled One Hundred Questions on the Bible,
a work which necessitated research, and burned its way

102

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

into the memory of many a man, and of which the
writer has a vivid recollection. In the future of Dick-
inson and of Dr. Durbin we see his hand and feel his
power. In the brief space of four years in the episco-
pate he left his intellectual impress, never to be effaced.

In the Christian Advocate and Journal of November
15, 1833, Dr. Durbin wrote of Dickinson College,
" This is the oldest college in the State except the uni-
versity at Philadelphia, and has received liberal appro-
priations from the legislature at different times. From
various causes the board found it necessary to close
the institution and the faculty was dissolved. The
building is an extensive and durable stone edifice, with
ten acres of ground, situated in one of the healthiest and
most beautiful towns of Pennsylvania, with a popula-
tion of three thousand persons, the morals, manners, and
intelligence of whom are very favorable to a literary
institution. The Baltimore and Philadelphia Confer-
ences propose to endow the college with permanent
funds for its benefit." Dr. Durbin and Dr. Holdich
were appointed to prepare an address in behalf of
Dickinson College. They saw " no insurmountable
difficulty to its prosperity " in the fact that Middletown
University was commenced; "no reason why a college
should not flourish at Carlisle."

Again he writes of Dickinson College in the Chris-
tian Advocate and Journal, April 4, 1834, "In one
hour in the Baltimore Conference there was subscribed
$12,000. This is an indication of vast importance. It
is characteristic of the true spirit and enterprise of
Methodist preachers in any cause which they think .con-
tributes to the glory of God and the conversion of the
world. There is scarcely such a body on the earth as
a Methodist Conference. Dr. Durbin was present,
Bishop Andrew presided, and Bishop Emory was with

MEMOIR.

103

him. The entire subscription in favor of Dickinson
College in both Conferences amounted to about $30,000.
About as much more is wanted in order to meet the
resolution on which the college is to be opened."

The following is an interesting and eloquent record
of the strong men in Methodism associated with Dick-
inson College when it came under our control. The
Board of Trustees were:

Hon. John McLean, Judge Supreme Court, United States.
Rev. John Emory, D.U., Bishop Methodist Episcopal Church.

Ex officio.

Rev. S. G. Roszel, Baltimore.

Rev. Joseph Ly brand, Wilmington.

Rev. Alfred Griffith, Baltimore.

Rev. Job Guest, Carlisle.

Dr. Theodore Myers, Carlisle.

Dr. Samuel Baker, M.D., Professor
Materia Med. University, Md.

John Phillips, Carlisle.

Dr. Ira Day, Mechanicsburg.

Dr. Thomas Sewall, Professor Co-
lumbian College, Washington.

Sam'l Harvey, Esq., Germantown.

Henry Antez, Esq., Harrisburg.

Dr. J. M. Keagy, Philadelphia.

John Davies, Esq., Harrisburg.

Dr. Matthew Anderson, Philadel-
phia.

Richard Benson, Esq., Philadel-
phia.

Henry nicks, Esq.. Wilmington.
George W. Noble, Esq., Attorney-
at-La\v, Baltimore.

Dr. S. H. Higgins, Wilmington.

Charles A. Warrield, Williams-
port, Md.

Dr. James Roberts, Harrisburg.

James Dunlop, Esq., Chambers-
burg.

Benjamin Matthias, Esq., Phila-
delphia.

Charles McClure, Esq., Attorney,
Carlisle.

Samuel Parker, A.M., Esq., Phila-
delphia.

William M. Biddle, Esq., Attorney,
Carlisle.

Thomas A. Budd, Esq., Attorney,
Philadelphia.

Dr. Thomas E. Bond, Bahimore,
and J. B. Longacre, Esq., Phila-
delphia.

Rev. J. P. Durbin, A.M.

Hon. John Read, Law Professor,
Carlisle.

Under this organization of the college Dr. John P.
Durbin was, by a " unanimous and enthusiastic vote,"
elected president.

On July 18, 1834, Dr. Durbin resigned the editorship
of the Christian Advocate and Journal to fill the presi-

104

JOHN P. DURBIN.

dency of the college, being profoundly impressed with
the need of the institution to Methodism. It is just to
history to remark, that as editor his salary was only
$1,200, and Dr. Durbin said he was unable to live on it.
When complaint is made of the high salaries of some
of our most distinguished preachers and officers in the
Church, it were well to ask if any in our ministry lose
more financially than do those whose talents elsewhere
would secure them double the support they receive.

If it is instructive and salutary to watch the progress
of mind in its struggle upward to the goal, it should
not yield less interest and pleasure to witness its
achievements when it has attained the place for the
full exhibition of its powers and skill: to know that
past efforts are rewarded by the greatness of present
results.

Dr. Durbin was now in a most responsible, not to say
critical, position. He was but thirty-four years old.
Dickinson was among the earliest of our colleges. With
us they had not been popular. This institution, with
ablest men, had failed under the great Presbyterian
body. Dr. Durbin, though a graduate, was a Methodist
preacher ; his training had been in the itinerancy, and
for such a man under the circumstances to expect
success shows no little faith and determination. It re-
quired a great heart and uncommon capabilities to en-
gage with wisdom in this work. But he at once showed
himself master of the situation. He was remarkable for
his knowledge of men, as is shown by the character of
those whom he secured for the various chairs of the in-
stitution.

At the beginning of his presidency Robert Emory
was elected professor of ancient languages. He had
graduated at Columbia College, New York, with the
first honors, and perhaps no man of his age in our his-

MEMOIR.

105

tory was of greater weight and worth than this honored
son of Bishop Emory. He was elected president when
Dr. Durbin resigned. Rev. John McClintock, who was
a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, was
elected professor of mathematics, and it was said his
education fitted him for any chair in the college. Will-
iam H. Allen, graduate of Bowdoin, who was subse-
quently and for many years the distinguished president
of Girard College, was called to the chair of chemistry
and natural history. Merritt Caldwell, also a graduate
of Bowdoin, was professor of metaphysics and political
economy. He was also a most successful teacher of
elocution. Who will wonder that with such a faculty
Dickinson College at once obtained influence and sup-
port? The sagacity of the president was as manifest
in the conduct of the institution as in the selection of
men. By his prudence and suavity he maintained disci-
pline, as he imparted to the students a self-respect that
was a glory to Dickinson. Sympathy on the part of the
patronizing Conferences induced many of the ministers
to subscribe for its pecuniary needs, and in every way
the president sought the improvement of* its finances.

Notwithstanding the prejudice existing in many minds
at that day against colleges Dr. Durbin obtained an an-
nual collection throughout the patronizing Conferences,
and secured the appointment of Charles Pitman and Ed-
mund S.Janes as agents for the Philadelphia, and Stephen
G. Roszel and John A. Collins for the Baltimore Confer-
ence, to travel through the bounds of the Conferences
and obtain subscriptions to aid the rejuvenated institu-
tion. Ministers of the best talent and in great demand
by the strongest churches were secured to help the col-
lege. To do this required no little influence on the part
of the president. He appealed to the legislature of
Pennsylvania and received from year to year an appro-

106

J GUN P. DURBIN.

priation of $1,000. Members of Conference sometimes
said the president of Dickinson did not know their
trials. Once he replied, " If the brother thinks I know
nothing of the difficulties of his life I shall be pleased
to exchange notes with him on ministerial privations."
To Dickinson College Dr. Durbin gave eleven of what
he called the best years of his life; and while through
its entire history it has done noble work for the Church
its friends fail not to recall the days of his connection
with it as a palmy period.

Some of the first scholars and most eloquent ministers
of our Church came from Dickinson during Durbin's ad-
ministration. Not to name laymen that have made their
impress at the bar or on the bench, in the American Con-
gress, in different professions and positions, the Church
can boast in the pulpit the names of Rev. T. V. Moore;
of Bishop Bowman; of the late Bishop Cummins, of the
Reformed Episcopal Church ; of Dr. Charles F. Deems,
and Dr. George R. Crooks. After eight years of con-
finement to college duties Dr. Durbin deemed it desira-
ble to have relief from his cares, and also leisure to
increase the stores of his knowledge by travel.

While president of Dickinson College Dr. Durbin
had the great sorrow of burying his wife, the mother of
all his children. She was a lady of great modesty and
merit.

To those who have long felt so deep an interest in
Dickinson College, and who made contributions to its
meager means in its earliest struggles, it affords no
common delight to know that within the last few years,
besides raising the standard of education and sending
forth some of the largest classes in its history, it has
made so great an advance in its material means and in-
creased its facilities to the high purpose of its origin.
Within the last sixteen years, under the presidency of

MEMOIR. 107

Rev. J. A. McCauley, D.D., there have been added
three new buildings:

Memorial Library Hall, Scientific Building and Gymna-
sium $120,550 75

Repair of old buildings 17,87181

$138,422 56

Increaso of Permanent Endowment from 1872-1888

about 103,000 00

Total additions $241,422 56

The Church may justly felicitate herself in the fact
that Dickinson College, though starting with means so
limited, received such an impulse and inspiration as
well as character under the young Durbin that for
more than fifty-four years it has been accomplishing
its appropriate work. That our first colleges should
have been so distinguished by the men placed over
them might well awaken wonder. We have noted the
remarkable faculty of Augusta in the South. In the
North, Wesleyan University had Wilbur Fisk as first
president, who deserved, as he received, the highest
honors. To Dickinson was given John P. Durbin, who
filled the presidency with an efficiency and success that
might be a marvel. When Fisk died came Stephen
Olin for the Wesleyan, and when Durbin resigned
Robert Emory took his place. If in our first efforts
at higher education it seemed as though Providence
frowned on our purpose, allowing our property once
and again to be destroyed; now once and again, and
again at a later period, it looked as if Providence was
full of benignity in giving us the men that were equal
to their high responsibility.

The following are the presidents of Dickinson since
the college came into the hands of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church :

1()8

JOHN P. DURBIX.

Dr. John P. Durbin in 1833; Dr. Robert Emory in
1845; Dr. Jesse T. Peck in 1848; Dr. Charles Collins
in 1852; Dr. Herman M. Johnson in 1860; Dr. Robert
L. Dashiell in 1868; Dr. James A. McCauley in 1872.
Dr. McCauley served a longer term than any of his
predecessors.

MEMOIR.

109

CHAPTER VIII.
Travels in Europe and the East.

AFTER filling the presidency of Dickinson College for
about eight years Dr. Durbin indulged the wish
that he had long cherished, to go abroad. The period
of his service in Dickinson had been marked by care
and labor that no one not familiar with the facts can
adequately judge. His attractions as a preacher caused
him to be sought on great occasions and in every
direction. The sermons that he then preached were a
heavy tax upon his nervous system; while to increase the
financial resources of the college, to extend its patron-
age, and to secure the most exalted reputation to the
institution were his perpetual ambition and effort. His
vacations could hardly be called seasons of rest. Then,
as at other times, he was devising means and executing
plans to accomplish the high purpose of the Church in
this, one of her first colleges. No power that he pos-
sessed, no time that he could command, was withheld
from this service.

For years he suffered from his throat in such a way
as to demand daily attention. A desire of relaxation
was both natural and proper. But, apart from the
need of rest and recuperation, he had a wish to increase
his knowledge through the observation and intercourse
of foreign travel. As a tourist he went not merely
for pleasure and health, but for intellectual profit.
And in this, as in other matters in which he engaged,
he applied himself to the end he sought. He was as

1 10

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

really the student abroad as at home ; the difference
was in the direction of his faculties. The customs,
civilizations, governments, systems of education and re-
ligion, the fine arts, sciences, the spirit, the manners of
the people where he traveled, all entered into his calcu-
lations when he went abroad. Alexander was accus-
tomed to say, " He had discovered more with his eyes
than other kings comprehended in their thoughts."
Thus he spoke of his travels. Lord Bacon remarks :
" When a traveler returneth home, let him not leave
the countries where he has traveled altogether behind
him."

In 1844 Dr. Durbin published his Observations in
Europe, principally in France and Great Britain (2 vols.
1*2 mo). Shortly after this he gave to the press his Ob-
servations in the East, in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and
Asia Minor (2 vols., 12mo). The Harper Brothers
were his publishers.

No fitter title could have been chosen for these
works. They were emphatically and pre-eminently
"observations" on what he saw, on what he studied,
and on what impressed him. They are the " observa-
tions " of a man of fine culture and in mature life; of
one who in every place was accustomed to observe.
They are also the " observations " of a man of calmness,
candor, and sagacity; of a tourist who takes nothing on
trust where his opportunity and capability enable him
to judge for himself; one who will dare to differ from
any supposed authority when his own investigation
leads to an adverse conclusion.

Such are the works of travels that an inquiring mind
should seek. It will be found that, while in these vol-
umes much is brought before the reader that others
have presented, it is sometimes in aspects and with
reasonings that give him a claim to special attention.

MEMOIR.

Ill

In these works there is an excellence of style, a fasci-
nation of narration, a philosophic breadth and vigor
of statement that commend them to the inquiring and
intelligent reader.

On leaving the country Dr. Durbin writes: "At two
o'clock on the afternoon of April 27, 1842, we cast off
the cables of our steam-tug in the Narrows and spread
all our canvas to a stiff breeze. In a few hours our
noble ship. Ville de Lyon, was plunging her bows into
the waves looking directly toward beautiful France.
The city of New York had vanished in the distance;
the Highlands of Navesink disappeared with the set-
ting sun ; and at this last glimpse of my country I
awoke to the assurance that I was about to accomplish
my ardent and long cherished desire of visiting the
Old World, whose history had inspired my young
heart with a restless longing to behold the scenes of
so many great achievements.

" We sat down to our first dinner at sea full of life
and gayety. I need not tell the reader what a change
came over the spirit of our company when our gallant
vessel began to mount the waves and descend from their
crests into depths from which the inexperienced pas-
senger felt an involuntary apprehension she could never
rise again. Laughing eyes became mournful enough,
and jolly faces were lengthened into dolorous visages
as one by one my companions sought the sides of the
ship and looked wistfully into the sea. Inexorable
Neptune demanded his accustomed tribute. One of
my young friends obeyed at one gangway, while Pro-
fessor L answered at the other. My time came

late, but alas ! when once arrived it never departed.
I shall never make a snilor. There was a little coterie
of Frenchmen and women aboard whose mercurial tem-
perament was proof against seasickness, and expended

] 1-'

JOHN P. DURBLV.

itself in laughing, dancing, and every form of merry-
making. I envied them most heartily."

After this vivid and facetious sketch of some of his
experiences in the voyage he lands at Havre on the 19th
of May. We soon find him in the magnificent cathe-
dral at Rouen, and have his graphic description of its
interior. " Let us enter the gloomy Gothic pile. Our
sensations are indescribable. It is not admiration ; it is
not the religious sentiment, hut a strange astonishment,
not unmingled with awe, yet certainly not akin to rev-
erence. The long ranges of lofty pillars ; the countless
sharp Gothic arches ; the numerous chapels on either
side, adorned with pictures and statuary, frequently
with candles burning before the image of the Virgin
with the infant Jesus in her arms, all seen in a flood of
light poured into the church through more than a hun-
dred windows, whose glass is stained with every shade
of color, from fiery red to the soft tints fading into
white, until nave, and choir, and aisles seem magically
illuminated; the silence that reigns in the vast space,
broken only by the occasional footfall of a priest, in
his long black robe, flitting along the nave, or entering
one of the numerous confessionals followed by a peni-
tent ; with here and there the form of an aged and de-
crepit female kneeling in superstitious reverence before
some favorite image ; all taken together overpower the
eye and the mind of the Protestant traveler unaccus-
tomed to such scenes with strange impressions and op-
pressive feelings; and he retires from his first visit
confused and astonished."

But the aisthetic taste that here shows itself makes not
so strong an appeal to our admiration as the tenderness
of his spirit when respecting the request of a bereaved
heart. He says : " When I was leaving home a wid-
owed friend had requested me to find out the grave of

MEMOIR.

113

her youthful husband, who died a stranger in Paris,
and bring her back a rose, a flower, or a spire of grass
from his resting-place. I promised her to do so; and
looked for the English quarter of the cemetery, nat-
urally supposing tiiat I should find the tomb of the
American stranger among those of his fatherland.
Tliere were many noble English names, but none of
historical celebrity, and we passed them rapidly by,
until at last one of my companions cast his eye upon
a group of neat, plain tombs, and saw 'Baltimore,'
'Philadelphia,' ' New Jersey.' Here I soon found the
tomb for which I had been in search, by the inscrip-
tion, ' W W. M , counselor and advocate at the

bar of New Jersey in the United States of America,
died in Paris, July 24, 1825, aged twenty-nine years.'
A vigorous maple is springing at the head of the tomb
and will completely overshadow it. I plucked some
tender leaves and spires of grass (no rose or flower was
there) to convey to his widow and orphans at home;
wreathed round tlie urn with ray own hands a rich
green garland from the boughs which shaded it ; went
on my way with sadness and returned from this city of
the dead to the busy abodes of the living within the
walls of Paris." What could better show the man of
sensibility ? lie offers remarks also on the battle of
Waterloo so minute, comprehensive and forcible as to
suggest a war critic. He noticed the facts of Method-
ism in England and Ireland; and his descriptions show
that he felt the disabilities under which it then labored.

Geneva was to him full of interest and suggestion.
He dwells upon its history in a "religious point of
view," and deplores the moral decline that it had long
shown, but extols the work of Mr. Robert Haldane
about the year 1S1G, when he invited a number of
students of the theological seminary to meet him at his
9

114

JOUX r. DCRBIX.

rooms in the hotel. . . . "About a dozen of the young
men were awakened, enlightened, and turned to God
with all their hearts. Among these were Dr. Malan,
Felix-Neff, Mr. Henry Pyt, and Dr. Merle d'Aubigne.
This was the commencement of the second Reformation
in Geneva." He says : "It bears some resemblance to
the origin of Methodism in the Church of England, and
lias the same object in view — that is, a revival of piety
and sound doctrine in the State Church of Geneva, among
the Protestants of France, Belgium, and Holland, and a
more general diffusion of vital Protestant Christianity.
Like Mr. Wesley and his associates, these first children
of the second Reformation became children of Provi-
dence, and followed its openings. Part of them formed
themselves into an evangelical society to labor for the
advancement of the kingdom of God,

" 1. By teaching theology, for which purpose they
have instituted a theological seminary at Montauban, in
France. 2. By popular exposition of Scripture, for
which ministers, but particularly traveling evangelists,
are employed. 3. For the distribution of the Script-
ures and of tracts and religious books, either by gift,
loan, or sale. This society was instituted in 1831."

Dr. Durbin was not less an American for his tour in
England. Nor does he fail to charge upon Alison's
History of Europe the injustice done us in his chapter
on our country. But he sees in the true sentiment of
the intelligent in both Europe and our own land that
which justly binds us closely together.

Dr. Durbin as a tourist in the East had much to en-
gage his talent Cor observation and to gratify his taste
as a Bible student. He went as a Christian minister,
and devotion mingled with inquiry. An intelligent
tourist in Palestine on his return to this country said :
" The Holy Land was to him like a fifth gospel." Not

MEMOIR.

115

less did it impart added power to Dr. Durbin. There
were "sermons in stones, and good in every thing."

We may gi\e a short description of his approach to
Alexandria: "On the morning of the 5th ot' January,
as the sun struggled up through the clouds which pressed
down heavily on the sea, the low coast of Egypt showed
its sand swells to the east of the Pharos, or lighthouse
of Alexandria, and in the course of an hour the fort
and indented sand coast became visible to the West.
The sea was exceedingly high, and the pilot-boat h:id
much d fficulty in getting to windward so as to give us
the direction of the narrow channel between the shore
and the breakers which extend westward from the light-
house. But having once got our bearings our gallant
steamer moved into the deep, safe harbor, and touk her
station amid the fleet of merchantmen and Egyptian
ships of war."

We see him at the pyramids. "But what a sight is
that from the top of Cheops ! The world has nothing
like it. To the east is the Arabian desert, boundless
and desolate like a sea ; while westward stretches that
of Libya, without a green spot, far away to the horizon's
verge; in the south appears the valley of the Nile, like
n thread of green earth lying on an ocean of sand, and
the pyramids of Abukir, Sakkara, and Dashur tower-
ing up in succession to the skies. Turning northward
your eye rests upon the widespread Delta in the dis-
tance, and nearer, in the north-east, upon the lone obe-
lisk of Heliopolis. Immediately before you rise the
precipitous heights of Mount Mokkatam, crowned with
the citadel of Cairo, under which lies the ancient city
enveloped in a thin vapor which just suffices to hide
the deformities of the place, while a thousand domes
and minarets of graceful proportions, their gilded cres-
cents glittering in the sunbeams, rise up to complete

116

JOHX P. DURBIX.

the vision of beauty. I turned from gazing on it to
look upon the rocky plain immediately around the pyr-
amid. There, deeply buried in the rock now covered
with sand and rubbish, lie the dead of four thousand
years ago. It is, indeed, a vast necropolis. It seemed
as though I were among the earliest born of men. From
the plains before me had gone forth the elements of
science, art, and wisdom, to Greece, to Europe, to
America. I felt as a child, born after unnumbered gen-
erations, returned to the home of his ancestors, and be-
hold ! it was all desolate."

Not less impressive is his language concerning Sinai.
" It was three miles from our position on Jebel Musa
to the summit of Sufsafeh (Sinai on the map) which
overlooks the plain Er-Rahah. It took us three hours,
with great fatigue and some danger, to reach it. No
one who has not seen them can conceive the ruggedness
of these vast piles of granite rocks, rent into chasms,
rounded into smooth summits, or splintered into count-
less peaks, all in the wildest confusion as they appear to
the eye of an observer from any of the heights. But
when we did arrive at the summit of Es Sufsafeh and
cast our eyes over the wide plain, we were more than
repaid for all our toil. One glance was enough. We
were satisfied that here, and here only, could the won-
drous displays of Sinai have been visible to the assem-
bled host of Israel ; that here the Lord spoke with
Moses; that here was the mount that trembled and
smoked in presence of its manifested Creator! We
gazed for some time in silence, and when we spoke it
was with a reverence that even the most thoughtless of
our company could not shake off. I read on ihe very
spot, with what feelings I need not say, the passage in
Exodus which relates the wonders of which this mount-
ain was the theater. We felt its truth, and could al-

MEMOIR.

117

most see the lightnings and hear the thunders, and the
' trumpet waxing Loud.'

" I had stood upon the Alps in the middle of July and
looked abroad upon their snowy empire. I had stood
upon the Apennines and gazed upon the plains of beau-
tiful Italy. 1 had stood upon the Albanian Mount and
beheld the scene of the ^Eneid from the Circean prom-
ontory, over the Campagna to the Eternal City and the
mountains of Tivoli. I had sat down upon the Pyra-
mids of Egypt, and east my eyes over the sacred city
of Heliopolis, the land of Goshen, the fields of Jewish
bondage, and the ancient Memphis, where Moses and
Aaron, on the part of God and his people, contended
with Pharaoh and his servants, the death of whose
' first-born of man and beast in one night' filled the land
with M ailing ; but I had never set my feet on any spot
from whence was visible so much stern, gloomy grand-
eur, heightened by the silence and solitude that reign
around, but infinitely more by the awful and sacred
associations of the first great revelation in form from
God to man. I felt oppressed with the spirit that
seemed to inhabit the holy place. I shall never sit
down upon the summit of Sinai again, and look upon
the silent and empty plains at its feet ; but I went down
from that mount a better man, determined so to live as to
escape the terrible thunders at the last day, which once
reverberated through these mountains, but have long
since given way to the gospel of peace. I could scarcely
tear myself away from the hallowed summit, and wished
that I too could linger here forty days in converse with
the Lord."

His remarks on the " Reputed Sepulcher " of the
Lord are of high interest. He says: " To visit this spot
had been one of the earliest dreams of my youth. The
impression which a perusal of Chateaubriand at that early

118

JOHN P. D UHBIN.

period made upon my mind followed me through suc-
cessive years. A subsequent reading of the journals of
less ardent and less credulous travelers should perhaps
have corrected these impressions, but they did not ; my
judgment was convinced for the time being, but the
earlier visions of the imagination always triumphed over
the convictions of reason. It remained for the painful
revelations of a personal vi it to the reputed sepulcher,
the monstrous absurdities of an unreasoning tradition,
the frauds and impositions of a corrupted religion,_the
degradation and debasement of credulous pilgrims, the
strifes between contending factions all professing Chris-
tianity, and all unworthy of the name, to banish for-
ever the dreams of my youth, and to correct whatever
tendency to superstition might have existed in my im-
agination." lie discusses the restoration of the Jews to
Palestine, and anticipates its accomplishment. There
is real sublimity in his remarks on the seven Churches
of Asia. " Ephesus affords one of the most striking
instances of the mutability of human affairs, and per-
haps of the fulfillment of divine predictions, that can be
found in history. The wealth in the old pagan times
rivaled, if it did not exceed, that of any of the Grecian
cities of Asia ; in the arts her name was connected
with the renown of Parrhasius and Apelles ; in architect-
ure she far outstripped all her rivals. Her splendid
temple, which required the wealth of Asia collected for
centuries for its creation, was the wonder of the world,
and around its sacred inclosures the Persian, the Lydian,
the Greek, and the Roman in turn bowed as worship-
pers. Nowhere in the world did the old idolatry dis-
play so much pomp and magnificence. Nowhere did it
press into its service with so much success the highest
powers of human art. But it was not only in the
palmy days of paganism that Ephesus was glorious.

MEMOIR.

119

The visits of Paul, the preaching of Apollos, the minis-
try of Timothy, the faith and patience of the first con-
verts to Christianity — these, and a thousand other recol-
lections make the early Christian days of Ephesus glo-
rious in the annals of the Church. And even after the
lessons of Paul and Timothy had been forgotten, and
the 'first love' of the Ephesian Church had waned, the
city was still the seat of Christianity and the chosen
place of assembly for her bishops, her synods, and her
councils.

" But all this glory has departed. ' Unto the angel
of the Church of Ephesus write,' was the message of
Christ by his servant John. 'Remember, therefore,
from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first
works, or else I will come unto thee quickly and will
remove thy candlestick out of his place, unless thou
repent.' It was not long before the candlestick was
removed. For a few centuries the Church of Ephesus
was powerful, but in that period error and superstition
on the part of the people, combined with and fostered
by worldly-mindedness and ambition on the part of
the lordly prelates who sat in the place of Timothy,
Onesimus, and John, prepared the way for its destruction.
The Christian history of Ephesus may be said to have
ended with the sixth century ; since that period it can
hardly be said that the Church has existed there at all ;
and now there is neither angel nor candlestick in the
once flourishing city. From the ruins of her theater,
the scene of noble martyrdoms, from the broken columns
and scattered sculpture of her temples, from the desola-
tion of her once peopled plain and terraced hills, a voice,
audible enough to those who will listen, proclaims,
'He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the Churches.'

"The promise of divine interposition in the hour of

120

JOHN p. dubbin:

temptation is the distinguishing feature in the letter of
Jesus to the Philadelphians ; and wonderfully has it
been fulfilled for the last eighteen hundred years. The
candlestick has never been removed ; the angel of the
Church has always been there. The altar of Jesus has
been often shaken, both by the imperial pagan power
when Philadelphia supplied eleven martyrs as compan-
ions to Polycarp in the flames at Smyrna, and by the
arms of the false prophet when Bajazet and Tamerlane
swept over Asia Minor like an inundation; yet it has
never been overthrown. The crumbling walls of twenty
ruined churches, and the swelling domes and towering
minarets of a dozen mosques, attest the hours of fiery
temptation ; yet three thousand Christian Greeks, and
a half a dozen churches still kept in repair, and still
vocal with praise to Jesus, attest that he has been
faithful to his promise, 'I also will keep thee from the
hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the
world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.' Ephesus
is desolate, and without a Christian temple or altar;
Laodicea is without inhabitants, except the foxes and
jackals that prowl amid her circus and her theaters ;
Sardis is represented by one Turkish and one Greek
hut; a handful of downtrodden Greek Christians wor-
ship in a subterranean chapel at Pergamos; but, in the
language of Gibbon, ' Philadelphia alone has been sa ved
by prophecy or courage. At a distance from the sea,
forgotten by the emperor, encompassed on all sides by
the Turks, s/ie only among the Greek colonies and
churches of Asia is still erect — a column in a scene of
ruins.'" Christianity in the East is considered with
solicitude and faith, as he knows the efforts of mission-
aries doing their appropriate work, and regards them as
the highest hope of the Oriental world.

A beautiful illustration of the vein of sentiment, of

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121

the delicate anrl almost feminine susceptibility which
pervaded Dr. Durbin's character, and appeared in fine
contrast to stronger qualities, is afforded by the neatly-
arranged volume in which he preserved floral mementos
of various points of interest in his extended tour
through Europe and the East in 1842.

Here are roses from the soil over Pompeii, then un-
disturbed by the excavator's pick, and a cluster of
maiden-hair from the fountain of the nymph Egeria.
These leaves are from the lofty galleries of the Coli-
seum, and these from the walks in the gardens of
Cicero. On other pages are suggestive reminders of
the tombs of Luther and Marshal Ney, and palaces of
Frederick the Great at Potsdam, and Mehemet Ali at
Cairo.

As a means of the most definite instruction, Dr. Dur-
bin had a map of the Holy Land prepared which was
used in our Sabbath schools as a help to the study of
the Scripture.

Dr. Durbin had knowledge and grace enough on
leaving his native land to return a wiser and better
man. lie had a broader education, and such verifica-
tion of Scriptural history as prepared him to present
Bible truths with greater realization and effect. Few
men knew so well how to render all that they gain
available to the highest purposes of evangelical instruc-
tion. Not only in books but in the pulpit the results of
his travels won their way to the minds, and became
the means of reaching the hearts of those among whom
he moved, or to whom he ministered. To him knowl-
edge was power. His intellectual store had no dead
stock. What he had was usable, and he used it.

122

JOHN P. DURBIX.

CHAPTER IX.
The General Conference of 1344.

DR. DURBIN led the delegation of the Philadelphia
Conierence in the memorable General Confer-
ence of 1844. No fact of his history is more worthy
of notice and commendation than his heroic conduct
in that great crisis. The marriage of Bishop J. O.
Andrew to a lady in the South owning slaves had
precipitated upon the Church a difficulty that it had
not anticipated, as it could not allow slave-holding
in the episcopacy. For successive weeks this was
tlie burning question of the body. The strongest min-
isters delivered their greatest speeches in the debate.
The writer was present when Bishop Soule gave such
expression to the proposed action as showed his desire,
lie charged them to " beware what they did," adding,
"the civilian, the jurist, will examine your action and
judge you by this book," holding the Discipline of the
Church in his hand. He then asked, "Where do you
find authority in this book to depose Bishop Andrew, or
to do what is proposed ? " It was all the South could
ask : it was enough for the Church to deplore. Bishop
Soule, though originally of the North, had performed
less of his episcopal labors there than in the South. He
was a preacher of great ability and was remarkable for
personal dignity. When Robert Newton, as delegate
from the Wesleyan body, attended the General Confer-
ence in Baltimore in 1840, and delivered Ins farewell
words, he expressed the wish that we would send Bishop
Soule to England as fraternal delegate.

MEMOIR.

123

The General Conference appointed him, and lie selected
tlie late Dr. T. B. Sargent as his traveling- companion.
In 1842 Bishop Soule went to England in this official
character. His preaching received great commendation.
In person and manners he was compared to the Duke
of Wellington, lie was the first Bishop sent in this
relation. Tlie high honor rendered him at home and
abroad would naturally add to the influence of his
office and give weight to his deliverances.

It is iinpossihle to tell the strength or weakness of a
nation till some great crisis reveals its resources in
men and means, or what it lacks in one or both of these.
Let war rise, and patriotism speaks as never before;
military prowess displays itself ; diplomacy achieves its
grand results; and coffers yield a wealth never sus-
pected. Others now see, admire, and commend. Great-
ness is confessed. If wanting in those things that give
distinction the conflict stamps the cause with weakness.

Thus it is in a deliberative body. It is never fully
known what talent is in it till some subject or occasion
makes an appeal that rouses thought, quickens intellect,
and taxes the forces at command.

This statement has its illustration in the contrast be-
tween two General Conferences, the one in Brooklyn,
in 1872, the other in New York, in 1888. In Brooklyn
there was next to no discussion. Yet in that assembly
were some of the strongest laymen and ablest ministers
of the Church. There was nothing to call them out,
and they were not soldiers on parade. In New York
city there probably was not, in proportion to numbers,
more talent than had been in Brooklyn, but there was
a vast difference in the evidence furnished. At the
very beginning the question of the eligibility of "wo-
men as lay delegates," became the absorbing theme.
Scores, not to say hundreds, were anxious to "show

124

JOHN P. DUniiLV.

their reason." For five consecutive days there seemed
no abatement of interest or decline of eloquence. The
warmth was maintained, and hardly a spark of the fire
was quenched till the vote decided it in the negative.

The size of the "Metropolitan Opera House," where
they met, and the difficulty of being heard by the chair,
induced almost a scream by those eager to obtain the
floor. This added to the seeming earnestness, that
might half exhaust a speaker before he began his
address.

From first to last it was an exciting scene. At no
General Conference were there ever so many questions
as to rules of order raised — so many of equal breadth,
diversity, and novel aspect — so many of privilege.
Never were questions submitted to the chair answered
with greater promptness and precision, and all this
when hands were shooting up all over the house like
the bayonets of an army.

But, able and eloquent as were the debates of 1888,
greater talent never showed itself in any General Con-
ference than was called out in 1844. The most tremen-
dous issues were trembling in the scale. The fact faced
the speakers. Every mind was awake ; every nerve was
tense. And there was no heart not ready to pour out
its fullness. The coloring of the thought was of the
graver hue. There was some sharpness, but great depth
of feeling. For twenty days the cloud hung upon the
horizon. Day after day but deepened the gloom and
intensified the sadness that fear awoke. In ability of
speech the South was not behind the North. Dr.
Channing once said of it, " Here eloquence is most at
h >me, as seen in Marshall, Madison, Patrick Henry, and
John Randolph."

As an orator Henry B. Bascom had a national fame.
Though not accustomed to discussing questions on the

MEMOIR.

125

floor, he was a brilliant' and powerful writer. Ho was
therefore selected by the Southern delegates to ] pare
the "Protest" against the action of the majority of
the Conference. In 1828 Dr. William Capers, of South
Carolina, was appointed the representative of the .<Icth-
odist Episcopal Church to the British Wesleyan Con-
ference, where his eloquence won him high honor. In
1844 he still had a smooth voice, a fine address, and was
distinguished for a steady flow of language and for sil-
very eloquence. Such was his reputation in the South
that he was invited to be the successor of Dr. Henry
Kollock, of the Presbyterian church in Savannah, where
the salary was $4,500; supposed to be the highest at that
time in the country. Dr. Kollock was one of the finest
preachers in the American pulpit. Dr. Capers was
deemed worthy to follow him. Hut he was strongest
i» debate.

Dr. Lovick Pierce was a princely man. He made no
set speech on the case of Bishop Andrew, but was un-
J ieldinu" in his support. His son, George F., late Bishop
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was a bold
ami brilliant speaker. As his father was by some con-
sidered our best preacher in the South, so the son was
deemed by many its greatest orator on the platform.
Though one of the youngest members of the General
Conference, he indulged in the most defiant utterances.

William Winans ranked among the ablest preachers
and most skillful debaters of the South. He had mental
gins]) and tenacity of purpose. In person he was tall,
slender, and almost haggard. But that casket con-
tained a precious jewel. He had a strong voice, and
his temperament and determination forbade its re-
straint in this discussion. He did not obey Bishop
Soule in using " soft words ; " but he did his best to
give " hard arguments," as the Bishop had suggested.

126

JOHN P. DURBIN.

Dr. William A. Smith was a frequent and fluent
speaker. To him the floor had no terrors. He had a
quickness and aptness in discussion and repartee that
showed him to advantage ; hut he sometimes did more
with an off-hand shot than by deliberate aim.

A. L. P. Green was remarkable for his colloquial
style, easy address, and, as a preacher, for his natural-
ness and magnetism.

Rev. B. M. Drake was in an agony of apprehension
for results that he was anxious to avert. In the esti-
mate of judges no man from the South was his superior
in polish and moral beauty.

The Rev. A. B. Longstreet, usually addressed as
" Judge," enjoyed the highest confidence. He well
knew the power of language, and his words lacked
neither vigor nor sharpness.

The Rev. Dr. John Early, afterward Bishop in the
Church South, was a strong character. There was a
show of hauteur in his manners. His speeches were
brief and his utterances oracular. He had the skill of
a leader, and he swayed men.

Dr. Robert Paine, afterward one of the Bishops of the
Southern Church, was deliberate, firm, and influential.
He was modest, quiet, and well poised. Men looked to
him for safety. These were men to be weighed, as
well as counted. Others there were that we would
gladly name.

From the North came George Pickering, after Jesse
Lee the most honored pioneer of Methodism in New
England. Stephen Olin, an intellectual and moral
colossus. Nathan Bangs, the historian of the Church.
George Peck, one of the most honored ministers of his
day; he was calm, clear, and strong. James Porter, a
man of conviction and prompt action.

Jesse T. Peck, though one of the young members,

MEMOIR.

127

never more distinguished himself than in his reply to
George F. Pierce, who in his flaming speech had said,
"Let New England go." Peck was full of force and
fire, but took care of his lo»ic and rhetoric. When he
closed .Mr. Pierce rose and, witli amiability and wit,
acknowledged he might owe an apology for his unfortu-
nate expression about " New England," but added, " if
my speecli has shocked the nerves of Brother Peck, my
explanation will not ruffle a hair upon the crown of his
head." This was a stroke that gravity could not resist,
and there was a burst of laughter. Then, as in later
life, the "crown of his head" was as destitute of
hair, and about as round and bright, us a new silver
dollar.

From the West came Peter Akers, the erudite, the
far-seeing, and the weighty. Charles Elliott, in patris-
tic lore the scholar of the Church. James B. Finley,
whose age, ability, and influence suggested him as the
proper person to offer a resolution in Bishop Andrew's
case. Though much younger in years the character and
position of J. M. Trimble made him a worthy seconder
of the motion. He still lives, as one of the few survivors
of that General Conference. Peter Cartwright, whose
eccentricities and style diverted thought, was also dis-
tinguished for hard sense. Thence also came E. R.
Ames, Edward Thomson, L. L. Hamline, and Matthew
Simpson. For astuteness, logical force, rhetorical
beauty, sublimity of thought and pathetic eloquence,
these were men that cannot die while history lives.
They were all exalted to the episcopate.

The border Conferences sent men that would be dis-
tinguished in any body. Baltimore gave Alfred
Griffith and John Davis. The one was the seconder
of the resolution that the other offered. These were
mentally stalwart men. From the same Conference,

128

JOHN P. DURBIN.

more uniformly prominent in debate, came John A. Col-
lins, the parliamentarian and orator.

To name no more from the Philadelphia Conference,
in the midst of that assemblage of the mighty men of
the Church stood John Price Durbin. The North, the
West, and the border Conferences, as well as the South,
were honored in their delegates, who were not more
distinguished by their talents than by their devotion.
It was a tremendous conflict. It was like a battle
among the gods of mythology.

Bishop Soule took what he called a favorable mo-
ment to offer to the Conference a few remarks . . .
before final action ... on the subject pending before
the Conference. His remarks were neither few nor
feeble. They were multiplied and vigorous. Dr. Dur-
biu rose to reply, and expressed the embarrassment of
the hour, but stood in the serene dignity of conscious
right. His mien was modest, but his courage was com-
mensurate with his convictions, and no dignity of
office or weight of character on the part of an oppo-
nent deterred him from duty. He was a native of
Kentucky, and was in a position to judge both of the
North and the South, being from a Conference that
contained slave-holding territory. He was president of
a college that thence derived much of its patronage.
Four out of the six delegates of the Conference that
he represented were with the South. He and the late
Bishop Scott stood alone. It was a "border Confer-
ence," the whole of the State of Delaware, the east-
ern shore of Maryland and of Virginia being included
within its bounds. No harder battles were fought in
the division of t he Church than on that ground. But he
was intent on his purpose. Though one of the most pru-
dent men he squarely met the issue with Bishop Soule.
He knew the trouble of the Church in the secession of

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129

1828. ITe was in its midst, saw its influence, felt its
power, and deplored its results. It was like the iron
going afresh into his soul. He said :

The first remark that I have to offer is in regard
to a statement of Judge Longstreet, that in the
early Church the aggression of popery had always been
resisted by "a pure and steadfast minority." What was
the application of this remark ? Did the brother mean
to say that the action of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in regard to slavery in any way resembled the
growth of popery ? Or did he mean to say in this age
of the world and in this country that the interests of
society, whether civil or religious, are safer in the
hinds of the minority than of the majority? Sir, the
voice of history does not say so. The institutions of
our country do not say so. The brother will not go
befoiv the world and say so.

The brother has also stated very broadly that the
legislation of the Methodist Episcopal Church on the
subject of slavery has always done harm ! So, then,
the objection is not so much against our action in this
case as against the uniform action of Methodism on
the general subject. Sir, I wish I could go before the
world and to the bar of God witli as clear a conscience
and as firm a trust in regard to every other part of our
legislation as in regard to our action on slavery. But
we are told, again and again, that we are called here to
judge of the laws of sovereign States; that in the case
of Harding, and in every similar case, we must be
jti Iges of law— a business with which we have nothing
to d i. Nay, more, sir; we are told that in the vote on
Harding's case this l>ody not only acted above the law
of the land, but above the law of Methodism — that we
voted to sustain not the Discipline of the Church, but
simply the u.Kirfe of the Baltimore Conference. I have
heard this repeatedly on this floor, and have seen it
repeatedly in print, and fear that the public mind has
really been misled by these statements so confidently
reiterated. But, sir, I deny the whole statement. It
is utterly groundless. It is unjust, both with regard to
10

130

JOHN P. DURBIX.

the Baltimore Conference and this General Conference.
The sole question we had to judge of in Harding's case
was, whether it was practicable for him to eraan< ipate
his slaves. We found, sir, that it was practicable. It
is to-day practicable. On that ground, and on that
ground only, in full conformity with the provisions of
the Discipline, we voted against the motion to reverse
the decision of the Baltimore Conference. We could
not do otherwise, sir, with the Discipline in our hands.
I did not vote, nor, I believe, did my brethren in the
majority, to sustain the usage of the Baltimore Confer-
ence, but to sustain the laws of Methodism.

We of the North have been repeatedly taunted on
this floor with our differences of opinion on the subject
of slavery. Sir, whatever other differences of opinion
there may be among us, on one point there is none.
Our minds and hearts and feelings are all united on this
one point at least — that the episcopacy of the Methodist
Episcopal Church ought not to he trammeled with slav-
ery. On this point, sir, our minds are as the mind of one
man, and the brethren of the South will find it so. Nor
is this any sudden purpose. It is the ground we have
always held, and we shall be found standing up for it,
shoulder to shoulder, to the end of the battle. We
have also been told, sir, that the early Methodists, in
their protest against slavery, went further than Christ
and his apostles had done. Nay, sir, we have had
arguments to-day drawn from the Bible to sustain
slavery. What do brethren mean, sir? Ts it their
intention to plead the word of God in defense of slav-
ery ? Do they really believe with the brother from
South Carolina, who spoke this morning, that the sys-
tem of slavery is to find its authority in the Decalogue,
written by God's own hand ? Sir, they cannot mean
this; they will not affirm this. And yet we were gravely
told that because the commandment speaks of the ox
and the ass, and the man-servant and maid-servant in
the same connection, that therefore the right of prop-
erty was assumed on the same ground for the latter as
for the former. As well go a little further and assume
that the wife too was a chattel, according to the intent

MEMOIR.

13]

of the commandment. O, sir, I hope we shall never
be compelled to hear the Bible, the record of God's
truth, the charter of human freedom and human rights,
appealed to in support of American slavery.

We have had some strange statements here in re-
gard to the legislation of the Church on the subject of
slavery. Brethren have tried to make the impression,
to use one of their own figures, that the North has
been putting the screws on the South, and continually
pressing them harder, until at last the compression can
be endured no longer. Sir, the facts in the case are
just the reverse of all this. The liistory of the Church
shows this point indisputably : that the highest ground
that has ever been held upon the subject was taken at
the very organization of the Church, and that conces-
sions have been made by the Church continually, from
that time to this, in view of the necessities of the
South; that, while the antislavery principle has never
been abandoned, our rules have been made less and
less stringent, and our language less and less severe,
because experience has shown it to be absolutely neces-
sary for the welfare of the Church in the South; and
these concessions have been made, too, while the power
of the Church has been continually passing from the
slave-holding to the non-slave-holding States. I trust
brethren will bear this in mind. Without laying
stress upon Mr. Wesley's denunciations of slavery, what
was the declaration of the Church in 1780 ? " We pass
our disapprobation on all our friends who keep slaves,
and ailvise their freedom." The language of 1784,
when the Church was organized, watt equally bold. All
private members were required to emancipate their
slaves in those States where the laws allowed of manu-
mission. The action taken was too strong, sir, and in
six months it was suspended — in accordance with the
genius of Methodism, which does not all the good she
would, but all she can. The Church then made a con-
cession to the South on the score of necessity. Even
the language' of the question on slavery was mitigated.
In 1796 it was, "What regulations shall be made for
the extirpation of the crying evil of African slavery?"

132

JOHN P. DURBIN.

In 1S04 it was, " What shall he done for the extir-
pation of the evil of slavery?" In 1808 all that
relates to slave-holding among private members was
stricken out, ami no rule on the subject has ex-
isted since. I might advert to other points to show
the truth of my position, that the Church has grad-
ually made concessions to the necessities of slave-hold-
ing States until our brethren from the Soutli say they
stand firmly on the ground of Discipline. But I for-
bear; it will not be denied by any who are conversant
with the history of the Church. Is it necessary to make
still another concession, and allow slavery to connect
itself with our episcopacy ?

Now, sir, I do not mean to say that these conces-
sions ought not to have been made. Our fathers wisely
made them on the ground of necessity. The Methodist
Church could not have existed at all in the South
without them. This should be a rebuke to our abo-
lition brethren every-where who would urge this ques-
tion to extremities. I take my stand on the conserva-
tive ground of the Discipline, as far from extreme
opinions in the North as in the South. I have no sym-
pathy with either. I would not, dare not, urge on our
Southern brethren to a position where they cannot
stand. The Discipline has placed the Church in the
proper relation to slavery in the South. She does not
propose to distrust the relations of our Southern
brethren on the question of slavery in the South, but
to leave them free to contend with the evil in the best
manner they can under the laws of their several States.
But while I stand up firmly for their rights and priv-
ileges, and shall he ever ready to lend what weight I can
to protect them if assaulted, I must beg our brethren
of the South not to turn the question of slavery upon
the North in connection with our general superintend-
ency. This is the real question : Shall slavery be con-
nected with our episcopacy, which is common to all
parts of our Church, the North as well as the South,
and thus cause the Church to give her example in favor
of the " great evil of slavery " in a form which will be
pleaded as decisive of her judgment in the general

MEMOIR.

L33

question, and in those parts of the country where no
necessity exists for such a declaration, and where it
will fearfully agitate our societies ? There is no neces-
sity in the South for any one of our Bishops to hold
slaves in order to do his work there. This is admitted
on all hands, while it is as readily admitted, even by
the South, that there are many Conferences "in which
his connection with slavery would render his services
unacceptable."

I come now, sir, with as much delicacy as possible,
to examine the question of the power of the General
Conference over the Bishops. It has been maintained
here, sir, that the General Conference has no power to
remove a Bishop or to suspend the exercise of his func-
tions unless by impeachment and trial in regular form,
for some offense regularly charged. If this be true,
sir, I have greatly misunderstood the nature of our
episcopacy. From whence is its power derived ? Do
we place it upon the ground of divine right? Surely
not, sir ; you do not plead any such doctrine. Whence,
then, is it derived? Solely, sir, from the suffrages of
the General Conference. There, and there only, is the
source of episcopal power in our Church. And the same
power that conferred the authority can remove it, if
they see it necessary. Nor is this a new doctrine, sir.
The Minutes of 1785 declare that at the organization of
the Church " the episcopal office was made elective, and
the elected Superintendent or Bishop amenable to the
body of ministers and preachers." The Notes to the
Discipline assert that the Bishops are ' perfectly subject
to the General Conference ; their power, their useful-
ness, themselves, are entirely at the mercy ' of that
body. Again, sir, I bring you the authority of a wit-
ness sanctioned by the Conference of 1792 and by
Bishop Asbury, and whose doctrine on this subject is
indorsed by our late beloved Bishop Emory. I do not
mention those venerated names for the mere purpose
of awaking the feelings of brethren.

I would not call the sleeping dead from their hon-
ored graves, as some have done on this floor. No, sir;
they are escaped from all our strifes and warfare. Let

134

JOHN P. DURBIX.

them rest, sir; let them rest. They never saw the Meth-
odist Church threatened with so fearful a storm as that
which now hangs over us. I know not what they would
say or do were they with us now. But hear my wit-
ness : Rev. John Dickins, the most intimate friend of
Bishop Asbuiy, in a pamphlet published in 1792, as
already stated, with the sanction of the General Con-
ference, thus answered a question put by Mr. Hammett
in reference to this very point: " Now, who ever said
the superiority of the Bishops was by virtue of a sepa-
rate ordination ? If this gave them their superiority
how came they to be removable by the Conference ?
We all know Mr. Asbuiy derived his official power from
the Conference, and, therefore, his office is at their dis-
posal." "Mr. Asbuiy was thus chosen by the Confer-
ence, both before and after he was ordained a Bishop;
and he is still considered as the person of their choice
by being responsible to the Conference, who have power
to remove him and to fill his place with another, if they
see it necessary. And as he is liable every year to be
removed he may be considered their annual choice."
Bishop Emory states that this may be considered as
expressing the views of " Bishop Asbury in relation to
the true original character of Methodist episcopacy,"
and gives it the sanction of his own authority by quot-
ing and using it in the twelfth section of the Defense,
of Our Fathers.

I have thus, sir, expressed, and I trust maintained,
my views of the authority of the General Conference in
regard to the episcopal office. I am sorry, sir, that this
opinion differs somewhat from your own (if I may be
permitted to address you personally), knowing, as I do,
that my judgment, thrown into the opposite scale to
yours, is hut a feather against a thousand pounds'
weight. Still, sir, I must hold my opinion.

A few words now in regard to the application of
this power in the present instance. The action that is
proposed to be taken in the case of Bishop Andrew is
contained in the substitute now before us. We are told
that it is in fact a proposition to depose Bishop Andrew.
Sir, we do not so regard it. The venerable man who

MEMOIR.

1 35

moved it does not so regard it. I am sure he does not.
I know him well ; he has called rae "John," sir, from
my boyhood, and on the day when he offered this sub-
stitute he called to me across the pews, " John, explain
this tor me." Understanding his views of the substitute
I now piopose to explain it, having the opportunity of
doing so for the first time. It reads:

" Whereas, The Discipline of our Church forbids
the doing of any thing calculated to destroy our itin-
erant general superintendency ; and whereas, Bishop An-
drew has become connected with slavery by marriage
and otherwise, and this act having drawn after it cir-
cumstances which, in the estimation of the General
Conference, will greatly embarrass the exercise of his
office as general superintendent, if not in some places
entirely prevent it; therefore,

" liesoloed, That it is the sense of this General
Conference that he desist from the exercise of his office
so long as this impediment remains."

Now, sir, this action is not contemplated without
cause. The preamble states the ground of the action
clearly and distinctly in a statement of undisputed and
indisputable facts. And what does the resolution pro-
pose? Expulsion? No, sir. Deposition? No. If I
am pressed to a decision of this case in its present form
I shall vote for that substitute, and so will many others;
but if, after we have voted for it, any man should come
and tell us personally that we have voted to depose
Bishop Andrew, we should consider it a personal — shall
I say insult, sir? The substitute proposes only to ex-
press the sense of this Conference in regard to a mat-
ter which it cannot, in duty and conscience, pass by
without suitable expression ; anil, having made the
solemn expression, it leaves Bishop Andrew to act as
his sense of duty shall dictate. Will any of the breth-
ren on the other side of the house tell us that if such is
our deliberate sense, and we deem it our duty to the
Church to say so, we ought to suppress it ? One
brother answers, " Yes." I will not take that brother's
answer for the answer of the South. There is too
much magnanimity among the brethren of that region

136

JOHN P. DURBIX.

of chivalry to allow of such an answer from them. In
passing this substitute — if we do pass it — we make a
clear declaration against the connection of slavery with
our episcopacy, a declaration which we cannot avoid
making if we would, and ought not if we could ; a
declaration, sir, which the world will approve. I will
take the excellent advice which you gave us this morn-
ing, sir, and not appeal to the passions of this Confer-
ence, nor to the audience in the gallery; hut if an ap-
peal must be made, sir, to any tribunal out of this body,
we are willing to abide by the verdict of the world, sir,
and by the decision of a far higher tribunal. There,
sir, we shall fear no reversal of our action in this case.

O sir, when we were left to infer this morning,
from the remarks of the Chair, that the passage of this
substitute would affect not only Bishop Andrew, but
perhaps others of our Bishops, I could not but feel that
a momentary cloud gathered before my eyes to dim the
clearness of my vision. The feelings which that remark
excited were not calculated to give greater freedom to
the action of my reason or greater precision to my
judgment. But, strong as were and are those feelings,
they cannot stifle my conscience or darken my under-
standing. I have read in the public reports of the pro-
ceei lings during my absence some things that gave me
great pain. Mention has been made here of proceed-
ings at law — of the possibility of obtaining an " injunc-
tion" upon the Book Concern, and stopping our presses.
I am sorry such words have been uttered here. Per-
haps such an injunction might be issued. I do not
know but a judge or chancellor might be found (though
I do not believe it) wicked enough to rejoice in our dif-
ficulties and exult over our strife. Ah, sir, wicked men
would indeed exult in it! Satan would exult in it.
Perhaps, I say, such an injunction might be obtained;
but what then? You may lay an injunction upon types
and presses and newspapers, but, thank God ! no in-
junction can be laid upon an honest conscience and an
upright mind. The Book Concern ! There is no man
here, I am sure, whose soul is so mean and paltry as to
be influenced by such a motive. Sir, that Book Con-

MEMOIR.

137

cern was burned clown once, and I grieved over its de-
struction ; but gladly would I see it destroyed again
tliis night — gladly would I welcome the first flash of
light that might hurst into that window, even though
in the conflagration buildings, types, presses, paper,
plates, and all, were this night to be destroyed — it' it
could place the Church back where she was only six
months ago.

Before I sit down I desire to call the attention of
the Conference to a proposition made by the brethren
from the South in the Committee of Pacification. The
language of part of that proposition was, "that Bishop
Andrew should not be required to preside in any an-
nual Conference in which his connection with slavery
would render his services unacceptable." Now, sir,
here was a clear admission of the fact that Bishop
Andrew's position did render him unacceptable to
many of the Conferences, and a proposition founded
upon it. Keeping the admission in mind, and recollect-
ing that we are forbidden by the constitution to do
any tiling that shall impair our itinerant general super-
intendence I beg the Conference to look at the bear-
ing of this proposition, and of similar ones that have
been made here from time to time. It is wrong to do
that for one of the Bishops which, if done for all, would
be destructive to the system. Now, sir, suppose that
you should become an Abolitionist, and on that account
you could not go to the South; for the same reasons
precisely a resolution might be brought here to confine
your services to the East. Suppose some similar con-
tingency to continue another Bishop in the North and
another in the West — is not our itinerant general super-
intendency effectually destroyed ? Assuredly it is, and
it seems to me that we cannot take the first step to-
ward such a result without violating the constitution as
it now stands.

I am free to declare that I do not wish to come to a
direct vote on this momentous question. I have looked
long and earnestly for some way to escape. I have
hoped our brethren of the South could agree to say to
this Conference, " Brethren, we have been very unex-

138

JOHN P. DURB1X.

pectedly and unintentionally the occasion, in the person
of our beloved bishop, of bringing the Church into great
danger ; we had not apprehended such a cloud as now
covers our Zion; we have stood up for what we believed
to be our rights and the interests of the Church in the
South ; we have heard you feelingly and plainly declare
the certain danger which threatens you in the North.
The. sacrifice of the peace and unity of the Church is
t'>o costly a sacrifice to be made almost by accident;
postpone all proceedings in this unfortunate case and
we will see that the Church suffer no harm." Such an
announcement as this would come upon tlie Conference
and the Church like a message from heaven; and no
man would ask you how, when, or where you are going
to deal with the case. This Conference and the Church
would trust your word and your religion in the case,
and ask no questions. I will conclude, sir, by saying, a
few days ago Brother Early, from Virginia, threw out
a suggestion at the close of the session — namely, " might
not this matter be referred back to the Church or the
Conferences?" This course was distinctly advised by
yourself, sir, this morning in your address to the Con-
ference. These weighty facts led me to believe that
tlie North would meet the South on the following reso-
lution, which I would willingly offer if I had the least
intimation that our brethren from the South would
meet us on it — namely:

" Resoloert, That the case of Bishop Andrew be refer-
red to the Church, and that the judgment of tlie next
General Conference be deemed and taken to be the
voice of the Church, whether Bishop Andrew shall con-
tinue to exercise his functions as a general superinten-
dent in the Methodist Episcopal Church while he sustains
the relation to slavery as stated in his communication
to the Conference, as reported to the Conference by the
Committee on the Episcopacy. "

In the speech of Dr. Durbin the orator as well as the
logician appeared. No one can tell the energy, the
pathos, and the moral majesty of the man when, drawing
to a close of his weighty address, he exclaimed, "O!

MEMOIR.

139

sir, we were left to infer this morning," etc. As he
spoke of the predicted result of the passage of the
resolution, and of a remark that had been indulged not
calculated to "give greater freedom to the action of his
reason or greater precision to his judgment," yet de-
claring that strong as were those feelings they could
not stifle his convictions or darken his understanding;
and when the apprehension was expressed that an in-
junction might be secured upon the Book Concern — an
event that would cause Satan to exult: yet even the
conflagration that might destroy building, types, presses,
paper, plates, would be a slight matter to him if it
could place the Church back where it was six months
before — with an emotion that imagination may never
reproduce he showed the power of speech when pervaded
by the deepest sympathy, the profoundest conviction,
and the intensest grief.

Afterward, as chairman of the committee consisting
of J. P. Durbin, George Peck, and Charles Elliott, to
reply to the protest from the South by their committee
through Dr. Bascom as chairman, Dr. Durbin declares,
the doctrine advocated in the "Protest " is "novel and
dangerous in the Methodist Church, that such diffi-
culties cannot be corrected unless the person objected
to be personally arraigned under some specific law to
be found in the concise code of the Discipline — doc-
trine not the less dangerous because it is applied where
'objections, unimportant in others might be productive
of the most dangerous consequences.'"

The speech of Dr. Durbin, and the answer to the
" Protest," together with that most powerful and con-
vincing speech of the late Bishop Hamline, have gone
into our history as the most intelligent vindication of
our economy and of the inflexible purpose of the de-
nomination to keep its episcopacy clear from the evil of

140

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

American slavery, though at so great a cost as the divis-
ion of the body.

The Methodist Episcopal Church has passed through
three periods of great perplexity and peril. In 1792,
when James O'Kelly made a schism: in 182S, when the
conflict resulted in the organization of the Methodist
Protestant Church: and in 1844, when the Church di-
vided between North and South. It was our comfort in
1792 to have John Dickins as a power to sustain. It
was our joy that in 1828 Dr. John Emory and Dr.
Thomas E. Bond were equal to her defense. Nor can
the time ever come when the Church will forget the
service rendered her in 1844 by L. L. Hamline and
J. P. Durbin. The difficulty of 1792 was a burning
fever ; the secession of 1828 was a lancinating pain ;
but Bishop Andrew's case in 1844 rent the body and
covered the Church with enervating gloom. But Drs.
Hamline and Durbin then threw around our economy a
breastwork of argument that the heaviest artillery failed
to impair.

That Dr. Durbin, then only forty-four yenrs old,
should have had the position of chairman of the most
important committee of the General Conference, though
the first General Conference of which he ever was a
member, is strong evidence of the confidence reposed in
his wisdom. That he performed his part with such
ability did honor to the choice.

MEMOIR.

141

CHAPTER X.

His Pastorate and Presiding Eldership in
Philadelphia.

IN 1845, having resigned the presidency of Dickinson
College, he returned, after the absence of twenty-five
years, to the pastorate, and was stationed at the Union
Church, Philadelphia. Some believed that for his repu-
tation this was a mistake. He had been in great demand
on special occasions, and these exerted their greatest
power through the commanding influence of his presence
and ministry. His sermons, addresses, and lectures had
made him a peerless preacher. It was thought im-
possible for him to sustain himself with his two ser-
mons every Sabbath. He had said that no man should
be expected to preach more than once a day to the
same congregation. Two such as he preached on extra
occasions no man could deliver. They were often an
hour and a quarter, or possibly an hour and a half, and
even two hours in length, and with a physical expendi-
ture as well as mental tax that would break down the
strongest man. On entering upon this charge he dis-
played the practical wisdom that distinguished him in
every place. It was shown in the disposition of his
time, in the devotion of his talents, and the direction of
his resources to the best results. There was a ready
recognition of all departments of his work, and he ad-
dressed himself to every duty with an interest and
energy that made success inevitable. From the begin-
ning to the end he commanded a congregation that

142

JOHN P. DURBIN.

filled and thronged the church, and his sermons were
regarded as incomparable in excellence and power.

He was a faithful and edifying pastor. As in Cin-
cinnati, so in Philadelphia, he showed the importance
he attached to this duty. Here, where the preacher is
seen in his sympathy, solicitude, and spiritual qualifica-
tions as he can nowhere else appear, he conversed
with the sick, the sorrowing, the tempted, and such as
might be disturbed by questions of conscience, and im-
parted the instruction and cheer that were the highest
commendation of his holy labor. His visits to his
people were neither formal nor perfunctory, and they
secured the end he sought.

The late John Whiteman, Esq., who was a member
of his charge, and one of the most intelligent Method-
ists in Philadelphia, and who from his relation to Dr.
Durbin as trustee of Dickinson College and otherwise
knew him perhaps as well as any man in the city, said
to the writer, we " knew when Dr. Durbin came to our
charge that we were receiving a great preacher, but we
did not know what experience has shown us — that in
him we have also one of the best pastors."

He would have necessary time for his studies, and if
disturbed would appear and stand, and, if no business
was expressed, asked, " Is there any thing I can do for
you ?" If there was no duty in the call there was one
in his study, and he resumed it. To be able to deliver
two sermons to please and profit the people, as well as
to dispose with judgment his material, he cut his ser-
mons down to fifty minutes and divided one day into
two. He retired after the morning sermon just as he
did at night, and took such rest as nature demanded,
that he might come to his work at night with the fresh-
ness of the morning. These sermons were listened to
by many students of the university and medical col-

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143

leges, as well as l>y his own people, with delight and
profit. He delivered special discourses to young men,
and was honored in seeing many of them come into the
Church, of whom quite a number entered the ministry.
An extensive revival followed his preaching, and he
was loved as well as honored.

He was full of work. His character as a preacher
was maintained, while as a student he was constantly
making valuable accessions to the stores of his knowl-
edge. He kept himself up in the literature of the day,
and in all his reading was the thinker and the critic.
He read to judge. It was for assimilation or rejection.
And as " aliment is changed to vital blood," so he was
becoming more and more the man of power. Thirty
years ago the writer said, on the physiologist's theory
that the human body so changes in every seven years
as to present a new one, so Dr. Durhin gained enough
knowledge every seven years to make another great
man. The first seven years of his ministry raised the
uneducated youth to the professor of languages; other
sevens were appropriated with equal judgment. He
could not live without work, and he knew how to do it
with advantage. It was as if, with an ancient philoso-
pher, he made it a practice " to do some difficult thing
every day," or as if his motto was, " no day without its
line," or, still stronger,

" Deem that day lost whose low descending sun,
Stes from thy hand uo worthy service done."

He gave a week-night lecture on " Bible lands."
His tour and studies in the East "furnished necessary
material." These discourses were sought with eager-
ness and heard with delight. The writer has recently
seen a lady in Philadelphia who was drawn to his church
by the interest that these awakened. From her youth

144

JOHN P. DURBIN.

she had not only been a reader but even a student of
the Scriptures. These lectures met her wish. She
was charmed by the richness of the matter, the famil-
iarity of the style, and the directness of the address.
She then attended his Sabbath sermons, and though
of another denomination, believed she owed it to
her highest good to join his Charge, and did so,
and to this day she continues a devoted member
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Wishing to re-
tain as much as possible of the sermons that yielded
her so much profit she took ample notes. These
she retains, and prizes for the memories they re-
vive and as choice treasures of the mind and heart.
To these the writer has been permitted access. They
show the spirit of the man and the care with which he
presented doctrinal, practical and experimental religion.
They have a wide range but a close application. They
instruct, encourage, and exalt. In this Dr. Durbin
showed the pastor after God's own heart. " Repent-
ance," "conversion," "secret seeking after God," "jus-
tification by faith," "death," "the punishment of the
wicked," each had its place.

Scriptural biography was made a powerful means of
enforcing truth. With what skill did he present the
case of Esau ; the sad condition of Balaam ; the lessons
of Lot's wife and the moral grandeur of Christian
heroism in the "death of Stephen." So simple, direct
and impressive were the sermons of Dr. Durbin not-
withstanding his reputation of a great preacher, that
children could understand. The wife of the Rev.
A. H. Ames, D.D., of the Des Moines Conference, when
a child of nine years, on hearing a sermon from Dr.
Durbin on " the harvest is past and the summer is
ended, and we are not saved," says she was so im-
pressed that she felt that she could not delay giviug

MEMOIR.

145

Iior heart to God, and at that early age was con-
verted.

It was no uncommon thing for Dr. Durhin to preach
a series of sermons upon a theme or a history. He had
one on " the life of Christ;" another on " Christ under
the old dispensation," another on the "kingdom of
Christ." With the beatitudes he spent several Sabbaths.
On a week night he delivered a series of lectures on
the epistle to the Hebrews, and dwelt pariieularly on
the " priesthood of Christ."

It clearly appears from the notes how full were his
thoughts of the glory of Christ's character ; of the
grandeur of his dominion ; of the righteousness of his
claim and of the blessings he brought to men. Nor
did he fail to show "the priesthood of Christ," in lan-
guage of assurance, of exaltation, and of divine power.

In the administration of the "Lord's Supper," in the
address he made and in the spirit that pervaded the
service, it is said communion was an occasion of rare
manifestations of grace, and that after the benediction
was pronounced the people would linger as at the gate
of heaven and ready to enter.

Full as Dr. Durhin was of the work of a pastor while
in Philadelphia, he nevertheless cherished a desire to
help young ministers in the study of sacred eloquence.
To this end he formed a class to which he gave the
observation and experience of his life. The writer was
permitted a place with the favored few that formed it,
and he can never forget some of the important lessons
that he strove to impress. To three of these we may
give some notice :

1. As to the length of a sermon.

In a pastoral charge it should not as a rule transcend
forl vdive or fifty minutes. But he supposed a preacher
might say, " I am not through my plan, and some of
11

1*6

JOHN P. DURBIX.

my best matter is yet to come." To this his prompt
reply was : " The people do not know what you have
in store, and can feel no privation from your withhold-
ing it. Keep it lor another occasion, and know the
value of husbanding your material. You have had time
enough to feed them with knowledge. They will
receive it better when they are hungry for the word."
Surfeiting sickens.

2. Take texts that have the Gospel in them.

Here he related his experience as given by the Rev.
Mr. Roberts. He selected the passage, " The trees of
the Lord are full of sap." With some, analogical ser-
mons were popular. Dr. Adam Clarke notices the pos-
sibility of going too far in such efforts. Keech on the
Metaphors is a fruitful source of such discourse, and
it has its use. Bunyan showed its power in " Solomon's
Temple Spiritualized." But young Durbin did not have
a good time. The venerable Solomon Sharp said, in
such cases " the preacher got in the bushes." Well, it
is a very embarrassing position, especially if the bushes
are in the mire. It is worse than a tangle. " The Boy
Preacher " got into " the tree," and though it was one
of the trees of the Lord he did not find it so easy and
expeditious a thing to get down as Zaccheus did. He
talked about " trees," " trees," " trees," till for a time
he would have been glad if he could have just been a
"tree" and no preacher. He talked about "sap,"
"sap," "sap," till he felt too sapient. For such aspi-
ration in preaching Durbin was ready to say,

" I charge thee, fling away ambition."

3. As a general preparation for preaching he urged
storing the memory with the best passages of literature,
whether in poetry or prose. They were to be so at the
command of the preacher that if they came appositely

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147

the memory would throw them off, in the ardor of ex-
temporaneous speech, and so add force to the sermon.
Any one familiar with the "sermons and plans of Joseph
Benson,' one of the best theologians and ablest preachers
in early Wesleyan Methodism, will see what use he
made of the best poets.

Ganganelli, who had given so much time to sermon-
izing, when writing to an abbe in relation to the " Soul
of Christian Eloquence " urges upon him better ac-
quaintance with the " Fathers of the Church." lie
says, "They are like the fertile trees, which ornament
gardens while they enrich them." He compares the
genius of Tertullian to iron, which breaks the hardest
bodies and will not bend; Athanasius to the diamond,
which can neither be deprived of luster nor solidity;
Cyprian to steel, which cuts to the quick; Chrysostom
to gold, whose value is equal to its beauty; . . . Jerome
to brass, which neither dreads swords nor arrows; Am-
brose to silver, which is solid and shining ; Gregory to
a mirror, in which every one sees himself.

The advantage of a judicious use of such resources
may be judged by the high authorities whence they
issue and observation as to the effect.

When his aid was asked by a young minister with
regard to helps in his pursuit of necessary knowledge,
he gave the following " What and How to Study." In
this he expresses his views of what ought to constitute
a young minister's library after completing his Confer-
ence course. He writes:

Philadelphia, July 12, 1847.
Dear Brother: I have not neglected your letter of
June 13. I have been busy and absent, and it requires
some time to give you a judicious answer. Below you
have such books as I suppose would be suitable to be
read in addition to your Conference course. Perhaps

148

JOHN P. DUEBLV.

I., IV., and V. might be read together, then II. and
III., and then VI. and VII. Yon should have an Index
Rerum to insert references, and a commonplace blank-
book in which to copy any sentence or to write any re-
marks of your own as you read; also a blank-hook in
which to insert texts for sermons as they occur in your
reading, and such subordinate divisions under each
head as may occur to you at the time. Thus you will
collect a magazine of material for use in the pulpit. If
you were with me an hour in my own study I could
show you much more readily and clearly how to pro-
ceed. If you are in the city call and see me. It wdl
give pleasure to aid you.

I. Profane History.

1. Tyler's Universal History.

2. Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

3. Hallani's Middle Ages.

4. Russell's Modern En i ope.

II. Church History.

1. Ruter's.

2. Moshoim's.

3. Gieseler's, 3 vols, (very good.)

4. NeanderV.

5. Milman's History of Christianity.

6. Neander's Planting and Training.

III. Theology.

1. Sehruncher's or Stockhousc's Body of Divinity.

2. Dwight's Theology.

3. Storrs's and Flatt's Theology.

4. Knapp's Theology.

IV. Interpretation of the Scriptures.

1. Ernesti on Interpretation.

2. Clarke's Commentary.

3. Benson's Commentary.

4. D'Oyly and Mant's Notes.

5. Lowth and Patrick's Commentary.

V. Helps to Interpretation.

1. Jahn's Hebrew Commonwealth.

2. Jalin s Biblical Arelneology.

VI. Doctrines and Interpretation.

1. Burnet on the Thirty-nine Articles.

2. Pearson on the Creed.

VII. Scripture Geography and Hist/ ry.

1. Robinson and Smith's Palestine.

2. Home's three volumes, late edition.

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149

VIII. Homiletica.

1. Porters Lectures on Homiletics.

2. Preachers' Manual.

3. Claude's Essay on Composition of a Sermon.

IX. Townsend's Bible, arranged chronologically, should he used in
daily reading, with at least two commentaries at hand to consult
when necessary, as well as biblical dictionaries and other books
of relerence.

The desire of Dr. Durbinthat young ministers should
have every facility for their improvement, was clearly
brought out in the days of his editorship, as appears in
various articles from his pen. So far did he <:o, as we
have seen in his editorial of July 18, 18:34, as to advo-
cate a " Theological Seminary."

In all young men lie had a deep interest as the hope
of the country as of the Church. He felt the impor-
tance of impressing them with sound principles of mo-
rality, of broadening their intelligence, and of adding
weight to character by the lessons of wisdom that they
should carefully si ml v.

While pastor in Philadelphia he wrote an introduc-
tion to Burgh's Rules for the Conduct of Life, as a
means of inculcating correct conduct. We quote his
language:

The instructions and rules contained in this unpre-
tending volume are not applicable only or chiefly to
the emergencies which may arise in our affairs, but also
to the ordinary business and relations of life. Success
in these respects depends chiefly on some settled plan,
and a few sound maxims by which Ave are steadily
guide d. President Edwards owed much of his great-
ness to seventy-five rules which he drew up for his
daily conduct; and although they are not so generally
applicable to the ordinary affairs of life as those in this
work, yet I have deemed it proper to present them to
the reader in the form of an appendix.

It is impossihle to ascertain the prominent characters
and instances of extraordinary success in life which

150

JOHN P. DUIiBIN.

have resulted from the sound maxims that Dr. Franklin
published on the margin of his Almanac, under the
sobriquet of "Poor Richard." I happen to know that
the most extensive publishing house in this, or, perhaps,
in any country, was produced by its elder partner
adopting while he was an apprentice, and practicing
steadily afterward, one of the maxims of Poor Richard.

He says, "As the slightest touch will defile a clean
garment, which cannot be cleaned again without a great
deal of trouble, so the conversation of the wicked and
the debauched will in a very short time defile the mind
of an innocent person in a manner that will give him
great trouble to recover his former purity. You may
therefore more safely venture into company with a
person infected with the plague than with a vicious man ;
for the worst consequence of the first is death, but of
the last the hazard of a worse destruction. For vicious
people generally have a peculiar ambition to draw in
the innocent to their party, and many of them are fur-
nished with artifices and allurements but too effectual
for ensnaring."

The advice to those who are just commencing busi-
ness for themselves, particularly with regard to the
strictest integrity and patience, and overtrading and ex-
pensive living, is exceedingly judicious. The methods
recommended in order to penetrate the characters and
motives of those with whom we have to deal are just
and honorable. The following remark is worthy to be
remembered. It will save us a great deal of that trou-
ble which holds out no prospect of profit. "There are
six sorts of people at whose hands you need not expect
much kindness: The sordid and narrow-minded think
of nobody but themselves. The lazy will not take the
trouble to serve you. The busy have not time to think
of you. The overgrown rich man is above minding any
one that needs his assistance. The poor and unhappy
have neither spirit nor ability. The good-natured fool,
however willing, is not capable of serving you."

The rules laid down for conducting the affairs of
courtship and marriage will be read with pleasure and
profit even by those who have already entered prudently

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151

into the marriage relation. The instruction to parents
on the proper management of children, and advice with
respect to aiding their early settlement in life are ex-
cellent. I conclude by expressing my opinion that a
more suitable book could not be placed in the hands of
youth of both sexes, particularly when they are about
to enter into the world and assume at least some of the
important relations in society, and come into contact
not only with liberal and right-minded persons and
favorable opportunities, but also with ill-natured peo-
ple, untoward circumstances, and eager competition in
business.

Again, in the introduction to Edmondson's Short
Ser>nons, he makes an extract as most salutary counsel
to young men.

There is scarcely a condition in life that will not find
a sermon in this volume appropriate to it, in which judi-
cious advice is given to guide the conduct in the case.
The two sermons to young men are an invaluable treas-
ure. They are not so much an appeal to them on the
subject of religion as a manual to direct them in the
affairs of life. I select two passages as specimens of the
matter and manner of the discourses on the various
conditions and duties of life. The first is a word to
young men on going into business ; the second, on their
duties to their parents:

" Many young men have entered on business at the
wrong end, and have made a figure in the world with-
out a sufficient capital to support it ; but their thought-
less extravagance has soon dashed them down to the
lowest degradation. They would be gentlemen at first,
and, before they knew on what ground they stood,
involved themselves in debt, robbed their creditors,
disgraced themselves, and in their folly sunk into
poverty and want. That you may avoid these fatal
rocks, 'let your moderation be known unto all men.'
Be attentive to business ; keep correct accounts ; deal
in good articles; aim at a moderate and fair profit;
be punctual to all your engagements ; be kind to your

152

JOIJX P. DURB1N.

servants; live rather below your income; and resolve
to be fair traders and honest men."

"Have you parents? Let them be dear to you. Re-
member who hath said, 'Honor thy father and thy
mother, that thy days may be long upon the land
which tlie Lord thy God giveth thee.' Obey them in
all things lawful, and if they be poor supply their
wants. They have done more for you than you can do
for them, and the time may come when you may need
the help of your children. Conceal as much as possible
the faults of your parents; bear with their growing
weaknesses and infirmities, and cheer their drooping
spirits. He who is unkind to his parents under any
pretense is unworthy of a place in the Church of God."

But in all this work there was proper care of his pul-
pit duties. No day was so cold and no storm so heavy
as to prevent his preaching sermons that filled the
people with rapture. The same wisdom of conduct
and grace of intercourse that had distinguished him in
college relations marked his intercourse with the
people. His plans were accepted as his ministry was
commended and sought. Having served the Union the
full period he was appointed to Trinity Church in Phila-
delphia. IL re he sustained the same reputation. In the
outer world he was known by his eloquence in the pulpit,
on the platform, and wherever he appeared. Besides the
studies for the improvement and better furnishing of
his own mind lie was in his own house as a professor to
his children, training them in their studies and giving
them the results of his observation and skill. During
his pastorate in the city, amid the pulpits of Albert
Barnes, Dr. S. H. Tyng, Dr. G. W. Bethune, and of Dr.
T. II. Stockton he was an ascendant attraction.
Among such popular lecturers as Judge Conrad, Morton
McMichael, and Joseph R. Chandler he commanded the
most eminent place. His pastorate in Philadelphia did

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153

not impair liis reputation as a man of mental and theo-
logical resources, nor was his eloquence in less repute.

While in this city there was a Sabhath Convention
held in the Musical Fund Hall, then the popular place
for great assemblies. The Convention was to petition
the Legislature for a law in regard to the sanctity of
the Sabbath. It was a large and intelligent body of
laymen and ministers. Among those who spoke was
the late Governor Alexander Cummings, at that time
the editor of the Evening Bulletin. His speech was
prompt, direct, incisive. The ftev. Thomas Brainard,
with his accustomed wit and brilliancy, had delivered
an address with tine effect. Rev. Dr. G. W. Bethune,
at the height of his fame as a pulpit orator, had spoken
with an eloquence transcending any thing the writer
had ever heard from him. He declared that he belonged
to a church whose faith is that Christ's kingdom is not
of this world in the means by which it is advanced, that
her appeal is to God and not to legislators. His atti-
tude, gesture, and manner, suggested George White-
held as no other speaker had ever done. With uplifted
and extended arms he exclaimed, "Christianity has
cost us mountains of wealth, and rivers of blood, and
ages of suffering, but the repose of the saints is in the
Saviour who is strong to deliver; he still walks
in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks and holds
the seven stars in his right hand." The audience was
at fever heat. This was not the time for a like exhibi-
tion, but for all the weight that wisdom gives to words.
Dr. Durbin rose. There was universal stillness. He
was calm, clear, conciliatory and convincing. There
was no passion ; it was all logic. At the close of his
remarks the Rev. Mr. Longmore, of Manayunk, a Pres-
byterian minister lately from Ireland, full of enthusiasm,
said : "I have listened to the last speaker with the

154

JOHN P. BUR BIX.

greatest admiration, as I have thought how forcible are
right words. How valuable is good common sense ! "

At the end of his pastorate at Trinity, having been
in the city four years, he was compelled by the law of
the Church at that time to leave. In this brief period
he had done a work that only eternity will fully disclose.
He had brought many to Methodism who had r.ot
known its character, and made an impression upon our
Church that abides.

He was then appointed presiding elder on the North
Philadelphia District. Though there but one year it is
spoken of as a period of thorough supervision, and as
furnishing a brilliant episode in the history of the dis-
trict. The position was not pleasant to him, but his
great sermons were an untold power. One on the
resurrection, preached at the Attleborough camp-meet-
ing, is still spoken of as overwhelming in its effects.

A short time after his appointment he made an offi-
cial visit to Bristol, Pa., and preached on Sabbath
morning. His congregation was very large. Among
those present was the Rev. S. II. Smith, now and long
a member of the New York East Conference, but at
that time a resident of Burlington, N. J., just across
the Delaware from Bristol. Mr. Smith says he was
accompanied by a very intelligent member of Saint
Mary's Protestant Episcopal Church, Burlington, then
under the rectorship of Bishop Doane.

The preacher conducted the introductory services in
a very quiet manner, and then announced his text, Heb.
iv, 14-16, presenting as his theme the priesthood of
Jesus.

There was nothing particularly impressive in the
first few sentences of his discourse, but soon he uttered
something which seemed slightly paradoxical, which im-
mediately arrested the attention of all hearers. They

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155

soon saw from lucid statements that though at first ap-
parently doubtful it was entirely legitimate to the sub-
ject in hand. From that moment onward to the close
of the sermon he not only held the attention, but evi-
dently enraptured his congregation. The whole scene
of priestly offering and intercession as known to the
Levitical dispensation was so graphically depicted, and
the superiority and effectiveness of Christ's mediatorial
office so powerfully shown, that every one seemed to
see and feel that remission of sins had been clearly
provided for in God's great method of atonement. It
was interesting to watch the effect upon the hearers, as
seen from the close attention given, and expression of
deepest interest upon every face. Mr. Smith says :
"The friend who accompanied me at first seemed disap-
pointed, but soon he became fixed, and then transfixed,
and with the spell of that marvelous sermon upon him
declared, as he mingled with the returning throng, that
it was the greatest religious discourse he ever heard."

While in Philadelphia it was well understood he
had a most tempting offer of a pastorate in the city
from another denomination, when the weightiest argu-
ments were brought to bear to induce his acceptance.
This, too, was at a time when he keenly felt the law that
compelled his removal from the pastorate of the Meth-
odist church after a service of four consecutive years in
the city. Besides, he was filling the presiding elder's
office, which was one that he did not desire.

156

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

CHAPTER XL
The Missionary Secretaryship.

IN 1850, on the failure of the health of Dr. Pitman,
Secretary of the Missionary Society, the Bishops
unanimously called Dr. Durhin to fill the vacancy.

The General Conference of 1852 elected him to this
office, and successive General Conferences continued
him there till 1872, when bodily infirmities induced his
resignation. To this position Dr. Durbin came in his
physical vigor, his mental strength, and in the full
knowledge and discipline of all his powers. His execu-
tive ability, superior judgment of men, as well as his
remarkable eloquence, commended him to the Church as
a most suitable person for this high office. By travel
in foreign lands he had added to his intellectual re-
sources and become familiar with the moral wants of
the world. The place was most congenial to his tastes.
He entered upon his work with the force of conviction
and the inspiration of hope. lie formed his plans,
adopted his policy, and as far as possible reduced every
thing to system. He called to his support competent
men, and exercised a supervision at once general and
minute. His alertness was equal to any exigency.
His oversight often seemed like prescienre. He im-
pressed pastors with the obligation of enlightening and
inspiring our people. For this he urged monthly mis-
sionary concerts for prayer and the diffusion of appro-
priate literature. He insisted that with such zeal and
effort the people would be educated to giving. He

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guarded against spasmodic action as sure to react. He
discouraged collections at the Annual Conferences, ex-
horting the preachers to give with their people, that
their charges might have both the inspiration and
credit of their offerings. He assured the pastors that
he reposed more upon their skill than upon his own
efforts. He organized auxiliary societies and directed
contributions to the proper treasury.

In the public anniversaries he made it a study to put
the greatest amount of matter in the smallest space and
to render it the most vital. The addresses on these oc-
casions were such as gave the broadest views and
the brightest prospect. They increased liberality ami
awoke a higher ambition. Who that was present on
the occasion can ever forget the anniversary at Steinway
Hall, when Bishop Thomson, on his return from abroad,
delivered his mighty address on India? Did we ever
so see the country and its peoples ? Did we ever so see
the learning we have to meet, the logical skill and
powerful prejudice we have to encounter? lie studied
every question of the foreign work in its relation to
country, government, and race. He considered the ob-
stacles and inducements to missionary service. With
the statesman he was the statesman ecclesiastic, wisely
presenting the condition, showing the triumphs, and
securing the protection that the comity of nations
demands. In the monthly meetings of the board of
managers, and in the committees on various mission
fields, he showed his perfect grasp of all detail and
knowledge of the cases to be considered. Himself the
center of intelligence, he threw light on every subject.
His reports to the board were so clear and just as to
allow little discussion, as they carried with them the
force of a logical statement and of an inevitable con-
clusion. In the board were business men and minis-

15S

JOHN P. DURBIN.

ters accustomed to independent thought and expres-
sion; but it was difficult to make an issue with the sec-
retary. He had discernment, foresight, address with-
out cunning ; and if he managed men it was not because
he was a manager. If the world ever saw greater har-
mony than pervaded that hoard, the writer lias not
lived long enough or gone far enough to see it. But
who can tell his service to the Church in his keen dis-
crimination of character, his ready perception of the
qualification of candidates for the diverse fields, the
education demanded, the abilities possessed, the grace
enjoyed, and the subjection to discipline required. His
correspondence with them in the work, his recognition
of their cares, his estimate of their difficulties, his gen-
erous judgment of their mistakes, the sympathy he ex-
pressed in their sorrows, his words of cheer in their suc-
cesses, and his perpetual anxiety to succor and strengthen
them are beyond the power of words, while loyalty to
the interest that he was to guard and direct compelled
a strictness that is the offspring of inflexible integrity.

"With a heart so full of the cause it was natural that
he should wish to visit the missions, that he might bet-
ter understand their needs. The society approved his
proposition. He went and made such observation and
reached such conclusions as were of permanent profit.
He lived, he wrote, he gave addresses, preached ser-
mons, and kindled his own ardors in hearts as cold as
icebergs. Parsimony unlocked its coffers, and mines of
unknown wealth were discovered. Many a saint near-
ing the celestial city remembered in his will the cause
that would "bring many sons unto glory." Churches
felt their dignity increased by the munificence of their
offerings, and the Philadelphia Conference, of which he
was a member, was and continues to be in its collections
the banner Conference.

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159

What character, what church, what Conference could
be cold when he showed the "signs of the times?"
Will the spectacle ever vanish? Will the reasons ever
cease to operate ? Under his administration the " Wom-
an's Foreign Missionary Society " was organized, and
received his sanction and support. When Dr. Durbin
became Missionary Secretary the Methodist Episcopal
Church had but two small foreign missions : one in
South America, one in Liberia; one just being formed
in China. Under him its missions were extended in
China, into India, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Nor-
way, Denmark, and Bulgaria. When he took his place
as secretary the receipts of the society were one hun-
dred thousand dollars per year; but before he retired
they amounted to seven hundred thousand dollars a
year.

In 1866, the centennial year of American Methodism,
appropriations were made on the basis of one million for
the missionary cause. Within the last year a million dol-
lars has been raised. To this sublime work Dr. Durbin
gave twenty-two of the best years of his life. If ever his
unreserved powers were given to an interest they were
to this. When, in 1852, much was said about making
him Bishop, he expressed his conviction that he had a
work of superior claim on his energies, and one that he
preferred.

The following is from the pen of the late Bishop
Wiley when editor of the Ladus1 Repository, January,
1872:

Dr. Durbin cannot be called the father of Method-
ist Missions, for our society had a history of thirty
years before he came to its head; yet in very important
senses he is the creator of the society in its present
form and magnitude, and deserves and will receive
the undying gratitude of the Church as the chief in-

160

JOUX r. DUB BIX.

Btrument in the wonderful development of our mission
ary work during the past score of years.

In 1850, when Dr. Durbin entered the office as sec-
ret ary, the missionary appropriation was $100,000. Of
this sum 823,400 were appropriated to " domestic mis-
sions,'1 $38,300 to " foreign populations in our own coun-
try," $37,300 to "foreign missions." Our only foreign
missions were Africa, China, and South America. The
African Mission was a pet, and received $21,000. South
America took care of itself, the missionary being sup-
ported by American and English residents. The China
Mission was in its infancy, having just secured its loca-
tion at Foochow, and receiving an appropriation of
$7,000. California and Oregon were reckoned, in some
sense, foreign missions, two missionaries having just
been sent to the former and seven operating in Oregon.
The collection for the preceding year was $100,196 09,
being an average of 16y\ per member. From that
time to the present there has been a steady increase in
appropriations and receipts, except a seeming decrease
since 1805 and 1806. The highest point reached in
these appropriations was $1,000,000 for 1866. The
highest point reached in receipts was in the same year,
$671,090 66, being an average of 77 cents per member.

In accepting this post Dr. Durbin knew the care it
would cost, the wisdom that it would require, the la'>or
that must be performed. He could conceive the solici-
tude that the demands of the work and the needs of
the treasury might compel. He knew that to him the
Church would look as inspiration to men, as argument
for increased liberality, as judgment for foreign fields.
He was not unmindful of the wear that would be upon
body and mind. He knew that Conferences would ex-
pect, his presence and ask his knowledge, and individ-
uals might tax his faith and try his patience.

But no knowledge of facts, however weighty and
difficult, kept him from a proper study of his duty and
the acceptance of what the Church imposed.

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161

"When the Rev. Elias Cornelius, D.D., was appointed
Corresponding Secretary of the American Board of
Commissioners for Foreign Missions he said, in writing
to a friend some weeks after his election, " Hitherto I
have felt more like praying tlian either writing or con-
versing. The most I can or dare say at present is, and
that with my eyes turned to Heaven, and death and the
judgment before me, I am trying to ask, 'Lord, what
wilt thou have me to do?' Next I desire to have my
ears open to every thing which is likely to make known
his will. ... I beg you to remember me in your
prayers."'

Thus felt the man of God when contemplating the
duties that his position involved. Dr. Durbin had as
full a realization of his responsibility when he became
the " Corresponding Secretary of the Missionary Society
of the Methodist Episcopal Church." But he loved
the cause, and he welcomed the work when he saw the
" linger of God." lie was converted about the time
that our Missionary Society was organized. In his
early ministry he was permitted to see this work
among the Indians in the West, and it was his delight
to narrate the conversion of John Steward, a colored
man, who had some experience among the Indians in
what was then the far West; of his remarkable solici-
tude for the red men of the forest; of his determina-
tion to go among them and tell them of the Saviour
that he had found ; and how God honored the labors of
this earnest laborer in one of our first mission fields, in
the dayswThen James B. Finley, by his devotion to their
good, was honored by being made a " chief." The cases
of Jason Lee, of Joshua Spaulding, the condition of the
" Flat Head Indians," and of the anxious inquiry about
the work of the Great Spirit — these men and facts had
taken hold of his heart and produced and deepened
12

162

JOHN P. DURBIN.

sympathy. Such also was the case with regard to
Melville JB. Cox and his African work.

He saw the world lying in wickedness. He saw mill-
ions of his race " without God and without hope in
the world." He saw peoples of every color and clime
bowing down to gods of wood and stone. In human
souls he saw no discriminating hues excepting those
that are moral. He knew ihe Gospel would save them.
The Methodist Church had it in its power to send it.
For this it had organized the Missionary Society, and
he believed that what, might not be accomplished by
individuals could be effected by the combined effort of
many. He knew that the voluntary association of good
men for advancing the kingdom of Christ could accom-
plish wonders. He believed that there is no object to
which this power cannot adapt itself, no resources which
it may not ultimately command, and " that a few indi-
viduals, if the public mind be gradually prepared to
favor them, can Jay the foundations of undertakings
which would have baffled the might of those who reared
the Pyramids." Has not this bold statement been jus-
tified in the cause of missions ?

Early in the history of our missionary efrWts as a
Church Rev. Stephen G. Roszel, of the Baltimore Con-
ference, a man of exalted character and of strong faith,
had the holy daring to predict that the day would yet
dawn when his Conference would raise as much as
$1,000 a year ! Let us not be severe on his judgment :
it was a day of small things.

Of John P. Durbin we may say the cause of mis-
sions commanded his confidence, inspired his hero-
ism, and furnished a basis of the highest and holiest
hope.

When the Macedonian cry fell on his ear, " Come over
and help us," his response was, "lama debtor both to

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163

the Greeks ami to the Barbarians, both to the wise and
to the unwise."

His faith saw the sword converted into a plowshare
and the spear into a priming hook ; saw idols going to
the moles and to the bats; saw the " wilderness and
the solitary place " becoming glad, and the desert blos-
soming "as the rose."

Such thoughts, such faith, such appeal, made him
willing, anxious, to give his powers to this department
of the Church's service. Study had trained him, edu-
cation had honored him, the pastorate had roused his
moral as well as intellectual powers : the editorship in
the Church had given him a wide view of the world's
want, and now the missionary cause absorbed him.

Others might be discouraged ; he borrowed faith
from emergency. While others stood still and specu-
lated he went forward and demonstrated. Pressure did
not crush him, for love was mighty in his support. To
him every cloud had its "silver lining," and when the
sun of the hopes of others was going down his rose
full orbed on the moral horizon — the clouds gave way,
and the sun tinged what he touched. The deep silence
or stirring statement of an empty treasury made him
ring out as the battle-cry, "Can ye not discern the signs
of the times ?" Who can tell the value of such a man?
What a spirit did he inspire ! What self-abnegation did
he induce ! What possibilities did he make manifest !

When he resigned his place as Corresponding Secre-
tary of the Missionary Society, the General Conference,
in appreciation of his services and to retain his coun-
sel, elected him Honorary Secretary of the Missionary
Society. Then he, whose life had been so full of labor
and whose labor had been so full of grand results,
withdrew from the active services that had been his
delight.

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JOHN P. DURB1N.

It is reported of Queen Mary, when about to die,
that she said, " If her hody was opened ' Calais' would
be found written on her heart." If mind could so im-
print itself on matter, and the affections show themselves
on human tissues, the examination of the heart of this
great Secretary would show " The Missionary Society
of the Methodist Episcopal Church." The writer has
not been accustomed to think that a human intellect
wears out by use ; but if he has ever been tempted to
this, it is in the case of John P. Durbin.

MEMOIR.

165

CHAPTER XII.

Sermons on Special Occasions.

'O thoughtful person knowing the diverse and

-L' responsible positions which J. P. Durbin filled for
so long a period with so much success can doubt that,
irrespective of his pre-eminence as a speaker, he was a
man of remarkable endowments and skill.

For fifty years the name of J. P. Durbin teas before
the country as a synonym of inimitable eloquence.

Though the writer may not literally reproduce the
great sermons that Dr. Durbin delivered allusion is
allowed to some of those discourses that will never die
in the memory of those who heard them.

We have seen that while Dr. Durbin was pastor in
Philadelphia his themes had adaptation, and that there
were variety and popular power. For these his method
of preparation was uniform. But his sermons on
special occasions, in subject and treatment, respected
the facts before him. For any thing else he seemed
not to have the slightest concern. He would preach
from the same text any number of times or in different
places though near together. The writer heard him
preach at the seat of the Conference in East on, Mary-
land in 1848 from the text : " I have written unto you,
young men, because ye are strong, and the word of
God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked
one." The Sabbath before he preached it in Balti-
more. Easton was just across the Chesapeake Bay.
He was not deterred by the fact that Dr. Bond and

166

JOHN P. DUE BIN.

others from Baltimore had heard it. At the dedica-
tion of the church at Cambridge that week he took " I
have written unto you, young men." There may have
been a score of people at Cambridge that heard him on
both the former occasions. He knew the advantage of
having a sermon fully at his command. Dr. Southey
commended Whitefield in his habit of often preaching
the same subjects, because he could thus learn the points
of power — what to leave off, how to add, or to modify.
Dr. Franklin said he could tell when Whitefield had a
new subject by its lack of maturity. No one could tell
how often Dr. Durbin preached from his chosen themes.
Frequent preaching from the same text was one of the
advantages of our fathers when they traveled circuits
or filled the office of presiding elder. Dr. Durbin once
said in the Preachers' Meeting of Philadelphia, " I am
like the old Roman, I never throw away a sword
while it will cut." If rusty, he rubbed it up.

Balaam.

Among the interesting and impressive biographical
sermons that Dr. Durbin preached while pastor of the
Union was one on Balaam. A friend has told the
writer that when he announced his text "tears were
in his eyes." It' the history of the subject gave him
such pathos at the start we might naturally suppose
the sermon would not be wanting in emotion. It was
not. It was as if the heart of the preacher ached in
the contemplation of such a false character, a man of
such contradictions in himself : a man of such exalted
conceptions of God and such sublime utterances of his
power and grace, of such knowledge as suggested the
true prophet, and yet with a conduct to show how per-
fectly a strong man may be lured by love of lucre ; and
in the face of the most instructive facts in the history

MEMOIR.

1GT

of God's people daring to desire their defeat and rep-
robation, yet uttering language that would indicate di-
vine inspiration ; cherishing desires to die the death of
the righteous, and willing, it' he might be permitted, even
to curse the people of God. When once refused, ag:iin
applying, and after such answer as allowed to his mind
the liberty that he sought, hasting to the house of the
messengers of the king to inform them of the gratify-
ing answer given. Arriving at the place Dr. Durbin
represents Balaam as eagerly rapping at the door, anil,
"suiting the action to the word," with the dramatic
power that he possessed, made three raps upon the
pulpit that sounded as if eterniiy was making its
terrific charges upon the ears of guilt.

We may not now give the moral word-painting of
Dr. Durbin. Word-painting, was it ? Did he not rather
sculpture character? If in ordinary thought he pre-
sented the thing can we wonder that this strange com-
pound of good and evil, of prophecy and profanation,
of orthodox faith and heterodox practice— two men
in one, two natures struggling one against the other,
which Balaam presented — should command his great
power in the delineation of character ? Shall we say
of Balaam

" To hell and heaven equal bent,
While both a devil and a saint ? "

For lucid exhibition, for forcible reasoning, for
analysis of human nature, for profound pathos, for
stirring appeal, for facts to induce moral introspection,
the writer must not be expected to give a just im-
pression.

Naaman.

Dr. Durbin had a sermon of great eloquence upon
Naaman. In this was the best exhibition of the beauty

168

JOHN P. DURBIN.

and force of his familiar style, a power to any one
who understands its use.

Lord Brougham, writing of Bushe, said : "His merit
as a speaker was of the highest order, and his power of
narrative has not perhaps been equaled." He assumes
that the narrative of Livy himself does not surpa:>s
in the great effect of his orator. He names perfect
simplicity, but mingled with elegance ; a lucid arrange-
ment and unbroken connection of all the facts and
constant introduction of the most picturesque expres-
sions, but never as ornaments. These, the great quali-
ties of narrative, accomplish its end and purpose. They
place the story and the scene before the hearer and the
reader as if he had witnessed the reality.

Dr. Durbin's vividness in moral word-painting was
one of the most striking features in the composition of
this sermon. Narrative had large place. Who has
not seen this in Dr. Durbin? Was it not this that gave
such effect to his statements of the claim, condition and
prospects of the missionary cause ? Perhaps there was
no power that Dr. Durbin possessed of which he was so
conscious as this. While commending narrative in
preaching, on one occasion in the Philadelphia Preach-
ers' Meeting, he said: "This ability I owe to my
mother's habit of telling me stories when I was a small
boy. I would lie on the floor as she walked to and fro
drawing out her yarn with a large spinning-wheel, so
common in those days, and she would tell me some
story and fill me with delight, and, looking up from the
floor into her face, I would say, 'Mother, tell me
more.' And more she gave." Dear mother and woman
of God ! how little did she think when spinning yarn
for the clothing of her household and telling stories to
amuse her son that she was imparting a taste for narrative
that would cause him to thrill vast congregations; that

MEMOIR.

169

she was teaching him to weave a net to catch the ear
and win the heart of many a sinner !

In his sermon on Naaman Dr. Durbin showed his
homiletic skill in the use of the facts of Scripture history
and his ability to derive from them, and present to the
congregation, lessons of profoundest wisdom, and to
render practical, in the highest sense, portions of the
word which, though familiar, are rarely seen in their
deep moral significance.

Pride was made odious, and human power unavail-
able to the great necessity of human salvation. The
altar of God on the camp-ground or in the church, the
bread and wine at the Lord's Supper, were seen to have
a claim that had been denied them, even as the Jordan
was a means that Abana and Pharpar could not reach.
Now, in the full swell and sweep of his voice, he would
urge the dying sinner to forget all but his disease and
God's cure, and to believe, after all our reasoning, that
God is wiser than man, and with an earnestness that
only the peril of the sinner justified he urged the spir-
itual lepers to come to the " fountain opened in the
house of David for sin and uncleanness," and so have
a new nature. In the Hebrew maid he sawr the mis-
sionary for Christ. All Christians were to show what
they could do in any sphere where Providence places
them. Thus the sermon was practical in the highest
sense.

Dedication of Trinity.
In the use of choice literature Dr. Durbin did as he
advised others to do. The climax of his sermon at the
dedication of "Trinity," Philadelphia, in 1841, was in a
quotation. The service was on a week-day. It is
doubtful whether we ever had such a congregation as
at this time. Men of all professions were there. Min-
isters of various churches were present in great numbers.

170

JOHN P. DURBW.

When the preacher had so far shown the sins of men
and the word of grace — when the audience had hung on
his words though in profound silence — he gave vent
to the strongest emotion and the most burning passion
in what the writer regarded as familiar language from
Cowper :

" 0 I for a lodge in some vast wilderness,

Some boundless contiguity of shade,

Where rumor of oppression and deceit,

Of unsuccessful or successful war,

Might never reach me more. My ear is pained,

My soul is sick, with every day's report

Of wrong and outrage witli which earth is filled."

It is impossible to tell the power of that passage,
unless it was heard from Durbin's lips and with his im-
pulse and emotion. When he laid his emphasis on " my
ear is pained" we felt disgusted at wickedness. When
he pronounced " wrong and outrage " we knew not how
to meet the enormity. With the first it was as if a
shingle started; when he uttered " outrage " as if the
roof rose. It was as if a stone spoke out of the wall
and a beam out of the timber answered it — as if
material things were shocked at such unexampled sin ;
as if the very temple became vocal with accusations and
filled with revolt, while virtuous Nature sought sanct-
uary from sin in the lodge of "some vast wilderness,"
in "boundless contiguity of shade." Beside the writer
sat Dr. George B. Ide, the brilliant preacher of the First
Baptist Church. He said, as we separated, " parts were
inimitable." We had often heard that poetry quoted,
never before rendered. It was not the quotation ; it
was not the words, but Durbin in them.

Resurrection.
Conception can hardly transcend the influence of his
quotation from Dr. Young when preaching on the

MEMOIR.

171

" Resurrection of Christ." The didactic and expository
had had their place, reasoning had exerted its greatest
power, and for a time logic seemed to predominate in
the discourse ; but when the moment came to be
relieved from severe mental process — when the proof
presented had accomplished its end, the soul took
wings and mounted from the earth and seemed sub-
limed by the subject. The fact made its full appeal ;
some wept, others shouted ; all were absorbed. Then
in the fullness of a triumph never more manifest in any
moral demonstration, he exclaimed :

" And did lie rise?
Hear, 0 ye nations, hear it, O ye dead!
He rose ! he rose ! he burst the bars of death.
Lift up your heads, ye everlasting gates I
And give the King of glory to come in.
Who is the King of glory ? He who left
His throne of glory for the pangs of death.
Lift up your heads, ye everlasting gates !
And give the king of glory to come in.
Who is the King of glory ? He who slew
The ravenous foe that gorged all human race.
The King of glory He, whose glory filled
Heaven with amazement at his love to man,
And with divine complacency beheld
Powers most illumined 'wilder'd in the theme.

The theme, the joy, how then shall man sustain ?

0 the burst gates ! crushed sting 1 demolished throne !

Last gasp of vanquished death ! shout, earth and heaven,

This sum of good to man, whose nature then

Took wing and mounted with him from the tomb.

Then, then I rose! Then first humanity

Triumphant passed the crystal ports of light

(Stupendous guest) and seized eternal youth.

Seized in our name. E'er since 'tis blasphemous

To call man mortal. Mans mortality

Was then transferred to death; aud Heaven's duration

H2

JOHN r. DURBIN.

Unalienably sealed to this frail frame,
This child of dust! Man, all immortal, hail!
Hail! Heaven, all lavish of strange gifts to man,
Thine all the glory, man's the boundless bliss."

No one can wonder that the sermon at the Attle-
borough camp-meeting that contained this passage is
remembered and spoken of as one of such stupendous
power. He had no need to go to others for either
elegance, elevation, or eloquence ; but he did it to sup-
port the grand truths that he presented.

Bascom with Coleridge's Lay Sermon.

The passage that we have heard quoted from Bascom
more than any other is from S. T. Coleridge. Speaking
of Christianity he asks, "But whence did this happy
organization first come? Was it a tree transplanted
from Paradise, with all its branches in full fruitage ?
Or was it sowed in sunshine ? W as it in vernal breezes
and gentle rains that it fixed its roots and grew and
strengthened? Let history answer these questions!
With blood was it planted ; it was rocked in tempests ;
the goat, the ass and the stag gnawed it ; the wild
boar has whetted his tusk on its bark. The deep scars are
still extant on its trunk, and the path of the lightning
may be traced among its higher branches. And even
after its full growth, in the season of its strength, when
its height reached to the heaven and the sight thereof
to all the earth, the whirlwind has more than once
forced its stately top to touch the ground : it has been
bent like a bow, and sprung back like a shaft."

The readiness of Dr. Durbin to utilize important
material in a way consistent with high intellectual
capacity extended, in one case, certainly, even to the
flan of a sermon. In The Christian Advocate of No-

MEMOIR.

173

vember 13, 1884, there is a very copious outline of a
sermon on the text, Hosea ii, 8, 9, " For she did not
know that I gave her corn, ami wine, and oil, and mul-
tiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for
Baal. Therefore will I return, and take away my corn
in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof,
and will recover my wool and my flax, given to cover
her nakedness." No one on reading Jay's sermon and
Durbin's sketch can deny the close conformity, and
there is no doubt that the outline was derived from Jay.
But even in the three main propositions there is a verbal
and real difference. The themes are different. The in-
troduction of Dr. Durbin as given, no doubt about its
full length as preached, is entirely unlike that of Mr.
Jay. Then, in the progress of thought, it is seen how
Durbin extended, illustrated, and impressed truth in his
own way. Besides these differences in the most weighty
part of the discourse which the Doctor presents as the
peroration, we have the following points not recognized
in Jay :

1st. Let us be continually impressed with the con-
stant agency of God in all our affairs.

2d. Let us make all our plans conform to his will,
that they may receive his blessing.

3d. Let us remember that all the instances of God's
goodness lead us to repentance.

4th. But if, through all these, we go down to hell,
how terrible will be our damnation !

Moreover, the Doctor's sermon is about three times
as long as that of Jay. His fruitfulness of thought, his
verbal affluence, and the mental independence that dis-
tinguished Dr. Durbin, together with the dissimilarity
of style, preclude thought of culpable plagiary.

174

JOHN P. D UK BIN.

The Lamb of God.

Among the great doctrinal discourses of Dr. Durbin
was one on the text, "Behold the Lamb of God, that
taketh away the sin of the world." The Atonement
was his theme. With what clearness, fullness, and force
did he present the sin of the world, real, aggravated,
damning ; the sin of the heart and the life ; the sin of
unbelief and of rebellion ; the sin, not of a color or
clime, of a nation, but of a race; the sin that has i nn
through the ages, and that as a tide surges in the streets
and avenues of our cities, and that sometimes as really
inundates the homes of the refined as the huts of the
rude. This called Christ from heaven. lie came to
be led as a lamb to the slaughter. The paschal lamb
had its significance and exerted a power; the sacrifices
by the priests under the Levitical law impressed their
moral lessons. But through the "Lamb of God1' we
have "eternal redemption." By his death on the cross
he has made the pardon of sin a possibility. And no
sin, however atrocious — no iniquity, however long in-
dulged— no depravity, however deep and dire — is too
great for the merit and might of Calvary.

Then, as a means of our saving benefits through the
atonement made, he bade us " Behold the Lamb of God."
Attempt nothing impossible; repose in no way upon the
merit of good works, but with the soul concentered in
his eye, " behold," not Moses, not Abraham, not the
prophets, but Christ. To him look as the Author and
Finisher of our faith. Though there is sin, and the
Lamb that taketh it away, it is only by looking to this
Lamb that the sin of our hearts and lives is removed.
But as it is hunger that prompts the effort for food, as
it is thirst that induces approach to the fountain, as it
was peril that caused the man-slayer to flee to the city

MEMOIR.

175

of refuge, so it is the felt need of Christ that makes be-
holding liini of any avail.

But Dr. Durbin did not show the Lamb without the
law. "The law was our school-master to bring us to
Christ." He knew whence the law issued. There-
fore to Sinai he took us. We heard its angry thunders
mutter. We saw its lurid lightnings glare, the smoke
was upon its summit, and even a Moses quaked with
fear. But when he did this it was in sight of Calvary.
Long centuries intervened between the convulsing of the
one and the crimsoning of the other. But as a star
may suddenly shoot athwart the midnight of gloom so
in a moment the splendors of noonday may bre.ik from
the darkest moral horizon, and we may be "all light in
the Lord."

Fidelity to his calling constrained him to utter the
fact, "God is angry with the wicked every day." But
it was to induce the transgressor to lay hold of the hope
set before him in the Gospel. Promises he brought to
revive the spirit of the contrite ones. But whenever
he entered the Bible, as a garden of the Lord, every
rose that he plucked, every flower that he culled, every
garland that he wove, was to deck the brow of Him
whom malignity crowned with thorns. He understood
his place. Sinai should only blaze that Calvary might
bless ; and such was the relation in which he placed us
to each, that from the rending height of the one we be-
held the bloody summit of the other, assured that a
visit to Calvary would accomplish nothing without a
sight of the mount that flashed and flamed. With such
a beholding of the Lamb of God, in intensity of desire,
in depth of penitence, in implicit faith, the brow that
care had wrinkled was smooth, the heart that guilt had
tortured found peace, and the spirit that had been ready
to sink into the depths of despair rose in divinest rapt-

176

JOHN P. DURBIN.

lire to the very bosom of God. Then did we so "be-
hold the Lamb of God " that all other objects passed
from our vision. We saw the meaning of the atonement
and the function of faith. People were swayed like the
trees of the forest before a mighty tempest. Men wept
and praised, and it was as if God would now show some-
thing of what Isaiah saw when he said, " The posts of
the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and
the house was filled with smoke." The Rev. B. F.
Crary, D.D., told the writer of the great grace that
rested upon the people as Dr. Durbin preached from
this text before the Illinois Conference, held at Paris,
about 1853. During its delivery attention was fixed;
interest was manifest and profound ; but silence reigned
except as the preacher's voice filled the place. It
seemed as if the thoughts of others could almost be
heard. There was a majesty in the man, there was a
grandeur in the theme, and there was the conscious
presence of the Holy Ghost in the assembly. The feel-
ing that prevailed was like,

" The speechless awe that dared not move,
And all the silent heaven of love."

But who shall tell the effect at the close, when Dr.
Durbin broke forth in his climax and quoted from
Cowper, in his own matchless manner,

" There is a fountain filled with blood

Drawn from Immanuel's veins ;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains.

"The dying thief rejoiced to see

That fountain in his day ;
And there may I, though vile as he,

Wash all my sins away I "

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111

He gave the entire hymn. The whole congregation,
as they rose to sing, seemed full of the sense of the
presence of the Holy Ghost. They took each other by
the hand, and with gushing tears, and glowing hearts,
and many almost speechless, stood on the verge of
heaven. Bishop Ames, Peter Cartwright, and Peter
Akers seemed as profoundly moved as any of the
assembly.

Hope the Anchor.

To exhibit Dr. Durbin's claim to the highest style of
eloquence, we name a sermon, the first the writer heard
from him, delivered in the "Union," Philadelphia, on
Sabbath morning, April 12, 1836, during the Conference.
This church had :i short time before been built on the site
of the old " Academy " of Whitefield. Dr. Holdich had
filled it as pastor. He had been succeeded by Charles
Pitman. Both were at the height of their reputation.
They were followed by the Rev. Samuel Kepler, trans-
ferred from the Baltimore Conference. It was the
period and place of his greatest success. The edifice
was in size and style unequaled in the Conference. In
architecture and furniture it was such :in advance upon
any other Methodist " meeting house " in the Confer-
ence that some wondered if it was not a departure
from our simplicity.

The pulpit was broad and of mahogany. It had a
platform that was covered with Brussels carpet. Only
a lew years had elapsed since ingrain carpet on the pul-
pit steps of another of our churches had given offense.
Of the Union Church Dr. Durbin, while editor of the
Christian Advocate and Journal, thus writes, April 25,
1834: "It is certainly the most superb and convenient
church I have seen among us. All the materials are
select." The choir was sustained by the skill in singing
13

178

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

of James Harmstead and Samuel Ashmead, leading
members of the charge. The house was usually filled
with one of the most quiet and intelligent congrega-
tions in Methodism. As the seat of the Conference it
was now thronged by people and preachers anxious to
hear Dr. Durbin. It was a question whether we could
obtain a seat. How far the aesthetic taste of the
preacher exalted his thoughts in a temple of such at-
traction and associations, how much such an assembly
roused him, others may as well judge as the writer.
This we may say: the place, the occasion, the audience,
the theme, were well calculated to awaken every energy
of mind and heart.

The text was one of the grandest in the Bible, Heb.
6. 17-20: "Wherein God, willing more abundantly to
show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his
counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that by two immutable
things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we
might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge
to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we
have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast,
and which entereth into that within the vail." Difficult
as it now is to write of that sermon, it was then more
difficult to speak of it. The people heard it with atten-
tion, delight, and transport. The preacher showed that
the Christian has real, strong, everlasting consolation in
Christ. That we are in the world as the ship is in the
sea ; that we as really need an anchor for the soul and
that we as truly have it. Storms arise, dangers threaten.
Satan allows "no sea of glass" in the present state.
Our anchor is hope. Its ground, the promise and the
oath of God. It is cast within the vail of the upper
temple, and as the anchor holds the ship so this holds
the soul. This shown, the preacher seized the anchor of
our hope as if it were of iron, and flesh were equal to

MEMOIR.

179

spirit. Like a Samson of strength, with gesture and
posture answering to his purpose, he gave one tremen-
dous heave and shouted, "Brethren, it is within the
vail! " Judging from the accuracy of the aim, the im-
pulse it received, the direction that it took and our own
feeling, with the appearance of the preacher, we ac-
cepted his word. Then he declared, " The ground is
good and there is no dragging of the anchor." He began
to draw on the cable, the people joined him. It was as
if every one in the congregation would lay hold. The
preacher was more than himself. His eyes like orbs of
light rolled and tlaslied as it' kindled by celestial fire.
His countenance radiated. Every feature spoke. Every
fiber of his frame seemed charged with an electrifying
power. Had Vinet been there he might have quoted
this as one of the most perfect demonstrations of the
power of "dramatisme" in the pulpit. In that ser-
mon was there lacking a single element of the sublime
given by Longinus? Was there not "grandeur in the
thoughts;" "the pathetic;" "skillful application of
figures ; " " graceful manner of expression ; " M and the
structure or composition of all the periods in all possi-
ble dignity and grandeur?" There is a lady in Phila-
delphia who, when we meet, speaks of that sermon as
the joy of her life.

ISO

JOHN r. DURBIN.

CHAPTER XIII.
Correspondence Concerning Dr. Durbin.

TO aid in conveying the best idea of Dr. Durbin's
power as a preacher, as an educator, missionary
secretary, etc., we present the reader with the follow-
ing letters prepared for his biography.

The first we offer is from the Rev. John B. Merwin,
D.D., the oldest effective minister in the New York
East Conference. His father, the Rev. Samuel Mer-
win, was one of the distinguished Methodist ministers
of his day. He availed himself of our first college for
the education of his son.

The nation and Church were awakened, interested,
and expectant by reason of the eloquence that distin-
guished the bar, the senate, and the pulpit. Webster,
Clay, and their confreres were gratifying and training
the taste of the public. In the Church the seraphic and
sainted Summerfield had drawn together and fused into
one assembly people of all denominations. Henry B.
Bascom, grand in appearance, and by grandeur of ora-
tory and argument, drew crowds that overflowed the
largest churches. Among the attendants were found
in large numbers lawyers and students of all pro-
fessions. In the air there is borne a rumor of the
equal of any of them, in the person of a young
professor of Augusta College, Ky. In the summer of
1829, in Philadelphia, it is circulated that John P.
Durbin is to preach in the Academy (the Union) on a
Sunday morning. A member of its Sabbath-school,
I occupied a front seat in the gallery, commanding a
good view of pulpit and congregation. The house was
filled. Unnoticed in his coming in, a quiet, neat, unpre-

MEMOIR.

IS I

tentious man appeared in the pulpit. In every mind the
question is, " Can this be he ? " The hymns and Script-
ure were read, prayer offered with low and monotonous
tones and peculiar cadence. The text was Heb. xi,
24, 25, " By faith Moses, when he was come to years, re-
fused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter ; choos-
ing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than
to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season," was read more
measured! y and in more drawling tones than his former
readings, and ended with the rising inflection, and an in-
stant full opening of the eyes. For half an hour, with
voice and manner little changed, his statements were
clear, his thoughts a chain of appropriateness, his ex-
pressions often of marked aptness and condensation,
hut all in language so plain and accurate that to mis-
take or misunderstand were impossible. The audience
listened eagerly and inquiringly at first, then restfully
and expectantly. A few concluded it was a disappoint-
ment, and here and there one and another left. Soon he
stood erect, his voice took on strength, his eyes flashed
with emotions — preacher and audience were trans-
formed. In some way the attraction was felt in the
street, and the seats were filled, and in the space between
the pews and doors the people stood. After that when
it was known he was to preach the throng came from
every direction.

At this time commenced that acquaintance of Dr.
Durbin with my father and family that became intimate.

In 1830 Dr. Durbin and family had been on a visit
to Philadelphia. I had come home from Wilbraham,
and arrangements were made for me to accompany him
on his return to Augusta and enter the college there.
In June Dr. Durbin and his wife, her sister, with a
young lady of Augusta, who had graduated in a ladies'
school in Philadelphia, and myself, started together from
New York. J>y steamer we went to Albany. From
there by stage to Schenectady, where we took boat on
the Erie Canal to Buffalo. From Buffalo by steamer on
Lake Erie to Painesville, and from Painesvillc across
the State by stage to Wellsville on the Ohio, where we
took boat for Augusta, which we reached in a little less

182

JOHN P. DURBIN.

than a fortnight from New York. Our journey was so
arranged as to avoid traveling on the Sabbath. We spent
one day at Niagara, so the days of actual travel were
about ten days and nights. The faculty took their turn
in preaching. Once in about five weeks we heard Dr.
Durbin. None were willing to lose their opportunity
of hearing him. His statements and propositions were
so lucid and manifest as to captivate assent. His man-
ner disarmed your criticism, and you were left fully
under his power as his imagination took wing, or he en-
forced the conclusion of his argument. The prevalent
feeling left was, we ought and must be better, and we
will.

If to know people we must travel with them, the op-
portunity was most perfectly furnished by the time and
mode of this journey. The considerateness, genialness
and affability, the playfulness and instructiveness in
conversation of Dr. Durbin leave an impression un-
marred and indeficient.

In a few days Joseph Longworth, of Cincinnati, Alex-
ander Crawford, Mrs. Durbin's nephew, and myself were
installed members of his family. As such we were
treated and made to feel. Dr. Durbin was at that time
editing Sir Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology, for
J. & J. Harper, and we became participants of what
was striking and special in this new science of wonder-
ful disclosures, and in ways so easy and natural that it
seemed like talking of the news that the daily papers
furnished. Each was allured without embarrassment to
express opinions or thought on any subject introduced,
and to add from their own stock of reading, gossip, or
invention.

The family devotions after breakfast completed the
bond of home feeling and tlie kindliness that was en-
kindled and kept alive gave proof of its benediction.
As professor and member of the faculty no feeling was
entertained for him but the fullest respect. He re-
garded and treated the students as gentlemen. The
spirit of mischief and fun that overflows in pranks of
ringing the college bell in the night and introducing
animals or effigies in the chapel, and such like, could

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183

never make him the object of its diversion. To do
so would only be to have it return and plague them-
selves.

In the recitation room no intimation was given of his
suspicions or intentional shrewdness when a passage
was given to this one or that, or one was selected for
the burden of the lesson, but it came to be felt that it
was wise for each to be fully prepared. He favored a
liberal translation in the reading of the Classics, but
kept us to the grammatical construction, or secured
proof that we knew how the sentence was to be parsed.
There was a freshness and interest in the lesson that
made the impression that he was botli teacher and
learner ; that we were pursuing the subject together,
with this advantage to us: that he had mastered the
subject, and was ready with the aid that we needed.
Sometimes an incidental conversation and debate would
elaborate itself into a lecture exhaustive of some point
or fact. lie was observant and thoughtful of the moral
and spiritual interest of the young men, and for his
kindly and timely counsel, unobtrusively given, many
will hold him in grateful esteem more than for all things
else.

Rev. Mr. Hebberd.
The following letter of the Rev. E. S. Hebberd, of
the New York East Conference, gives an account of the
earliest appearance of Professor Durbin in New York
city :

I first saw and heard John P. Durbin about fifty-
six years ago; he was then called Professor Durbin.
The first time that I heard him was at a mis-
sionary meeting in the old Greene Street Church,
New York. There were three speakers who addressed
the meeting. The first was the Rev. J. Holdich, who
made a very fine speech— clear, chaste, beautiful. The
next was Rev. F. Hodgson. I thought those speeches
were the best I had ever heard. Professor Durbin was
announced, whom I did not then know even by repu-
tation. He commenced his speech in a very tame, un-

184

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

interesting manner. I pitied him, and wondered why
they should put up so poor a speaker after the congre-
gation had listened to such eloquent speeches. But
as he proceeded, in a little time his face became radi-
ant with intelligence, his eyes sparkled, and his words
glowed with fire. I was entranced ; such eloquence I
had never heard before. The congregation was aroused
with enthusiasm, and showed their appreciation of the
orator by hearty old-fashioned Methodist shouts.

I heard James Harper, who afterward became mayor
of the city of New York, describe his impressions the
first time he heard Dr. Durbin. Mr. Harper was then
a member of the old John Street Church. He said one
Sabbath afternoon, after Rev. Peter P. Sanford had
preached, he called upon a man whom he had never
seen before to conclude the services. It was announced
that Professor Durbin would preach this evening, who,
he learned upon inquiry, had just dismissed the con-
gregation. Mr. Harper said, " I made up my mind I
would stay at home that evening. But before the serv-
ice my friend, the Rev. Mr. Collord, who was then
foreman of the printing department in the Book-room,
called on me, and invited me to go with him and hear
a great preacher. I said, " Although I had made up my
mind to stay at home this evening, I will go with you
to hear a great preacher. But where does he preach ? "
My friend replied, " In John Street." I said, " I beg
you will have me excused. A dry college professor is
going to preach there to-night ; I heard him read and
pray this afternoon." " Come along! " said Mr. Collord,
"and after you have heard him if you do not pronounce
him a great preacher you may charge the disappoint-
ment to me." I went and heard him, and during the
first few minutes of his sermon I said to myself, " If he
is Collord's great man I do not know where he will
find his small men," when suddenly a flash of elo-
quence startled me. It seemed like a sky-rocket blazing
in the heavens, and I said, " That is fine." Then he fell
back for a few moments into his calm manner, and then
came another sky-rocket, and ever and anon another,
until the church became illuminated with brilliant

MEMOIR.

185

thoughts and glowing eloquence, and as he concluded
I said, "A great man indeed."

When, in 1832, the cholera was raging so terribly in
many places and had not yet visited any part of New
York State, the Governor of the State appointed a day
of fasting and prayer, and called the people together in
their several churches to pray that the cholera might
be averted from our shores. A meeting was appointed
in the Greene Street Church, and Rev. P. P. Sanford
preached. After his sermon Professor Durbin ex-
horted ; and such an exhortation ! After dwelling on
the dreadful ravages with thrilling power and showing
that the victims were largely among the intemperate,
he said with great earnestness : " But should the
scourge visit us it would be one of the greatest auxiliaries
the temperance cause has ever had, and were it not for
the consideration that men have immortal souls I would
say, " Good Lord, let it come." The effect of this speech
on the congregation was thrilling, and sobs and crying
were heard throughout the church.

I heard him about this time deliver one of his inimi-
table missionary speeches in New York. He announced
his theme, " The Missionary Society the crowning
glory of the nineteenth century." I can only say that
that speech was the crowning glory of all the brilliant
and eloquent missionary speeches that I ever heard, be-
fore or since.

I heard the Doctor deliver a Missionary speech before
the New York East Conference in its session at Bridge-
port in 1856. He dwelt in that speech largely upon
the success of our missions among the American Indians.
He said that in the early part of his ministry he was
very much prejudiced against the Indians. He thought
they were a cruel and treacherous race. He said that
when very young in the ministry he was invited by
a missionary, who was going to visit and preach to a
tribe of Indians, to go with him. He accepted the in-
vitation. He said : " As I sat in the stand, when the
missionary was preaching, I fixed my eye upon a large,
rough, hard-featured Indian, and when the missionary
was dwelling upon the evil of sin and its consequences

ISO

JOHN P. DURBLV.

the Indian looked ugly and ferocious, and I said to
myself, ' He is an ugly fellow; why preach the Gospel to
such ?' But when the missionary passed on to speak of
the sufferings of Christ for sinful men, of redemption
through his blood, the Indian's countenance changed,
the tears started in his eyes and ran copiously down
his cheeks, and he sighed audibly. I then looked
around and saw others affected in a similar manner. I
saw then that the red man had a heart that could feel
the power of the Gospel of Christ, and ever since I
have been a particular friend of the poor Indian."
There were heard on that occasion, when the Doctor
was delivering his eloquent speech before the Confer-
ence, loud aniens and enthusiastic hallelujahs.

I heard the Doctor preach liis great sermon on John
i, 29, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away
the sin of the world," during the session of the New
York East Conference in Hartford, Conn., in 1852.
The sermon was preached in the largest Congregational
church in the city. The church was crowded to its ut-
most, capacity ; the Governor of the State of Connecticut
and many distinguished citizens were there. It was a
great occasion, and the Doctor was in his happiest mood.
The Rev. J. J. Matthias was present, and he was a pre-
cise man every way; of the strictest school of ortho-
doxy, and ever watchful against the approach of hetero-
doxy. He sat in a chair near the pulpit, and as his
eloquent brother would soar away in his brilliant
flight he would move forward in his chair, as though he
feared he would go beyond the bounds of orthodoxy,
and then he would fall back with a look of satisfaction,
as much as to say, "all right."

It seems tome that John P. Durbin, without going be-
yond the bounds of orthodoxy, was fifty years ago
further advanced in progressive thought, than any of
the Methodist preachers with whom I am acquainted
at the present day.

Again I was impressed with the fact that, while he
ranked among the greatest pulpit orators of the world,
there was a power in his moods of simplicity that all
great orators do not have. In my youth I used to

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187

hear Bascom quite frequently. "While he stood as
high in the Bublime flights of oratory, he could not de-
scend with Durbin to what St. Paul calls "the simplicity
that is in Christ." Bascom would not condescend to
tell an anecdote in his sermons, he called those
preachers who would " anecdote mongers." Durbin
was not only grand and sublime, but was also beautiful
and sometimes overwhelming in his simplicity.

I heard him in one of his grand missionary speeches
in New York, in speaking of the folly of heathen
worship, say, " If I had before me on this table some of
the gods that the heathen worship, little, ugly, impy
things, and should say 'These are the gods that made
heaven and earth,' I do not ask what this intelligent
congregation would say ; but that little girl whose eye
has been so steadily fixed on me during my speech
would say, ' No, these are not the gods that made the
heaven and the earth ; for my mother and my Sunday-
school teacher taught me the Lord God omnipotent
made the heaven and the earth.'"

In a sermon delivered in New Haven during the ses-
sion of the New York East Conference in that city, in
1850, I heard him relate his experience on his conver-
sion. He said for some weeks he was under deep con-
viction for sin. In a protracted meeting at that time
there was a young lady named Miss Prince converted;
she was brought into the liberty of the Gospel so
clearly, and told her experience so sweetly, that I
thought I would like to be converted just in "that way,
and I prayed that the Lord would convert me just as
he had converted Miss Prince; but the blessing did not
come in that way. One day, as I was kneeling at the
altar, I heard a man next to me say, ' Praise the Lord! '
and I repeated it, 'Praise the Lord!' and then the
blessing came, and I shouted, ' Glory to God!' and I
found that I was not converted in Miss Prince's way,
but in the Lord Jesus Christ's way." And there was
no part of that great sermon that melted the hearers as
that simple relation of his conversion. The experience
of that great and good man was a great help to me in
revival services, and I helped penitents into the king-

186

JOHN P. DURBLV.

the Indian looked ugly and ferocious, and I said to
myself, ' He is an ugly fellow; why preach the Gospel to
such '? ' But when the missionary passed on to speak of
the sufferings of Christ for sinful men, of redemption
through his blood, the Indian's countenance changed,
the tears started in his eyes and ran copiously down
his cheeks, and he sighed audibly. I then looked
around and saw others affected in a similar manner. I
saw then that the red man had a heart that could feel
the power of the Gospel of Christ, and ever since I
have been a particular friend of the poor Indian."
There were heard on that occasion, when the Doctor
Avas delivering his eloquent speech before the Confer-
ence, loud aniens and enthusiastic hallelujahs.

I heard the Doctor preach his great sermon on John
i, 29, " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away
the sin of the world," during the session of the New
York East Conference in Hartford, Conn., in 1852.
The sermon was preached in the largest Congregational
church in the city. The church was crowded to its ut-
most capacity ; the Governor of the State of Connecticut
and many distinguished citizens were there. It was a
great occasion, and the Doctor was in his happiest mood.
The Rev. J. J. Matthias was present, and he was a pre-
cise man every way; of the strictest school of ortho-
doxy, and ever watchful against the approach of hetero-
doxy. He sat in a chair near the pulpit, and as his
eloquent brother would soar away in his brilliant
flight he would move forward in his chair, as though he
feared he would go beyond the bounds of orthodoxy,
and then he would fall back with a look of satisfaction,
as much as to say, "all right."

It, seems tome that John P. Durbin, without going be-
yond the bounds of orthodoxy, was fifty years ago
further advanced in progressive thought, than any of
the Methodist preachers with whom I am acquainted
at the present day.

Again I was impressed with the fact that, while he
ranked among the greatest pulpit orators of the world,
there was a power in his moods of simplicity that all
great orators do not have. In my youth I used to

MEMOIR.

187

hear Bascom quite frequently. "While he stood as
high in the sublime flights of oratory, lie could not de-
scend with Dnrbin to what St. Paul calls " the simplicity
that is in Christ." Bascom would not condescend to
tell an anecdote in his sermons, he called those
preachers who would "anecdote mongers." Dnrbin
was not only grand and sublime, but was also beautiful
and sometimes overwhelming in his simplicity.

I heard him in one of his grand missionary speeches
in New York, in speaking of the folly of heathen
worship, say, " If I had before me on this table some of
the gods that the heathen worship, little, ugly, impy
things, and should say 'These are the gods that made
heaven and earth,' I do not ask what this intelligent
congregation would say; but that little girl whose eye
has been so steadily fixed on me during my speech
would say, ' Xo, these are not the gods that made the
heaven and the earth; for my mother and my Sunday-
school teacher taught me the Lord God omnipotent
made the heaven and the earth.' "

In a sermon delivered in New Haven during the ses-
sion of the New York East Conference in that city, in
1850, I heard him relate his experience on his conver-
sion. He said for some weeks he was under deep con-
viction for sin. In a protracted meeting at that time
there was a young lady named Miss Prince converted;
she was brought into the liberty of the Gospel so
clearly, and told her experience so sweetly, that I
thought I would like to be converted just in that way,
and I prayed that the Lord would convert me just as
he had converted Miss Prince; but the blessing did not
come in that way. One day, as I was kneeling at the
altar, I lieard a man next to me say, ' Praise the Lord! '
and I repeated it, 'Praise the Lord!' and then the
blessing came, and I shouted, ' Glory to God!' and I
found that I was not converted in Miss Prince's way,
but in the Lord Jesus Christ's way." And there was
no part of that great sermon that melted the hearers as
that simple relation of his conversion. The experience
of that great and good man was a great help to me in
revival services, and I helped penitents into the king-

188

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

dom by telling them how God converted John P.
Durbin.

In regard to Dr. Durbin's gift in prayer, I remember
that James Harper received a poor opinion of the doc-
tor's talent after hearing him pray and before he
heard him preach. My opinion is, that there were times
when his prayers did not show a marked ability ; but
at other times in prayer he would have " the unction of
the Holy One," and his prayers were attended with
great power. I heard him pray previous to a sermon
that I heard him preach in New Haven, and it was one
of the most impressive prayers I ever heard. Although
forty years ago, I remember some of the phrases of
that prayer. He prayed with much fervor that nothing
might occur to militate against the sacredness of that
hour; that there might be no unusual noise, on alarm
of fire, but that we might quietly and without disturb-
ance wait on the Lord. It seemed a prayer like those
of Cornelius that came up for a memorial before God.
The Rev. Otis Helland, of the Norwegian and Danish
Conference, told me that he heard Dr. Durbin pray
during the session of the General Conference of 1844,
and, although nearly a half a century has past, he re-
members that prayer. How earnestly and eloquently,
in that day of her peril, he prayed for her union, her
prosperity, her future welfare and usefulness!

One thing more I remember, nearly allied to this: Dr.
Durbin's regard for the pure worship of God. I was
present some years ago at the preachers' meeting in
New York when the question was discussed of the im-
propriety of allowing some notices of secular character
to be read from the pulpit. Dr. Durbin said when he
was pastor he never read any notices in connection with
the worship of God. The first thing he did when he
entered the pulpit was to read the notices, and then say,
" We will now commence the worship of God."

Another thing I observed in this brilliant and eloquent
man was his impulsive extemporizing; his readiness to
turn passing events to account. I heard him preach
a Thanksgiving sermon on Thanksgiving afternoon, in
the old Mulberry Street church. Toward the conclu-

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189

sion of his sermon a cloud came over the sky and
brought twilight earlier than usual. He seized upon
the departing light as a figure of the passing away of
life's short journey, and poured forth a burst of the
most charming eloquence I ever listened to. At another
time I heard him deliver in New York one of his in-
comparable missionary speeches. He announced two
propositions, and then said, "Allow me to digress a mo-
ment. A fresh thought strikes me;" and he continued
uttering fresh and inspiring thoughts until he had con-
sumed his time, and as he sat down he remarked he
would at some future time deliver the speech he had
prepared for that evening.

I did not in my former communication give an ac-
count of a sermon that I heard Dr. Uurbin pi-each, on
the Prodigal Sou, in the Seventh Street Church in New
York, in 1834. The discourse was very eloquent and
produced a great effect upon the congregation; but I
have a more distinct recollection of the application than
any other part of that wonderful sermon. I remember
how earnestly he pleaded with sinners to leave the land
of famine and come home to their Father's house. He
impressed upon them the necessity of coming home now,
and quoting from our hymn-book; and who could re-
cite Charles Wesley's poetry with such force and effect?
The effect produced upon the audience when he, in his
best style and with the unction of his peerless elo-
quence, quoted

"All things are ready, come away;
Ready the Father is to own
And kiss his late-returning son ;
Ready your loving Saviour stands.
And spreads for yon his bleeding hands.
Ready for yon the angels wait,
To triumph in your blest, estate."

And then he said, " Sinner, Gabriel is here now, wait-
ing for your decision. What do you say, wanderer ; will
you come home? And then he bent forward in the
attitude of a listener, as if waiting for the prodigal's
answer; and then, changing his position and looking
up, he cried in a tone of sadness, " O, Gabriel, the sin-

190

JOHN P. DURBIN.

ner says, ' No ;' he will not come home." And, after a
short pause, lie said, " O, thou messenger of heaven,
write not ' No ' on the docket of eternity ! Wait, an-
gel of God, the sinner relents. I see the tear in his
eye. Gabriel, the sinner says 'Yes;' the prodigal is
coming home." Then, with expressive gesture and
appropriate words, he represents God's angel as flying
through the heav ens andentering the pearly gates of glory
to announce the good tidings. And then the eloquent
preacher cried aloud, " Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, that we may
behold the joy of the happy hosts of glory, and hear
the joyful notes of the heavenly choir singing, ' The
dead is alive, the lost is found ; ' " and then, amid the
sobs of penitents and the shouts of the redeemed, he
sat down. It seemed as if we could look through the
gates and see the happy immortals and hear their songs
of rejoicing.

George Whitefield said something like this; Durbin
might have taken some grain from his garner, but the
kernels went through Durbin's mill and came out with
his brand upon them ; the voice, the action, the manner,
the whole thing, was Durbinian.

Professor Durbin made his first appearance in New
York as an eloquent and popular preacher about the
time of my conversion, and from the first I took to him.
His voice, his manner, his words charmed me, and
helped me very much in my early Christian life. I
once heard him address young men, and, with the much
excellent advice which he gave them, he said, " Young
men, lay up in youth a stock of useful knowledge.
What I learned last week I have to learn over this
week, but what I learned in my youth comes to me with
the freshness of the morning. So, young men, what
you learn now becomes part and parcel of yourself, and
when you become old it will not depart from you." So
I pondered over and cherished and laid up in my mem-
ory many of the sayings of this great and good man.
I observed as closely as I was capable his doctrine,
manner oflife, purpose, faith, charity. This I observed
also : that as a pastor, college professor, president, or

MEMOIR.

191

missionary secretary, he always could say to all, with
tin' apostle, " I am an ambassador for Christ: as though
God did beseech you by me, I pray you in Christ's
stead he ye reconciled to God." I ohserved, farther, in
all his great missionary speeches that I was privileged
to hear he loved to dwell upon the power of the Gospel
in the conversion of the heathen. He would shame
into repentance the impenitent living in Christendom
by showing them the greater contrition of the heathen
with inferior privileges. His eloquence and zeal were
calculated to move the lukewarm professor to diligence
by considering the work of grace and salvation going
on in the regions beyond them. He showed his hear-
ers that while they were feeling for and praying for
the salvation of the pagan, and giving of their means to
send the Gospel to them, their prayers and bounty
would return to their own bosoms. Under the charm
of his evangelical eloquence his hearers were made to
feel (to borrow the language of an eminent divine) that
while the love of distant nations glows in our hearts it
melts us all down into love to each other, and burns up
all jealousies and strife, and makes us workers together
with Him who, though he was rich, yet for our sakes
became poor, that we through his poverty might be
rich.

Rev. S. A. Seaman.

Men fight their way to fame. The reputation of the
young preacher from the West might not satisfy a New
York audience, and we see in Rev. S. A. Seaman's
letter the reasoning of strong men.

On Sabbath morning Rev. S. Merwin entered the
church followed by a stranger of gentlemanly appearance,
who occupied the pulpit. In reading the hymn and first
Scripture lesson there was considerable apparent hesita-
tion, and a disagreeable twang in his voice. The prayer,
however, though marred by t lie same defects, abounded
in rich thought and melting pathos. His text was the
Song of Solomon iii, 2-4. As he proceeded his manner
changed, he suddenly seemed to grasp a great thought,

11) J

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

and in a moment was another man. The disagreeable
t\v;ing disappeared, his voice rose, his eyes glowed, and
his gestures were easy and natural. For nearly an hour
he held his hearers enchained, and closed with au address
to young Christians in which he referred to his own
experience and the teaching and example of a godly
grandfather. No one who remembers the Rev. J. P.
Durbin will need be told that he was the preacher.
My father used to tell of his going to John Street, one
Sunday morning, and heing told when he got there that
a very able preacher was to occupy the pulpit. When
the services began, however, there was such a drawl
and twang in the preacher's voice, that he concluded
the expected preacher had not come, and this was some
raw backwoodsman who had been put in his place.
But when the sermon was fairly begun my father was
convinced that lie was the preacher. This sermon of
which my father speaks must have been among the first, if
not the first, which Dr. Durbin preached in New York.

The following letter is from Rev. Thomas BowTman,
D.D., LL.D., senior Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. He was a member of the class of 1837, which
was the first that graduated after Dickinson College
came into our hands, and by the vote of the faculty was
the valedictorian.

In personal appearance Dr. Durbin was not specially
attractive. He was a little below the average in
height, and his limbs were not well proportioned. His
features were somewhat irregular, and when in a quiet
mood were not very expressive. When, however, he
became engaged in conversation or in a public address
the whole man became entirely changed.

He was always approachable, and in a few minutes
the fear excited by his prominence and reputation
would disappear, and one would feel entirely at home in
his presence. In his own house the visitor was made
to feel at ease, and abroad he was always a welcome
guest. After my first acquaintance with him I never
felt any special restraint in his presence anywhere.

MEMO in.

193

As a teacher I have never known his superior. He
bad a wonderful ability to communicate his ideas in
plain, simple language, and in a most interesting and
attractive manner. In the recitation-room we frequently
started questions suggested by something in the lesson,
sometimes, perhaps, to have a hard lesson laid over for
another day, but generally for the information needed
and desired. Before we were aware of it the hour
would be gone, and as we retired to our rooms such
expressions as these would be heard from every mem-
ber of the class : " Wasn't that interesting ! " " Worth
a dozen recitations !" '"Delightful !" " What a won-
derful man ! " I do not think that I ever heard a stu-
dent complain of a dull hour in Dr. Durbin's room.

As president of the college, both in his administration
and governing power the Doctor was fully up to the de-
mands in the case. The institution was in its beginning
with us. and every thing was in a formative state. It had
failed thrice in the hands of other denominations, and
our church in Carlisle was comparatively weak. The
students were of a mixed character, representing various
grades of society north and south. Indeed, every tiling
was in a crude state. But the wise and prudent presi-
dent managed all the affairs with marked success. It
is true lie had a noble faculty, composed of Professors
Caldwell, Emory, Rnszel, Allen, and McClintock,
whose equals are rarely found. But he secured and
retained their confidence, respect, and love to such an
extent that there was no division among them, and he
had their hearty support to the end. He was equally
successful in winning the confidence and respect of the
students. He had a high sense of manliness and honor,
and both by precept and example he imparted these to
his students. He was firm and decided, yet kind and
tender, and none but the most wayward were inclined
to disobey him. On one occasion there was quite a
rebellion among the boys. Under the leadership of a tall,
courageous fellow, they marched into the campus, and
after a fiery speech or two were ready for any thing.
The president, having become aware of the trouble,
came out of his office and made his way into the midst
14

194

JOHN- P. BURBLV.

of the enraged crowd. He spoke kindly but firmly of
the impropriety of the course they were taking, and,
having suggested a wiser and more honorable way, he
asked them to retire to their rooms. In less than five
minutes the campus was clear and we heard no more of
war. A little incident in this writer's college history
will illustrate the manly, honorable spirit of President
Durbin.

My father having business in Harrisburg, and not
having time to imikeme a visit, requested that I should
be permitted to spend a couple of days with him.
Leave of absence was obtained ; but ray father detained
me a day or two beyond the time specified in my leave
of absence. On my return late in the afternoon I
sought the president in his office and at his home, to
hand him father's letter of explanation. But I could
not find him. Soon the evening prayer-bell rang, and
I went to prayers, intending to hand him the letter at
the close. Unfortunately, however, two or three stu-
dents had been before the faculty for the violation of
the rules during my absence. Immediately at the close
of the service the president announced the penalty
a warded those students, and added, " the case of Mr.
Bowman has been laid over for further consideration."
I was terribly mortified, and, handing him my father's
letter, with explanations for not having given it sooner,
I retired to my room, determined to pack up my books
and go home. My chum and other students tried to
dissuade me. But I said, "I cannot stay here under
this open disgrace." In the evening the president, as
he was passing through the building, called at my room
and found me packing my things. "Why," said he,
" what are you doing ? " I frankly told him, and he said,
"You had hetter take a little more time tor reflection,"
and retired. This rather added to my grief. But the next
morning after prayers he said : " Young gentlemen, I
wish your attention for a moment. Last night I
thoughtlessly committed a mistake which I wish as
publicly to correct. I did injustice to Mi-. Bowman,
and I ask his pardon." This settled the whole matter.
If he had said any thing like it even privately I

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195

Would have boon satisfied. As we retired from t lie
chapel the students gathered around me and said, " Von
cannot go after such a manly and honorable apology."
1 felt so too, and Dr. Durbin stood higher in my respect
and admiration and in the confidence of all the students.

But it was in the pulpit and on the platform that Dr.
Durbin reigned supreme. During a period of nearly
forty years 1 heard him speak in public under greatly
varying conditions. I heard him in the country vil-
lage, in the large towns and cities, at the camp-meeting,
at the Conference, and at great public anniversaries ;
and I never heard him when lie did not give me valu-
able instruction, move my emotional nature, and leave a
lasting impress on my heart.

It is always difficult to analyze the elements of an
eloquent speaker's power. In Dr. Durbin's case there
seemed to be a wonderful combination of elements, no
one of which could be positively said to be the source
of his marvelous power over an audience. His dis-
courses abounded in strong, practical thoughts, pre-
sented in clear, plain, pure English. In the beginning
his voice was somewhat heavy and drawling, and his
general delivery a little repulsive. After a little all
that disappeared. His voice became clear and full, his
action animated, his face radiant, his eyes enlarged, and
his entire person almost transfigured. He was happy
in illustration and had a wonderful power of descrip-
tion. I once heard him describe the destruction of
Sod mn in such a vivid manner that the whole scene
seemed to lie a living reality, and I a part of it. The
great audience seemed to. be similarly affected. One
bright young skeptic, sitting just in front of me, became
so powerfully affected that he could hardly contain
himself. And yet, as I afterward heard him say, lie
went to the church fully determined that the great
preacher should not move him.

The doctor's elocutionary powers were quite superior.
His voice was rich, full, and melodious. His gesticula-
tions were easy and natural. His features were re-
markably variable and expressive. Indeed, the outward
man was in lull harmony with the inward, and both,

jony P. DURBIN.

their feet, pressed around the pulpit, and stood spell-
bound to the end. At one time, while lie was describ-
ing the condition of the lost, an intelligent, well-edu-
cated lawyer standing near me grasped a tree against
which he was leaning and began to climb it. Three
times I had to pull him down, and after the close of
tlic services he could not be made to realize the condi-
tion through which he had passed.

On the platform as well as in the pulpit the doctor
was rarely equaled, and never, I think, excelled. His
Sunday lectures in the college always drew a crowd of
citizens and students, and they seldom retired without
feeling that their fullest expectations had been realized.

On several occasions at missionary anniversaries I
heard the doctor speak in connection with several of
the most distinguished platform speakers of the day,
and, in every instance I think the general judgment was
that his address was fully equal to the best.

The following letter from a distinguished layman of
New York city may justly follow that of Bishop How-
man, as it shows a like spirit to that which so affected the
young Bowman:

An illustration of his wisdom as well as kindness in
compassing his ends in the government of a college was
furnished by a gentleman of Mississippi, well known for
his genial hospitality, charming manners, and literary
culture, who used to tell how, as a boy and through life,
he had cause to love Dr. Durbin most gratefully for his
wise counsel, kind forbearance, and discreet use of au-
thority. While a student at Augusta College in Ken-
tucky he was inclined to show more devotion to fishing
and shooting than to study. Professor Durbin, who
was then acting as president of the institution, had
vaiidy endeavored to lead him to a better observance
of academic rules, but the young gentleman, in the ex-
uberance of health and spirits, continued to be careless
of discipline, until one day, while engaged in some
sp »rts on the grounds, he heard a window raised and
himself summoned, in the peculiarly mild but firm

MEMOIR

1 99

and controlling voice of the professor, to come to his
room. Professor Durhin there read to him a letter which
he had carefully prepared for the young man's father,
setting forth clearly and with affecti' 'iiate regret the
shortcomings of the pupil, and advising that the boy
should return to his home and remain there until he
■was better prepared for the discipline and steady work
of earnest schooldife. The young man was asked if
there was any thing in the letter which was not just.
"No!" he frankly answered, "the letter is just and
fair in every way, Professor Durbin ; all I ask is, that
you will withhold it for one month, and give me the
opportunity to redeem myself in your eyes and save
my dear father from the pain which such a letter would
inflict upon him." The wise and kind professor never
had occasion to send the letter or to again remonstrate
with his young friend, whose devotion to his books soon
equaled his devotion to sports. He was graduated with
distinction at a northern university, and became well
and widely known as an honored and useful citizen of
his State.

Doubtless during the many years that Dr. Durbin
was a teacher he had many such cases to manage ; and
doubtless, too, hemanaged them with wisdom, discretion,
forbearance, and tact, and, above all, with that kindness
united with firmness so characteristic of his administra-
tion of many enterprises better known to the world,
perhaps, but surely not more useful and important than
the training of the young and the development of manly
character.

The following letter is from one of the early gradu-
ates of Dickinson College, the Rev. C. F. Deems, D.D.,
pastor of the Church of the Strangers, New York. It
was prepared for the biography of Dr. Durbin, though
published in The Christian Advocate:

My father was a local preacher in the Methodist
Episcopal Church. It was natural that he should send
me to the new Methodist college under the great
preacher, that I might receive my education. 1 was

200

JOHN /'. BUR BIX.

five years in Carlisle — one in the preparatory depart-
ment and four in tlie college — and therefore came in
sight of Dr. Durbin and under his influence when lie
was in the prime of his power. Wonderful were the
advantages of the boys who lived in that college town
at that period. Apart from the scholastic advantages
there we re the immense church privileges.

Dr. George Duffield was at the Presbyterian church,
a ruan of rare learning and great skill in preaching.
Dr. MuGill, since of Princeton College, was preaching
to a small congregation, 1 believe of Covenanters.
Young as I was, I was struck with the contrast between
the smallness of his congregations and the massiveness
of his discourses. Two years of the time the Method-
ist pastor was the Rev. George G. Cookman, one of the
most thrillingly eloquent preachers of his denomination.
In the college were Drs. McClintock and Emory, two
young, gifted, and accomplished professors, who had
the stimulus of alternating with such men as Durbin
and Cookman. No mortal man in any age of Chris-
tianity, I am persuaded, ever enjoyed superior church
privileges, so far as preaching was concerned, to those
at the command of students in Carlisle from 1834 to
1839.

The chief of these pulpit princes, by great odds, was
the Rev. Dr. Durbin. I have never studied any man
so closely to find out his methods as Dr. Durbin; and
yet, putting together all I have thought through the
nearly half-century since I first knew him, I find it
difficult to give a satisfactory analysis. His physique
Mas not at all impressive. An orator should be large.
Indeed, size in a man counts every-where. In public men
the lack of the last half foot can be compensated only by
doubling the brain-power. Dr. Durbin was small. He
did not have that brow which is supposed to be the throne
of thought. He lacked the great nose by which Napo-
leon set great store. His eye was very pleasant, but not
striking, when he was in repose. His manner was a
little finical, his voice was not very musical, and his
utterances at the beginnings of his discourses were
made with a drawl. Yet, being a man like that, he

MEMOIR.

would begin his sermons in an elocution which is a
cross between a Quaker intonation and the hard-shell
Baptist whine, and succeed in almost immediately ar-
resting the attention of his hearer by making the ap-
pearance of a cat-like approach upon his intellect. The
hearer would watch to see what was coming next, and
felt very much like a mouse that knew that the distance
between the cat and himself had diminished, but was
afraid to run lest any motion should provoke the
dreaded sudden spring.

Then there came a period in which the attacking
party moved from side to side, apparently, and did not
make much additional approach. Then there was a
moment of stillness, and then there was a bound, not
as of a cat on a mouse, but as of a tiger on some nobler
game, producing a thrill that made all the vegetation
of the jungle tremble.

I can think of no other figure to describe my remem-
brance of I he style ot this remarkable man. So sudden
and so prodigious would be those shocks tint I have
seen whole congregations swayed by them. Twice in
my junior years I sat and watched the approach, and
just as it came sprang to my feet to meet it. The
word magnetic is sometimes used about men, <jenerally
very loosely, I think. I have met only two men who
to me were magnetic; namely, Henry Clay and John P.
Durbin. In my boyhood 1 could never see Mr. Clay
rise from his seat to speak without having a nervous
chill, although I heard him only in his declining years.
So John P. Durbin drew me, thrilled me, tilled me, and
in a large measure formed me. I am sure he could not
have done this merely through the great kindness
which he always showed me in the class-room, in his
own study, in his home, and when I began to preach, if
there had not been behind it all a remarkable force of
intellect. 1 could not call that intellect profound. It
was searching, analytic, practical, forceful. He was a
student of books and a student of men. He was a Tiian
of affairs as well as a man of pious offices. Rarely do
men who had his oratorical powers succeed in business
matters as Dr. Durbin I know succeeded in the presi-

202

JOHN P. DURBIN.

dency of the college, and, as I think his Church be-
lieves, as he succeeded as a great missionary secretary.

I cannot conceive how any printed sermon of his
would give any adequate impression of his genius as an
orator to one who had not heard him. His most pow-
erful passages were really like claps of thunder out of
a clear sky. Men have set themselves to watch him,
but have found themselves like hunters who were so
absorbed in the rush of the deer that they forgot to
fire the rifle.

I remember that on one of the hottest days I ever
felt in Philadelphia I saw a congregation actually
almost asleep during his introduction, who all seemed
to wake up and turn to him with brightened eyes at the
first explosion of his oratorical battery. It is much
easier to describe phenomena than to assign causes or
explain methods.

Dr. Durbin prepared his sermons carefully, ordi-
narily spoke from a brief, and largely engaged himself
in tracing the soundness of what he had learned from
books by his application thereof to his current knowl-
edge of human nature, which he had seen under many
phases. I have gazed upon most of the constellations
of pulpit oratory in America and in Europe. To this
day, in memory and imagination, John P. Durbin stands
as the one particular star, divinely bright, always beam-
ing with something of the radiance of that glory of God
which shines in the face of .Jesus.

I do not think that this estimate of him is greatly
exaggerated by my affection, since we met very seldom
in the last forty years of his life. If I spoke of him as
a teacher I should pronounce his distinguishing char-
acteristic to be the power of stimulating the intellects
of his students. The moment he found one of the
class interested in the question he would drop every
thing else, and perhaps lose the whole recitation, in
oider to discuss that question with him. Having dis-
covered that, and having found that I was particularly
able somehow to get into a metaphysical discussion
with the doctor, our class in its senior year put me
forward two or three times when their preparations

MEMOIR.

203

were not very complete, to start a question with the
doctor and argue with him by the space of ten minutes.
That was all that was necessary. The rest of the hour
was spent in a thrilling, glowing discussion of the ques-
tion in hand. I ought to say, perhaps, that my occa-
sional deficiency of preparation to he questioned
increased my zeal in these questioning exercises.

At last one day Dr. Durbin sa d to me, with his
peculiar intonations which must be supplied by those
who heard him :

"Mr. Deems, do you not think that you and I may
be a little selfish? I have noticed now for several
mornings that you and I have taken up the whole hour
in discussions in which we both were very much inter-
ested, but it had the result of cheating the class out of
recitation. If you will come to my room after recita-
tion we will discuss this question which you have just
asked, but we must not take up another hour with our
little debating society."

And then he went in on me and the other fellows
through the rest of the recitation, absolutely refusing
to explain any thing, and demanding that we should
explain every thing.

I need not tell any student in psychology that that
treatment cured me of my little trick, which will
probably be pardoned, as it was almost the only mis-
chief of my college course — a course without a single
lark, a single hair-breadth escape, a single dramatic or
picturesque situation; a course which was probably as
barren of mischief as any ever passed in collegiate walls.

It gives me pleasure at this late date to lay this
humble tribute on the grave of my old master.

Some recollections of J. P. Durbin, from Rev. W.
Lee Spottswood, D.D. Dr. Spottswood was one ot the
early graduates of Dickinson, under Dr. Durbin:

How carefully we keep the recollections of departed
friends! Such recollections are rich treasures. It is a
pleasure at fitting times to bring them from their store-
house and show them.

204

JOHN P. DURBIN

Dr. Durbin was chargeable with artifice; but like the
cunning of St. Paul, when he wrote to the Corinthians,
" Be: 1 1 l»' crafty, I caught you with guile," it was sinless.
Whc he bad prepared a sermon he knew that lie had
something worthy of being said, and he desired very
properly to say it to as many hearers as possible. So
he had — for students, at least — a notification of his being
booked to preach somewhere. It was this: the wearing
at Sunday morning prayers in the college chapel of a
white cravat, never worn under any other circumstances.
The students knew the sign, and asked, "Where does
the president preach to-day ? " And they always flocked
to the church indicated to hear him.

lie could in a public assembly, with well-trained skill,
seize a circumstance and make it tell with great effect.
In the Eutaw Street Church of Baltimore, many years
ago, he spoke on a platform to a crowded congregation
met in the interests of the Tract Society. In the very
torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, whirlwind of his
passion, he cried out, "I would rather, .Mr. President,
that a young man would read novels than never
read at all." Bishop Waugh said, " Doctor, I have
been told of your making that remark before, and I
thought that if I had been present I would have re-
buked you. Now I am here, and I have heard you
for myself, and I rebuke you." When the Bishop
took his seat up sprang Dr. Durbin anil excitedly re-
plied, " What I want, Mr. President, is to give the
mind a start; it is then in the wrong direction, to be
sure, but I hope to head it off and turn it back and
press it into the right course." His reply brought
down the house.

He was an interesting teacher. His lecture-room was
not a place to suffer a burden, but one to enjoy a real
pleasure, lie was a shrewd instructor as well. In the
spirit of students, everv-where and in all times, who will
go to more trouble to avoid a lesson than to learn it, our
class, in order to escape a recitation, used to provoke a
controversy on some point suggested by the author
studied. Dr. Durbin would take the bait readily, enter
the arena of debate with a will and keep up, with keen

MEMOIR.

205

jest and great vigor, the wrangle till the ringing of
the college-bell told the wranglers that the hour for
recitation in his room had ended. Then the president,
witli that peculiar smile of his, almost an agreeable
grin, showing all his front teeth, would blandly say,
"Gentlemen, if you please, get today's lesson over,
with so much in addition." And we, green students as
we were, would leave, chuckling in the belief that by
trickery we had foiled our teacher. But now, after
more than one third of a century in pondering the
matter, we know full well that he was not foiled a whit.
The wise president knew what he was about; he was
aware that such a discussion, awakening thought and
making it all alive, requiring intellectual skill, demand-
ing the application of knowledge, and calling every
mental gift into exercise, was far better than any mere
recitation from a text-book.

He was an accomplished declaimer. The writer has
heard him at a church-meeting, where several exercises
were in progress, declaim with the correctness and action
of a true elocutionist, and with the fire of religions emo-
tion burning in his heart, the whole hymn commencing

"Sinners, turn ; why will ye die?
God, your maker, asks you why ! "

The effect of his declamation was profound. He was a
genuine orator. In his oratory, however, was reversed
the usual order of things, often named, "After a storm
there is a great calm"1 His order was, After a great
calm a storm. One of the young men who accompanied
him on his European tour used to tell of the doctor's
first sermon in Kngland. The preacher lingered so long
in his uninteresting way that his fellow-tourists began
to fear that he would linger in that way to the end. as
he sometimes did, and that his sermon in consequence
would be a marked failure. But no; the sign was given,
up went t lie right arm, crossed over to the other side,
and struck hardly the palm of its hand upon the left
breast. Then burst the oratory suddenly, and rolled on
continuously, to the wonder and rapture of all his
hearers. Forty years ago, when a mere lad, the writer

206

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

heard Dr. Durb'm, then in his prime, preaching at a
camp-meeting. His text was, "That at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and tilings under the earth; and that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father." The impression made
upon the relater, especially by the concluding portion
of that sermon, can never be effaced. It is as clear to-
day as it was in the long ago. On that Sabbath morn-
ing the orator's voice very soon lost its drawl, monotone,
and lameness, and then reaching the richest tones it
rang out rapidly, clearly, and in the fullest volume.
His eloquence came "like the outbreaking of a fount-
ain from the earth, or the bursting forth of volcanic
fires, with spontaneous, native, original force." And his
peroration was a picture inspired by a vivid imagina-
tion, and so graphically word-painted by the aid of
superior descriptive talent in its best estate that it
seemed a picture of terribleness, real and present to the
sight, and the writer remembers that a tremor passed
all over him, as it did, no doubt, over others also. . . .
Longfellow, in Mbrituri Salutamus, says:

" The great Italian poet, when he made
His dreadful journey to the realms of shade,
Met there the old instructor of his youth,
And cried in tones of pity and of ruth,
'<) never, from the memory of my heart,
Your dear, paternal image shall depart:
Who while on earth, ere yet by death surprised,
Taught me how mortals are immortalized:
How grateful am I for yoiu patient care
All my life long my language shall declare.' "

And the author of this simple In Memoriam repeats, as
all other pupils of Rev. John P. Durbin, D.D., at the
mention of his name, will also repeat:

" To-day we make the poet's words our owu,
And utter them in plaintive undertone."

The following is from the Rev. J. II. Hargis, D.D.,
of the Philadelphia Conference:

HEM 01 a.

207

On the occasion of bis last visit to Carlisle, during
the last session preceding the Wilmington division of
the old Philadelphia Conference, convened in Harris-
burg, March, 1.S06, Dr. Durbin, as a member of the
Conference and first president of the college under the
Methodist regime, came from Harrisburg, an hour's ride
to Carlisle, to fill his appointment for the Sunday-morn-
ing sermon in Emory Chapel. It was largely descriptive
of the Tabernacle, delivered distinctly, with delibera-
tion suited to his time of life, atid in a narrative style.
The remarkable feature of the discourse was the facial
expression of the preacher when he reached the cli-
macteric description of the Shekinah. His eyes dilated
ami illuminated with a light that never was seen on sea
or land. His face was transfigured and "did shine as
the light," and the congregation was entranced with
the shining splendor of his person until the venerable
form, with closed eyes, was bowed in the final prayer.

The following is from Rev. Thomas II. Burch, D.D.,
member of the New York East Conference :

Residing for a term of years in New York, he often
officiated in the pulpits of that city and its vicinity. I
heard him frequently — in fact, whenever it was practi-
cable. But of these eagerly coveted opportunities
two left a deep and lasting impression on my memory
because of certain extraordinary features which I want
briefly to describe.

The first of these sermons was delivered at the dedi-
cation of a church in Brooklyn. It was a bright and
balmy Sunday morning in June. The congregation
filled the audience-room; even the aisles were crowded
with the occupants of chairs and camp-stools, while a
considerable number were obliged to be content with
standing-space about the doors. Several clergymen
were present, some of whom conducted the preliminary
exercises. Then Dr. Durbin announced his text: "Be-
hold the Lamb of God, which taketli away the sin of
world ! " He began with the characteristic drawl, though
much abridged, however, in this instance, and soon

208

JOHN P. DUUDIX.

passing into various vivacious tones. The earlier part
of the discourse was largely taken up with references to
Old Testament scriptures, familiar to most hearers, yet
so put as to tix attention and excite growing interest.
Perhaps he was never more animated: form erect, face
Hushed, eyes rolling in a way peculiar to him in higher
moods of thought and expression; in short, each tone
ami movement betokened rapt absorption in his theme
as he advanced from one period to another with telling
force. At length the turning-point was reached, in ef-
fectiveness at least, when the preacher introduced a
touching narrative, quite simple in its materials, but
used with masterly skill. In substance it was this:

Some years ago while in Cincinnati he had been
asked to visit a dying man, a stranger in the city, cut
oil' from Christian association and sympathy. Agreeably
to this request, at midnight the visitor climbed seven
flights of stairs to the top floor of a high building,
where he found the sick man, obviously in the last
stages of mortal disease. Although religiously edu-
cated he was much disturbed concerning the great
hereafter; for, having been caught in the meshes of the
Calvinistic theory, not daring to count himself among
the elect he could see no room for hope. His visitor
made no attempt to reason away these gloomy impres-
sions other than by citing pertinent Scripture passages,
especially the words, "Forasmuch as the children are
partakers of flesh and blood he also himself likewise
took part of the same." I remember asking myself
at the time whether that was the most, felicitous quotation
to be used in the circumstances ; but as it was repeated
slowly, and then the question put more than once with
most persuasive emphasis, "Are not you a partaker of
flesh and blood?" all doubt, vanished. Assuredly that
was the exact passage demanded. The dying man caught
the meaning, and clinging to it, lost his fears in blissful
confidence, affirming that he could fearlessly trust him-
self to his Saviour. The effect of this recital was
electrical. Sitting where I could see the whole con-
gregation, there seemed not so much a wave of emotion
sweeping gradually over it as a down-rush of feeling

MEMOIR.

209

simultaneously touching and melting every person in the
house. For so wonderfully vivid ami graphic was the
picture that each felt himself a witness of the scene ;
eacii looked into the face of the dying man, heard him
cough, listened to the fervid words of his counselor,
saw the troubled expression change into one of sweet
tranquillity; in short, realized the whole at once. As
also when the preacher added that, going the next
morning to the stranger's room, he found him dead, but
on his face a smile of a soul that had entered into rest,
every one saw that smile.

Thereafter the speaker swayed the audience at his
will. The merit of the sermon was sustained to the
end ; hut hail it fallen off, or had the discourse been
greatly lengthened, not one would have become im-
patient It was a rare triumph of oratory.

When the people were dismissed, a brother, then as-
sistant pastor of the dedicated church, but since serving
with distinction in another denomination, a man of con-
siderable phlegm, and strong self-control, came up to
me, his eyes swollen with weeping, and exclaimed,
" What a wonderfully effective discourse ! "

That was the first occasion. The second, following
an interval of not more than six weeks or two months,
differed very widely from the former. Indeed, the
strange and strong contrast of the one with the other
has chiefly prompted this letter.

About the time referred to some persons in the city
of New York united in an effort to promote a larger
attendance at public worship, particularly among non-
church goers. For this purpose several churches in
the lower part of the city were induced to open their
doors for Sunday-afternoon services, and eminent
preachers were sought for to insure the success of the
project. Dr. Durbin preached to one, if not more, of
these afternoon congregations; for then I heard the
second of the two sermons I am writing about. As
said above, this was strikingly unlike the first. One
point of resemblance, however, was noticeable at the
outset; namely, the text, which was the exact language
used before. The opening sentences, too, suggested
15

210

JO UN R DURBLV.

that the sermon to follow might be similar. To me
that was no disappointment. On the contrary, a repe-
tition of what he esteemed the most powerful discourse
he had ever heard would afford a young minister, eager
to learn all the mysteries of the sacred art, a more favor-
able opportunity to penetrate the secret of the great
preacher's power. Well, the sermon proved to be the
very same, and yet how different ! Identical in structure,
in agreement, in illustration, in diction, in every literary
aspect, nevertheless, it fell so far short of the mighty
utterance first heard as to he altogether another and
vastly inferior thing. Possibly there were verbal dif-
ferences, perhaps even minor changes in illustration,
but I did not perceive them; most assuredly the same
in substance, but by comparison how tame, and stale,
and dull ! There came, too, in due order, the story of
the dying man, identical in /'ormjjut all the pathos and
power lacking. Nobody seemed moved by it; even
the preacher appeared to have no special interest in it.
Yet there it stood in the right place, a mere memory,
a sort of ghost ! So to the end — except that in the first
sermon some concluding sentences were especially con-
formed to the dedicatory character of that service — to
the end the second was a reproduction of the first in
every particular, so far as I was able to note, save effect-
iveness. The man sitting next to me drowsily nodded
from time to time. In seats to the front several per-
sons were asleep. Sheer amazement at the contrast
between the two deliverances of the same message, if
nothing else, kept one hearer wide awake.

I left the church thoroughly puzzled. Of course, due
allowance ought to be made, on the one hand, for the
greater inspiration of the first event, and, on the other,
for the less favorable time of day when the second dis-
course was delivered. So, too, it might be surmised
that the physical condition of the preacher was not
good, though of that there was no sign.

But after every concession the strange discrepancy
still remained perplexing. Even now I cannot solve
the problem with any satisfaction to myself. Can
you ?

MEMOIR.

21 1

The following is from the Rev. L. F. Morgan, D.D.,
member of the Baltimore Conference, and one who
had known Dr. Durbin from the time of his entering
upon the presidency of Dickinson College :

I regard Dr. Durbin as the extraordinary man of
the extraordinary men of his time; the greatest orator
and organizer the Church has produced. I have heard
almost every preacher and statesman who has risen to
eminence in the country for the last fifty years. Dur-
bin was the first to measure up to my conception of
the power of eloquence in a sermon preached at the
Baltimore Conference, in the city of Winchester, Va.,
in the spring of 1835. I never lost an opportunity of
hearing him afterward. My admiration made me seek
to know him in the early years of my ministry. I was
honored with his friendship, and frequently had his
services in the pastoral charges I served. When I was
stationed in the city of Washington he preached for
me in the Foundry Church. The building had recently
undergone repairs. An immense audience crowded the
place of worship. The girder of the end gallery broke
with a crash, winch produced the wildest consternation.
Almost every one left the house ; but when they saw
from the outside that the walls and roof were all right
they crowded in again, and were soon made to forget
every thing but the "Lamb of God, which taketh away
the sin of the world." Contrary to his usual rather prosy
opening, he seemed at the very outset to catch the in-
spiration for which he was remarkable in reaching his
climaxes, which were often overwhelming to his
audiences.

As an organizer of church-work he excelled as much
as he did in pulpit eloquence. The great missionary
scheme for the conversion of the world to Christ oper-
ated by the Methodist Episcopal Church is a monument
to his genius. For generations to come he will be
recognized as the great missionary secretary. It is no
disparagement to those who have filled the office since
he vacated it to say that he has not had an equal, and
he of the future who shall rival him must be blessed

L> 1 2

JOHN P. DURBIN.

With the opportunity of developing agencies now
unknown to the work of evangelization.

The Rev. Benjamin F. Price, of the Wilmington Con-
ference, a minister of more than titty years, thus writes
of Dr. Durbin :

In him simplicity, courtesy, and dignity of manners
seemed to find perfect exemplification. In the gallery
of great men I look upon Dr. J. P Durbin as the high-
est portrait. And I am willing to be criticised, if any
have the temerity to do it, when I say that as a
preacher, if he had any equal among his contem-
poraries, none surpassed him. And in all the qualities
that give efficiency to manhood he abounded and ex-
celled. In nothing, it would seem, was his life a failure;
he honored every post he tilled. As college professor
and president, as editorial journalist, as missionary
secretary, as representative in church councils, as
presiding elder, and as pastor and preacher, simplicity,
clearness, grandeur, and power, were elements that
made his eloquence the wonder of his hearers. If lie
did sometimes speculate in the pulpit it was never in
a way to mystify the subject ; he was always sure to
make his meaning plain, and even if you disagreed with
him, which was seldom the case, you were at no loss to
understand him, and you were fascinated by his in-
genious methods of illustration and argumentation.
His eloquence in the pulpit was like a gale full of
odors; the stars flashed and the electric chords made
music as the current pas ed. On the Conference floor
he was the statesman and philosopher. When a question
seem tangled and tied in knots, and ii was necessary
to understand the situation, Dr. Durbin would calmly
rise, and by his wonder-working analysis not only un-
ravel the web, but present its various phases with such
skill of exposition that the perplexity would cease and
the end of the debate was reached ; the vote was taken
without dissent, and while the older men would smile
with satisfaction, the younger ones wondered in admi-
ration, lie has disappeared from, our midst, but the

MEMOIR.

213

trail of a comet will radiate the moral firmament for
half a century.

The following letter is from the Rev. O. H. Tiffany,
D.D. Few ministers had stood in so close a relation to
Dr. Durbin as the writer of this letter:

Once on paying a visit to Chambersburg, Pa., Mr.
Seibert, a venerable member of our Church residing
there, took me to see the physical proof s oi Dr. Dur-
bin's eloquence. We went to the old brick churcli,
then standing, and he pointed out to me the sockets of
the outside fastenings of the shutters: they were many
of them deprived of the irons which they formerly
held, and some of them gave clear and unmistakable
evidences of force and violence used in their removal.
Mr. Seibert then told me the following story, lie said
that Dr. Durbin preached there one bright and sunny
Sabbath, when the windows were all raised on account
of the heat, and the blinds all closed on account of the
sunshine. The doctor preached on "the coming of the
day of judgment," and drew a vivid picture of the con-
sternation wrought on a city full of people; he then
passed to note the effect on a village hamlet, and depicted
with rare skill the coming just, at the moment when an
aged man was holding family prayer, ami pleading for
an only son far away from home ; tlnrr-, turning sud-
denly, he exclaimed, "Where is that wandering boy?"
and traced an imaginary journey, till at last he found
him on a ship at sea, keeping his watch alone on deck.
As the young man looks up to the stars suddenly the
heavens are parted as a scroll ; the audience heard the
tearing, ripping, of the skies as a piece of parchment
cracks when it is torn, and became violently agitated.
Xo one knew whether a passing cloud momentarily
obscured the sun or not ; but the whole assembly rose
as one man and rushed to get. out of the building, paying
no regard to the doors, but pressing against the. closed
shutters, which were wrenched off from their fasten-
ings by the hurrying crowd; the utmost, consternation
prevailed, and many persons were more or less injured,
but none seriously. I once asked Dr. Durbin about it,

214

JOHN P. DURBTK

but he would say nothing except that " there was some

excitement."

When Dr. Durbin returned from liis trip to the East
there was a great desire on the part of the college and the
citizens of Carlisle to make some fitting demonstration
in his honor. I was then a student there, and had the
proud distinction, as I then felt it to be, to be placed
on the committee of reception. I was on the sub-com-
mittee of illumination, and we succeeded in placing
a lighted candle at each window-pane in all the
windows of the college buildings. The town was
alive with excitement, and on the arrival of the
Doctor, in the forepart of the day, after he had
been seen by the members of his family, he was told
something of the plans for the celebration. He at once
sent for me and forbade the illumination, on the ground
of the danger to which the buildings would be exposed
in case of fire. I pleaded with him not to disappoint
us in our cherished plans, told him all the money had
been already spent for candles and necessary fixtures,
and said the disappointment would be intense. For a
long time he would not yield, but finally consented, on
condition that some person should be placed at each
window with a bucket of water, and not to leave the
place until all the lights were out. Very many of the
students were thus deprived of the chance to greet the
Doctor in the reception, and grumbled accordingly;
but we had the illumination and counted it a great
success. This will suggest the extreme diligence of the
Doctor in looking after details. No man was ever more
scrupulous in his attention to the little things which go
to make up more conspicuous results, and no man more
sincerely in earnest in carrying out his plans to success.

Little details sometimes help to depict a man. He
always dressed in the morning for the principal event of
the day; would put on his best suit at breakfast-time if
he was to wear it to an evening entertainment. So on
Sundays if he was to preach anywhere during the day
he would appear at morning prayers in the chapel in a
white cravat. On such occasions there would be an
immense rush of students to discover where he was en-

MEMOIR.

215

gaged, and to secure permission (necessary in those days)
to attend. Closely watching him I discovered that if lie
was to preach in the morning his cravat would be nicely
folded and securely tied so as to conceal the knot, but
if he was not to preach until evening he would have it
carelessly wound about his neck in less fastidious
fashion. I made use of my observation, and seldom
made the mistake that others constantly made in at-
tempts to hear him. As I became familiar with him,
by being employed to transcribe his journals when he
w;is preparing them for publication, he once, when I
asked for the customary permission to attend some other
than my own church, said to me, " Tiffany, how do you
always manage to find out when and where I am to
preach ? I wish you would tell me, for I try not to
have it published.'" I said to him : " Doctor, you always
tell me when you are to preach, and it is easy to discover
where." "I tell you!" he exclaimed, with astonish-
ment, " I tell you ! Why, I never told you in my life,
and yet everywhere I go I always find you there."
Then I told him about his always wearing a white
cravat on preaching Sundays instead of the usual black
one; and when he pushed me ahout how I knew the
fact of his evening and morning sermons, " because,"
he said, " you never make the mistakes the others
do," I told him about the tie of his cravat. He
refused to credit me until Mrs. Durbin, being sum-
moned to the study, confirmed my statement. He
merely said, " Young man, I'll fix you yet." And so
one Sunday I did miss hearing him, for he purposely
wore and preached in a black handkerchief. When he
gleefully informed me of it afterward I ventured to say to
him that I probably did not miss much, as the sermon
•was preached on false pretenses and with the intention
to deceive. He laughed, and snid I was probably correct.

He had a curious way of preparing his great ser-
mons. The Annual Conferences which he was called to
attend all met in the spring; the Baltimore Confer-
ence usually in March, and the others following aliout
as they now do. Some time in January he would begin
his preparation by going out some Sunday morning to

216

JO UN P. DUBBIN.

a neighboring town and preaching quietly, develop-
ing some one idea; the next Sunday he would go some-
where else, and add another thought to the one previ-
ously discussed, and SO he would complete the round of
ideas with a round of separate sermons ; then on the
Sunday before Conference he would arrange all the
effective parts of these separate sermons into one logical
order and preach them in Carlisle ; the whole sermon of
the future would be there, but only in outline. The
altar was arranged, the sticks all laid for the fire, but
there was little if any heat ; but those who heard him
the next Sunday at the Conference would scarcely be
able to contain the tremendous electric shocks of dis-
charged power with which the matured sermon was
preached. Those who never heard him will probably
never hear his like, for the day of such magnificent dis-
play of moving, melting, persuasive power would seem
to have passed. He would present the simplest truth as
if it were a startling novelty, and so clothe it, with a
new force and distinctiveness that the hearer would
wonder why he never had thought of it before in such
relations. lie had a marvelous power also in prayer.

I remember that once in the absence of the stationed
preacher I was appointed to conduct a series of pro-
tracted meetings in the church, which had been begun
with some indications of good results, and on one
Thursday evening about twenty persons were forward
at the altar, as penitents, for prayers ; the meeting
seemed to have passed the crisis of power, and I was
very fearful that there would be no conversions that
night, and felt terribly moved at the prospect. I ex-
plained my apprehension to Dr. Durbin, and asked him
to pray. We all knelt inside the chancel-rail, and he
began in the low, subdued tone so habitual to him, to
intercede for those seeking forgiveness. Soon his words
came more and more calmly, but with more and more
power; slower and slower he prayed; but there came
such a divine presence that it seemed tangible. Heaven
and earth seemed coming together. I felt oppressed as
with a weight, and prostrated myself more and more in
the altar until the prayer closed, when I was prone on my

MEMOIR.

217

face on the floor. But during that prayer every soul for-
ward was powerfully converted, and the whole congrega-
tion was moved as I never since have known people to be
moved. The meeting was dismissed and we all went out
silently. I do not think that there was any interchange
of words except the hearty greeting of joy we gave the
new-born. Every one was awe-struck and kept silence.

His hearty sympathy with young men kept him
always fresh, and his earnest way of putting the evils
of dissipation before them saved many a one from
destruction. He would approach a man in such a side-
way — so unexpectedly — as to disarm intended conceal-
ment. I remember that four friends had been guilty
of some violation of rules, and were to he " hauled up "
before the faculty, as they supposed, but bound them-
selves by the most solemn compact to stand by each
other and not reveal the delinquents. I was with them
at the compact, and also at the time when one of them
Avas summoned to the presence. He was the one of all
the number in whose bravery and persistence we had
the greatest confidence, and we waited hopefully for
his return. He was not long gone from us, but when
he returned all bathed in tears he said, "Boys, it's no
use ; the old man got it all out of me in the first five
minutes." Durbin had first asked him some side ques-
tion which, though wisely planned, had no seeming re-
lation to the case on hand, and then suddenly turned on
him with a remark so unexpected and astounding as to
throw him off his guard and complete his discomfiture.
As an administrator of discipline I have never heard of
his equal. And however severe his decisions every
body loved him, and no fault was found with him even
by those most intimately affected by the issues. He
was a most masterful college president.

The following letter is from Rev. J. A. McCauley,
D. P., who resigned the presidency of Dickinson last
June, after serving for sixteen years.

It is with diffidence I venture on personal impressions
of Dr. Durbin as a college president. The conditions

218

JOHN P. DURB1K

essential to discerning judgment, competence and oppor-
tunity, were not, perhaps, during my college residence
sufficiently mine to warrant confidence in such impres-
sions. The first year of my college life happened to fall
in the last of his connection with the college, affording
thus but a single year for personal impression ; and as,
in the distribution of work obtaining then, first-year men
had but an hour a week with him, it was the year of
least avail for lecture room impression, affording but the
minimum for testing the touch of the great teacher.
For the rest — aims and methods of administration, ex-
ecutive ability, disciplinary tact— a freshman's estimate
would hardly pass for that of a competent judge; were
little apt, indeed, to be discerning or just. Hence to
reminiscences of him, or of his performance, having
ground no more assuring than the inexperienced and
inopportune conditions of this association, little value
could attach. The occupance, however, through six-
teen years, of the position he so ably filled lias had the
effect largely to supplement these deficiencies — to inter-
pret and verify reminiscence — has ministered opportu-
nities for noting his impression on the organism of the
college, and, as I may claim, a measure of competence
to estimate the work which has won for him enduring
place among the greatest educators of his time. The
tradition of him which lingers here as the ideal pres-
ident has assuredly less of exaggeration than com-
monly attaches to traditions. As this judgment can
derive warrant only from his work, these lines have the
aim of tracing these memories in the sobering light of
experiences and responsibilities similar to his.

Had it been his part, on coming to Carlisle, to lay
new foundations — to plan as well as build — that mar-
velous organizing faculty from which the Church in
after years so greatly profited would doubtless have
had earlier exhibition. As it was, the college had been
half a century in operation at his accession to the presi-
dency. Charter and statutes both were old. Around
it, moreover, had grown a net-work of custom and tra-
dition more intractable, as more exacting and impe-
rious, than written codes. The question, then, that

MEMOIR.

219

fronted him was not of working as he wished, but as,
under this environment, he might. Inheriting the labors
of distinguished predecessors, and girt about with in-
fluences of inveterate prescription, it was unavoidable
that this environment should largely influence, if not
determine, the course he must pursue. The task im-
posed by his office was, therefore, to modify and judi-
ciously adapt existing provisions to the altered condi-
ditions created by the transfer of the college to its new
control. That the Conferences assuming its patronage
were fortunate in having this work committed to him
is unquestionable. With a distinct perception and a
thorough comprehension of the problem demanding so-
lution, he gave himself thereto with a single purpose and
a practical wisdom rarely excelled. With strong views
of prerogative the founders of Dickinson had, by char-
ter provision, reserved to themselves ultimate authority
in all that related to its management, including even
the penalties of discipline. Untold evil had come of
this. At times in the history of the college friction
and collision between the boards of instruction and of
control had led to crimination and recrimination, not
only subversive of college order, but even sometimes of
the peace of the community. One of the first cares of
the new president was, therefore, to secure by legisla-
tive enactment the remedy of this evil. The amended
charter vests discipline wholly in the faculty, reserving
to trustees appellate jurisdiction in cases only of expul-
sion. The cure was complete and final. The bitter
stream was dried at once, and its existence even has
ceased to be remembered.

When Durbin came to organize the new venture, that
knowledge of men for which he was famed stood him
in as good stead as in any need of his after career. In
the constitution of the faculty which so grandly
wrought with him this intuitive discernment of men
was especially conspicuous. Were his penetration with-
out other witness, his discovery and selection, one by
one, of the notable men who took the chairs at Dickin-
son render it incapable of question. Composed of men
mostly young, with reputations yet to make, and,

220

JOHX r. DURBIX.

thougn dissimilar, without exception able, and growing
with their work, they proved a teaching ami disciplin-
ary force of unsurpassed ability. Under their impulse
the college speedily advanced lo a reputation for schol-
arship and efficiency which stirred the admiration of
the Church, and gathered to it the enthusiastic interest
of its patronizing territory. Memory lingers fondly
around these dear names, from which the lapse of years
has taken nothing of youthful admiration. Though
asked for reminiscences of the president alone, so large
was their ministry lo his success that mention at least
with him is always their due ; all, now, among the
crowned ! Merritt Caldwell, oldest in years and least
a novice in teaching, of balanced faculties, imperturba-
ble composure, a very Rhadamanthus in equity, w is a
careful, patient, and successful teacher. Robert Emory,
himself just from college, and but twenty years of age,
took the chair of languages, and, except a brief period
of pastoral service, gave the whole of his working life
to Dickinson — the closing years in guiding the helm.
Of faculties, analytic and synthetic, marvelously keen
and strong, of executive ability versatile and great,
there was in every sphere in which he wrought the
demonstration of ability entitling him to foremost rank
in each. When Dr. Durbin left there was unanimity in
thinking him the fittest man to take his place. At the
early age of thirty-four he passed away, with the im-
pression widely made that, if he left an equal, he left
no superior in the Church. John McClintock and
William I lenry Allen, the remaining two, of whom oidy
I venture a word, though in the main contrasted men
were yet in much alike. Both were men of genial,
kindly nature, urbane, complaisant, and of aptitudes
and requisites for easy and effective teaching. Per-
haps no single statement, would better describe what
then seemed most notable in Professor McClintock than
to say that he united almost electrical celerity of men-
tal action with exceptional power of continuous appli-
cation. He could study hard and long, and with match-
less rapidity. Hence, though hut in youth, his acquisi-
tions were extensive and minute, and thoroughly pos-

MEMOIR.

221

sessed. Of all the faculty he was, perhaps, the most
magnetic and inspiring. It' as an instructor there was
in him any thing, I will nut say to fault, hut to wish
different, it was that his own intellectual quickness,
coupled with a nature bordering on the impulsive, ren-
dered him, under special provocation, a trifle impatient
with those whom indolence or lack of aptitude caused
to grope or stumble. For myself it is a pleasure to re-
cord that, while consciously a debtor to all the noble
men composing that faculty, the best fruits of college
life were gained through his assistance. Professor Al-
len, in his early prime enthusiastic, keeping himself
abreast with current achievement in every branch of
natural science, was an equal master in his department.

Such were the men who, under their great chief,
made the opening era of the new regime illustrious It
was, indeed, a bright day for the college. In the dawn
of a new alliance, ardent friends pressing to its side,
the pulsing of new life where late was the languor of
decline, able men in all its chairs, and at its head the
prince without a peer, it is not without reason that peo-
ple reckon that the "golden age" of Dickinson.

But, returning to the president: Dr. Durbin, having
been professor in Augusta College, Augusta, Ky.,
brought to the office some experience in the work of
instruction. The picture of him which rises to me
through the mists of more than forty intervening
years is of an alert, solicitous, enthusiastic teacher ; of
one whose primal purpose was to draw7 out — educe
— what students knew of the matter in hand ; to assure
himself how thoroughly it had been grasped ; one in
whose presence deficiency or inattention were certain
of detection ; whose rare power of concise and lucid
statement, of apt and facile expression, and of abound-
ing illustration, served admirably for dispelling mists
and for making the recitation-hour rich in interest and
instruction. While it was his custom to explain freely,
and to gather illustrations from wide fields, he never
lost control of the situation. Alert, shrewd, discerning,
he never, perhaps, was lured to wasting time by any
of the artifices to which, in emergency, students some-

222

JOHN P. DURBIN.

times resort to evade the testing of orderly recitation.
While for myself I would have to say that, in power
to inspire — that contagion of activity which contact
imparts — he was excelled by at least two members of
the faculty, he yet had this power in high degree, and
had I gone with him, as afterward with them, through
abstruser realms, I would not, perchance, have this to
say.

As executive, it is conceded that through the twelve
years of his presidency he administered the affairs of
the college with exceptional ability and with marvel-
ous success. Vigilant, forbearing, firm, he knew how to
exercise effective discipline with the smallest measure
of severity. Prudent, discerning, wise in measure, and
fertile in resource, and of energy that rested only with
s iccess, he was peculiarly fitted to grapple with the
difficulties that lay around tlie college in its second
infancy. R ference was made to his early removal of
the organic bar to harmony between the boards. It is
not known that, during his protracted term, a shadow
of dissension came between himself and those with
whom he wrought. The felicity was theirs of spending
all their strength in promotion of the interest supreme
in their regard.

But the most availing force which the new president
brought to his office undoubtedly was that wondrous
eloquence, of which the fame already filled the Church;
and, in the newness and urgency of the enterprise, it
hardly admits of doubt that the most availing service
rendered it by him was his devotion of this gift to the
pleading of its cause. So greatly did this force minis-
ter to the success of his presidency and to the enduring
weal of the college that, while attempting no adequate
analysis or description of it, a word respecting it seems
called for.

Any just account of Dr. Durbin'a power in the
pulpit or on t lie platform would need to credit
much to his knowledge of human nature. He was
familiar with the easiest approaches to mind and heart.
11 is faculties, moreover, were of a kind peculiarly suited
to make this knowledge serve the purpose of conviction

MEMOIR.

223

and persuasion. His manner of conceiving and present-
ing truth was uncommonly felicitous. Quick perception,
nice discernment, skillful distribution, taken with a
singular felicity of language and of appropriate illus-
tration, enabled him so to shape and clothe the truth he
was presenting that pleased attention and impression
were the uniform result. The dictum of the ancients
demanding emotion in the speaker — si me vis flere,
flendum est tibi primum — was instanced in him. At
times his deep emotion, flashing from look and trem-
bling in tone, stirred and thrilled vast assemblies. In
the earlier stages of discourse there was little in his
manner to please or impress. His voice, of tenuous
tone and of movement slow almost to drawling, was apt
to cause a feeling of disappointment in those who were
hearing him for the first time ; but, exercised awhile,
that wondrous voice acquired a power little short of
fascination. His style was mainly conversational, but
when he wished to emphasize some truth, or to vent some
emotion with which his whole being seemed aglow, he
rose from the colloquial to the highest order of impas-
sioned speech. At such times voice and eye and atti-
tude were eloquent in a way peculiar to himself.
Masses swayed under it like trees in the wind. Certain
sermons of his early prime are yet, alter the lapse of
more than fifty years, spoken of as instances of trans-
porting and overmastering power, with which memory
yields nothing to compare. This great force he
wielded to the utmost for the «oJJege. From platform
and pulpit it sounded in strains of convincing and per-
suasive speech, and with marvelous effect. Churches
and communities were stirred- Preachers were moved
to zealous advocacy. At familv altars, as in social and
public worship, prayer was made in its behalf ; and it
was not long till in the great commanding centers of its
territory there was earnest practical co-operation in the
common work of nurturing to strength this new agency
which the Church was preparing to assure its future.
Along with these benign results bright minds in every
community were stricken with desire to receive the
training of the college. Though ot the things we can-

224

JOHN P. DURBIN.

not know, there yet is reason to believe that no achieve-
ment of this honored servant of the Church will, in the
final showing, transcend that wrought by him for the
institution whose infancy it was his mission to nurture.

As Dr. George R. Crooks found himself unable to
write a letter for this biography, as he had intended, he
kindly sent his Centennial Oration on Dickinson Col-
lege, delivered in 1883. From this we select for our
use the following eloquent tribute to his honored pro-
fessors, and pre-eminently to Dr. Durbin as the presi-
dent :

Come to me, ye memories of long past years ! and
bring before me again those beloved, those idolized
men, the members of our first faculty. I see Emory,
the picture of manly vigor, walking up the chapel aisle
and taking the oath of office administered by Judge
Reed. Durbin, whose large, lustrous eyes fascinate the
beholder, reads once more with slow ami measured
accent the morning lesson from the chapel pulpit and
offers the simple prayer of childlike faith and trust.
Caldwell, the Christian Aristides, tender and just, sits
again in his chair and with slow and hesitating speech
unfolds the intricacies of mathematics or clears up a
dark point in psychology. McClintOck, as radiant as
Apollo, and as swift, too, as a beam of light, amazes us
l>v the energy with which he quickens our minds.
Allen, massive in form and solid as his own New En-
gland granite, moves among us to show us how tran-
scendent power can he blended and interfused with a
sunny temper. But what shall I say of him, the man
of u'i'nius of that brotherhood, whose lips had been
touched with celestial lire — orator, administrator — the
matchless John P. Durbin? In the class room his con-
versation was more brilliant than the text which he ex-
plained. His fertile and suggestive mind wandered
from point to point, and we sat exhilarated as new-
vistas of truth, one after the other, opened before us.
Or it is Sabbath morning, and he occupies his throne,
the pulpit. The text is, " Wherefore God also hath

MEMOIR.

225

highly exalted him, an 1 given him a name which is
above every name;" the heme, the humiliation and ex-
altation of Christ. The first propositions are so simple
that they seem to be truisms, the first manner is so
didactic that but for the composure of the speaker you
would resent the attempt to fix your attention by such
methods. Statements are made so obviously convinc-
ing that you wonder you had never thought of them
before, lie holds you, and you cannot choose but listen.
All the time the enchanter is weaving his spell about
you and preparing for the triumphant assertion of his
power. Suddenly, as suddenly as the lightning flash,
his vehemence and passion burst upon you. The tor-
rents of feeling which he had until now sternly
repressed flow forth with irresistible force. He has
made no mistake ; he has calculated to a nicety his
possession of your sympahy, and you are borne along
by him whithersoever he will. His port and bearing
have changed ; his manner is that of one fully conscious
of mastery over the hearts of his fellows, and his voice,
vibrant with emotion, searches all the recesses of the
soul. You are absorbed, captured, and when all is over
you are aware that for a time you had wholly lost con-
sciousness of yourself.

It abates nothing from these facts that Dr Durbin's
power as an orator declined after he had committed
himself wholly to administrative tasks. In his later
years he lived among us less as an orator and more as
a statesman :

" W"ith shoulders fit to bear

The weight of mightiest moaaruhiL'S."

He himself never grieved over the change, and wel-
comed the men who increased in public favor while he
decreased ; for he was careless of fame, solicitous only
to do his appointed work thoroughly well.

PART II.

H0MILE1ICS AND SACRED ORATORY.

CHAPTER XIV.

His Eloquence.

THE life of Dr. Durbin is not to be merely narrated.
It should be construed. We can derive from it the
best lessons only by an analysis of that power that gave
him such distinction. He who would adequately render
this service should be the philosopher, the moralist, and
the divine.

As in the study of the human system the physiol-
ogist inquires into the origin and laws of animal life
and learns the functions of the tissues and organs, as
the anatomist gives detail and description of whatever
enters into the system, so to find out what there is in
the physical, mental, or moral constitution that distin-
guishes one man from another may justify the greatest
effort of the understanding. If there be underlying or
interpenetrating facts we should search for them as for
essential knowledge.

In the interest of homiletics and sacred eloquence we
may justly inquire after the elements of Dr. Durbin's
strength. From its origin Methodism had been distin-
guished for the ability and popularity of some of its
preachers. But in the first quarter of this century three
ministers arose who may be denominated the triumvirate
of eloquence in the Methodist Episcopal Church — Henry
B. Bascom, born in 1796; John Summerfield, born in
1798, and John P. Durbin, born in 1800.

Of Bascom's preaching the talented but erratic John
N. Matfitsaid : "The model of his sermons is not found
in the libraries of the Old or New World. He is a pure

230

JOHN P. DURBIN.

original; his shining dims no other star; he is the soli-
tary star that tills with a flood of effulgence the skies
of his own creation." There was majesty in his manner;
there was depth and richness in his voice. His diction
dazed and his utterance awed men. No one who
heard him in his prime could fail to feel that he was
an amazing speaker — in his way peerless. But his elo-
quence allowed no relief in the progress of his discourse.
His address may have seemed rather to the imagina-
tion than to the conscience. In the kind, diversity, and
accumulation of his figures the hearer might sometimes
be confused if not confounded. There would have been
less to perplex had the composition presented more
unity of idea, better articulations of thought, and a more
easily-recognized logical coherence. A more conscious
" touch of nature " would have added to the effect.

Of John SummerHeld we may speak in the language
that Izaak Walton employed to describe Dr. Donne.
" He was a preacher in earnest — weeping sometimes /'or
his auditors, sometimes with them, always preaching to
himself; like an angel, from a cloud but in none; carry-
ing some, as St. Paul was, to heaven in holy raptures;
here picturing a vice so as to make it ugly to those
that practiced it, or a virtue so as to make it beloved
even by tliose who loved it not; and all this, with a most
particular grace and an inexpressible addition of come-
liness. His life was a shining light."

Summerfield blazed on the world as if by the light
of his example God would show young men what they
may be in the pulpit with a consecrated intellect, a
sanctified spirit, and a soul in profoundest sympnthy
with His work. Rev. Dr. G. W. Bethune writes "of
the charm of his seraphic eloquence," and says, " He
was the most persuasive preacher I ever heard." James
W. Alexander regarded William Wirt as one of the

HIS ELOQUENCE.

231

most classical and brilliant extemporaneous orators in
America, but declares " John Summerfield was a greater
orator than he." He asserts that "he was the most en-
chanting speaker he ever heard ; " and adds, " The charm
of his brilliant and pathetic discourses will never be
forgotten by those who heard him." He had a genius
for eloquence. His heart was in his genius for divine
subjects, and God filled and ruled his heart.

Bishop Bedell, in his admirable work, T/ie Pastor, p.
304, says of Summerfield: "The tradition of his holy
humility, his loving, earnest, quickening utterances of
the Gospel, his soul, wrapt in the power of his theme,
thrilling and swaying and melting into passionate tears
whole masses of almost breathless auditors, will live as
one of the choicest memorials of the brightest days of
the Methodist Church." Summerfield died young.

Bishop Bascom lived till the resources of his genius
were fully furnished to the Church — till its highest
honors crowned him. He died at fifty-three.

Dr. Durbin was spared to us till his seventy-sixth year.
He had time which he grandly improved in revealing
those abilities which so eminently fitted him for the ex-
alted spheres which he was called to fill, and in his pro-
tracted life conferred upon the Church the benefits of his
wisdom and worth that only eternity will fully disclose.

Between Bascom and Summerfield there was great
contrast, Bascom had grandeur and vehemence. Sum-
merfield had simplicity, pathos, and a flowing stream of
silvery eloquence. Durbin was unlike them both, but
had some of the elements of each. What was said by
the English poet Dryden in reference to Milton, as com-
pared with Homer and Virgil, might be asserted of Dur-
bin as associated with Bascom and Summerfield:

" Tiie force of Nature could no further go ;
To make the third she joined the former two."

232

JOHN P. DURB1X.

If we speak of Dr. Durbin in the pulpit as he seemed
we should say he attempted nothing in the way of elo-
quence; that his single object was to present with sim-
plicity, directness, and persuasive power the message
that he had received from God. In the progress of his
discourse we should be profoundly impressed with the
belief that nothing less than the salvation of men would
satisfy him. To obtain or retain reputation was no part
of his care. As he began to address the people there
was no show of physical earnestness ; but at no time
was he aimless.

An old writer says, "A good orator should pierce the
ear, allure the eye, and invade the mind of the hearer.''''
All these Dr. Durbin did. His commencement was calm
and undemonstrative. His first utterances were meas-
ured and seemed sluggish, but his sentences were fraught
with meaning, his paragraphs showed progress, and
when he reached his theme the subject was opened.
He could be heard in all parts of the house, and for
simplicity and precision of language could be under-
stood by all. Though there was no display there was
something assuring in speech and manner. His concep-
tions were clear, and in a little time what seemed slug-
gish disappeared. Thought deepened and broadened.
Genius began to flash ; a novel idea mnde its appear-
ance. The hand was drawn from the bosom; the soul
was lender. Style was diversified; a beautiful figure
was employed, and there was no lack of vivacity. He
was felt to be a fine teacher, and his resources enter-
tained. He had pierced the ear, so it was all attention.
He allured the eye. His audience saw in him more than
an instructor; he pleased. His voice, manner, spirit,
showed he was becoming more exalted by his theme.
It was as if the hearts and minds of all who heard were
in his 2>ower, to be taken where he would. Now he

HIS ELOQUENCE.

233

painted a picture or described a fact. It Avas life-like;
he awakened sympathy and was a magnet that drew.
There was a charm in his address. He kept his purpose
in view, himself out of sight.

He allured the eye, and it was well taken; no fitter
object could engage it. The eye is an opening to the
heart, lie invaded the mind of the hearer. He con-
sidered human passions and well understood the avenues
to the sonl. He comprehended his duty and performed
it. Attention was fixed by instruction. Interest was
awakened by the force of truth. Impression was made
by the power of appeal. Every thing contributed to
the end sought. He invaded the mind ; he removed the
doubts that tilled it — conquered the prejudices that there
struggled ; found way to the heart. It was as if the
"louse" was being "set in order." He offered argu-
ments that could not be answered. He presented facts
that were readily confessed. He showed conclusions
that candor pronounced just. The subject that filled
the speaker possessed the hearer. From the flaming
tongue shot a strong sentence that like a bolt went
crashing through a coat of mail and pierced a mind
that was thought invulnerable. So did Dr. Durbin " in-
vade the mind." assailing it with the heaviest weapons
that logic can forge, assaulting the heart with facts that
no power could repel. There was a breaking down of
moral resistance, and there was no sanctuary but in sur-
render. He was full of his theme. His wife was before
him — by the pulpit. He did not see her. lie saw nothing
but subject and souls. In such concentration and in-
tensity eloquence always resides. If he saw the congre-
gation was under the influence of the word he would not
lose his hold, lie repeated ; he emphasized ; he said
"one more thought" — now a "last word" — and it was
the longest in the language. He was like Queen Esther,

234

JOHN P. DUEBIN.

who ventured her own life for her people, saying, "If I
perish, I perish." Then with an earnestness that breathed
her soul she said, " We are sold to be destroyed — to be
slain — to perish ! " Why this triplication ? Was not one
word, one expression, enough ? No, one word would not
express what her soul felt. Now redundancy is a merit.
It gives force. It is not enough to say, " he will kill us.''''
The thought is ground into her soul, and she will grind it
into the soul of the sovereign. Noble woman! she had
an orator's spirit. The finest expressions of poetry, the
most eloquent utterances of patriotism, the noblest
achievements of human skill, and the most convincing
demonstrations of philanthropy and Christian devotion
are found in association with self-abnegation. St. Paul
counted not his life dear unto him.

Quintilian says : "The orator must do all not only in
the best manner but with the greatest ease ; for the ut-
most power of eloquence will deserve no admiration if
unhappy anxiety perpetually attends it and harasses
and wears out the orator. He that has reached the
summit ceases to struggle up the steep." Vol. ii, 450.

Ganganelli (Pope Clement XIV) sa}'s : " There are
certain moments when great orators seem neither to have
style nor words, lest the sublimity should be altered
by studied phrases. There are people who put them-
selves into an alembic to be eloquent, and nothing issues
from the operation but forced conceits and bombastic
phrases. Whereas, if they would give themselves up
to the energy of their hearts they would have golden
tongues." He adds, " I find nothing but elegance in
almost all the writings of the times, and yet they are
very far from being eloquent." Quintilian supposes of
one that "his greatest excellence is that he has no
faults, and his greatest fault is that he has no excellence.
Elegance pleases, but eloquence captivates, and when it

HIS ELOQUENCE.

235

is natural it amalgamates itself with all the beauties of
nature and genius to show them in all their luster and
according to truth."

Dr. Durbin was now the inspired orator. Nature,
under the divinest influences, pressed into the service
every power tributary to the result. Gesture came
without call — came to assist or to impress when words
sought an auxiliary. We should say he made no gest-
ures ; they made themselves. At first they were few
and modest, and came with such ease and stealth
as hardly to be recognized. They expressed emotion
as words conveyed thought. In the periods of his
highest excitement and grandest achievement all his
powers were vocal. The body was full of tongues,
and gesture was the rival of speech. The finger, the
hand, the arm, the attitude, as well as the eye, com-
municated, but each in unity with the other, and the
hand could not say to the foot, "I have no need of
thee." Abbe Besplas declares, "Sweetness, with noble
simplicity, should form the constant character of dec-
lamation." Pascal believed that in gesture the motion
of the body or its members should help to paint the
thoughts of the said, and that the painting ought to be
exact.

Gesture, with Dr. Durbin, was unaffected, appropri-
ate, inspired, and therefore necessitated. When thus in-
fluenced, all his faculties waited on him. Memory came
as purveyor of the soul and promptly yielded her treas-
ures. Invention revealed its fruitfulness, passion flamed,
but left reason unharmed. Logic took fire and burned
its way through the whole realm of thought ; every
faculty was alert, every force at command. We saw
the man in all the fullness of his mental resources. The
late Dr. Nadal, after hearing Dr. Durbin in one of his
grandest efforts to " preach the word," said, "The spell

236

JOHN P. DUE BIN.

of his eloquence remained on me, and the very air was
full of the figures that he used, and they gleamed and
glowed with their brightness." The cyclone is not
more unlike the ordinary currents of the air ; the
earthquake is not more dissimilar from the uniform
operation of physical laws ; the ocean, when the tempest
sweeps it and the mountain billows break upon the
shore, presents no greater contrast to the serene surface
when it tempts children to sport upon its waters, than
does the orator under his high afflatus to the same
speaker when no pressure is on him.

His eloquence was the soul in its intellectual culmi-
nation. It was the high- water mark of the emotional
nature. It was the tidal wave of influence that carries
every thing in its course. Rev. Joseph Castle, D.D., a
classic and a critic, expressed the belief that Demos-
thenes was not more eloquent than, in particular pas-
sages, was Dr. Durbin.

Between Dr. Durbin's earliest and later ministry
there was difference in manner. We have seen that at
the commencement of his labors his vehemence broke
him down in six months; that as professor in Augusta
College failure of health required respite from his
duties. On coming East he made it a study to hus-
band his strength in the opening of his discourses. The
conversational speech that he had learned in the cabins
of the colored people now availed him, and he acted on
the principle that the conservation of his forces was
essential to culminating effect. His eloquence, therefore,
became less pervasive and more concentrated. His
greatest power might not be found in more than two
or three passages. Here, in his grandest moments, it
was surpassing eloquence. At such time he was a law
to himself.

It was a remark of Dr. Lawson, that " he who is ani-

HIS ELOQUENCE.

23 7

mated all the time is not animated at all." However
such statement may apply to certain styles it is true of
that which distinguished Dr. Durbin.

Dr. Nott, of Union College, in his day one of the
grandest pulpit orators of this land, laid it down as a
fact not to be disputed, that " No man can be eloquent
for more than five minutes at a time." We argue this
as a philosophical necessity. " All high emotions are
of short duration." The influence upon the speaker or
hearer is not sustained for a longer period ; like
violent diseases, they cannot be both acute and pro-
tracted.

For pungency or power a well-couched sentence can-
not be too brief. For pathos and moral grandeur
what verse in the Bible makes such an appeal as that
which is shortest — "Jesus wept?"

It is, however, a mistake to suppose that, while the
effect of Dr. Durbin's eloquence was in a short pas-
sage, it derived none of its influence from that which
preceded it. As in painting there is needed light and
shade, so the mind of the hearer is prepared for the
greatest effect by that which went before.

There was eloquence in stilling tin- thoughts, in hold-
ing the mind, in insinuating the truth, and in keeping
the soul in a state of moral receptivity. The result
n cognized was the work of a moment, but not the
preparation.

For long years General Newton, acting under the
authority of the United States Government, was work-
in;; on a reef of rocks at the entrance of the New
York harbor. What he did was out of sight. Many
were skeptical as to his opening the passage. The
conception was formed ; the engineering was done ; the
labor was over. When all was ready the hour was
fixed, and at the touch of an infant's finger there was

238

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

the explosion that shivered and scattered (he rocks,
shook two cities, and opened " Hell Gate." It was the
work of a moment, and commerce exulted in the achieve-
ment. But for this grand result preparation was an
imperative demand.

Dr. Archibald Alexander's Life, hy his own son, Dr.
J. W. Alexander, gives an account of his wish to know
more of the eloquence of Patrick Henry. He says :
" When a young man in Virginia I was anxious to as-
certain the true secret of his power. One thing I had
particularly desired to have decided; namely, whether,
like a player, he merely assumed the appearance of
feeling, or whether it was real. Understanding that
Mr. Henry was to appear in the defense of three men
charged with murder I determined to seize the oppor-
tunity of observing for myself the eloquence of this
extraordinary orator. I obtained a place in the court-
room. The examination of the witnesses closed. It
was at the twilight of evening. Candles were brought
into the court-house. The judges put it to the option
of the bar whether they would go on with the argu-
ment or adjourn until the next day. The attorney of
the State, a man of uncommon dignity and an accom-
plished lawyer, professed his willingness to proceed
immediately, while the testimony was fresh in the minds
of all. Now, for the first time, I heard Henry. He
began with declaring his willingness to proceed with
the trial, but added, ' My heart is so oppressed with the
weight of responsibility which rests upon me, having
the lives of three fellow-citizens depending probably on
the exertions that I may be able to make in their be-
half (here turning to the prisoners behind him), that I
do not feel able to proceed to-night. I hope the court
will indulge me and postpone the trial till the morning.'"
Dr. Alexander remarks, " the impression made by these

HIS ELOQUENCE.

•239

few words was such as I assure myself no one can ever
conceive by seeing them in print. In the countenance,
action, and intonation of the speaker there was expressed
such an intensity of feeling that all my doubts were
dispelled. Never again did I question whether Henry
felt or only acted as feeling." He continues, " I ex-
perienced instantaneous sympathy with him in the
emotions which he expressed, and had no doubt the
same sympathy was felt by every hearer." The pro-
ceedings were deferred till the next morning. He de-
clares, "The speech that he made was ingenious; his
appeals were overwhelming." In spite of his better •
judgment Alexander confesses he was swayed, though he
could counteract the impression by a moment's reflection.
The illusion of his eloquence was complete, but nothing
that he ever heard so convinced liim of Henry's powers
as the speech of five minutes which he made when he
requested that the trial might be adjourned till the
next day. E. G. Parker, biographer of Rufus Choate,
said, " Daniel Webster once in a sentence and a look
crushed an hour's argument" of an adversary.

But Dr. Durbin was the sacred orator, and felt that
the Gospel is the great commission. The object that
he sought, the spirit he possessed, and the effort that
he made showed that his eloquence was a " virtue."
No sermon that lie published, however grand the
theme, or excellent the plan, or appropriate the dic-
tion, or logical the reasoning ; nothing that he ever
wrote or that others can ever write of him, will give
his voice or exhibit his spirit. Eloquence cannot be
printed. Like the soul, it is never found by dissecting,
though that soul is the immortal part of our nature
and eloquence is that which gives immortality to the
man. The brain is cold, the heart is still, and the
tongue is silent that could express this eloquence.

240

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

No man is eloquent at all times. Owen Feltham

says, "He who speaks thus cannot speak thus always."
This statement applies alike to the secular and sacred
orator.

In 1832 the writer heard Henry B. Bascom in
Smyrna, Del. He preached on the resurrection of
Christ. From the first to the last sentence it was a
rushing current, not to say torrent, of magnificent
speech. Figure followed figure in such quick suc-
cession that in the attempt to catch one we lost
another. The late Dr. J. B. Hagany, of remarkable
verbal memory, on hearing him said, he could retain no
figure except the comfort of infidelity is "like a moon-
beam playing upon a mountain of ice." Again we
heard Mr. Bascom in 1844, during the session of the
General Conference. He had gone with the late Dr.
William Cooper, pastor, to attend the re-opening of
Wharton Street Church, Philadelphia. There was every
thing in the place, the period, and the circumstances to
induce the greatest effort. The congregation was from
all parts of the city, and Bascom was at the height of
his fame. But the di>course presented a broad con-
trast to the one of 1832. The multiform and multi-
tudinous figures of the former had faded out, and the
color and substance of the thought did not compensate
their absence.

That holy man and honored minister of Christ, whom
the writer can never name but with profoundest rever-
ence as having been the instrument of his conversion,
thf late Rev. Henry G. King, told him the following
fact:

Bascom and Summerfield met in Philadelphia. They
preached the same Sabbath ; Bascom at St. George's,
in the morning, Summerfield in the old Academy, or
Union, in the afternoon. Summerfield heard Bascom,

MS ELOQUENCE.

241

and marveled at his ability. Summerfield's home was
with the Rev. Dr. Thomas F. Sargeant, who loved him
as a son. While dining the Doctor said: " Well, John,
what did you think of Mr. Bascom?" Snmmerfield
answered, with bated breath, "A wonderful man,
Doctor." The Doctor observing that Snmmerfield was
not eating, said: "Help j'ourself, John." "I will,"
replied Snmmerfield. Again the Doctor said : " Why
don't you eat, John, my boy?" In his guileless spirit
he exclaimed, " I will, Doctor, for spite;" to defeat the
adversary, who whispered, "How can <>ne like you
preach after such a man ? " He went to fill his appoint-
ment; but the saintly Summerfield failed. The excite-
ment of the morning, from Bascom's sermon, was too
much for mind and body.

When Gavazzi made his first appearance in this
country he was an orator of amazing power. The
writer heard him on his chosen theme. He spoke
in the largest hall in Philadelphia. He was in his
physical and mental prime. He had a grand physique;
his person was tall, and his movement majestic. He
had a swarthy complexion, black hair, an eagle eye, a
massive brow, and his features expressed intellect.
His voice was full, deep, and of great compass. His
spirit was buoyant and brave. His passion was like a
furnace. He had a consuming earnestness. His ability
for sarcasm and ridicule can hardly be conceived. His
derisive smile expressed the deepest contempt, but his
scowl was vengeance. The tragic and the comic were
equally at his command. The platform that he occu-
pied was deep and broad ; but the space was not too
great for his transitions. His attitudes and gestures
knew no limits. He wore a dark heavy mantle that
was as a Roman toga, which, as really as any action, he
made to serve his purpose for impression. In a moment
17

242

JOHN P. DURBIN.

he would gather it close to his person and stand like a
massive statue in disdain of danger. Again, throwing
it out at will he would dart across the stage to exhibit
expedition in grand achievements. And now he would
so dispose of it as to show himself like a moving tower.
Then he would spread or draw it about him so as to
appear as ludicrous as desire determined or as taste
told. He represented the Roman pontiff as an old
woman, disabled and disfigured and humiliated. There
was the wrinkled brow, tlie corrugated cheek, dishev-
eled hair and anchylosed limb. She was made tooth-
less by the tooth of time. Kneeling on the platform he
impersonated one utterly broken down, crouching and
looking upward with hands clasped and eyes anxious,
asking help for her needy children, yet receiving none,
and with no device eijual to the demand. We certainly
might have looked for her death before this time.

In his mood and place Gavazzi was stupendous.
Every thing was carried to the greatest height. Lan-
guage seemed made for his lips, and it rang through
the vast assemblage. In voice, passion, gesture, sub-
ject, all his resources were brought out, and in the on-
rushing of a mighty soul every thing seemed swept
before him. Such was the Italian priest.

His eloquence in these efforts induced the citizens of
Philadelphia to ask a lecture on a popular subject. He
consented. Again the writer heard him. His fluency
and force, attitude, gesture, and dramatic power, every
thing that went to make him so mighty on his chosen
theme, was absent. He appeared without the toga, and,
as if his mantle was the inspiration of the man, we saw
Samson without his locks. He was like other men.
We could hardly have imagined one less likely to fail
at such time and place than he. Yet fail he certainly
did.

MS ELOQUENCE.

243

Dr. Durbin sometimes failed to produce the moral
effect that he justly desired and that others expected.
In manifest result there would be positive disparity.
The most striking illustration of this that the writer
has known is given in the letter of Dr. Burch. This
difference none knew better than Dr. Durbin. But at
such time he was one of the best examples of meek
submission without nervous irritability or mental de-
pression. The way he received the disappointment
was a lesson to all ministers, as all have a like ex-
perience without like philosophy or grace. He said,
" If the help does not come, I do not fret." A minister
does well at such time to ask himself: "Did I make
necessary preparation ? Did I depend too much on
what I had studied ? Was my ambition sanctified ?
Did I look to (^od?" A physical or mental condition,
a psychological cause for which the preacher is not re-
sponsible, or something in the subject or occasion might
explain an apparent failure. Nor is it to be forgotten
that sometimes the greatest visible success follows
painful experiences. The soul has thus been roused to
sublime effort.

It is just to say, as far as the observation of the writer
extended, and it was over many years, he never knew
Dr. Durbin to fail to edify. He had thought, language,
logic, order; and in these his profiting would appear.

Dr. Durbin was remarkable for his power of emphasis.
It was not what one in derision calls the "sledge-hammer
emphasis." This excellence appeared in his reading in
public worship. But its full force was seen only when
be was under the strongest impulse. Then a word was
a thought. That thought was a photograph of the mind.

His pronunciation of a sentence would sometimes pro-
duce an amazing effect. An elocutionist gave an example
of this power in a speech of Senator Preston. It was in the

244

JOHN P. BUR BIN.

presidential campaign of 1840. Crittenden had spoken.
Webster had occupied about two hours, but the people
were still attentive. Preston rose and uttered but the
name " Martin Van Buren ! " This he thrice did ; the
first time with the accent of incredulity. The people
shouted. The second time with an accent of scorn.
The people stormed. But when the third time he ex-
claimed, " Martin Van Buren! " with an accent of con-
tempt, the vast assembly was wild. They clapped, they
stamped, they threw their hats into the air, and were
at a loss for any adequate demonstration. It was cli-
max on a, word. David Garrick, who would give so many
pounds to pronounce "O" like Whitetield, understood
this | lower. Who that ever heard him can forget the
" Ah me!" of Dr. A. L. P. Green ?

If we were asked, was Dr. Durbin an artist. ? we might
answer Yes, or No, according to the meaning of the in-
quirer. If it is art to retrieve nature from the artifi-
cial and restore it to the easy, graceful, normal action ;
if when, by study, observation, and practice the speaker
has freed himself from the trammels of custom, the
force of habit, and the influence of false teachers ; if
when, by care and the closest attention to even minute
matters he secures to nature self-assertion, so that it
acts without restraint and assumes the attitude that
gives the liberty of genuis, and by voice, gesture, lan-
guage, accent, emphasis, pause, intonation, inflection,
and whatever tends to his aid in the result sought,
producing an impression corresponding to nature's place
and power ; if this be art, then John P. Dubin was a
consummate artist. If in true art there is no show of the
artificial, he was such an artist. If art is found when,
in treating with men, there is skill that compasses an
unselfish and noble though difficult purpose, he was
an artist. If it be declared " The art of the art is

HIS ELOQUENCE.

245

to conceal the art," we only say, If it is nature to be
natural, he was that. If it is art to be artificial, that
he teas not. " Nature, not nature's journeymen, had
made him."

May we not suppose this is the attainment that Schil-
ler had iu mind when he said, "I hope ultimately to
advance so far that art shall become second nature, as
polished manners are to well-bred men ; then imagina-
tion shall regain her former freedom and submit to none
but voluntary humiliations?"

He had the taste and skill that come from culture
and that men associate with art. He had a quick per-
ception of the mental if not of the moral state of those
whom he addressed. He had an intellectual alertness
that at once adapted itself to the need of the people.
He was as prompt to execute as he was quick to discern.
He was a master in securing attention, in holding the
thought and in impressing the minds of his hearers.
The means of mental arrest were always at his com-
mand. And in this his design was as undetected as in
any thing he did. Without adopting the sensational,
of which he was utterly free, he would give such a turn
to thought, such a change to language, or voice, or
manner, or by anecdote or brief narration, as at once
fixed the mind of* the hearer with a vivacity that
compelled interest. If he saw the congregation was
under the influence of the word he would not lose his
hold. He makes a statement, offers an argument, thinks
its full force is not felt. He would say, " I fear I
am not understood." Then, like a skillful rider who
reaches a chasm that the animal is unable to bound,
and starts back to a greater distance to add mo-
mentum to speed, and then with a leap passes it, so
did this preacher, by device to which his ingenuity was
always equal, compass his end and "go on his way re-

246

JO UN P. BURBIN.

juicing." The fact was felt, the argument was clinched,
and the work was done. A striking case is given by
J. M. Phillips, Esq., our late Senior Book Agent. On
a certain occasion Dr. Durbin was making a platform
speech in Columbus, Ohio, and giving statistics that the
report of missions demanded. He thought there was a
listlessness that he always tried to preclude. His array
of figures was not the eloquence which they wanted.
There was no " fever heat." He turned to the chair,
made a polite bow, and said, "When I entered this Con-
ference two days ago I looked upon the faces of those
before me and saw only two of all that were here forty
and four years ago, when, a stripling, I joined the Con-
ference. I felt lonely ; I felt sad." And drawing his
coat closer round him he said, " I felt like some oak
riven of its branches." By this time, said our in-
formant, the house was in tears ; he then resumed his
subject with the undivided attention of the people.
But he " invaded the mind of the hearer." There was
an intelligent order. He would be heard, understood,
and felt. He preached for instruction, impression, per-
suasion. To this his skill, his art, were directed. In
the plan of his sermons, in the conduct of his discourse,
in the progress of his thought, in the climax that he
reached there was the art of sermonizing and the skill
of literary finish. In the effect he was above art, he
was beyond nature, he was a divine preacher.

He was an elocutionist of incomparable merit. Many
study it ; he had it. Books are written, lectures are
delivered, professors are employed, and by such at-
tention as is given many are spoiled. He was made ;
he was an example of the thing itself. In his language
we see the rhetorician, in his arrangement we confess
the logician; but in his delivery we bend before the
mighty orator.

MS ELOQUENCE.

247

It was a striking fact, and one of great beauty in the
ministry of Dr. Darbin, that he carried his hearers with
him. He did not enter regions of scholarly thought
and metaphysical discussion where they could not follow
him ; he did not " preach over their heads." He kept
both head and heart in view. Like the eagle that first
rises slowly from the ground, but when fully on the
wing ascends with an ease, celerity, and strength that
show its power ; that is never more at home than
when farthest from earth, nearest the source of light,
and basking in the burning splendors of a meridian sun,
so did this sublime preacher rise by degrees to those
celestial heights that awaken ecstasy and inspire awe ;
yet never transcending the vision of those to whom he
showed the path of light, leaving us to rejoice more in
the inspiration that he imparted than to marvel at the
imperial soul that soared.

248

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

CHAPTER XV.

His Style.

N analysis of Dr. Durbin's eloquence requires us to

-lA- consider his~ style.

In an orator every thing should respect the end. As
thought is the great means of producing conviction and
of inducing action, and as language is its vehicle, it is
a primary care of the speaker to secure the best medium
for its conveyance. It should be presented with least
fault and with the greatest force.

It is impossible to tell the influence of style as an
auxiliary to eloquence. Two speakers of equal learning
may address an audience upon the same subject. It is
alike familiar to both. They offer the same facts, they
employ the same arguments. They are anxious for the
same results; but the language of one is inaccurate,
parenthetical, and tangled: that of the other is clear,
definite, and to the point. The words of the one are
chosen, like arrows, for the mark: those of the other,
if things so crooked can be called arrows, are taken
at hazard, and, if shot, are let fly at random. Each
has words enough, but those of the one may he
uncouth and without order; those of the other show
discipline and grace. The one confuses, the other clar-
ifies. The one is heard with pleasure, the other with
pain. Style makes the difference. Solomon in his wis-
dom as the preacher " sought out acceptable words."
Wisdom still resides in like selection. The language
is ample enough, the interests involved are great enough,

HIS STYLE.

249

and the convictions that have constrained consecration
to the ministry have been profound enough to induce
necessary effort to secure the best words to commend
the truth to every man's intelligence and " conscience
in the sight of God."

Cicero named three things as essential to successful
oratory: 1. That the speaker know what to say. 2.
That his thoughts be properly arranged. 3. That he
employ the most suitable expressions. Thus he makes
ability to speak in the best way the crowning qualifica-
tion. Thought is obscure or transparent, languid or
nervous, feeble or strong, as language makes it. Nor
must it be forgotten that there is a vast difference be-
tween propriety and tameness; between the bold and
the reckless; between the elegant and the affected; be-
tween the familiar and the vulgar. Dr. E. T. Chan-
ning, for thirty years professor of rhetoric and oratory
in Harvard College, and not, therefore, to be suspected
of extravagance, says, "We need not be cold to be cor-
rect, nor ostentatious to be elegant. We may be as
magnificent, as vehement as our nature will permit or
allow us to be, and all the while violate no rule of sound
criticism. Indeed, all the while we owe our success to
a careful observance of precision." Eloquence eschews
as fatal or harmful to its purpose whatever in style di-
verts or confuses the mind of the hearer. Its purpose
is not to shine, but to impress, to convince and per-
suade. As the finest porcelain cannot satisfy hunger,
so mere ornamentation will not avail for a live intellect
and a conscious want. Thought is the aliment of the
mind, and it craves it. Eloquence seeks by the words
employed the most perfect contact of mind with mind.
It is like the grasp of friendship with ungloved hand.
It is one nature receiving the intelligence, feeling tlie
warmth, and deriving some of the vitality of another

250

JOHN P. DURBIN.

nature. It is like two hemispheres that, united, make
one globe, and the circle is complete.

There is no law for grandiloquence. Sound may
take the place of sense. Intellectual barrenness finds
concealment in the show and spread of verbal costume.
Whenever expression is stronger than the thought it is
bombast. There is a flashy style that imposes upon the
unthinking, and there are flowers that fall off with shak-
ing. As meretricious attire gives neither symmetry to the
form nor beauty to the feature, so the ornament that
adds nothing is worth nothing. The shadow is some-
times longer and always thinner than the substance. A
lexicon cannot make mind, and "the mind's the standard
of the man."

Dr. Durbin was a preacher of great power in illus-
tration.

He thought, with Thomas Fuller, that if " reasons are
the pillars that sustain the temple of Christianity, illus-
trations are the windows to let in the light." These
" windows " he sometimes made very large, and was care-
ful not to stain them. Whatever taste might prompt
in relation to "a dim light" that falls on the "long
drawn aisle," he desired that the light that falls upon
the intellect should be as bright as the sun, and, like
that, seen without effort. His illustrations were con-
fined to no department of thought. They might be
from art or science, from history, sacred or profane,
from nature, from the commonplaces of life, or from
the classics. The Bible was to him a rich and never-
failing supply. But knowledge of what he selected
gave him skill, and he used art like an artist, science
like a scientist, and history like a historian. Classics
he employed as one who had traversed the ground.
After his tour in Europe and Palestine they afforded
such illustration as taste and time suggested.

HIS STYLE.

2.31

But, whatever the source, they were to illustrate some-
thing. They were not substitutes for necessary matter.
That was a keen criticism by an intelligent Christian
lady, who, when speaking of a difference in the min-
istry of great preachers that she heard abroad and
some that she heard at home, said, " Foreign preachers
preached the Gospel and illustrated it by science, but
that those alluded to at home preached science and
illustrated it by the Gospel." If this were true of any,
the charge did not lie against Dr. Durbin. He preached
" the word," and by illustration concentrated the beams
of his intelligence upon it.

We reduce bis style to three descriptions that were
used as best served his purpose.

1. The Plain. — This is simple, familiar, direct, and
unadorned. Its aim is not so much to impress as to
enlighten. It is much as men talk on ordinary affairs.
The language is pure, and gives no offense to the most
cultivated. Many sound discourses are preached and
published that from first to last show no other style.
This is what we may suppose Mr. Wesley meant when
he wrote, " Only let your language be plain, proper,
and clear, and it is enough;" yet in Mr. Wesley we
have every st\le that we notice in Dr. Durbin.

2. The Animated. — Dr. Durbin showed progress in
style as well as in thought. As, therefore, the magni-
tude and interest of a subject increased and the faculties
found fuller play, his effort was to fasten the truth that
had been only communicated. Style assimilated. Pe-
riods presented greater smoothness and dignity ; they
changed their form, were inverted, transposed ; they
were simple, complex, or periodic. There were variety
and climax. Similes had place.

Herbert Spencer says, " To have a specific style is to
be poor in speech." The gifted Henry Ware, Jr., in

252

JOHN P. DURBIX.

writing to his brother William, says, u By the way, why
won't you write sermons in precisely the brief, pithy,
broken dialogue style of this letter of yours ? It would
be prodigiously taking and lively, and it would inevi-
tably do good to your delivery. Try it in some passage
of your next sermon. We want greater variety of style;
our hearers' minds want to change their positions as
we proceed, and this should be a matter of calculation
and effort with us, just as much as the plan of the ser-
mon. When we always keep up the same sort of talk,
always equally dignified, solemn, exact, no wonder peo-
ple gape and think it a long half hour. A really excited
extemporaneous actor does not do this. He changes his
key, goes quick, then slow, asks questions, answers them,
exclaims, reiterates, speaks by hints, by short sentences,
by single words; and through this variety not only sus-
tains but increases attention and the interest. Pas-
sages drawn up like your letter, thrown in toward the
close of a sermon, would electrify." — Life of II. Ware,
Jr., i, in 7. Thus wrote one of the most brilliant and
eloquent Unitarian divines. Was there ever better
illustration of the force of his remarks than was fur-
nished in the ministry of our early Methodist preach-
ers? By statement, by argument, by interrogation, by
evolving a thought, and in repetition presenting it in
different forms and various aspects, as the skilled advo-
cate does before the jury till he has fixed it in the mind
least receptive, so did the Methodist preacher sink it
into the heart of the hearer. John P. Durbin grew up
under the labors of such men. He was a careful ob-
server. The Methodist preachers seemed to be "turning
the world upside down," and he desired to have a hand
at the lever. Quick to perceive, intelligent to appre-
ciate, and wise to adopt the most efficient means, he
imbibed the spirit and sought the power of our fathers.

HIS STYLE.

253

He was not an inapt student of the facts, nor an unsuc-
cessful laborer for the results.

3. The Sublime style. — Suitable and necessary as is
the plain style for its purpose ; excellent as is the ani-
mated for setting forth divine truth in its nature, beauty,
and claim ; positive and manifest as is its influence
in fixing attention and winning the regard of men; ex-
alted eloquence is never attained till such emotion is
awakened and such passion is kindled as compel a
higher style. As language is to express the heart as
well as the intellect of the speaker, and is to reach both
in the hearer, the orator should realize that he must
not have the vehicle merely for his thought, but for his
soul.

In the fullness of his matter, in the outgushing of
his speech, in the celerity and vigor of his mental
movement, in the strength of his convictions, in the
intensity of his desire to compass his end impelling
to every means to secure his object, he presses on irre-
spective of the length of sentence or of any thing but
the desired result. Facts force themselves on him, and
he notices them. Reasons multiply, and he gives them.
Clause joined to clause and epithet added to epithet
give force to the vast volume of truth ; the channel
widens; the current of thought goes rushing on with
increasing strength and pours its fullness into the pe-
riodic sentence. The soul could allow no arrest. When
such a sentence is not forced it gives grandeur to the
composition and weight to the purpose. This in his
highest moods was illustrated by Dr. Durbin.

According to Longinus, "the sublime is an image re-
flected from the inward greatness of the soul." Ad-
dison says, "The sublime is from the nobleness of the
thoughts, the magnificence of the words, or the harmo-
nious and lively turn of the phrase." Composition,

254

JOHN P. DORBIX.

therefore, that expresses exalted conceptions, profound
moral yearnings, and unyielding purpose to achieve all
that the good of the sinner and the glory of God de-
mand—a composition that is alike the offspring of a
burning brain and of a melting heart — must be an
" image reflected from the inward greatness of the
soul." It is the soul shining on the intellect; the soul
speaking from the glowing tongue; the soul subduing
all to itself. In the moral world intensity is an essen-
tial condition of sublimity. The soul in ecstasy or in
agony may exhibit the sublime. When the speaker
feels as nearly as may be the full force of divine veri-
ties sentences assume the greatest strength, and may
fairly break under the weight of the thought they are
intended to convey, and exclamation takes their place.
Did not Thomas feel this pressure when he exclaimed,
" My Lord and my God ! "

The real Durbin never appeared till he reached such
eminence. Here his step was quick and firm and un-
erring ; here he was' at home ; here he reveled, and
thence descended with a dignity equal to the strength
with which he rose. In his style there was great contrast.
In the first, or plain, he talked and taught. In the sec-
ond, or animated, he interested and pleased. In the
third, or sublime, he seized, held, and made captive.

While in the first there were those who could have
left without the sense of loss, in the second the same
persons would have resisted an argument to go; but in
the third it was impossible to make them stir. They
who at the beginning were indifferent became charmed;
those who were interested are now in transport. Now
the pulpit is the only power. Time is nothing but as
it allows the hearer to drink in the word and imbibe
the spirit of the speaker. As in the seven prismatic
colors we have all the diversity of light and shade —

HIS STYLE.

255

every tinge and tint in nature and in art — so in these
three styles we have the force, the finish, and the fire of
the mightiest orator. As in the combination of the
twenty-six letters of our alphabet we form all the
words of the lexicon, and from these present the law
of Sinai, the utterances of Pentecost, and the Sermon
of our Lord, so from these three styles we have all the
wealth of literature, whether sacred or profane.

The foundation of appropriate style is sound sense.
Intelligence measures thought. Judgment weighs
words. Skill adapts one to the other. Dr. Durbin's style
had perspicuity and precision, beauty and elevation,
variety and force. May we not assume for style as for
eloquence what the philosopher says of matter : " It is
capable of receiving all manner of forms?"

In Durbin there was no dead level. Now it might be
close and exact, as he was calm ; if he were vehement,
copious and diffuse. His words expressed beauty of
conception, breadth of knowledge, intensity of spirit,
and grandeur of thought. He understood "how forci-
ble are right words." He knew that they may carry
frost or fire; that they may congeal or melt; that they
may paralyze or electrify. He had seen words fall like
snow-flakes or as the crushing aerolite. Though not
lavish with language there was no paucity. He had all
that rhetoric asks or eloquence demands. He had a
word for every thought, and a thought for every emo-
tion. He could address himself to every case and ques-
tion, and with style suitable to each. He could be as
simple, direct, and home-like as condition required.
He knew the pangs of penitence, and how to describe
them; the joy of pardon, and in what way to express
it. He made faith easy and holiness a ready attain-
ment, and all in language that a wayfaring man would
understand and approve. With what vivid colors did

256

JOHN P. BUR BIN.

he show the dying sinner ! Who ever presented the
departing Christian in words better calculated to induce
every man to say, "Let me die the death of the right-
eous ? "

There was sublimity in his simplicity, for it set forth
great facts. There was simplicity in his sublimity, as
all was natural and just.

The last century gave to English literature two men,
Samuel Johnson and Joseph Addison. They were
princes in their places. Johnson's style has made that
of many. It has fullness and grandeur. Addison's
taste has told on others, who have assimilated to his
style. It has purity and precision. Each of these great
writers has had his critics; both have their merits un-
impaired. Fashion is found in language as in dress.
Time modifies estimates. In Bascom there was more
of Johnson than of Addison : in Durbin, Addison pre-
dominated; but as a rhetorician he knew all styles and
could command any. He adopted for the time that
which best suited his purpose, but believed, with Seneca,
that " fit words are better than fine ones." But the
man dwelt in his style as " Uriel in the sun."

DRAMATIC POWER, VOICE, UNCTION. 251

CHAPTER XVI.
Imagination, Dramatic Power, Voice, Unction.

IX an analysis of Dr. Durbin as a sacred orator we
must consider the influence of his imagination, his
dramatic power, his voice, and the divine unction.

In popular and powerful address we may uniformly
trace the influence of imagination. The discourse in
which it predominates is wanting in moral weight, but
the orator can neither doubt nor decline its advantages.
A disordered imagination harms by its fantastic exhibi-
tions; but a sound one elevates thought, imparts inter-
est, and impresses truth. Logic is necessary for order
and conviction. For instruction didactic speech is an
imperative demand. Familiar narrative, facts of his-
tory, and principles of science afford lessons of wisdom.
But imagination is like an added sense — a sense indeed
comprehending in its use the other senses, but in its ac-
tion transcending them all. It is based on observation,
improved by culture and constrained by emotion. It
takes in more than the eye hath seen, or the ear hath
heard, or the hand hath handled. It combines and cre-
ates; it

" Bodies forth
Tlie form of tilings unknown."

The orator, like the poet, sees the possible as well as the
certain. The most logical and majestic minds give force
to their reasonings and sublimity to their conceptions
by the use of this faculty. "Without it a speaker may
argue with clearness; may communicate knowledge of
18

258

JOHN P. DURB1N.

great value; may present conclusions that none can dis-
pute ; may obtain the reputation of a strong thinker
and profound divine; and in some departments of study
there may be no need of imagination. Science gives
demonstrations. But the pulpit appeals to every sus-
ceptibility of man by every faculty and force at the
preacher's command. It may sometimes be justly as-
serted that there is too much imagination in the sermon.
It may likewise be said with equal truth there is too
much reasoning. It is needless when things are self-
evident. There is too much show of exposition; that
which by a few words is made clear by many becomes
cloudy.

There are those who speak of the preacher of imag-
ination as if this were his only faculty. Was it so with
Latimer, with Jeremy Taylor, with Henry Melville ?
Do we associate great imagination with a little mind ?
Do not the ablest thinkers often appear to greatest ad-
vantage, and make the profoundest impression, when
imagination asserts its power? Milton is immortal in
his works of imagination. But was he not one of the
strongest prose writers of his age? The fathers of the
Revolution were not men of small intellect. But in
the most powerful words they uttered we see their
imagination. James Otis exclaims, "England may as
well dam up the waters of the Nile with bulrushes as
fetter the steps of freedom, more proud and firm in
this youthful land than when she treads the sequestered
glens of Scotland or couches herself among the mag-
nificent mountains of Switzerland.1'

Not less does Patrick Henry command us when he
declares, " Our chains are forged; their clanking may be
heard on the plains of Boston." And, when love of the
whole country prompted the reply of Webster to Hayne
iu the American Congress — words that will be our

DRAMATIC POWER, VOICE, UNCTION.

259

glory while the republic lasts — the words of the consti-
tutional lawyer, of the mighty statesman, the words
that childhood will be taught to recite for coming gen-
erations and that maturity and patriotism will not cease
to reproduce, were the utterances compelled by a naming
imagination. Weighty as were the principles he laid
down, solid as was his reasoning, it was the climax of
power in his speech as he s.iid:

When my eyes shall be turned to behold for the last
time the sun in heaven may I not see him shining on
broken and dishonored fragments of a once glorious
union; on States dissevered, discordant, belligerent; on
a land rent with civil tends, or drenched, it may be, in
fraternal blood ! Let their last feeble and lingering
glance rather behold the gorgeous ensign of the republic,
now known and honored throughout the earth, still full
high advanced, its anus and trophies streaming in their
original luster, not a stripe erased or polluted nor a sin-
gle star obscured, bearing for its motto no such raiser-
able interrogatory as, " What is all this worth ? " nor
those other words of delusion and folly, "Liberty first
and union afterward;" but every- where, spread all
over in characters of living light, blazing on all its am-
ple folds as they float over the sea and over the land
and in every wind under the whole heavens, that other
sentiment, dear to every true American heart, " Liberty
and union, now and ever, one and inseparable."

But nowhere do we more clearly see the use and
power of this faculty than in the " lively oracles." To
what part of nature do they not appeal ? The floods " lift
up their voice." Bel "bows." Nebo " stoops." "The
mountains and the hills break forth into singing, and all
the trees of the field clap their hands." The desert
blossoms as the rose, and instead of the thorn comes up
the fir-tree. Of the sinner God says, " The heavens
shall reveal his iniquities and the earth shall rise up
against him." How does imagination influence the ex-

2G0

JO UN P. D UHBIN.

pression of Isaiah when writing of the proud monarch
of Babylon, who was about to follow aud meet the
kings and oppressors that had gone before him ? He
says: "Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet
thee at thy coming. It stirreth up the dead for thee,
even all the chief ones of the earth: it hath raised
from their thrones all the kings of the nations." And
the Son of God makes the climax of his didactic teach-
ing in his Sermon on the Mount in a picture of the im-
agination from two builders: "Whoso heareth these
savings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto
a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the
rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,
and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was
founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened
unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house ; and it fell : and
great was the fall of it." How else could this lesson be
so impressed ? How could the incaution, the recklessness,
and the ruin of the soul be more forcibly shown?

We can hardly conceive of the sacred orator whose
mind and heart are properly influenced by the great
realities of religion, and that has some realization of
the powers of the world to come, without such emotion
as kindles imagination and constrains the figures that
most forcibly convey the absorbing and overwhelming
thought of the speaker.

David Hume, judging of the eloquence of the an-
cients by " the noble remains and the few strokes "that
have come down to us, concludes they are infinitely
more sublime than English orators. As proof of this he
refers to the "noble apostrophe of Demosthenes," so
much celebrated by Quintilian and Longinus, when,

DRAMATIC POWER, VOICE, UNCTION. 261

justifying the unsuccessful battle of Chaeronea, he breaks
out, "No, my fellow-citizens, no; you have not erred.
I swear by the names of the heroes who fought for the
same cause in the plains of Marathon and Platea."
Hume exclaims, " What noble art and sublime talents
are requisite to arrive by just degrees at a sentiment so
bold and influential." For this he thinks the English
too cold. {Moral, Political, and Literary Essays, i. 1 10.)

But does this apostrophe transcend St. Paul when he
would inspire moral heroism in Christians of his day?
He shows the victors of faith in Hebrews xi and xii.
There is Abel, the first martyr; Enoch, the translated;
Noah, saved from the flood; Abraham, ready to offer his
Isaac; Moses, forsaking the grandeur and prospects of
an Eastern court to suffer affliction with the people of
God; David, Samuel, the prophets, and other mighty
men, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of
lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of
the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed
valiant in tight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens;
women received their dead raised to life again, and
others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that
they might obtain a better resurrection. Did Demos-
thenes rise higher? What is there in vision that the
apostle did not command ? He lifts the curtain between
two worlds and shows the cloud of witnesses, the race
set before the Christian, and Jesus the inspiration and
the Judge.

What a prize! What an assemblage ! Seers, patri-
archs, prophets — the good of all the past — looking from
the heights of celestial happiness, as if incapable of per-
fect repose until the struggling saints are crowned. Is
the Grecian orator grander than the apostle of the
Gentiles? And shall the successors of Paul— men of

262

JOHN P. DUEBLV.

the same calling, conviction, spirit — shall God's minis-
ters, in the fire of their zeal, in the subduing tenderness
of their commission, be too cold for apostrophe or vision ?

Dr. Durbin had an imperial imagination, and when
he gave it the exercise it asked, nature and revelation,
every thing within the domain of thought, contributed
to its influence. It availed itself of objects of beauty,
novelty, and grandeur. It re-peopled the past, opened
the future, made the distant present and the difficult
easy. It verified and vivified its possessions and its own
creations. There were times when the boldest figures
seemed as real in what they embodied as the pulpit where
the preacher stood or the people whom he addressed.
Then imagination made the intellectual canopy shine
with the stars that his genius kindled and that his ardor
intensified.

Reason has been called " the master of the mind."
Imagination, by like authority, has been pronounced the
mistress of the intellect. The same has been said of the
powers and pleasures of the imagination that Plato de-
clared of the soul: that they are "like the harmony of
the harp — invisible, material and divine."

In imagination Dr. Durbin saw the things he showed,
and showed them as he saw them. Who even now fails
to see Sinai as he showed it when he declared, " I have
stood on the lightning-scarred rocks ?" He said, " If I
speak of a horse I see him; " and he did see him in form
and strength. It might he the war-horse of Job, his neck
clothed with thunder, his nostrils terrible, pawing in the
valley, going on to meet the armed men, turning not back
from the sword, heeding not the quiver rattling against
him, nor the glittering spear and shield, swallowing the
ground with fierceness and rage, smelling the battle afar
off — the thunder of the captains and the shouting. When
he spoke of the tabernacle in the wilderness, or the tern-

DRAMATIC POWER, VOICE, UXCTIOX.

263

pie at Jerusalem, each appeared in its size, material,
adornments, sacred emblems, and use. He made us see
the person, tlie dress, the service of the high-priest, as
compared to the appearance and functions of the great
high-priest of our profession. The ark of the covenant
stood before us, and there was the nnrcy-seat and the
cherubim, and we learned much of the sliekinah. For
a time we were in the holy place of the tabernacle of
the Most High, "beholding the glory that excelleth."

He did not make drawings on the " blackboard," but
he did on the brain, and they were with intellectual
material that time itself can hardly efface. What a
moral spell bound the people as he showed the signifi-
cance of the words, " See that thou make all things ac-
cording to the pattern showed to thee in the mount."
How imperative did he make the demand! How need-
ful the conformity urged ! It meant moral accuracy,
divine resemblance, and in ourselves scriptural holiness.
When he spoke of "the signs of the times" they were
easily traced in states, in sovereigns, and in circum-
stance. It was as the "lightning coming out of the east
and shining to the west." It was a blaze across the
whole canopy. It was lightning, and nothing less. The
signs signified that God was in them as really as shadow
proves a substance. Not more truly did the Almighty
direct the moon when it stood still in the valley ot
Ajalon, or the sun when it went back on the dial of
Ahaz, than he showed the cloud in which were "showers
of blessings" for the mission held that constrained the
solicitude of Dr. Durbin.

In his graphic presentation of the fall of man we
could see " the living temple " in moral ruins. The
stately columns of holiness and happiness were thrown
down. Decay had climbed over the walls and " abode
within its confines." Amid the dilapidation that Isaiah

264

JOHN P. DURBW.

describes there were the " cormorant, the bittern, the
owl, and the raven," with "the satyr crying to his fellow,
and the beasts of the desert meeting with the wild
beasts of the island." Dr. Uurbin showed this ruined
temple filled with unclean spirits; yet triumphantly he
assured us that the "Holy One of Israel " will " build
the temple and bear the glory." It rose before us " pol-
ished after the similitude of a palace," and "all glori-
ous within." It stood in strength, it towered in maj-
esty. Its dome pierced the heavens, and its open door
invited from the four quarters of the globe. The pil-
lars that sustained it could not be prostrated by the
convulsions of nature or impaired by the innovations
of time. Into this temple he entered with reverent
step and careful survey. He approached its altar, felt
its lire, and flamed with the invitation for all to enter
it and be saved.

The imagination of Dr. Durbin was equal to his men-
tal demand. Whether in thought he ascended the
mountains or descended the vale; beheld the ocean in
its sublimity or the heavens in their grandeur ; whether
he pointed to paradise in its bloom or in its blight ; a
deluged world or the flaming cities of the plain ;
whether he looked upon Jerusalem as the city of the
great King, or without one stone left upon another ;
Avhether he spoke of the "great white throne" or the
"Lord Jesus revealed from heaven with his mighty
angels in flaming fire taking vengeance upon them
that know not God," or the Almighty gathering his
saints for eternal recompense, he had a verbal afflu-
ence that conveyed his thought, and a judgment that
kept this faculty within proper bounds and secured the
desired result.

Closely associated with imagination in its highest ef-
forts was an element that few command and none may

DRAMATIC POWER, VOICE, UXCTION. 265

often indulge. It was the dramatic power. A manifest
attempt at this in the pulpit uniformly displeases and
sometimes disgusts. Even gesture, when forced, offends.
Aim at the dramatic may appear in "the start theatric,"
and an affectation that awakens indignation. The dra-
matic that is not in harmony with gravity and warmth
is justly distasteful. It is a power only as the offspring
of the occasion, as the exhibition of deep emotion and
self-forgetting earnestness. It comes unsought, like
proper gesture. It can be good only as itistiueto
the soul. But when a burning heart, with all the
powers of the intellect, can so project itself, and nothing
is seen but the force that impels, no one may describe
the result. Tully speaks of an orator who tore open
the bosom of his client to show the wounds he had
received for the republic. Patrick Henry dropped on
his kiiees at the bar of the House of Delegates when
pleading for others with a power that was said to be
"enough to soften rocks and bend the knotted oak."

Time would fad us to tell of this dramatic power as
seen in the ministry of the logical Ezekiel Cooper, the
eloquent John Strange, and of the magnetic George 6.
Cookman.

The Rev. J. O. Roberts, of Kansas, wri es: "Mr.
Durbin, when a young man, preaching at a camp-meet-
ing on the ' Godhead of Christ ' was so carried away
with his theme that as he quoted, 'This is the true God
and eternal life,' as only John Durbin could say it,
exclaimed, ' If you deny it take the whole Bible from
me.' At the same moment a small Bible flew from his
hand into the congregation and fell just at the feet of
an unbeliever in the deity of Christ." He says the
effect was tremendous. We are sure that this would
be a very unsafe thing for any man unless it might be
considered involuntary. Dr. Durbin was too much of

JOHN P. DURBIX.

a thinker, and too close an observer of facts, not to
know what folly prompts and what wisdom and the
occasion permit and constrain.

The Rev. J. H. Hargis, D.D., writes: "The Hon.
Willard Saulsbury, formerly member of the United
States Senate, now chancellor of Delaware, was a stu-
dent under Dr. Durbin at Dickinson. A score or more
years thereafter to a young Dickinsonian Mr. Saulsbury
told of the vividness with which President Durbin, in
the pulpit of the old Methodist church in Carlisle, once
set forth the unprofitable servant taken and cast into
outer darkness. Said the Senator, 'So vivid was the
scene depicted by Durbin as he suited the action to the
word that I saw the fellow fall, and heard him when
he dropped.' "

The writer is indebted to the Rev. Joseph Longking
for an illustration of this power in Dr. Durbin's first
labors in the East. It was at an anniversary of the
Sunday-School Society, held in Forsyth Street Method-
ist Episcopal Church. Mr. Maffit had delivered a
characteristic speech. Durbin followed. When well
warmed with 1) is subject he referred to the case of the
young woman who was the Sunday-school teacher of
the afterward world-famed Morrison, the translator of
the Scriptures into the principal Chinese dialect. As
he figured that young lad and his female teacher he
spoke of the deep, quiet, unperceived, but not unfelt
influence she had exerted on that young mind. Warm-
ing still more with his theme, he exclaimed, "She did not
know what a lion of God site was training! His mane
had not yet grown, his paws had not yet put on their
strength, nor his claws their mighty grip." Then draw-
ing himself into a crouching attitude he suddenly
sprang forward, as might a lion in seizing his prey, and,
grasping the Bible, and holding it aloft, exclaimed,

DRAMATIC POWER, VOICE, UNCTION. 267

" So he, Morrison, raised a nation unto God!'''' The
effect was wonderful. Some shouted hallelujah ; some
clapped their hands ; some wept aloud, and others tried
in vain to restrain their sobs. Dr. Longking adds, "I
have seen congregations greatly moved . . . but never
did I see another congregation so carried away as was
that of Forsyth Street that evening by Dr. Durbin."
A striking illustration of this dramatic power is given
in the letter of Dr. Tiffany.

In " Men and Measures of Half a. Century, by Hugh
McCulloch, Secretary of the Treasury in the adminis-
trations of Presidents Lincoln, Johnson, and Arthur,"
that distinguished author speaks of Durbin as a man
of not only large literary but scientific attainments, and
says : " I was much impressed by one of Dr. Durbin's ser-
mons from the text, ' We are fearfully and wonderfully
made;' in which he presented, in a manner which would
have done honor to one who had made the human form
a lifedong study, an argument in favor of divine creat-
ive power as illustrated in man's physical mechanism.
One who listened to that sermon said to me that as
Mr. Durbin, with a finger of his right hand upon his
left wrist, described the regular but intermittent flow
of blood through the system by the action of the heart,
he could feel the beating of his own heart as though
he had within him a steam-engine."

But in any analysis of Dr. Durbin's eloquence his
voice demands particular notice. According to Cicero,
in effective as well as in pleasing delivery the voice
" holds the highest place." Payson thought that it is
half the pulpit. With some it is more than half. Emer-
son says of the voice, "It sometimes of itself enchains
attention, and indicates rare sensibility; that the voice,
like the face, betrays the nature and disposition, and
soon indicates the range of the speaker's mind." He

26S

JOHN P. DURB1N.

quotes one as saying, "he learns from the first tones of
his voice on Sunday morning whether he is to have
a successful day." A feehle, harsh, strained, or nasal
voice is a great hindrance to a speaker. This presents
one of the weightiest reasons for its cultivation. From
failure of the voice of Dr. Durbin in his earliest minis-
try the work of his life seemed brought to a close ;
but by care and proper use it was restored and strength-
ened. It had compass necessary to the greatest occa-
sions and grandest themes. When he rose to speak it
seemed to lack body, but it was clear, and audible to a
large assembly. With advancing thought, and under
the influence of the listening multitude, it acquired
swell and fullness. The quality of his voice can hardly
be described. We may more easily convey an idea of
what it was not than what it was. At the beginning
it had no oily smoothness ; but it was not uncouth
or disagreeable. If it did not awaken interest it did
not hinder effect. In pitch, in loudness, in modula-
tion, he was its master. Physical and psychological
causes sometimes told on its exercise.

Its expression was more than its compass and quality.
Of the power of the voice to awaken emotions corre-
sponding to those we feel we have only to consider facts.
How are we affected by the cry of "Fire," of "Mur-
der " ? The one creates alarm, the other horror. The
result is according to the utterance, and this agrees with
the emotion. There is a contrast between the feelings
awakened by the exclamations Hallelujah and Rabboni.
The one expresses ecstasy, the other awe. The voice
may be cheerful or pathetic, may start a tear or heal
an aching heart. At one time it may be like the
sound of the bugle to the war-horse that rushes to bat-
tle, at another time like the piping of the highland
shepherd when the flock gather about him as charmed

DRAMATIC POWER, VOICE, UNCTION.

269

by the music. He knew this cultivation of the voice in
song ami in the artist. If it is capable of any thing that
Dr. Durbin did not understand we are unable to name
it. It was trained for all parts of a discourse — the
didactic, the expository, the narrative, for illustration,
or for climax. This was seen in his addresses for mis-
sions as well as in preaching the Word. In a moment
he could kindle a fire or extinguish a flame. In his ad-
dress he was much accustomed to the rising inflection,
which seems more spirited and intimate, while the fall-
in- inflection is more suggestive of the dogmatic and
authoritative.

A teacher of the art of speaking has given three
voices, that he severally distinguishes as the English,
Roman, and Attic. The English is that employed in
conversation and in good reading. This we may see
in the sermons of Robert Robinson, and, from his feeble
health, in John Summerfield. This makes the colloquial
preacher.

The Roman voice is full, round, commanding. This
we may assume was the voice of Otis when, in disdain
of oppression, he said, "Arbitrary principles, like those
against w hich we now contend, have cost one king of
England his life, another his crown, and they may cost
a third his most flourishing colonies." In this voice
Bascom delivered his entire sermon.

The Attic is of greater compass and intensity. Such
we may suppose was the voice of Patrick Henry when
he uttered the memorable words, " There is no longer
any room for hope. . . . We must fight ! I repeat it,
sir, we must fight ! An appeal to arms and to the God
of hosts is all that is left us. The war is inevitable, and
let it come ! I repeat, sir, let it come ! "

Daniel Webster was excellent in the English, was
grand in the Roman, but when passion carried him to

270

JOHN P. DURBIN.

the Attic, as it was apt to do in great subjects, his voice
broke and the effect was unequal. Dr. Durbin began in
the English, advanced to the Roman, culminated in the
Attic. He was easy and familiar in the English. He was
noble and commanding in the Roman ; but in his grand-
est thoughts and sublimest utterances, when most of the
dramatic element came out, it was in the Attic voice.
Here it revealed its wondrous power ; here was the man
in the intellect, utterance, attitude, gesture, voice,
emotion. Here was each in its fullness. Now was seen
his peerless eloquence. But when the voice was under
the highest pressure it showed no strain to impair either
its flexibility or smoothness. It could shoot out like
light to dispel doubt, or explode like a shell to accom-
plish its design; but, unlike the shell, it did its work with-
out destroying its own integrity. A United States
Senator from Virginia, years after the chaplaincy of
Dr. Durbin, declared that he never heard a voice that
so affected him, and that he could never forget its tones.

But more than imagination, dramatic power, or the
voice was the unction of the Holy One in the ministry
of Dr. Durbin.

No one familiar with the preaching of our fathers in
Methodism can have failed to observe the prominence
given to the work of the Spirit in awakening, convert-
ing, and sanctifying the soul. If it be inquired, What
has been the one thought that has filled the mind of the
minister? it is this: " Without me ye can do nothing."

That which distinguished our early preachers was
not mental idiosyncrasy, new theological beliefs, nor
physical force, whether judged by voice or gesture or
forms of labor. They could not, as a rule, chum the pro-
found learning of the schools. They were not remark-
able for the exhaustive treatment of their subjects ; but
whether they sang, or prayed, or exhorted, or preached —

DRAMATIC POWER, VOICE, UXCTIOX. 271

whether they met in class, or formed a " band," or held
a love-feast — their perpetual thought was, " It is the
Spirit that quickeneth." The books they read, the
letters they wrote, the conversations that they delighted
to hold were eminently spiritual. In their conversion
they claimed that the " Spirit bore witness with their
spirit that they were born of God." In many cases, if
they were not spiritual they were nothing. The confi-
dence of the pulpit was in the Spirit to secure the
highest success. This awoke the faculties, inspired the
purpose, prompted the language, and compelled the no-
blest utterances of the man. The heart spoke, the tears
flowed, and the joy that thrilled them animated others.
The careless and the rebellious were subdued. As on
Pentecost, the people were amazed, marveled, and
said, "Whence this work?" The spirit in Meth-
odism seemed to be turning the world upside down.
Society showed the influence in the vices thai were
abandoned and in the moral purity that took their
place. It was such sensational preaching as the Church
might justly honor. This is a present need.

In many a minister's discourses we may have the best
evidence of a richly endowed intellect, of a finely culti-
vated mind, of a memory stored with choicest liter-
ature ; there may be a faultless style, a polished elocu-
tion, and rare homiletic skill. In Christian apologetics,
ami in surveying and sustaining the outworks of Chris-
tianity, they certainly are able and may be popular
men. Yet while they have the symmetry of form there
may also be the coldness and the dcadness of the
corpse. He who vitalizes must himself be vital.

To our fathers, rhetoric, logic, elocution, even expo-
sition, were only the stepping-stones to something
higher. Where, as a ride, other ministers left off they
did execution. Then they took firmer hold and obtained

JOHN P. D URB1N.

a closer grasp. When they had put the subject before
the mind they tried to get it into the heart, and felt
that nothing was done till the citadel gave away under
the heaviest lire. It was as if, in the language of John
Fletcher, " they would storm perdition and take the
heavenly Jerusalem by force."

But Dr. Durbin looked to a period beyond, when an
apostle spoke and said, " Paul may plant and Apollos
water, but God must give the increase." This was set-
ting truth in the strongest light. If they could not
succeed without the Spirit, who can ? " Who then is
Paul?" He was a man of power. His mind had
acuteness, compass, and vigor; his taste and tact and
teachings showed superior judgment, and there was no
want of imagination. He knew how to influence men
by courtesy and charity. His heart was not inferior
to his head, and with God as supreme in his affections
he had himself under good control. He possessed great
skill in reasoning, and could kindle a fire in his logic
that consumed "the wood and hay and stubble" of
false leaders. The intellectual Anakim of his day
quailed before him.

In delivering sermons, directing councils, writing
epistles, in all the work of an itinerant preacher was he
not peerless? Who would not have such a minister as
Paul? Would we not study his matter, commend his
methods, admire his manner, and invoke his influence?
Would he not fill our churches, rouse our members,
convince our skeptics, revolutionize community, save
men ? Would we not bring the frigid that the fire of
his zeal might warm them? Would we not seek the
chronic complainers, that he might effect their cure?
Would we not be ready to do as they did in his days,
"bring the sick in beds and couches, that the shadow
of an apostle might fall on them ?" Grand man that

DRAMATIC POWER, VOICE, UNCTION. 273

he was ? When Cowper would describe the "faithful
preacher " it was " such as Paul." Yet what says
Paul? "God must give the increase " of convictions,
the " increase " of conversions; the " increase" of holi-
ness is of God.

Besides this he says, " A polios may water; " hut then,
too, " God must give the increase." In spiritual hus-
bandry watering is as necessary to fruitf ulness as plant-
ing. Apollos had high claim. He was an eloquent man
and mighty in the Scriptures. That which the Bible
emphasizes deserves special notice. He mightily con-
vinced the Jews, publicly showing by the Scriptures
that Jesus is the Christ. He stood in the radiance of
celestial truth, and it shone all around him. Yet who
is Paul, or who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye
received the word? Good in their place, and they were
faithful to do their part.

Paul could plant in any soil. Apollos could water as
the diffusive dew, as the gentle rain, or as the heavy
shower. Yet clearly they saw, profoundly they felt,
and candidly they confessed they could not give the
" increase." The very thing for which they labored
they could not give. "Increase" is the only thing that
the farmer wants. It is the great thing for which the
minister sows beside all waters, and for want of
which his head may become a " fountain of tears."

The fact remains. The preacher may excel in word-
painting, attract by voice, by matter and by manner —
may have the commendation that the intelligent and
influential bestow, and yet find the painful lack ; the
"souls for whom Christ died are not saved."

It is related of Narni, an Italian bishop, that he so
preached to the people that as they walked the streets
they exclaimed, " Lord, have mercy ! " In one week 200
crowns were spent to buy ropes for self-invented pen-
19

274

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

ance. When he preached before the pope, cardinals,
and priests he so represented the evils of non-residence
that forty of them went back to their cures. When in
the pulpit of the University of Salamanca he induced
eight hundred students to renounce the pleasures and
honors of the world and betake themselves to different
monasteries. But after all this the priests and the
people went on as before, and Narni left the pulpit in
despair. Why was this? It was the power of human
eloquence without the proper presence and power of the
Spirit. Without this an angel cleaving the heavens
could not accomplish salvation.

It forever stands : " Without Me ye can do nothing."

John P. Durbin began and continued his ministry
with the motto, worthy of the most ardent Methodism,
that it is the " unction that makes the minister." This
he sought with deepest solicitude. This he would illus-
trate in all his efforts to save the sinner and to bless
the Church. In that Spirit was his highest hope and
noblest triumph. He well knew that when rhetoric,
logic, and eloquence had achieved their greatest results
there remained the absolute necessity for the Spirit to
take of the things of God and show them to those
whom he sought to persuade. His divine resource was
in the presence and efficiency of that Spirit that brings
heavenly beauty and order out of the wreck of our
moral nature. Amid the multiplied temptations of the
minister to repose on human attainments and skill it
must stand before him as the utterance of infinite wis-
dom, and therefore as an indisputable fact, "Without
Me ye can do nothing."

How far the " unction of the Spirit" gave power to
Dr. Durbin's ministry may be judged by the influence
that rested upon him at times in public supplication.

Joseph Longking, D.D., told the writer of the first

DRAMATIC POWER, VOICE, UXCTIOX. 275

prayer he heard John P. Durbin offer. It was in
John Street. When lie began he was slow and con-
versational. There was nothing to impress with favor
except that it was reverent and sensible. But in a
little time he seemed to be drawing very near to God ;
then he warmed ; then the people warmed ; then he
glowed; then the people took fire; then he seemed to
be talking to God, as if he was with him, face to face
in tlie pulpit. So profoundly was Mr. Longking stirred
and so filled was lie with wonder that he involuntarily
rose from his knees and looked at the man in audience
with Deity as he had never realized with any man
before or since. Other instances of his amazing power
are presented in letters furnished in this volume. He
had no respect to length, or loudness, or any thing but
for those who awoke his solicitude. For a time these
prayers awed and then whelmed the people. A moral
earthquake is a tremendous thing to associate with col-
lege life in the efforts of the president in prayer.
But when Dr. Durbin bent under the burden of souls
it was as if the heavens bowed and the earth shook.
After such seasons his physical energies required days
for repair.

Dr. Durbin, Avhen he felt the unction of the Holy One,
had a nature so responsive to that power as to reveal
and awaken deep emotion. They who consider emotion
out of place in religion conceive quite as much as intel-
ligence will permit. In what realm of thought, in
what sphere of action, under what circumstances of our
being is our emotional nature forbidden flue exercise?
Is it when gladness thrills? When apprehension tort-
ures ? When the irreparable loss is sustained ? May
the sorrowing never say, "Lover and friend hast thou
put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness?"
In the domestic circle may not joy make the eye

276

JOHN P. DURBIN.

sparkle or bereavement cause the head to bow ? Then,
verily, stoicism is an exalted virtue.

There are times when emotion is wisely repressed;
when we may restrain the tear, forbid the look, dis-
courage the action. No one knew this better than
Dr. Durbin. But may it never be indulged? Is it
always out of place? Is it, when the soldier leaves
his family to go to war? Is it, when the prodigal
comes home ? Is it, when victory returns to its scabbard
the sword that neccessity drew and that patriotism
wielded? Who are they who are strangers to the ex-
hibition of emotion? Why do angels rejoice when a
sinner repents ? Why does the Father of mercies say,
" My bowels are pained within me, my repentings are
kindled together?" An emotionless intelligence, where
is it ? In heaven ? No ! The shout of their triumph is
as "the sound of many waters." Is it in hell? No!
There they weep, and wail, and gnash their teeth.
And shall ministers sent to warn men *' that they come
not into the place of torment," and when they " know
not what a day will bring forth," shall preachers be cold ?
Who will assert that the great Teacher was emotionless ?
Why then did he say, " Fear him who is able to destroy
both soul and body in hell?" Is fear emotionless?
Why then did the knees of Belshazzar "smite one
against the other?" and, under the ministry of Paul,
why did Felix tremble? Is love emotionless? Then
explain the tears of Jesus at Jerusalem.

This unction that rested upon Dr. Durbin spoke in
melting pathos. This was sometimes the very soul
of his sermon ; but love was the soul of his pathos.
Ganganelli says, "The preacher is to scatter the oint-
ment of grace while he diffuses the light of truth."
Fenelon declares of Chrysostom, "He entered into the
hearts of his hearers." One has said, when speaking

DRAMATIC POWER, VOICE, UXCTION.

211

of sculpture, that " the artist ought to have two souls,
in order to transfer one of them into his work." Under
the divine afflatus the soul of Durbin was great enough
to allow transfusion without harming its nature or less-
ening its powers. Who wonders that, when they saw
the anchor cast, and were assured that it was within the
vail, they wanted to lay hold of the cable and pull for
the celestial shore ?

The power of truth and the emotion of one kindled
the emotion of many. Was it the breath of a mortal
that now made dry bones stir? No ! No ! It was the
Breath that came from the four winds.

278

JOHN P. DUE BIN.

CHAPTER XVII.
Extemporization .

IN any analysis that we make of a preacher's power
we are compelled to consider his communication —
whether it is read, memorized, or extemporaneous —
whether with or without notes. Dr. Durbin is presented
as an extemporaneous speaker. He was not an extem-
poraneous sermonizer. He had his subject before him,
his plan matured, and his matter was well studied.
Though not accustomed to write sermons for delivery
he was not the "student in the pulpit, " but in his
study. In the pulpit he was the speaker, the messen-
ger of God, with his message on his tongue, which,
for its purpose, he implicitly trusted. He knew that
message in its import, design, and adaptation. He was
far from the reproach that Owen Feltham casts upon
negligent ministers when he says, " I admire the valor
of some men, that before studying dare ascend the pul-
pit and there do take more pains than they have done
in the library. . . . And this makes some such fugi-
tive divines that, like cowards, they run from the text."
The preparation of Dr. Durbin for the pulpit when a
pastor was reduced to a system. Early in the week he
studied and digested his subject and had his sketch
in readiness for the pulpit. When he began to speak
the current of his language flowed on in the channel of
previous thought, and words were extemporized as they
were wanted. If on some occasions a text, a theme, a
division came to him as by inspiration, then everything

EXTEMP ORIZA TION.

279

was extemporized. Theme, thoughts, terms, sentences,
were seized. An exigency, it may be, was thus the oc-
casion of a most appropriate and memorable discourse.
But this was not his dependence or fancied justification
for neglect of proper study.

For some occasions, as is seen in Dr. Tiffany's
letter, ii is sermons were prepared with great Labor. In
the early ministry of Dr. Durbin a paper sermon in a
Methodist pulpit would have been like an ecclesiastical
heresy — would have been regarded an invasion upon
essential economy. Imagination could hardly conceive
it. Read sermons in any church were construed as
evidence of want in spirituality in the minister who
ga\e such discourses and in the people who would con-
sent to accept them. It seemed bold in the president
of Dickinson College fifty years ago to have the
skeleton of a sermon in the pulpit and hold it up be-
fore the congregation. But with us colleges were new,
and we did not know how much was to be allowed to
come with them.

If there are any ministers in whom we might be ex-
pected to confide as extemporaneous speakers, they are
those whom Methodism has reared. Thus our fathers
went forth when God bade them "speak to the people
all the words of this life." And whether in field or
forest, in barn or church, they drew listening multi-
tudes, who heard, believed, and obeyed the Gospel.
Thus, without education except in their calling, by
their ardor and eloquence they attracted rich and poor,
refined and rude, and other Churches were glad to have
some of them for their pulpits, which, on accepting,
they did not fail to honor.

Thus Dr. Durbin began, went on, and finished. It is
a weighty fact, and therefore worthy of careful consider-
ation, that in the beginning of Methodism, when we

280

JOHN P. DURBIX.

made such popular and powerful appeals — when the
masses thronged our places of worship, and when many
of the great of the land were awed by our influence
and identified themselves with our Society — then ex-
temporaneous preaching was all we knew ; our ministers
were mighty in this, our members were edified by this.
By this the land shook, the Churches wondered, and it
was as if the kingdom of darkness was coming to an
end. This was in broad contrast to the reading prac-
ticed in the other Churches, and it drew. Philosophic-
ally considered, it might he said that the vigorous ex-
ercise of the mind in extemporaneous speaking would
naturally create earnestness of feeling and of manner.
JSarnest they were.

Dr. Thomas II. Skinner, professor of homiletics in
the " Union Theological Seminary," gave as his judg-
ment to the class that no man is prepared for the
ministry who cannot extemporize, saying, Occasions
will arise, and appeals must be made, when to want
this ability will be construed to the serious disadvan-
tage of the preacher. Though one may write with el-
egance, and memorize with ease, and have good elocu-
tion, for readiness to his work and efficiency in his
labors he must be able to extemporize. But while all
may commend the extemporaneous when successful,
many show reasons for reluctance in adopting it ; as
fear of inaccuracy and inelegance.

They think that language thus spoken is necessarily
immature. If the immaturity appear only in lack of
finish, and there is found greater directness and force,
we may ask if the absence of the one is not more than
compensated by the presence of the other; whether
efficiency is not more than beauty? But is it just t >
assume that the extemporaneous is necessarily wanting
in accuracy or elegance? Is it not the mind that dis-

EXTEMPORIZA TION.

281

tinguishes both pen and tongue ? Is it not the culti-
vation of the intellect that gives choice to language
and precision to speech ? And may not the speaker
as truly as the writer show culture?

From the philosophy of the case shall we conclude that
the artificial is better than the natural — that the pen,
which is man's invention, is superior to the tongue,
which is God's organ ? Is the alliance between brain
and pen more intimate ? Are the treasures of the in-
tellect more fully yielded to the pen than to the
tongue? Is the composition of the one necessarily
more noble and truthful than the utterances of the
other? Will fancy afford more beauty, or imagination
take a higher range, or will invention show more skill
when the pen calls than when the tongue appeals ?
Have not the readiest writers found themselves unable
to reproduce by the pen what was in the tongue during
a conversation, or in a time of seclusion and thought?

Were not the words more vital and vivid when spoken
than they were when the pen was employed ? Is not the
pen of the tongue more naturally dipped in the ink of the
heart than the pen of the scribe? Is not the soul more
fully revealed when there is no paper between it and
the people — when thought, and speech, and sympathy,
seem one and instantaneous ? Does not the mind
move under a higher impulse and inspiration when the
speaker is standing in the holy place amid the influ-
ences of a waiting and worshiping congregation than
when alone and writing ?

We do not claim for all extemporaneous speakers
either accuracy or elegance ; but can these be predicated
of all written composition ? If want of time to pre-
pare is a reason for inaccuracy, inelegance, and imma-
turity in the spoken word, is not lack of time for
written composition a reason why that too should be inac-

JOHN r. DUBBIN.

curate, inelegant, and immature? The truth is, there
is much extemporaneous writing for the pulpit. There
is composition of the pen as well as utterance of the
tongue thrown off without careful thought.

We submit — 1. How much time does it require of a
man that knows grammar, and is accustomed to its use,
to employ good syntax? How much time is requisite
for one of a clear mind and beautiful thought to find a
fitting dress ? The tongue is as true as the pen, and
can make as just an impression. Did any one ever
detect disparity in Dr. Durbin's spoken word as com-
pared to any thing that was written for his use ?

2. But we reason from facts furnished. When Dr.
Durbin was thrilling his great assemblies with extem-
poraneous address, there were teachers of science and
professional men in the same city, outside the ministry,
that were showing ability in the extemporaneous utter-
ance of the most weighty thoughts that their position
demanded them to present. Not to speak of others
whom we would be glad to name, there was — ■

Dr. Robert E. Rogers, professor of chemistry in the
medical department of the Pennsylvania University,
with a class of from three hundred to five hundred
students, all seeking the most accurate knowledge of
that which was so necessary for their profession. He
was lecturing day after day, and week after week,
for nearly six months in the year, and with eloquence
that held the students spell-bound. When on one occa-
sion the writer thought he would like to have one of
the grandest passages he had ever heard on the sub-
ject, he took the liberty to ask it of the professor, who
assured him he would be delighted to give it, but that
it was wholly extemporaneous.

At the same time there was in the Jefferson Medi-
cal College Robley Dunglison. He was a volumi-

EXT EM P ORIZA TION.

283

nous writer in medical science. He filled the chair of
physiology, a department that demands the greatest
accuracy. To him we listened in the rush and fullness
of an eloquence that suggested Dr. Chalmers as no
other man ever did. In the Philadelphia College of
Medicine was Dr. James McClintock, the brother of
Dr. John McClintock. To think of substituting written
composition for his Huent, precise, and eloquent extem-
poraneous address would be as if one would seek for
the shimmering cascade, the sluggish stream.

At the bar were David Paul Brown, Joseph R. In-
gersoll, and George M. Dallas. For fluency, elegance,
and eloquence, we might have searched long and dili-
gently, and in vain, for better illustrations among read-
ers of manuscripts. Can men of science, where there
is so much terminology and such demand for precision in
language, and in a profession where such momentous
earthly issues are involved — can these afford to adopt
extemporaneous speech if there is necessarily immatu-
rity? If they believed that by manuscript they could
more clearly, fully, and impressively inculcate their
subject or make their appeal to a jury, would it be just
to those concerned that they should fail to write and
only speak? Surely it may not be imagined that men
of science and other professions are better acquainted
with what they teach, or that their minds or hearts are
more in their work. Will any allow the belief that the
men in these professions have better minds than those
whom God calls ?

3. But have not Christ's ministers special reason to
expect success in extemporary speech ? Are they not
justified in looking for necessary help from the Spirit?
Is there no "speech" that shall be given them "in that
self-same hour?" Are they not permitted to make
present application of an old promise, though no older

284

JOHN P. nun BIN.

than revelation, that we are constantly preaching,
"Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it?" Pentecost
filled the mouth of Peter the fisherman, and there are
still " tongues of fire " as really as pens of light. When
the minister has done his part, may he not, as really
and as justly as did St. Paul when shipwreck impended,
say, "Sirs, I believe God ?" It is no more presumption
to believe God's revealed word than to accept the
statement of the angel that stood by Paul and as-
sured his deliverance. Christ appealed to his apostles:
" When I sent you without purse, scrip, or shoes, lacked
ye any thing? "' They replied, " Nothing."

But history has a voice to show that extemporaneous
speech may be accurate and elegant while forceful and
eloquent. We shall be slow to find fault with the
speech of Peter on Pentecost. Who will have the
temerity to accuse Paul of any deficiency in style when
he was accused by the orator Tertullus, and made his
defense or when he faced the philosophers of Athens?
In the early Church we have Origen, the great father
of pulpit oratory, at the age of sixty, when habit is so
difficult to break, adopting the extemporaneous as the
more appropriate style. It is said of Cyril and several
of his contemporaries that they spoke to their people in
extemporaneous language, and that many sermons of
Chrysostorn, together with his celebrated discourse upon
his return from banishment, are proof not only of the
existence of the custom, but that extempore composi-
tions are not necessarily deficient either in elegance or
in method.

Was not Bishop Janes an accurate speaker ? Did
Bishop Thomson lack elevation or beauty ? We hesi-
tate not to say that language never has greater point,
precision, and power than when the extemporaneous
speaker is in the right mood for its utterance.

EXTEMP ORIZA TIOX

285

We have the strongest testimony in favor of extem-
poraneous speech from some of the wisest and weightiest
ministers of later times; men who are never to he ques-
tioned as to the accuracy of their thoughts or the ele-
gance of their language. The Rev. Albert Barnes,
in later life, adopted the extemporaneous address, and
in power transcended the efforts of his former years.

AVe are familiar with the vigorous thoughts of Dr.
K. S. Storrs, as conveyed in his Notes on "Extem-
poraneous Preaching," and we have this eloquent fact,
that this commendation is from a minister who had at-
tained the greatest eminence as a preacher before he
tried what he now rinds is "the more excellent way."

And are we not urged to extemporaneous preaching,
from the high commendation it receives from churches
long accustomed to the manuscript? And is it not a
weighty fact that so many ministers with whom read-
ing was a habit are now assiduously cultivating talent
for extemporization ?

But excellence in this is attained only by the effort
that determination induces. Any one might fail as did
those whom we have quoted. In this, as in other things
of interest and magnitude, we must resolve if we would
achieve, and never relinquish purpose till facts show
success is impossible. Dr. Hepworth has written with
eloquence of his freedom from the shackles of manu-
script, and of his incomparable delight in the better
expression of his mind and heart by the power to ex-
temporize that he has attained. That some have more
language than others admits no doubt ; that by good
society men may improve their speech will not be dis-
puted. But they are greatly mistaken who think that
right words are to roll from the lips like waves from
the ocean by a necessary law ; that even sentences and
propositions are to be turned from the tongue in ex-

286

JOHN P. DUE BIN.

quisite shapes for use as ornaments are turned off by
ingenious machinery. Extemporization is not the
refuge of indolence.

Dr. Durbin sought no such sanctuary, and neither
offered to God or the people that which " cost him
nothing." Gravity does not more certainly become the
pulpit than industry and earnestness. Demosthenes
said he " became an orator by spending more oil than
wine." And efficiency, not ease, is the craving of the
gospel minister, and he knows that the sweat of the
brain has more heat than that of the broio. The
extemporaneous speech of Dr. Durbin had accuracy
and elegance, ease and energy.

Dubious as extemporaneous speech may appear, other
methods have had quite enough of failure to show that
they are not without risk.

Dr. South was one of the finest minds in the English
Church. He trusted his memory in delivering a ser-
mon. It failed, and he was covered with shame. Dr.
John M. Mason was one of the grandest preachers of
any nation. Ex-Chancellor Ferris told the writer he
was present when memory failed, and, putting his hand
to his head, he said, " I am unable to say more." After
this he used manuscript. Have we known no one come
to grief with manuscript sermons? The light was
poor, the writing was bad, the sight was failing, and
the preacher had not sufficiently studied his composition,
and received little sympathy.

But are cases ot breaking down in extemporaneous
speech common ? If so, the writer has not witnessed
them. Many times he has known extemporaneous
speakers to be wanting in liberty. Fifty years ago he
heard one at camp-meeting who on entering the pulpit
did not give the best evidence of his trust in God, and
in a short time he gave proof that he needed help.

EXTEMPORIZA TION.

287

Tliere had been some signs of rain, and he found it
convenient to say, " Brethren, I perceive a cloud arising,
and I will bring my remarks to a close." The preach-
ers thought there was a clottd that had already settled
upon the speaker's intellect; but he was not speechless,
and was able to say something by way of closing. The
only conclusion in cases of other kinds was a dead
2Muse. About the same time on a camp-ground under
like circumstances the writer heard a memorable
preacher. At once his memory failed. lie rubbed his
head, he stood, he trembled, he recovered and resumed
his speech. At another time he was listening to one
of the most h'nished preachers in the Conference. The
thread of his discourse became tangled. To see a
minister trusting memory for his entire composition,
and in the rush of his utterance in a moment brought to
a halt, though not so disastrous, reminds us of a loco-
motive at high speed stopped in a moment. The agony
is not confined to the speaker.

Men who fail in extemporaneous speech might ask,
"Why is this?" Was the subject studied? Was it
the fear of man that brought a snare?

Dr. Durbin once asked the writer, "How do you ac-
count for the difference in young men in public speak-
ing? Some will prepare a fine composition, but in
delivering it will sometimes come to a dead pause and
be unable to say any thing. Others will have composi-
tions of perhaps less beauty, but from whatever diffi-
culty they meet they readily extricate themselves" The
reply to his inquiry was, ''No man better understands
that than he who was so long president of Dickinson,"
but added, "one depends entirely upon memory, the
other retains such freedom as always preserves him from
becoming such a mortifying spectacle." This was ac-
cepted by the Doctor as the reason. We then wished to

288

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

know of him which of the two young men he would
prefer, the one with the better composition or him that
had the reserve of power. His answ er was, " Uy all
means, the latter."

It is not denied that extemporaneous speakers some-
times lose the train of thought. In private conversation
we <lo the same. But the extemporaneous speaker has
an alertness and fruitf illness of mind that greatly les-
sen the risk of utter failure. When the train of his
thought is broken the mental locomotion continues, and
there is some idea to carry him on till the train returns,
and then he accepts it, unless he thinks his diversion
was for a good end.

The mind puts on strength and shows its treasures.

A friend asked George G. Cookman if in extempo-
raneous speaking he never lost the connection, and, if
so, how he did. He replied, "I do sometimes lose the
connection, and I just dash into an exhortation, and the
people may see no difference, and the result is not
spoiled."

To those who would acquire or cultivate talent for
extemporization we may assume that there are essential
conditions of success, and show that these met in Dr.
Durbin.

1. There should be knoicledge of the theme. The
mind must have the material of thought which lan-
guage is to convey. We speak not to acquire, but to
impart. The tongue can no more make matter for dis-
course than the hand can for a globe. It is not for the
eye to create objects of vision or the light by which
they are seen. It would be a feat to write about noth-
ing. It is an equal exploit to extemporize with nothing
to say. In such case the pen should be still and the
tongue silent. It was a sin in the task-master of Egypt
to require " bricks " with no straw to make them. One

EXTEMPORIZATION.

289

of the greatest difficulties of extemporization is that the
tongue is oppressed — that they give it the doable task of
making ami of uttering thought. So did not Dr. Dur-
bin. He who complains that he cannot express himself
may do well to ask whether it is not because he has
nothing of himself to express. It is hard pumping
where there is no water. Even mutes can express
thought by signs, and irrational creatures have a lan-
guage that makes known their suffering or their pleasure.

He who extemporizes may be far from general intel-
ligence; but this is equally true of him that writes.
Whether the young preacher is from the plow, or shop,
or seminary, knowledge of his subject is an essential de-
mand. He who has seen no college may know his text
and treat it in the language to which he is accustomed.

As an essential condition of success,

2. There must be sympathy with his subject. "We
believe and therefore speak." No man is fit to preach
who does not accept and appreciate the truths of the
Gospel that he is called to inculcate. He should have
close fellowship with C4od. He must have deep sym-
pathy with men. The moral wants of the world must
move his soul. He must be anxious " that the word of
the Lord may have free course and be glorified." The
lawyer that is not concerned for his client is unworthy
of a case. The physician who is not anxious for his
patient is undeserving of practice. The general that
does not love his country should not be trusted to fight
her battles. A heart intent upon accomplishing its end
woidd speak " though tongues were out of use." A
warm heart puts a still tongue in motion and makes a
cold brain burn with such thoughts as would reduce the
flesh to ashes if the pent-up fires could find no outlet.
Thus Jeremiah felt when he said, "His word was in
mine heart as a burning fire, shut up in my bones."
20

290

JOHN P. DURBIN.

As sympathy with the theme shows the soul in its
highest powers so the soul thus awakened gives words
the readiest and noblest utterance. Fancy, imagine, if
we can, that such ministers would fail for words. There
are streams that dry up, there are lights that expire,
but we would as soon expect the Hudson to exhaust her
waters or the sun to spend his beams as that the sym-
pathy of the earliest Methodist preachers would lack
language.

3. Mental Poise. No man can appear at his best with-
out the control of all his faculties. That which disturbs
the mind distracts thought and interferes with utter-
ance. Hence come hesitation, inaccuracy of language,
recalling words, and reconstructing sentences. What-
ever composes the mind brightens and invigorates it.
As the eye in an unclouded sky takes in all in the range
of vision, so a serene mind apprehends according to its
capabilities. And as a transparent statement comes
only from a clear intellect the utterances of the tongue
show a governing intelligence or lack of mental con-
centration and control. Mental poise is indispensable to
easy, coherent, effective speaking.

In mental poise the extemporaneous speaker's invent-
ive and constructive power are appealed to and re-
spond. Amplification, so necessary to successful speech,
is cultivated and disclosed. Dr. Durbin was a perfect
custodian of his endowments. A critical observer said
of John Wesley, "The most remarkable thing about
him wras, that while he set all in motion he was himself
perfectly calm and phlegmatic. He was quiescence in
turbulence." Dr. Durbin could

" Sit calm on tumult's wheel."

In the pulpit, on the platform, in the scientific or pop-
ular lecture, in the discussion of a great subject, in the

EXTEMPORIZA TIOK.

291

vast assembly and on the floor of Conference his powers
were at his command, and he seemed imperturbable.
On the floor of the General Conference, when he rose
to reply to Bishop Soule, though the Church was con-
vulsed he was calm. And with the grasp of a great
intellect, the appreciation of the weightiest facts, he
towered in the majesty of his soul.

R. W. Emerson gives a striking illustration of the
want of mental poise in Dr. Chancey, a distinguished
minister of Boston, a century ago. As he was about to
begin a sermon he learned that a boy had fallen into
Frog Pond and was drowned. He was so disconcerted
as not to be able to make a direct prayer, but went
round and round. After praying lor Harvard College
and for the schools he implored the divine Being to — to
bless to them all "the boy that was this morning drow ned
in the Frog Pond." Emerson says, "This was not want
of talent, but of manliness." This is the man who so dis-
liked sensational preaching — of his time — that he prayed
that he might never be eloquent. In this Emerson says
" his prayer was granted," and yet he lacked what he
called manliness. Had he been more composed, his
prayer would have shown a sensation better than that
he evinced. There is an excitement that interest in a
cause awakens. Cicero said he never lost this on rising
to speak. Luther declared he never entered the pulpit
without trembling. This is good.

Want of mental poise was witnessed in the late Dr.
S. H. Tyng, when a young rector in Georgetown, D. C.
He went to church with an intention to preach an
extemporaneous discourse. " Henry Clay and other
notables" entered the church. Tyng became sick with
excitement and left his post. Why did Peter begin to
sink in deep waters when Christ bade him come to
him? Because he looked at the billows rather than at

292

JOUN P. BUR 11 IN.

the Saviour. Looking at Clay made Tyng powerless to
speak. But he did not give up his purpose to be an
extemporaneous preacher, and for precision, fluency, force
and eloquence, became one of the finest specimens of
pulpit ability. "A too earnest desire to speak well is
almost sure to make us speak ill."

A word comes to the man beginning to extemporize.
It may not be the best for his purpose. He pauses;
another is not at his command; he is embarrassed; he
stops. Failure in such way is perfectly natural. It were
innocent at such time to realize, " A bird in the hand is
worth two in the bush." A word in the mouth is worth
a score in the vocabulary.

We may name another essential condition,

4. Confidence of success. Doubt in any cause that
demands energy is half defeat. Faith is half victory.
If Monsieur Blondin lacked confidence in his ability to
perform his feats across Niagara Falls the attempt
Avould be more than temerity. No one admires egotism.
Self-conceit causes disgust ; hut there is a self-assertion
that enables one to project his powers without any dis-
play of vanity. Modesty has no merit when it hin-
ders a just expression of what we are called to do. No
one will commend the humility in a speaker that makes
him distrust "the ability that God giveth."

An extemporaneous speaker, or one wishing to be
such, rises to speak. What is asked of him is such a
command of thought and his subject as to employ ap-
propriate words. We will suppose he is called on for a
funeral, and an address is proper. What point is there
that the occasion offers that he may not present? What
fact that it is right to state that he may not name?
With the Scriptures in his memory what consolation
that the case admits may he not urge? What exhorta-
tion to the living may he not deliver? If summoned

EXTEMPORIZA TIOX.

293

suddenly to preach, is there no doctrine that he has so
studied as to be able to explain and exhibit? Is there
no history in the Bible, no hero of the Old Testament
or saint of the New that can furnish him a theme ? All
men in their places can convey their thoughts in words
that any can understand. The plowman in the field, the
woodman in the forest, can each find words appropriate
to his wants. Surely the mouth-piece for God can ex-
temporize. Let him in what he attempts have con-
fidence. When the writer, with a young friend, was
beginning to exhort, there was in one of the congrega-
tions the maternal grandfather of the late Bishop Cum-
mins, John Durborough. He was an itinerant preacher
in the early administration of Bishop Asbury. To speak
before him seemed too much for inexperienced youth.
We told him so. He made in substance the following
reply: '' If you speak on a text it is fair to assume that,
having just studied it, you know more about that passage
than any one present ; therefore have confidence. When-
ever I am in the congregation be not embarrassed, hut
consider there is one man praying for you and be con-
fident." Nearly fifty years have closed over the g ave
of this venerated minister, but his memory must ever
remain green in the mind of the writer. His exhortation
to youth was, " Fear not, but be strong."

We know of no condition essential to successful ex-
temporaneous speech that did not meet in Dr. Durbin.
"With the sensibility and spirituality that are at the
foundation of pulpit eloquence there was such devo-
tion to his purpose, such understanding of his theme,
such sympathy with his subject, accompanied with
mental poise, and a confidence that facts justified him
in his work, that he attained his end because he em-
ployed the means. How much it cost him to become
what he was we are not informed; but of this we are

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JOHN P. DURE IN.

certain — the cost was not equal to the profit. Without
wishing to disparage able ministers w ho pursue a dif-
ferent method, we are allowed to exalt that in Dr.
Durbin which presents him to us as so nearly, if not
fully, the ideal orator actualized, and as making so near
an approach in his manner to the preaching of Christ
and his apostles, and as affording so fine an exhibition
of that style of ministry which the intelligence, the
observation, and the Christian earnestness of the age
are coming more and more to admire and commend.

HOMILETIC TASTE AXD SKILL.

295

CHAPTER XVIII.
Homiletic Taste and Skill.

OF Dr. Durbin's homiletic taste and skill, and of their
influence upon sacred oratory, we may form some
idea from the lessons that he impressed upon the class
of young preachers that he instructed while pastor in
Philadelphia, and from facts furnished as to preparation
and result.

In an Introduction which he wrote to the Short Ser-
mons on Important Subjects, by Jonathan Edmon-
son, A.M., he expresses his view of the kind of sermons
the people should receive to secure the ends of able and
faithful preaching. Of Edmonson's discourses he says,
" His style was as varied as the topics and the occa-
sions."

Having noticed the intellectual and moral lapse of
the pulpit from the sixth to the sixteenth century, and
of the strange and trifling themes that sometimes en-
gaged the minister, as " Was Abel slain with a club ?
or, Of what sort of wood was it?" "Of what sort of
wood was Moses's rod ? " " Was the gold which the
Magi offered to Christ coined or in mass?" he turns
from " the Dark Ages" to the time of the Reformation
and to the subjects that then engaged the preacher.
These were "controversial and speculative;" the di-
dactic had become tedious. The public mind became
fatigued with the dry theological discussions, "and,
having settled down upon the fundamental principles
of Christianity, required that these should be adorned

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JOHN r. DURBIN.

and recommended by eloquence, which had become the
powerful instrument in forming and directing men's
minds. This produced a class of rhetorical sermoniz-
ers, in which may be placed Bourdaloue, Massillon,
Bossuet, Saurin, Tillotson, Atterbury, Blair, Da vies,
and others.

" Of these various classes of sermons the controver-
sial are unacceptable to the present peaceful age ;
the doctrinal are not sought after by the multitude; the
rhetorical are read chiefly for the pleasure they afford as
specimens of sacred oratory. None of them address
themselves to the multitude; and yet the characteristic
of the age is, that the multitude demand and must re-
ceive instruction in every department of knowledge.
The pulpit is required to furnish sanctified literature
for the masses," ... in " short and plain sermons."
These he recommends in the discourses of* Mr. Edmon-
son, who was one of the finest specimens of a sound,
devout, able, and earnest Wesleyan preacher. His ser-
mons have excellence of style, force of logic, fullness
of matter, and are adapted to alarm the careless and
edify the Christian.

Dr. Durbin speaks of Mr. Edmonson as discussing
topics admitted by the sound portion of the Church, as
avoiding controversy, and as aiming at illustration and
application. He says, "The reader will find in this
volume, expressed in perspicuous, easy, and often forcible
and eloquent language, the opinions of a candid man,
a good scholar, nearly every topic that can interest him
in theology, morals, and experience."

Thus we have the idea of Dr. Durbin as to what a
sermon should be, and in one entitled " Christian Min-
isters Declare the Counsel of God " we have his forci-
ble expression as to the duty, manners, spirit, and di-
verse qualifications of those who preach the word.

UOMILETIC TASTE AND SKILL.

297

But we have from Dr. Darbin's own pen, while ed-
itor of The Christian Advocate and Journal, April 18,
1834, his clear and vigorous expression as to the great
characteristics of a sermon. His remarks are founded
on the question in our Discipline of the " matter and
manner of preaching,1' and of the answers given by the
book.

" 1. To convince. 2. To offer Christ. 3. To invite.
4. To build up, and to do this in some measure in every
sermon.

" 1. To convince— that is, of sin. This is the first
thing toward the conversion and salvation of sinners;
till this is done nothing is done to purpose. To con-
vince of sin is indispensable in order to repentance, and
without repentance there is no salvation. In this con-
viction of sin two things may be noticed: 'original or
birth sin,' or, in other words, as our article lias it, the
Corruption engendered of the offspring of Adam,
whereby man is very far gone from original righteous-
ness, and of his own nature inclined to evil, and that
continually." The present is no time to give up this
doctrine for the speculations and doctrines of men. It
is that which the Church has always held; that which
the Methodists, after the Reformers, have preached with
tlie power and demonstration of the Spirit ; and a great
multitude that no man can number have experimentally
attested and do attest the soundness of this doctrine.
So that if it be false all these are found false witnesses
before God. To convince men that their moral nature
is defiled is a laborious and difficult task, especially in
this philosophizing age, wherein there is a strong tend-
ency to the error of the Pharisees, the laying our own
instead of the righteousness of Christ as the founda-
tion of the hope of salvation. The minister of Christ
should be clear in his views on this point, and must,

298

JOHN P. DURBIN.

like Paul, be able to reason from the Scriptures in its
support, and, withal, to make the most pointed and
powerful appeals to the consciences of his hearers for
the truth of what he preaches.

" Secondly. Actual transgression, both in respect to
things enjoined and things forbidden. Here the min-
ister of Christ must make much use of that command-
ment which is exceeding broad, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The law
must be preached not only as the rule of morality in
our conduct toward men, but as the rule of piety in our
conduct toward God. When the sinner is thoroughly
convinced of his lost and wretched state and of the utter
impossibility of his helping himself, then

" 2. The offer of Christ may be made to him. In offer-
ing Christ we offer all the benefits of redemption by
him. As Christ has made an atonement for sin — that
is, as our second article expresses it, " has reconciled the
Father to us," and has obtained pardon, adoption, and
all the privileges of the children of God for us: the
whole are implied in the offer of Christ, so that if we
receive Christ we receive the whole. In the offer of
Christ is implied also the gracious design of God in
giving his Son and of Christ in dying for us. The de-
sign respects all to whom the offer is made. If God
eternally intended that any part of the human family
should absolutely perish, he could have had no merciful
design concerning them, and consequently the offer of
Christ could not be sincerely made to them. If Christ
be offered to us, then we must receive him in order to
be saved by him, and the necessity of receiving him is
implied in the offer. If we reject Christ we reject all
the blessings which he has procured for us. And here
it should be recollected that the object of faith — that
object which is to be received by faith, and on receiv-

HOMILETIC TASTE AND SKILL.

299

ing of which the sinner is freely justified — is not what
God will do for him, but what he has already done. It
is true that he who cometh to God must believe that
" He is, and that he is a rewarder of all them that dili-
gently seek him." But this is not the object on which
justifying faith chiefly acts, and on the receiving of
which the sinner is justified. This object is Christ cru-
cified for us.

" 3. To invite. To bid sinners come to Christ and to
the provisions which he has made in the Gospel for
them. Here it is proper to enlarge upon the love of
God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ ; to show
the freeness and abundance of God's provisions; and to
employ the entreaty and expostulation of the sacred
Scriptures with the sinner to bring him to Christ, or to
induce him to receive Christ.

"4. To build up in grace and holiness those who have
received Christ. Here is ample room for the exercise
of all the skill of the minister. The believer is at first
but a babe in knowledge and skill and strength. He is
required to go on to perfection; but many trials and
difficulties lie in his way. He still needs a guide and a
sympathizing friend. The minister is to be that guide
and friend, and to accomplish the object he must enter
into all the circumstances of the different cases that
exist in the flock over which lie is appointed to watch.

"If there be want of zeal and earnestness, lie must
admonish. If there be a sickly state of soul, the par-
ticular cause must he searched out and guarded against,
whether it be temptation or sin, or want of information
on some point of doctrine, duty, or privilege. When
the cause is ascertained, the cure will be suggested.
The minister of the Gospel is to watch over his charge
and lead them on to the perfection of holiness. This
he cannot do by dealing in generalities. The minister

300

jouy P. DURBIX.

who contents himself with saying on all occasions,
"you must be faithful," or "you must live nearer the
Lord," is like the physician who never distinguishes
the nature and cause of one disease from another, but
prescribes tlie same remedy in all cases.

" The above are to be the general subjects of our pul-
pit discourses. A little different view of them is sug-
gested by the threefold office of Christ, that of
prophet, priest, and king. A preacher may find other
subjects adapted to please the curious and philosophiz-
ing ; but if he be a minister of Christ and seeks the
spiritual edification of his Hock he will have little
occasion for a greater variety than the above heads
will yield him.

"The end of all preaching and of all ministerial labor
is to build up the spiritual temple of God, and to bring
forth the top stone with shouting " Grace, grace unto
it." The ministers of Christ should never lose sight of
this, nor satisfy themselves with the incidental mention
of it, or occasionally teaching it more largely. Their
preaching and praying should all have a direct tendency
to this end. It should enter into their private instruc-
tions and their whole intercourse with mankind. Then,
and not till then, will both ministry and people be
imbued with the spirit of holiness. God will dwell
among men, and the whole earth shall be full of the
glory of God."

It is hardly possible to speak of this exhibition of the
duty of the pulpit in terms equal to its merit. At this
day, when men are pressed on all sides by tastes and
tendencies and innovations that touch the minister at
every point, how difficult may it seem to keep in the
plain path marked out by the Son of God; and yet the
day that sees the rigor of conscience relax as to proper
duty, as to our specific call and necessary work, the day

HOSIILETIC TASTE AXD SKILL.

301

that sees any thing in the pulpit not in consonance with
this conviction — no matter with what ingenuity and skill
presented — will he a day of gloom as real, if not as
painful, as was known in the "Dark Ages." The light
of the pulpit is the light of truth ; that truth is to re-
cover the lost, exalt the depressed, refine the impure,
dignify the abject, and show society something of the
first Paradise — the prelude to that heavenly state for
which the (Gospel is the only means of preparing
men.

Dr. Durhin's sermons were constructed on the prin-
ciples of homiletic art. There was order, progress, and
climax. In all that he prepared there was implicit
respect to the result. Whether he inverted a sentence
or transposed a paragraph or changed the numher or
place of a proposition, he kept before him the sense of
the sacred writer, and strove by all the means that logic
and rhetoric furnished to present it in the fullest sense
and with the greatest force. Progress icos an essential
condition of success. This was as really the case with
his matter as with his voice and manner. His sermons
were formed to instruct, impress, and move.

As in architecture there is the foundation and the
"top stone" — there is the purpose, the plan and the
building — so he had the place for every part necessary
to the intellectual structure.

As the osseous system is essential to the human or-
ganization, so is a skeleton to a sermon. There must
he something to build on. As through the entire
length of the spinal column there runs what may be
called brain matter, so in every well constructed dis-
course there must run the matter that shows a sound
and disciplined mind. The part of an oration that mind
does not influence fails to show the orator. Passion is
not enough. Thought must kindle passion, as passion

302

JO UN P. DURBIN.

awakens emotions. This Dr. Durbin realized. His
respect to result expresses itself in strongest language.

The introductions to Dr. Durbin's sermons were
varied by subjects and circumstances. One might be
formed from a scriptural fact or from the occasion of
the passage ; another from a philosophical principle or
an event of history. Pertinence was the governing law.
As a rule it was brief and direct. One thing bore
upon another and there was nothing useless, lie had
none of the abruptness of Sterne, who began with " that
I deny ;" nor the elaboration that Richard Winter Ham-
ilton shows, especially as we see him in a sermon on the
Last Judgment, from the text Rev. xx, 11-13: "I saw
a great white throne and Him that sat on it." After a
most vivid exhibition of Bishop Massillon, on the occa-
sion of a royal funeral, closing with the expression
"there is nothing great but God," Hamilton says,
"There is nothing solemn but the judgment." Then
he declares: "The thunder-storm is solemn, when
lightnings as arrows shoot abroad, when the peals
startle up the nations, when the dread artillery rushes
along the sky. But what is it to that far-resounding
crash, louder than the roar and bellow of ten thousand
thousands, which shall pierce the deepest channels and
which all the dead shall hear ?

"The ocean tempest is solemn when the huge billows
lift up their crests, when mighty armaments are wrecked
by their fury, when the proudest barks are shattered,
broken as the foam, scattered as the spray. But what
is this to that commotion of the deep when its proud
waves ' shall no more be stayed,' its ancient barriers
be no more observed, the largest channels be emptied,
and the deepest abyss be dried ?

" The earthquake is solemn when, without warning,
cities totter and kingdoms and islands flee away. But

HOMILETIC TASTE AXD SKILL.

303

■what is it to that tremor which shall convulse our globe,
dissolving every law of attraction, severing every prin-
ciple of aggregation, heaving all into chaos, and heap-
ing all into ruin? The volcano is solemn when its cone
of fire shoots to the heavens, crimsoning the zenith with
its portentous blaze, while from its burning entrails
lava rushes to overspread distant plains and to overtake
flying peoples. But what is that to the conflagration
in which all the palaces and the temples and citadels
of the earth shall be consumed?"

Of the merits of that composition, of its terrific
grandeur, we need say nothing ; but are we not justified
in asserting this ought not to be an example for an in-
troduction? In all the sermon there is not such another
passage. Was this the place for it ? Dr. Durbin's
purpose would not allow such an introduction. It is
said of Dr. John M. Mason that on one occasion he be-
gan a sermon with rapping three times upon the pulpit
and saying, "A voice from the eternal world addresses
you," and then announced the text, and at once the con-
gregation showed emotion. Yet, as a remarkable fact,
he held the closest attention of the people to the close
of the sermon. Few men could accomplish such a re-
sult. Certainly this was not his habit. We never saw
it in Dr. Durbin. In his sermon in the Methodist
Preacher, founded on John i, 1, " In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God," the theme is the "Character and Mis-
sion of Jesus Christ." He begins this simply: "By
consulting the fourteenth and eighteenth verses we learn
how the text regards the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
whole is predicated of him." This was one of his great
sermons preached while he was at Augusta College,
Kentucky. On the same theme he preached for two
hours at Vincentown, N. J., and such was the influence

304

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

against the error of Elias Hicks as to keep the sermon
in perpetual memory. Six lines comprehend his in-
troduction.

His sermon on the " Omnipresence of God" is from
the text, 2 Chron. vi, la, "Will God in very deed dwell
with men on the earth ? Behold heaven and the heaven
of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this
house which I have built." The introduction covers a
half page.

With a sermon so introduced he would raise his prop-
osition or divide his text. Then he began an exposition
that was usually calm, clear, and luminous; not permit-
ting himself to impair his purpose by consuming too
much time in the earlier parts of his discourse.

Arguments, narratives, illustrations came in natural
order. But application — what our fathers called the
£i life of preaching" — was to Dr. Durbin a strong hope
for the moral effect and permanent result of the dis-
course. His peroration was the place of concentrated
thought and power.

He expresses caution against being "too diffuse and
minute in the first part of the discussion, leaving but
little time for the latter part, which is generally the
most important." lie says, " Probably the preacher
ought never to exhaust himself on his subject ; certainly
not in the first part of his discourse. His matter ought
to increase in interest and importance to the close, and
the expenditure of his strength and energy ought to in-
crease with the increase of his matter. In this way the
services terminate with a powerful and abiding impres-
sion, under the influence of which the people depart to
their homes. Such a sermon on ordinary occasions need
rarely exceed three quarters of an hour. This leaves
time for hymns and suitable prayer. If there beany
two things of the prudential and discretionary kind

HOMILETIC TASTE AND SKILL. 305

more important than others to the success of the
preacher of I he word of God they are these :

" 1. Judgment and discretion in the selection of a
subject. Recollect the subject is the object of the se-
lection rather than the text ; the text is the occasion
generally to discuss the subject.

"2. So arrange the matter that it will not make your
sermon too long, seizing upon the strong and practical
points in it and not attempting to exhaust every point,
and in doing this, if possible, and it generally is, throw
the most interesting part or parts of it toward the close,
and often dispose of one division of the subject by way
of application if it be copious."

In studying Dr. Durbin's pow er as a preacher we may
consider :

1. The general character of his sermons. In the
specimens of the discourses furnished we can see his
skill in treating subjects in the various departments of
homiletic teaching. They were expositions, illustra-
tions, and divine orations. His themes corresponded
with his purpose and his plans were suited to his de-
sign. His texts presented ample matter for discussion
and declamation, for philosophy, poetry, and the high-
est Christian eloquence. They sometimes permitted
speculation, which he was quick to perceive and careful
to guard.

Evremont advises the minister to "make choice of such
subjects as are susceptible of ornament and energy."
To a nature capable of apprehending or appreciating
things according to their claim a great theme induces
great thoughts, and these in turn compel vigorous and
elevated language. Genius asks scope, and eloquence
will have fullness and freedom.

Sublime artists and poets give proof of this demand.
Rubens sought immortality in the "Crucifixion;" Ra-
21

306

JOHN P. DURBIN

phael, in the "Transfiguration;" Michael Angelo, in the
"Last Judgment;" our own West, in "Death oil the
Pale Horse." Homer lives in the " 111 iad; " Milton, in
"Paradise Lost;" and Dante, in "The Vision." This
includes paradise, purgatory, and perdition. Great
sermons are associated with great subjects. Thus we
have Bourdaloue in "The Pa-sion ;" Barrow on "The
Resurrection of Christ;" and Massillon on "The Small
Number of the Elect;" Howe on "The Redeemer's
Tears over Lost Souls ; " McLaurin on " Glory ing in the
cross;" Edwards on "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry
God." Amid the great number of sermons that we read
from Hugh Blair, with high admiration of the beauty
of his rhetoric, where is there one that for its grandeur
makes such an appeal as that on " Father, the hour is
come " — the death of Christ 'i

Great subjects are found in every department of
Christian teaching. They may be doctrinal, exper-
imental, or practical. They may be expository, textual,
or topical. Types and parables, biography and history
offer themes to interest the mind, to touch the con-
science, and to subdue the heart. Dr. Durbin employed
all.

He presented symmetry in the body of truth. Every
doctrine had its place and purpose. Essential truth
gave him f/reat themes, such as " The Omnipresence of
God," "The Incarnation," " The Character and Mission
of Jesus Christ," "The Atonement," "The Conversion
of Saul of Tarsus," "The Resurrection," "The
Word of God Abiding in Us," " The Signs of the
Times," and "Divine Providence." These subjects in-
duced sublime thoughts. As he who would rear a ma-
jestic structure must have a strong foundation, or as
the tree that is exposed to storm and tempest can only
war with the elements and retain its place by having

UOMILETIC TASTE AXD SKILL.

307

sufficient soil, and sending down and out its roots, so bis
ministry respected the means of stability and support.

His preaching looked to tbe conviction, conversion,
and profiting of men. To fell the forest requires a ro-
bust woodman ; but he has honor who cultivates the
grounds so cleared. Tbe psalmist, speaking of building
the temple, says, " A man was famous according as he
bad lifted up axes upon the thick trees." Thick trees
fell under tbe stroke of Dr. Durbin. lint he knew and
improved the soil and gathered of the fruits.

His ministry was not weakened by dangerous theo-
logical speculation. He did not add to or take from tbe
words of the book, nor mystify the manifest. He had
an active mind and an inventive genius. It was quite
common with him to suggest an inquiry that philosophy
might prompt in relation to things not revealed. Then
be showed vigor of reasoning and plausibility of con-
jecture. It imparted the interest that novelty gives,
and served to enlarge, if it did not brighten, tbe realm
of thought. But it was in profound submission to the
written word. This was calculated to exalt rather than
depress faith. He well knew our perpetual tendency
and multiplied temptations to lean to our own under-
standing; that a cultivated mind is prone to depart
from the simplicity that is in Christ. He was not a
stranger to the lures that offer and the diversions that
are so easy and frequent. He would consider a weak
faith one of the saddest things in its effect upon the
ministry. It compels weak utterances. He cannot be
called a "preacher of the word" who does not know
the word to preach. The language of his labor was,
" The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream ;
and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faith-
fully." While he acknowledged there is much that is
unknown in relation to the future, as there certainly is

308

JOHX P. DURBIX.

in regard to the present, he felt, as does the true scien-
tist, that the unknown is not to impair the power of the
known, or to lessen the effort of securing from it all
that it offers. He who knows God, and Jesus Christ
whom he hath sent — he who knows that he is born of
God, and possesses the peace that he gives — knows some-
thing ; knows that he has not followed fables. Dr.
Durbin spoke with authority.

His preaching loas not distinguished as polemical.
He had a creed and he preached it. In some instances
he encountered an error with directness and vigor, as
when in his early ministry he delivered his famous ser-
mon in the West on the "Deity of Christ." He was
not ostentatious of his ability as a logician in seeking to
show how he could demolish a difficulty or annihilate an
adversary. He rather projected truth than fought error.
He expelled the one by making place for the other.
His treatment was systemic. He Avas like the physi-
cian who builds up the constitution to overcome the
infirmity, and by moral means secures natural ends.

Christian apologetics had only due place in his min-
istry. With him the pulpit was not the professor's
chair. He could defend the Scriptures in the evidences
furnished by their necessity, inspiration and benefits.
But his custom was " to preach the word." He had less
rubbish to remove than truth to offer. He did not
make fruitless attempts to convince men's minds, when
he knew that their hearts presented the citadel to at-
tack. It was wittily said by a great statesman, when
Bishop Watson wrote his Apology for the Bible,
that the Bible needs no apology. Of Dr. Durbin we
may say the Scriptures commanded his reason, inspired
bis confidence, and satisfied his noblest aspiration. He
found Scripture history sustained by facts, Bible doc-
trines the necessity of the race, and showed the influ-

1WMILETIC TASTE AXD SKILL.

ence of its moral precepts in exalting a nation and in
purifying and honoring men.

Me was pre-eminently a preacher of fundamental
truths. To this he was called; in this he delighted;
and the results of this that he witnessed satisfied him
that to this no merely sesthetical or metaphysical preach-
ing hears any comparison. He sought to " make the
tree good that the fruit might he good also." He in-
sisted, therefore, that neither circumcision nor uncircuni-
cision avails any thing, hut a new creature, and that
without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Dr.
Durhin knew that in Christianity Jesus Christ is " all
in all ;" that he is our rock of stability and defense.

Some of his discourses were highly expository. He
loved the logical, and frequently made his sermons on a
theme before selecting his text.

Analysis was the habit of his mind, yet the synthet-
ical found large place in his preaching. He was fond
of the psychological treatment of subjects. This he
used to achieve the best results. He looked at princi-
ples that, though unconsciously to ourselves, influence
conduct — principles that are as real, though not recog-
nized, as the intuitions. By close observation, by nat-
ural tendency, by rational processes, he detected and
exposed the springs of moral action.

As the astute statesman by broader observation and
deeper insight foretells results of legislation or govern-
ment, and the course of events that astonishes the less
acute, so he, by discussing " mind-nature," revealed to
men facts in their own bosom that they had failed to
recognize, but that, being now made manifest, they
were compelled to acknowledge in the obligations that
they involved. Such reasoning is to our consciousness
what introspection in the Christian is to the heart. It
gives to conscience the greater grip, and compels con-

310

JO UN P. DURBIN.

viction to assert itself. But we are not to suppose that
he indulged in terminology that perplexed the hearer,
or that lie dealt in the abstruse or recondite, that true
oratory forbids. Metaphysical labyrinths were con-
demned alike by his intelligence and his purpose. It
was only as people followed him here that he obtained
the desired response.

Thus to an enlightened conscience he held up the
mirror and compelled men to see themselves, or pre-
sented scales the accuracy of which was accepted and
constrained men to weigh themselves, and acknowledge
they were " found wanting."

His sermon in Pulpit Eloquence of the Nineteenth
Century shows this character of preaching. " Will God
in very deed dwell with men on the earth ?" 2 Chron.
vi, 18. He sees in "the constitution of men, the nature
of reason, the observation of every day, the conscious-
ness of each pure heart, the mission and testimony of the
Holy Scriptures, that a sense of continual personal om-
nipresence of Jehovah is the most powerful restraint on
vice and the most efficient encouragement to virtue."
F. V. Reinhard, the illustrious "Court Preacher " at
Dresden, furnishes a fine example of such preaching in
his sermon on John the Baptist, as given by Professor Ed-
wards A. Park in the sixth volume of Bibliotheca Sacra.

Saurin's sermon on " the Passions " was pronounced
by John Foster one of the best specimens of such dis-
course in the language. Bishop Butler's sermon on
" Human Nature " illustrates the highest skill in this
kind of pulpit appeal.

Of the same class is the celebrated sermon of Dr.
Chalmers on the " Expulsive Power of a New Affec-
tion; " of like nature is Bushnell's admirable discourse on
" Unconscious Influence." In this grand category we
place the eloquent sermon of Dr. McClintock in

I10XILETIC TASTE AND SKILL.

311

Pulpit Eloquence of the Nineteenth Century. The sub-
ject is " the ground of man's love to God."

It requires a high order of intellect to produce its
proper power; but here Dr. Durbin was a master. He
reasoned likePaley; he searched like Butler ; he warmed
like MassilloD ; he subdued and conquered like Wesley.
Shall we call this psychological probing? The rather
let us say, Moral vivisection. Only the soul can certify
the scrutiny. It was like Nathan's parable to David
to impress the sin of the sovereign.

With what delicacy and deference did he prepare
the case and address the king! How perfectly did he
conduct the parable to awaken the indignation of a
man by an appeal to moral consciousness ! In all the
concealment of his design how fairly and fully did he
obtain a verdict of an inward but now outspoken con-
viction of moral right ! Thus is it in the kind of
preaching of which we now write. Truth is exhibited;
her claim is so clearly shown, the evil of the sin is so
manifest, that the man pronounces sentence upon him-
self. This is individualizing. It is thus that God
says, " Out of thy own mouth will I judge thee." This
is tremendous preaching. It is moral consciousness that
has become the preacher. The pulpit has fired on the
fortress, and there is war within.

But Dr. Durbin knew how men become Christians
indeed, and he struck at the conscience, that "main
pillar of the soul," which amid all the ruins of the fall
gives evidence of the original grandeur of the moral
temple. Before the highest tribunal on earth he ar-
raigned the sinner and made him tremble, and when
conscience failed in its functions he caused the truth
of God to flash into the darkest corners of the heart,
and showed the chamber of images with all kinds of
idolatry and odious objects.

312

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

Did ever any mere man possess the power to make
a bold and startling statement of the most weighty
truth greater than he sometimes did, when his soul was
full of his subject and the end for which he labored
made the demand ?

The writer is indebted to Edward Sargent, Esq., of
Cincinnati, for the following illustration. He says :
" Dr. Durbin was preaching a sermon on the general
judgment, and in the course of it said the general
judgment might last an indefinite length of time, 'per-
haps ten thousand years,' and then, with a flash in his
eye, said, ' the damnation of the sinner would then come
soon enough.' "

THE LORD'S CALL TO THE MINISTRY. 313

CHAPTER XIX.
The Lord's Call to the Ministry.

A CONSCIOUS call to the ministry is both an inspi-
ration to duty and a guard against discouragement
in the work.

In secular pursuits men justly make their choice.
Their future is at their disposal, and they are responsi-
ble for its results. Having freedom of action they may
consult their tastes, their talents, and their opportuni-
ties. Their supposed interests influence their conclu-
sions, and excellence and success may be anticipated
where the widest doors open and aptitudes and prefer-
ences are indulged. But a call to the ministry is of
God. He who from the beginning has had a cause in
the earth has had his own way of sustaining and ad-
vancing it. Moses saw God in the burning bush and
heard his voice from the flame. The tribe of Levi was
separated for the tabernacle, and he inspired the
prophets. Isaiah responded to his appeal amid the
glory that filled the temple and awed the six-
winged seraphim, when his tongue was touched with
a "live coal from off the altar." To Jeremiah God
said, " Whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak."
Paul was a chosen vessel to bear his name to the Gen-
tiles and to the kings and to the children of Israel.
To his apostles he said, " Go ye into all the world and
preach the Gospel to every creature." The commission
to preach remains with the divine head, and " no man
taketh this honor to himself but he that is called of God,

814

JOHN P. I) URBIN.

as was Aaron." Greatly as he has honored the Church
in her labors to extend his kingdom, positive as is the
aid that his people often render the student in prepar-
ing for his work, and manifest as is the power of the
faithful in sustaining him when in the held, the au-
thority to preach is from a higher source. This the
Church recognizes when she asks the candidate, "Do
you trust that you are inwardly moved by the Holy
Ghost to take upon you the office of ministration ? "

Respect for the offices, the functions, and usefulne-s
of the minister might induce an earnest Christian to
desire the place, and one might reason from his natural
endowments, his educational advantages, his mother's
prayers, and his father's wishes, and ask himself whether
it is not his duty to preach ? If after the careful
searching of his heart, rigorous analysis of his motives,
and humble prayer to know the will of God, the im-
pression is made, and stirs the soul to such effort, he
may accept it as the inward call. If then in attempting
to speak he has the help of the Holy Spirit, and the
Church witnesses his "gifts, grace, and usefulness" —
if providence opens the way and seems to point out this
path — if in following those indications the mind settles
in the belief that God calls, we say this is enough to
justify conviction of duty. This is the outward call.
This ends anxiety. He discriminates between a con-
ception and a consciousness, between a wish and an obli-
gation. He then acts on divine authority, which feeling
is one of the greatest forces that he ever experiences in
delivering his message.

It is not himself speaking ; it is not merely the
church that licensed him; it is not the ecclesiastical
economy that directs him, but it is God that speaks
through him. It is not too much to assume that a man
may be conscious of such call. If God by his " Spirit

THE LORD'S CALL To THE MINISTRY. 315

bears witness with our spirit" as to our conversion — if
the "Spirit help our infirmities" so that we know the
things we ought to pray for," surely it is not presump-
tion to suppose in desiring men for the greatest work
on earth he should satisfy them concerning his will.
He who called Samuel by a vocal utterance can now
speak by the inward voice of his Spirit, and thus make
an indelible impression upon the mind.

It was for such consciousness that young Durbin
waited. The taste of his childhood, the wish of his
mother, his respect for the ministry, and the exercises
of his mind were not sufficient. The mental struggle
continued till facts compelled conviction. The search-
ing question as to his duty, coming from his saintly
grandfather, went through his soul with such power
that it shook all secular purposes out of his heart. The
observing church expressed its judgment, and the pre-
siding elder sought his service; such concurrent evi-
dence and the influence of the Spirit satisfied his
mind, and he modestly but earnestly entered upon his
work.

Consciousness of a call from God, and the felt pres-
ence of the Holy Spirit, are the highest inspiration that
the preacher needs. It causes the obedient servant to
spring forward with a noble alacrity and with neces-
sary determination. The soul rises into a moral realm,
where earthly ambitions and prospects have no influ-
ence. Gold has lost its glitter, fame its lure, and the
richest possessions fail to deter or divert from duty.
A holy passion subordinates all things to its control.
With "the obligation comes the impulse to its discharge.
He says, "This work shall make my heart rejoice."
Not less is this consciousness a guard against all dis-
couragements. Profound as are the convictions that
impel to action, powerful as is the influence that urged

316

JOHN P. DURBIN.

on the young preacher, he will become familiar with
trials which this consciousness alone will overcome.

(a.) There may be physical suffering that will test de-
votion to the work. He who reads the journal of Free-
born Garrettson in the earliest ministry of Methodism
in this country well knows what it is to suffer in this
calling. Even in Maryland, his native State, he was
beaten by his persecutors and left unconscious on the
road, and Mr. Hartley was imprisoned.

Who can read without tears the narrative of minis-
ters of later years ? In the biographical sketches edited
by Dr. T. O. Summers we have two, written by Bishop
H. N. McTyeire. They were the first laborers in
Louisiana. The Bishop says, " Louisiana has been the
Macedonia of the Methodist Episcopal Church." As
an example of suffering he quotes from Elisha Bowman,
the pioneer, January 29, 1806. " Every day that I
travel I have to swim through creeks or swamps, and I
am wet from my head to my feet, and some days from
morning till night I am dripping with water. ... I
have given you a faint idea of my travels. . . . What I
have suffered in body and mind my pen is not able to
communicate to you ; but this I can say : while my body
is wet with water and chilled with cold my soul is
filled with heavenly fire. . . . And while these periods
drop from my pen my soul is ready to leave this
earthly house and fly to endless rest." What but con-
sciousness of his call held this man in such a work ?
He was a writer of beauty, tenderness, and force. The
next case is that of Richard Nolley, of whom we have
a sketch also in Sprague's Annals of the Methodist
Pulpit. He was a preacher of whom the late Daniel
De Vinne, of the New York East Conference, used to
make devout mention. In self-denial and in holiness
Mr. Nolley would compare with Thomas Walsh. Of

THE LORD'S CALL TO THE 3ILXISTRY.

317

South-western Louisiana it was said "the gospel plow-
share never struck into a harder soil," but this saint
essayed to break it. Omitting his almost, unexampled
difficulties, shameful persecution, and the great revivals
that marked his short history, we view him in Ins clos-
ing suffering and triumph. He had finished a journey
of three hundred and fifty miles through the wilderness,
swimming deep creeks and lying out, eleven nights,
and had reached his appointment. He passed a vil-
lage of Indians, and in attempting to cross a swift
stream he and his horse were parted. He escaped
drowning, but, chilled and exhausted, the cold and
darkness every moment becoming intenser, he sank
down and seemed conscious of his approaching end.
On Friday, his fast-day, amid the gloom of the place
and period, the Bishop says, " he met the shining ones."
Thus in his divine vocation, when only thirty-four years
of age, perished one of the best men out of heav en.
" His knees were muddy, and the prints of them were on
the ground, showing what his last exercise had been.
. . . A traveler the next day about four o'clock found
the corpse . . . and the neighbors bore the frozen form
to the house where it was supposed he aimed to go."
Died he not as a martyr ? Received he not a martyr's
crown? May it not be written of him as of Saint Paul,
"In perils of waters ... in perils in the wilderness
. . . in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in
hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and naked-
ness?"

Such cases are not common, but they show us the
necessity — at least for our fathers to know they were
moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon them this min-
istry. How much was comprehended in J. P. Durbin's
case has never had a full record, but we have seen
sufficient to justify our joy that he was conscious that

318

JOHX P. DURBIN.

God separated him to this work. Few preachers of the
present day have the same kind of trials or so much of
such difficulty. But we shall see that they have enough
to make it desirable that they should realize how im-
perative is their duty.

(b.) lie has the depression that arises from felt inade-
quacy to his work. An apostle exclaimed, " Who is
sufficient for these things?" Flushed as the young
preacher sometimes is with the results of his first
efforts, encouraged as he has been by the kind expres-
sion of devoted friends, there are few, if any, who do
not experience a mental depression that their failures
to meet their wishes have induced. Criticisms may be
heard, sometimes doubts are expressed ; his painful
want of knowledge, his need of more of the Holy
Spirit, and his exalted ideal of a sermon, may awaken
strong temptations to despair in the prosecution of bis
■work. He is not unwilling to deny himself. lie
shrinks from no part of his labor because of its difficul-
ties, but he is oppressed with the thought that he is
unequal to the place. Nor has this been the experience
alone of those not educated nor distinguished for talent.
Preachers who have been most admired have had this
trial. Robert Hall was a great orator, but he called
together his vestry to resign his pastorate because of
the thought of his inadequacy. It was not because
Lawrence Laurenson, of the Philadelphia Conference,
was not one of the most eloquent men of that body
that he rolled on the floor and protested that he could
not preach. We have seen what were the reasonings
of J. P. Durbin in relation to his first efforts, and of
the kindness that he thought was necessary upon the
part of the people to receive and treat him so well.

(r) The preacher needs the consciousness of a divine
call to guard him against discouragement.

THE LORD'S CALL TO THE MINISTRY. 319

According to the Methodist Discipline, the sole busi-
ness of a preacher is to save souls. It says, "You have
nothing to do but save souls." For this he studies,
prays, and weeps between the porch and the altar, but,
like the disciples, lie sometimes says, "we have toiled
all night and taken nothing." What, then, will satisfy ?
Will the hospitalities that have been received, the cour-
tesies extended, the commendation bestowed, the friend-
ships formed, or the salary promptly and liberally paid ?
Will the largeness of the congregation or the intellect-
ual make-up of the assembly ? Will these satisfy
him ? If they will he is out of his place or is out of
the right state of mind and heart. A Methodist preacher
without souls is like a glorified saint without a crown.
What is our hope, our joy, our crown of rejoicing? Are
not even ye, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at
his coming ?

The preacher considers the import and difficulty of
his work. To operate upon matter is one thing, to
influence mind is another. To span the East River
with a single arch, to bridge the distance and to open
a highway of travel and commerce between Xew York
and Brooklyn, is a work that intelligence, energy, time,
and necessary means could accomplish. By civil en-
gineering, by scientific knowledge, by mechanical skill,
by a wise calculation of the forces of nature, all this
has been done, and millions in a single year chose
this as a highway without apprehension of harm. To
this the genius of a Roebling is equal ; but who shall
close up the moral distance between an offended God
and an unforgiven sinner? One Mediator bridged the
chasm of the fall by the cross of Calvary, that opens a
" highway and the redeemed pass over it." But what
unrepenting soul experiences its advantages ? Who
shall conquer rebellion ? By what power shall we make

320

John p. bur bin:

the alien a real child ? To move the mind in the right
direction, when taste, and habit, and a depraved heart
are behind it, is such labor as even the Holy Ghost does
not accomplish without the sinner's consent. God asks,
" How shall I put thee among the children ? " It is not
in man to do it. The vastness of the interest at stake,
the authority on which the minister speaks, the ardor
of his spirit, the earnestness of his effort, and the efficacy
of his prayers, together with the force of his arguments
and the power of his appeal, will not secure the end. A
church in tears, a revival in progress, and angels in
waiting to carry the intelligence of a sinner's repenting
are not enough to save one soul, who will not have
this man to reign over him. This almost breaks a
preacher's heart.

He may feel that his skirts are clear, but he knows
that the skirt? of others are crimsoned with "blood-
guiltiness." How felt the holy Rutherford when he
said, " My witness is in heaven ; your heaven would be
two heavens to me and your salvation two salvations?"

Richard Cecil declares a country minister fighting the
devil in his parish has a higher idea than Julius Caesar
or Napoleon ever dreamed of. All ministers may say,
" We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against spiritual wicked-
ness in high places."

(</.) The obstacles that are sometimes encountered in the
state of the Church demand the guard and support af-
forded by consciousness of a call to the place. God
says, " I would that you were cold or hot." Paul de-
clares it is good to be zealously affected always in a
good thing.

Zeal for God in the Church is the pastor's hope, want
of it his fear. If there be inertness, it matters not what
else there is, there is real grief. The learning, the

THE LORD'S CALL TO THE MINISTRY.

321

wealth, the social position, the numbers may all be read-
ily and gladly acknowledged ; but what are these if
conscience is obtuse or energy sleeps; if they know not
that they are poor and miserable and blind and naked?

Not to help is bad, but it is worse to hinder.

In the Evangelical Alliance held in New York, in
1873, no essay moved that vast assembly like the one
delivered by Dr. T. Christlieb, professor of theology and
university preacher at Bonn, Prussia. It was on
" Modern Infidelity." But the utterance of greatest
power was to the effect that modern infidels do not read
tlie Scriptures. They study the Bible in those who
profess to follow its teaching. If they are not right
they condemn this book. Thus religion is judged not
by what it is, but by what our example makes it. If they
see in the life of a professor even apocryphal conduct,
the charge is upon religion — that it does not make us
just and good. It has often been found that the church
that is not a hot-bed for the fruits of the Spirit is one
of noxious weeds, and that roots of bitterness springing
up trouble it. There are those who " walk disorderly
and will not be reproved." Thence come dissensions
and every evil work, and the minister is compelled to
resort to the discipline of the Church. Inaction is con-
si rued into connivance or cowardice, and administration
may be regarded by others as unnecessary or severe.
This is the most painful, and sometimes the most per-
plexing duty of a pastor, and he may ask, "Did my call
mean this ?" " Besides those things that are without,
that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the
churches. Who is weak and I am not weak? Who is
offended and I burn not?"

Young Durbin knew the import of what we have thus
stated. But as our ministry sometimes involves phys-
ical sufferings, and even death, so it comprehends such
22

322

JOHN P. DURBLV.

trials that we justly deplore. Who would not shun
such a fold ?

(e.) Financial embarassments may add to the facts
already named. When one gives himself to the itin-
erancy his first care is to make full proof of his minis-
try. He may have but himself to support. Whether
his salary is less or more than $50 a year is a minor mat-
ter. The trade of young Durbin might yield more in
a month than his preaching would in a year. But what
of that ? He lived among the people and his wants were
met. Yet the man who has a family, and for five or six
years receives about $100 a year, as was the case with
one clergyman, is in a different case. He can bear pri-
vations, but his wife and children must have support.
To add to the trial, he sees men in business rising to
wealth, and that with no more talents, energj-, and enter-
prise than are demanded of a preacher in order to success.

He sees, moreover, that riches gained are enabling
men in secular life to accomplish for the Church and so-
ciety what the minister is unable to do —planting mis-
sions, establishing Sunday-schools, endowing professor-
ships, building hospitals, and contributing largely to the
support of the Church, whereby they obtain an influ-
ence to which the minister can never rise. It may not
astonish us that he is tempted to think he would be
justified in departing from the work.

When Sir Matthew Hale meditated the ministry and
the law, and thought of the influence that lie might
exert in adopting the legal profession, he reasoned thus:
The same acts that the love of God prompts in an ear-
nest Christian exert more power when coming from a
layman than from a minister. In a lawyer it would be
attributed to zeal for usefulness, in a minister it would
be regarded as a part of his profession. In the law he
certainly made himself useful as a Christian.

THE LORD'S CALL TO THE MINISTRY. 323

But the minister ponders his call and what it involves.
"With something like a just appreciation of his case he
says :

" I am a 1 shepherd ' of Christ's sheep, and must fold
and feed, must guide and guard the flock. Shall the
sheep perish for whom Christ died ?

" I am a ' steward,' and it is required of him that he
be found faithful. Shall I be derelict to duty ?

" I am a ' watchman.' Will I see the sword and give
no alarm ?

" I am an ' ambassador.' Shall I not entreat men to
be reconciled to God ?

" Shall I leave my post ? If dignity be judged by the
authority that confers it — if his intelligence and skill and
loyalty are equal to his charge — then earth and heaven
meet in the ministrations of him who negotiates betw een
God and man."

Who shall describe his responsibility ? The shepherd
must go into the wilderness after the lost sheep. That
is what Garrett son, Bowman, and Nolley were doing.

The steward must give to every one his portion in
due season. The watchman lifts up his voice like a
trumpet, and the ambassador in Christ's stead asks, im-
plores, and exhausts his resources that this war with
God may come to an immediate end. All this was
recognized by John P. Durbin.

Such relationships do not allow these spiritual func-
tions to be neglected. In the life of Robert S. McAlI,
LL.D., we have an illustration of the liability to dis-
couragement in a minister of pre eminent ability and of
the power that held him in his place. He was called
''the Cicero of Nonconformity;" yet he declared that
such was his sense of responsibility that nothing could
induce him to continue his labors but the most absolute
conviction of duty, and that he dared not retire, else

324

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

he should have done so long since, adding emphatically
these words, " (), sir, frequently have I come home
Sabbath morning when, under the agonizing feeling, I
have Lhrown myself on the sofa, and had it not been a
sin to commit suicide I should have done it rather than
preach again in the evening."

This language is too strong; but it came from one of
keen sensibility, who allowed the tempter too much
power ; but it gives those who do not know it some
view of the mental sufferings of which a faithful min-
ister may be the subject.

Such are some of the trials that ministers meet, and
that make a clear sense of duty an imperative demand.
When a weak mortal feels the confluence of so many
streams, and some of them of such volume — when such
bitter waters rise and rage around him, could it be ex-
pected that he will stand firm if he has nothing behind
him but his own tastes, a college education, a theological
training, or his past preparations of whatever sort —
nothing but those things that are from the human to
keep him firm ? If there was ever a tinge of romance in
the life it is gone. If there was ever experiment, it is
over. If it was to reach a cert iin reputation, that mat-
ter is settled with joy or grief. But there is some-
thing higher. He pauses, he prays, he weeps. His
mind reverts to his mental processes and his moral con-
clusions. He thinks of the books he read to help his
thoughts of duty. He remembers that then, if ever, his
devotion to God was pure ; then, if ever, his eye was
single; then, if ever, he had God's work at heart, and
he asks with an agonized mind, "Shall such a man as I
flee ? Shall a standard-bearer faint ? Is the necessity
absolute? Then only may I feel my call for this work
at this time is out." He sees his way is not fully shut
up. Now he would retire but for the conscious call.

THE LOHD'S CALL TO THE MINISTRY.

325

With one who once was an evangelical power in this
land, he says, " Die on the field of battle."

Before once fleeing, welcome a thousand deaths. We
honor the soldier whom danger makes more brave. We
laud the physician whom pestilence does not drive
from duty ; but worldly ambition may prompt the one,
while lucrative practice may influence the other. But
God's minister looks at his commission, and says it is
from a higher power, is for a nobler end, and is gov-
erned by celestial motives. What if the depressed
Elijah was under the juniper-tree — what if Jeremiah
said. " I will not speak any more in his name." I live
under the dispensation of the Holy Ghost, and mine
may be the tongue of fire. "lie that walketh in the
midst of the seven golden candlesticks holds the seven
stars in his right hand."

Of the trials of Dr. Durbin in the ministry we may
not adecpiately speak. He was not accustomed to re-
count or to dwell upon them. He saw the end rather
than the difficulties in his way. Time and trial were
less than duty and destiny. But we have seen his as-
pirations and the obstacles in his path. We have seen
him with a salary that it shames our present Methodism
to remember. We have seen him with loss of voice at
the end of his first six months, a fact well calculated to
crush hope and extinguish every fire of sanctified am-
bition. We heard him tell of painful failure in preach-
ing the word, but he had heard God. He had heard
the Church. He had not gone without being sent.
He knew the exercises of his own mind, and the ex-
periences of his heart, and he could calmly say, "Xone
of these things move me." And his life was made
grand. What like such consciousness of a call makes a
man courageous and eloquent as a preacher of the word.

326

JOIIX R DURDIN.

CHAPTER XX.
Eloquence a Worthy Study.

ELOQUENCE is a reality. Nothing more certainly
affects individuals or masses of men. In war and
in peace it makes appeals that compel response, and if
it is truthfully said "the pen is mightier than the
sword," he who knows the full power of speech will
confess the tongue is mightier than the pen. The
fathers of the Revolution did well to consider the state-*
ments and the arguments of Jefferson's pen ; but what
roused the colonies like the utterances of Adams, of
Otis, and of Patrick Henry ?

In classic Greece and ancient Rome eloquence was the
highest study for power and fame. It was a remark of
Henry Clay that "there is no power like the power of
oratory. Caesar conquered men by exciting their
fears; Cicero by captivating their affections and sway-
ing t heir passions. The influence of the one perished
with its author, while that of the other continues to this
day." It is said, " Julius Caesar was subdued by the elo-
quence of Cicero, and absolved the criminal whom he
had determined to punish."

But this very power has been made an argument
against the cultivation of eloquence. It has been said,
'•it may influence the simple, but not the wise." There
may be those who can make the worse appear the
better reason. But eloquence is not sophistry. Elo-
quence has been pronounced a "virtue." This, like any
other power, may be used for good or evil. The sun

ELOQUENCE A WORTHY STUDY. 327

that warms the soil for the seed may burn up vegeta-
tion and cause famine. And the rains of heaven that
the farmer asks may flood his fit-Ids. The very strength
that God gave to Samson made him the sport of fools
that " make a mock at sin."

We are even cautioned against " receiving the grace
of God in vain." There is no faculty with which we
are endowed, and there is no acquisition in learning
that we can make, that may not be turned to ill account.
As really from the printing press that gives us Bibles
at so cheap a rate comes polluting literature at prices
that any may pay. Men do not refuse money because
there are misers; and even Christians labor for its pos-
session, though " the love of money is the root of all evil."

But what is there in the eloquence of speech to jus-
tify opposition to its cultivation ? It is the clothing of
our thoughts in such language and expressing them in
such manner as are adapted to produce conviction and
persuasion. It is the art of speaking to effect our pur-
pose. Quintilian says, "It is in the heart, in the genius,
and in the thoughts, that eloquence properly consists,"
and surely a wise man will not refuse these. It will
hardly be assumed that Benjamin Franklin was a weak
man, or that David Hume or Lord Chesterfield were to
lie pronounced simple as to their judgments of the
works of men. Yet the eloquence of Whitefield made
Franklin, despite his former purpose, empty his purse
for a collection, and caused Chesterfield to say he would
go twenty miles to hear him. It caitivated Hume.

Emerson says : " The orator is he whom every man
is seeking when he goes into court, into conventions,
into any popular assembly. His speech is the electricity
of action." Hervey declares, " When Seeker preaches
or when Murray pleads, the church is crowded and the
bar is thronged."

S3U

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

yet vitality is more than color. But as the place of
our birth, notwithstanding love of locality that it in-
duces, does not forbid emigration if found to our ad-
vantage, so our tastes should not prevent the exercise
of our talents in the direction where they can accom-
plish most. As like genius does not always reach equal
eminence, so like effort may not invariably reap the
same fruit. One may do with difficulty what another
does with ease. But ease and difficulty are not the
question to govern one intent on a worthy object.
Genius is not to be disparaged, but industry must not
be ignored. In some things the impulse of genius will
do what hard study will not effect. But he who con-
ceives of genius as that which makes men wise without
study, or illustrious without effort, conceives of some-
thing that no sensible man should covet.

Dr. Johnson says, " Men have sometimes appeared of
such transcendent abilities that their slightest and
most cursory performance excel all that labor and
study can enable meaner intellects to compose, as
there are regions of which the spontaneous products
cannot be equaled in other soils by care and culture.
But it is not less dangerous for any man to place him-
self m this rank, and fancy that he is born to be illus-
trious without labor, than to omit the cares of hus-
bandry and expect from the ground the blossoms of
Arabia." Because Providence gave the church such
young preachers as Spencer and Summerfield is no
reason for youthful presumption. Genius does much,
but let no one presume.

The counterpart of Napoleon's genius for war may
not appear in a century. We may in vain read all
history to find another Julius Caesar, and many years
may elapse before our " military academy " will give
us another Grant. But this is no proof that "the

ELOQUENCE A WORTHY STUDY. 331

sword has become a plowshare, or that the spear has
been converted into a pruning-hook." Nor would it
be deemed wise lor our nation to close West Point,
or for our young men to decline to study the science
and art of war. Ages have passed without producing
another Demosthenes or Cicero. Yet England boasts
her Sheridan, her Canning, and her Fox ; and America
points to her mighty orators in Patrick Henry, Fisher
Ames, and Henry Clay. And the names of Gladstone
and Webster will live in history for their eloquence a8
well as for their wisdom.

Another John P. Durbin may be sought for in vain
among the pulpit orators of the land ; but the influence
of his example survives him, and the lessons and labors
of his life will go on blessing the world. Other men
have learned eloquence from his utterances, and some
of his characteristics have been and may yet be repro-
duced in those who heard his discourse or study his life.
We wisely aim at what we may not fully reach. The
effort is both a discipline and an advantage. We are
endowed for labor, and the minister may not only cher-
ish a sanctified ambition, but indulge an animating
hope.

When Rubenstein heard a distinguished preacher say,
" A man must not be expected to do better than he can,"
he declared he did not like the sermon, because, said the
great pianist, "It is false; for men must do the impos-
sible. I tell my pupils if they do not try to compose bet-
ter than Beethoven they must never come to my tuition."
The Greek adage is, " The gods sell every thing to labor."
Eloquent speaking maybe assumed to be largely the re-
sult of study and practice. Much that is almost forgotten
may have been learned in childhood at school when the
mind and the organs of speech might readily receive
some of the best aids to the end meditated. " In former

332

JOHN P. D URBIN.

ages the opinion was held that the talent for eloquence
M as pre-eminently one of discipline, and it is one of the
maxims that has descended to the present time that
"men must be born to poetry, but bred to eloquence;"
that the "bard is always a child of nature and the ora-
tor always the issue of instruction." (John Q. Adams's
Lectures on Rhetoric and Oratory, vol. i, 25.)

Temperament, sympathy, grace of person, compass
and sweetness of voice, together with readiness of utter-
ance, make their contribution to the speaker. But which
of these may not be improved by use or impaired by
disuse ? By reading, by conversation, by study of models,
one may imbibe the spirit and find the secret that we
seek. Eloquence spurns idleness and disowns the self-
sufficient. If to be public speakers men study grammar,
rhetoric, and logic, why not eloquence in its best mani-
festations ? One may have grammar, rhetoric, and logic ;
yet lack of ability to speak makes all unavailing. If to
be a scholar, to acquire useful arts, we pursue study, and
adopt the best means to fit ourselves for positions of
responsibility and honor, surely it is not unworthy our
best effort to prepare for the calling of a minister of
Christ. Galen says, "An unskillful sculptor spoils only
a block of marble, but an unskillful physician spoils a
man." But a more painful thought is, the unskillful
minister may at least fail to save a soul from death.

Men not influenced by the high motives of the Chris-
tian have deemed no cost too great if they might ac-
quire eloquence. We are familiar with the narrative of
Demosthenes — the impediment in his speech and awk-
wardness of gesture; that to overcome his faults, under
the shame of his defeats he sought seclusion for careful
study ; then harangued the ocean that he might be supe-
rior to the tumult of a great assembly, and put pebbles
in his mouth, that if with them he could manage to

ELOQUENCE A WORTHY STUDY.

333

speak lie might find case in their absence; and to correct
the shrug of the shoulder placed a sword to pierce him.
His reward was greater than his expenditure of time
and effort.

Cicero failed in the beginning "through weakness
of lungs and excessive vehemence of manner, which
wearied Ins hearers and defeated his purpose." Study
conquered, but it was not till he had traveled in various
lands, secured the aid of instructors and critics, that he
reached his mark. He passed no day without exercise
in his art. The end justified all the means employed.

When Fox first rose in the House of Commons he
blundered, stammered, ami at last "sat down in discom-
fiture." But success followed failure, and diligence raised
him to the first place of an English orator. When
Richard Brinsley Sheridan began his course as a speaker
his painful failures induced a friend to say, "Speaking
is not your calling." With an emphasis of more vigor
than refinement he exclaimed, "It is in me, and I will
bring it out." In that reply we have the elements of a
mighty orator. There was intensity, determination, and
consciousness of Ins own capability, and all his labor
was in faith. It has been stated on good authority that
Patrick Henry owed more to the study of the art of
eloquence than many have supposed. In early life he
had one habit besides that of indolence; it was that of
watching the working of the passions and of detecting
the motives of human conduct. For these purposes he
drew around him groups of companions and engaged
them in conversation on excellent subjects.

If there be enough in eloquence to justify such efforts
and reward such toil in men of the tcorld is there any
labor too great for him xchose highest ambition is to
reach the minds and hearts of men to save then) from
"going down to the pit?" Can the minister of the

334

JO UN P. DURBiy.

Son of God allow men of any calling to do more for
their purpose than he will do to accomplish the end of
his mission ? What are crowns on earth, though studded
with diamonds, compared with the honor of him that is
faithful to his divine vocation, when every soul that
he saves by his speech shall be ' a star" to shine in the
crown of his rejoicing forever and forever? Eloquence
is eloquence whether at the bar, in the senate, or the
pulpit. If in eloquence there is enough to inspire an
army when on the fiery edge of battle; enough to rouse
the patriot's soul when death looks him in the face;
enough to kindle the fire that no waters of adversity
can quench; enough to make the men who heard De-
mosthenes say, "Let us march against Philip ; " if there
is enough to cause Burke to say of the speech of Sheridan,
" Such a display of powers is unparalleled in the annals
of oratory — such a display that reflects the highest
honor upon himself, luster upon letters, renown upon the
patriot and glory upon the country " — then surely there
is enough in eloquence to make the minister do what he
can to command it.

What like the eloquence of reason, of conscience — and
that the Spirit gives — makes men feel their obligation to
rise superior to all the enemies in their path ? At such
time it is not so much a question as to what a man
knows as a student as what he feels and expresses as the
mouth-piece for God. With half the human knowledge
of another he exerts double his power and secures ten-
fold the benefit. He carries his cause because he is in
it and makes others feel it is in them. Who, then, shall
ask, Is there enough in eloquence to justify a minister
in using the means for its attainment? Are not the
means of acquiring eloquence as really at his command
as of any other person? Are his faculties and suscep-
tibilities inferior? Will it cost him any more than it

ELOQUEXCE A WORTHY STUDY.

335

docs others of like condition but with dissimilar sphere ;
or can any motives be more powerful to impel than
those that influence one of his vocation? Is there not
as much in his calling to demand and reveal the highest
style of oratory? Has he not greater aids to his pur-
suit of this power in the fact of God's presence and in-
fluence? If he hear God saying, "Go, stand in the
temple and speak all the words of this life," is he not
then under obligation to employ every auxiliary iind
improve every opportunity to his usefulness? In the
imposed duty to speak there is the implied obligation
to speak the best he can. But who has not marked the
disparity between able men in relation to eloquence?
What makes the difference in many cases between two
ministers as to their fields of labor and their opportuni-
ties of success? At this day what numbers of excellent
preachers are scattered through the country with few
to hear them and little to encourage labor ! At college
and in the theological seminary, or in the places of
their preparation, they were the equals of and even su-
perior to those who now fill positions that afford them
every encouragement in the work. What is the differ-
ence between these men ? Piety? No! Learning? No!
Unfitness by training for the best society? No ! It is
solely as to the "art of speaking." In this the differ-
ence is sometimes slight, but it is real, which, added to
some otlier minor matter, gives the disparity. In other
instances the contrast between preachers is very broad.
This calls for the greater effort. We have seen a
theological student, about to graduate from one of the
noblest institutions of the land, after all the advantages
of a college course attempting to deliver a sermon from
manuscript in a way that no congi cgation would endure.
We have listened to another, from one of the first schools
of theology, standing with his manuscript before a large

336

JOUN P. DURBM.

audience with no more apparent knowledge of what was
written than if another had just sent it to him and lie
was trying for the first time to make out the subject,
yet in a manner so irreverent as to excite the derision
rather than the pity of the people. Any one of taste for
divine things would infinitely prefer the rustic from the
plow, without knowledge of a rule in grammar, provided
his heart glowed and he "just spoke right on." Ralph
Waldo Emerson relates that the Persian poet Saadi
heard a person with a disagreeable voice reading the
Koran aloud, when a holy man passing by asked what
was his monthly stipend. He answered, "Notliing at
all." " But why do you take so much trouble?" He
replied, "I read for the sake of God." The other re-
joined, " For God's sake, do not read ; for if you read
the Koran in this manner you will destroy the splendor
of Islamism."

If any have need of an audience for the work and for
a worthy end ii is he who speaks for God. Martin
Luther, in naming the qualifications for the preacher for
the word, says, " He should be eloquent." It is recorded
of Chrysostom, "the golden-mouthed," "that he studied
the Greek orators." It is stated that George Whitefield
took lessons of Garrick. It is certain that John Wesley
advised "all who could to study the art of speaking."
He names particular " faults and vices " to be corrected,
and impresses rules that secure ease and efficiency in
public address. To remedy bad gesture he suggests
even a " large looking-glass," that there may be seen
reflected in a mirror what the people see in our action
before them. He gives Demosthenes as an example of
benefit by such means. He says, "There is but one way
better than this, which is to have some excellent pattern
as often as may be before your eyes."

The Methodist Discipline, in receiving preachers for

ELUQUEXCE A WORTHY STUDY.

337

the itinerancy, asks, "Do they speak justly, readily,
clearly ?" Here is the foundation for eloquence, and no
Church has a broader, firmer, better one.

Longinus says, " The works of the great masters are
like so many sacred sources, where the most frigid kin-
dle and take tire." It is said that Rubens loved to have
some one read to him while he delineated his pictures,
asserting that the finest imagination needed warming.
No one who seeks eloquence has greater helps to its at-
tainment than the gospel minister.

The Father of languages has inspired one Book that
is a study and authority and an inspiration to the
preacher. Its themes are diverse and its reasonings
conclusive. Its light is so perfect and pervading that
all may walk in its brightness. For mental elevation,
for verbal grandeur, for exalted spirit, for the material
and examples of eloquence, the Bible has no equal.
The greatest statesmen, the sublimest orators, as well
as the most illustrious ministers of Christ, have sought
its aid and showed its impress. What book like the
Bible quickens thought, broadens intellect, incites and
increases mental penetration ? In its study we rise to
the vastness of eternal verities.

" I have often observed," says Addison, " that when-
ever the Roman orator, in his philosophical discourses,
is led by his argument to the mention of immortality,
he seems like one awakened out of sleep; roused and
alarmed at the dignity of the subject he stretches his
imagination to conceive something uncommon, and
with the greatness of his thoughts casts, as it were, a
glory round the sentence. Uncertain and unsettled as
he was, he seems fired with the contemplation of it."

What God thinks of the power of language and of
speech may be judged by the facts that he has fur-
nished. The eloquence of Scripture speaks for itself ;
23

338

JOHN P. DURBIN.

and when the lawgiver of Israel thought his lack of
ability to speak would be a hinderance to his work the
Almighty gave him Aaron, saying, "I know him, that
he can speak well. '

But did not St. Paul say he " came not with excel-
lency of speech," and that he " determined not to know
any tiling among them but Jesus Christ, and him cru-
cified ? " Yes, he said this. What did he mean ?
That he ignored rhetoric? That there was no passion
in his utterance ? That he did not try to persuade
men ? Study his life, analyze his speeches, and tell
why Felix trembled and Agrippa was almost persuaded
to be a Christian, and how it came to pass that he made
suc h an impression in Athens.

St. Paul speaks of himself as less than the least of
all saints. Was he? He spoke as it seemed to him
rather than as it was. Why did the people of Lystra
do him such honor? Longinus, in his work on the sub-
lime as it comes to us, in giving the list of great orators,
adds, " And Saul of Tarsus, the chief supporter of an
opinion not yet established."

It is justly asked, Where is there a writer that can
vie with St. Paul in sublime and pathetic eloquence?
Demosthenes couhl rouse up the Athenians against
Philip, and Cicero strike shame and confusion into the
heart of Anthony or Catiline. And did not the elo-
quence of St. Paul, though he was bound in degrading
fetters, produce equal effects?

But Peter was the preacher of Pentecost. He says,
" Ye men of Israel, hear the words of Jesus of Naza-
reth, a man approved of God among you by miracles
and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the
midst of you, as ye yourselves also know : him, being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have

ELOQUENCE A WORTHY STUDY.

339

crucified and slain." His words cut like ciraeters; his
sentences were like battering-rams. The people were
pricked in their hearts, and said, "What shall we do?"
Was it the Holy Ghost that made Peter so eloquent?
Then that is a high commendation of eloquence. Judg-
ing from the narration, did his speech have any power
with men in producing great results? Then eloquence
is to be desired for such good. Who shall tell the
power that Apollos exerted when he " mightily con-
vinced the Jews? " But we come to a higher source —
to Christ himself.

As if to give dignity and weight to the ministry,
" Jesus began to preach," and the officers said, "Never
man spake like this man." The truths that he pre-
sented were pure, majestic, and necessary. The style
that he employed was simple, direct, and appropriate,
and "the common people heard him gladly." He
knew what he spoke. He had come from heaven and
was familiar with its glories. The fires of hell had
flamed on his vision, and he could tell their intensity.
He knew the enormity of the sin for which he died,
and the "beauty of the holiness" that he came to ex-
hibit and impart. His words were things, his figures
were facts, and his ministry was life. The seed he
scattered was from his heart. Archbishop Leighton
says, " He is fittest to preach who is most like his
message." When the Sun of Righteousness rose the
benighted saw his beams and came to the light. His
intellect and heart, his voice and manner, blended in his
presentations of truth. He put his whole self into his
subjects. If he was not a sensational preacher he was a
preacher to produce a sensation. He took every subject
by the right handle, and handled every subject that he
took in the right way, and " they came to hear him
from every quarter." He hallowed the pulpit by his

340

JOHN P. DURBIN.

presence, taught it by his doctrines, and inspired it by
his spirit. Yes, yes; he once stood where we stand.
Marvelous, peerless honor of our vocation ! The
physician can boast his Galen, the jurist his Justin-
ian, the soldier his Leonidas, but the pulpit can boast
the majesty of Him that was " God manifest in the
flesh." When John Newton would actualize his ideal
orator he took the virtues of many and united them in
one. But in this Preacher we have all the rays of light,
all the forces of life, and all the blessing of speech
centered in and emanating from one. For all time the
" Prince of the kings of the earth " is the Prince of
preachers.

Is there enough, then, in eloquence to justify the effort
demanded for its attainment?

If sought as an auxiliary to usefulness, then to the
extent of our concern to do good should be our desire
for this means. If sought for selfish ends, we may
backslide while we study it. If it is the eloquence of
sound, not of soul, it is no more than " sounding brass or
a tinkling cymbal."

Though it has been asserted that there are few great
orators in any age, it may be said without presumption
the pulpit has in every period had its share. No coun-
try has been without some of which they might justly
boast. From the days of Apollos and Austin and
Cyprian and Chrysostom there have been eloquent men
and "mighty in the Scriptures."

Albert Barnes, than whom perhaps we have had no
better judge, remarks in his Life of President Davies,
" It is one of the honors of our country, young though
we are, that we do not lack for examples of the highest
order of preaching ; and even now, when we look
through the great library for the best models, we in-
stinctively fix on some that have been produced on this

ELOQUENCE A WORTHY STUDY. 341

side the ocean. The purest models of preaching are
to be found undoubtedly in the discourses of the apos-
tles and of the great Preacher ; but after leaving those
times we shall find no land, probably, where there have
been exhibited more correct specimens of pure classic
style, of sober thought, of instructive discourses, of ap-
peals adapted to rouse the conscience of a sinner or to
warm the heart of a child of God, than have been fur-
nished in our own land. The American pulpit, imper-
fect as it is, is more elevated in its influence and power
than that of any other nation, and in no other country
is its influence so justly appreciated or so deeply felt
on the public mind. Much as we may revere the mem-
ory of the past, much as we may learn from the wisdom
of other generations, and much as we may honor those
who have been or are distinguished for eminent useful-
ness across the waters, yet if we wish to see the power
of preaching exemplified in the history of men, and
derive instruction from the lives and success of those of
other times, we cannot find a more appropriate place
than to sit down at the feet of such men as may be
named."

Have we not reason to believe, from the eminence
tliat some of them attained as speakers, that the fathers
of Methodism, both in this and in the old country, made
sacred oratory a careful study ? To this day the Wesley-
ans speak of Samuel Bradburn, one of their first preach-
ers, as the Demosthenes of their history. Quickly after
him came Robert Xewton, whom George G. Cookman
called the "Apollos of Wesleyan Methodism." To
show the appreciation of sacred eloquence by the holy
William Bramwell, he at an early period revised and
reproduced from the French an old work on the subject,
and gave it the name of The Earnest Preacher. Miles
Martindale translated from the French another eminent

342

JOHN P. DURB1N.

author on the Eloquence of the Pulpit. And such was
Dr. Durbin's conviction of the importance of cultivat-
ing eloquence in our ministry, that, while in the pastor-
ate of a large charge, as we have seen, he formed a
class that he personally taught. Mr. Wesley wrote on
" Voice and Delivery,'' both with regard to pronuncia-
tion and action, and says, " They are far more acquirable
than has been commonly imagined. A remarkably
weak voice has by steady application become strong
and agreeable. Those who stammered at almost every
word have learned to speak clearly and plainly. And
many who were eminently ungraceful in their pronun-
ciation and awkward in their gesture have in some time,
by art and labor, not only corrected that awkwardness
of action and ungracefulness of utterance, but have be-
come excellent in both, and in these respects likewise
the ornaments of their profession." — Wesley's Works,
vi, 220. So wrote the founder of Methodism for the
benefit of his preachers.

How great may be the force of the felt want of elo-
quence in some instances may be judged by a case.
" A worthy gentleman listening to the debates in the
General Assembly of the Scottish Kirk in Edinburgh,
and eager to speak to the question, but utterly failing
in his qualification, and delighted with the talent shown
* by Dr. Hugh Blair, went to him and offered him one
thousand pounds sterling if he would teach him to speak
with propriety in public."

" In much labor there is profit."

It lias been stated that Dr. Durbin took lessons in
eloquence from the best teachers. It is certain from
his attention to the great speakers when chaplain of
the Senate, and his remarks on such an orator as Henry
Clay, that he had a critical taste and a high ideal.
That he had a genius for it must account for some of

ELOQUENCE A WORTHY STUDY.

343

his earliest efforts. For, though we have heard of
doubts expressed as to his having " much in him," we
have it on good authority that he gave positive promise,
and " that he held his audiences by a strange spell and
thrilled them with his electric bursts of surpassing elo-
quence." Yet he was a constant student of the power
of speech, and used what he believed to be the best
means to secure the highest eloquence.

A discriminating writer and great admirer of the
eloquence of Dr. Chalmers, of its effect, of his holding
his audience " spell-bound," and as advancing with a
speed and strength that none could withstand, pauses
to ask, " What was the secret of this amazing power? "
Was it the importance of the subject, the loftiness or
vigor of his thoughts, the originality or splendor of the
composition ? He then says : " All these have existed
in equal completeness, perhaps, in other preachers who
have yet failed to make any particularly strong impres-
sion on their hearers ; who, at least, have never been
run after as men of commanding and extraordinary elo-
quence. With a dull, tame delivery, the discourses of
Chalmers would read as well as they now do, but their
fame as preached would never have been achieved."
He adds, "There is something potent, then, about de-
livery. The greatest of ancient orators assigned to
this the first, second, and third rank in the order of
qualities requisite for eloquence."

We abate nothing of our estimate of the excellence
of his style, the soundness of his exposition, the fullness
of his matter, the force of his reasoning, or the skillful
construction of his discourse, when we say the pre-emi-
nence of Dr. Durbin as a preacher was in his imperial
imagination, the dramatic power of wdiich he was mas-
ter, his voice that obeyed all his mandates, the divine
unction that attended his presentation of the word, and

344

JOHN P. DURBIN.

in his peerless delivery. Well as the sermons he has
left us read, it was eloquence that gave them power. If
any thing is better than the best thing we have to say
it is — the best way of saying it.

In introducing the eloquence of Dr. Durbin we made
allusion to the three men who formed the triumvirate
of eloquence in the Methodist Episcopal Church. The
benign Providence that permitted the sainted Summer-
field to burst forth as a light to shine over a continent,
in his twenty-seventh year extinguished his beams. How
much brighter would have been his light had he been al-
lowed to attain his meridian we may conjecture rather
than predict. But Henry B. Bascom and John P. Durbin
lived long enough to reveal their full powers. These
two men were for many years moving in the same cir-
cles and commanding vast audiences by the charms of
their eloquence. Each had those that admired him the
more, while the high merits of both were confessed by
all. They were Henry Bidleman Bascom and John
Price Durbin. They both rose in the West; they both
began their ministry with about equal disadvantages
as to education. In a few years they were professors
in Augusta College, Kentucky ; they both traveled
at large as agents — Durbin for Augusta College, Bas-
com for colonization. Near the same period they
each served as chaplain to the American Congress.
Durbin was editor of Tlie Christian Advocate and Jour-
nal, Bascom of the Southern Quarterly Review. At a
later time they were presidents of different colleges —
Durbin of Dickinson, Bascom of Transylvanii. They
met as Delegates in the General Conference of 1844.
Bascom wrote " the protest " to its action. Durbin wrote
the reply. In 1850 Bascom was made Bishop of the
Church, South. In 1852 Durbin declined to be a candi-
date for the episcopacy, preferring missionary service.

ELOQUENCE A WORTHY STUDY.

345

Bascom died when fifty-four years of age, Durbin at
seventy-six.

As when they lived many things were said of their
eloquence, so now we hear inquiry as to the two. As
there may be comparison without disparagement, the
writer, having heard them both, may suggest some con-
trasts as well as some resemblances.

In some things few men could compare with Bascom,
and in some things Durbin stood alone. In port and
person Bascom was a prince. Durbin had no external
attraction except in refined taste and manly bearing.
Bascom's style was gorgeous; Durbin's luminous. Only
the personality of Bascom broke the charge of bom-
bast. Durbin's language is its own vindication. Bascom
labored as if the body was the engine to give power to
the soul, Durbin as if the soul only used the body to
show itself in its intensity and ardor. The first para-
graph of Bascom was a burst of eloquence. With
an electrifying shock Durbin closed. Bascom began
as if five minutes were to do the work, Durbin as if
preparing a foundation for a pyramid. Under Bascom
infidels hid for very shame ; under Durbin they threw
down their weapons and sued for pardon. From first to
last Bascom was vehement ; Durbin restrained his vehe-
mence for cumulative force. Bascom was Niagara,
with the rapids behind it ; Durbin was the Hudson,
with mountains and vale, with highlands and jialisades
crowned with villas and pediments gleaming like dia-
monds upon crests of beauty. But as amid the charms
of that noble river there is the strength of a West
Point so amid the attractions of Durbin there was the
power of moral conquest. The effect of the preaching
of these two men on a minister was dissimilar. On
listening to Bascom one felt as did the musician when
he exclaimed, listening to one more skilled, " I will bury

346

JOHN P. DURBIN.

my instrument." On hearing Durbin he would say, "I
will dig it up, for now I have learned how to play better."
If we should attempt to convey an idea of these men by
authors, let Robert Montgomery and Richard Winter
Hamilton represent Bascom, Bishop Atterbury and
Archbishop Tillotson, Durbin. They were alike men
of rare qualities, endowments, and successes. They
are still great in the influence as well as reputation
that follows them. For either to have attempted the
other would have been to mar the economy of God.
As in the works of creation, there was unity in di-
versity.

CONCLUSION.

347

CHAPTER XXI.
Conclusion.

IN the General Conference of 1872 Dr. Durbin, as we
have seen, declined re-election as Corresponding Sec-
retary of the Missionary Society. "Then he whose life
had been so full of labor, and whose labor had been so
full of grand results, withdrew from the active services
that had so long been his delight." Needful as rest
had seemed to him, it was soon found that, out of his
accustomed work, the powers of his mind and body
more rapidly failed. He rarely appeared on the plat-
form or in the pulpit, and after a serene and happy
old age he was stricken with paralysis, and on October
18, 1876, at his residence in New York city, sur-
rounded by his children and grandchildren, he saw the
last of earth and first of heaven. The Church ren-
dered him appropriate honor, and he was buried at
Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia.

In his life of the Rev. John Ryland, Sr., Dr. Newman
when speaking of his death says : " Well do I remember
the awful stillness of that evening. I felt as if all the
world was dead." Strong language this, but the lan-
guage of the heart is always strong. Kindred to
this was the feeling of the writer when John P. Dur-
bin ceased from among men. But as " mists and vapors,
when exhaled, descend in rains, as fountains and rivers
pour their fullness into the ocean, as every morning sun
rises but to decline, by the same necessity, the same
inviolable order of nature, every man is born to die."

346

JOHN P. DURB1N.

my instrument." On hearing Durbin he would say, "I
will dig it up, for now I have learned how to play better."
If we should attempt to convey an idea of these men by
authors, let Robert Montgomery and Richard Winter
Hamilton represent Bascom, Bishop Atterbury and
Archbishop Tillotson, Durbin. They were alike men
of rare qualities, endowments, and successes. They
are still great in the influence as well as reputation
that follows them. For either to have attempted the
other would have been to mar the economy of God.
As in the works of creation, there was unity in di-
versity.

CONCLUSION.

347

CHAPTER XXI.
Conclusion.

IN the General Conference of 1872 Dr. Durbin, as we
have seen, declined re-election as Corresponding Sec-
retary of the Missionary Society. "Then he whose life
had been so full of labor, and whose labor had been so
full of grand results, withdrew from the active services
that had so long been his delight." Needful as rest
had seemed to him, it was soon found that, out of his
accustomed work, the powers of his mind and body
more rapidly failed. He rarely appeared on the plat-
form or in the pulpit, and after a serene and happy
old age he was stricken with paralysis, and on October
18, 1876, at his residence in New York city, sur-
rounded by his children and grandchildren, he saw the
last of earth and first of heaven. The Church ren-
dered him appropriate honor, and he was buried at
Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia.

In his life of the Rev. John Ryland, Sr., Dr. Newman
when speaking of his death says : " Well do I remember
the awful stillness of that evening. I felt as if all the
world was dead." Strong language this, but the lan-
guage of the heart is always strong. Kindred to
this was the feeling of the writer when John R Dur-
bin ceased from among men. But as " mists and vapors,
when exhaled, descend in rains, as fountains and rivers
pour their fullness into the ocean, as every morning sun
rises but to decline, by the same necessity, the same
inviolable order of nature, every man is born to die."

34S

JOHN P. BUR BIX.

" I said, Ye are gods" by the loftiness of your intel-
lect, by the dignity of your station, and by the glory of
your achievements ; " but ye shall die like men, and
fall like one of the princes." Mortality shall shoot
its shaft, and neither majesty nor merit shall change its
aim or impair its power.

But who can think of the removal of such a moral
force from the earth as John P. Durbin exerted with-
out feeling this world has sustained a loss ? That life is
long enough for our highest interest when it reaches
life's great end. But who that contemplates the de-
parture of one who has caused the blessing of so many
ready to perish to come upon him without think-
ing of loss to the race ? We are accustomed to say
" God buries his workman, but earries on his work."
He does. No one doubts this when he knows that the
mantle of Elijah rests upon Elisha. But when the
leader and lawgiver of Israel died the Almighty said,
"Moses, my servant, is dead." This is pathos above
the human; and it is as if God thought more about a
bereaved world than of the reward of the saint.

But beams from the Sun of Righteousness form the
rainbow of hope in the falling tears of Christian affec-
tion. The inexperienced youth of eighteen years who
"girded on the harness," ere "his hands had been taught
to war or his fingers to fight"— that in his early man-
hood showed such discipline and skill, and that in ad-
vanced life could look back upon victories gained in
perilous conflicts — he surely could illustrate the Script-
ure, "Let not him that girdeth on the harness boast
himself as he that putteth it off." He girded it on
with uncertainty as to the issue ; he put it off with the
recognition of the nature of the victories won; he that
girded it on with trembling put it oft' in triumph.
And it was fitting that he who had been the means of

CONCLUSION.

349

bringing so many sons to glory should himself at three
score and sixteen hear the voice of the great Commander
saying :

" Servant of God, well done I

Thy glorious warfare's past.
The battle 's fought, the race is won,

And thou art crowned at last."

As we have endeavored to make an analysis of the
powers that distinguished Dr. Durbin as a preacher, so
we may notice him as lie appears before us and in his
various relations a* a man.

He was twice married, in each instance to a daugh-
ter of Alexander Cook, Esq., of Philadelphia. By
his first wife he had three sons and two daughters.
She entered into rest in 1836, while the Doctor was at
Dickinson College. Only one of the sons survives, Al-
exander C. Durbin, Esq., of Monlclair, N. J. One of his
daughters was married to William Whitaker, Esq., of
Philadelphia; the other daughter was married to
Fletcher Harper, Jr., of New York. But a short time
has elapsed since the tears of the Church and of human-
ity fell upon her grave.

All the wealth of Dr. Durbin came through his
marriage. It is doubtful if his salary ever more than
supported him. In domestic life Dr. Durbin showed
the love of the companion, the devotion of the father,
the kindness of a friend; and affection and reverence
were rendered him as the head of the family and the
priest of the household. Even in his home he was not
without the impress that public duties made upon his
spirit. He was thoughtful and weighty, but was
observant of those attentions that go so far toward im-
parting happiness and dignity to domestic life. He
trained his children in useful study, while he impressed
the duty of remembering the Creator in the days of

350

JOHN P. DURBIN.

their youth. His table was not made a snare to con-
science by indulging conversation that would violate
" the golden rule," or be likely to impair the proper
influence of the minister or the man. In extending, as
in receiving, hospitality, he was without display. He
was accustomed to say, "when a friend calls in we
just set one more plate, and it is no trouble." His
friendships were real and tenacious. We can see the
heart of the man in the grateful memory that he main-
tained of those who in his comparative youth rendered
him great kindness. The following is a glance at a
correspondence of fifty years. It was his custom to
send his New Year salutations. Even when his domestic
bereavement was exerting its depressing power he
adhered to this habit.

Writing to one whom he had known from her child-
hood, and at whose father's house he had received great
sympathy in his early struggles, he speaks of "your
dear mother and mine" and says : " She is to me half
natural mother and half Christian sister ; therefore I
have double pleasure in loving her." To mother he
writes when she was in deep sorrow from the death of
her husband, who had been an honor to the Church and
an example of Christian uprightness and purity in
the community. Philadelphia, April 4, 1853: " Grace,
mercy and peace from God our heavenly Father, be
given unto you all, through our Lord Jesus Christ, to
sustain and comfort you under your sore bereavement.
Out of my immediate family circle I could not have
lost a friend whose death I do so sincerely regret and
so deeply feel; my early, warm, fast friend."

We see the father's heart in a letter dated New York,
May 13, 1859. It relates to the death of his son
Willie. "I write to say that not all the light has gone
out in our house, but one of the most pleasant and

CONCLUSION.

351

promising is extinguished. It is strange. When I sud-
denly think of him it seems that he cannot be dead, that he
is only asleep and must awake. Alas ! He is dead. But
he died in peace ; his death was beautiful, triumphant ;
he was sensible to the last, spoke to us within five
minutes of his death ; his last words were heard on the
subject of religion, and just before he died they were,
'I go to Jesus just as I am.'" Writing of early years
in 1861, he says, "I am too old to create other such
friendships again. With your dear mother and myself
the journey has been a long one and not yet ended, but
we are so near to Jordan that we ought now to see
over, to the promised land." In the fullness of Christian
hope he writes, "Our next dwelling together, all will he in
heaven " but adds, " I must not preach, nor is it needed."

In 1866, amid the cares that crowded him, when
about to sail for Europe, he wrote with the devotion
of ardent friendship; when abroad amid the interests
of travel and the responsibilities of office as Correspond-
ing Secretary of the Missionary Society he kept before
him the helpers of his early joys.

July 4, 1866 he writes to a friend : " Mrs. Durbin has
just handed me a letter she has written to Elizabeth,
and requests me to send or forward it. . . . God, whose
work made us friends, and whose mercy and goodness
have kept us friends for many years, will, I trust, spare
us yet to see each other in the flesh; you now seem to me
to be the only link that binds me to my early ministry
in the old stone church in Cincinnati. Those were
bright days, and I never can forget them. I say you
are the only link in my ministry in the old stone
church : perhaps I ought to add, Lizzie and Hester and
Mary. They were children, and link me back to my
youth rather than to my ministry. God bless them for
your sake and for my sake ; for they know that I love

352

JOHN P. DURBIN.

them. . . . Let us strive so to live that we may meet
in heaven." This letter was written amid the mount-
ains of Switzerland.

Again he writes from Biel, Switzerland, July 16,
1866: "The evening of life is drawing on in both of
our cases, but we have been many years preparing for
it, and I hope it will close on both of us without a
cloud. Let us take care that this shall be tlie case. I
have thought that you and the children might be
pleased to see the inclosed photographs, taken in Ger-
many. The vignette one does not look like the boy
preacher that used to live with you in Sycamore Street
nearly forty years ago. We are all quite well and have
been quite well since we left home. We have seen the
most interesting places and objects in Germany and
Switzerland, and I have visited nearly all of our mis-
sions in those countries. The war in Germany pre-
vented my seeing our missions in Saxony and Ham-
burg, and in Denmark and Norway and Sweden. But
I propose to visit there while Margaret remains in
England. We go to Geneva and on to Paris this week,
where Margaret and John will remain two or three
weeks, and then go over to London. We expect to
return to New York in the first half of October.

"I do not expect you to be at the trouble of reading
this, much less of answering it. But Hester or Lizzie
can do both, for your and my benefit. A letter written
on receipt of this and inclosed to the office in New
York, to Brother Terry, would reach me in London,
whither Brother Terry will forward it. Let Mary and
Edward share this letter. Adieu ; may you yet live
many days. Margaret bids me give her love to you all.
She wrote to Lizzie a few days a<;o."

To the same friend he writes, New York, September
24, 1870: "I cannot tell you and your dear mother

CONCLUSION.

353

how much we are grieved by the death of John.
Although it was expected, it came so suddenly that we
could scarcely realize it. He was struck down Saturday
morning, some time before day, in his room, and he was
insensible to his end. It occurred ;>t Saratoga, among
strangers. I arrived two hours before he died, but lie
knew me not. He died easily." ... He adds, " Your
dear mother will feel as I do, somewhat. We feel
like pilgrims standing on the bank of a river wait-
ing to cross, while the young and beautiful cross over
before us ; but when we do cross we shall find them
on the other side." Again writing of the same painlul
event, the death of his son John, he says : " He died
from apoplexy. . . . For three or four years his mind had
been almost entirely on recovering his health and saving
his soul. I believe he escaped into the bosom of his
heavenly Father. It is my earnest purpose to join him
there." In the midst of his own sorrows he thinks of
another's anxiety, and writes, November 26, 1870:
"If you see Edward tell him I sympathize with him in
Mary's ill-health, and do earnestly pray that she may
be spared to him and his children." God permitted
this honored servant to be visited with stroke upon
stroke. His heart bleeds at the death of his grandson,
named after him. He says: "Affliction makes us
remember our faults and our friends. Our dear little
Durbin is no more. He died last Saturday morning
without a struggle or a sigh. He was sensible to the
last, and spoke to his mother not more than five
minutes before he died. He said: 'Mamma, is that
you ? ' She answered, ' Yes.' He said, ' I cannot see
you.' He was then laid down on his pillow and died in a
minute." The gloom of Dr. Durbin's mind again caused
him to say, "I feel tempted sometimes to complain of
Providence, but I still strive to say, 'Thy will be
24

354

JOHN P. DURBIN.

done.' " But in the midst of his sorrow he writes : " I
might as well send my New Year's salutations to you
all. How little did I dream that my only grandson
would be taken from us! He was with us in New
York Inst New Year full of life and hope. Now he is
gone — I trust, to the heavenly world, to grow up there
free from danger and sorrow."

We may speak of Dr. Durbin's personal appearance.
He was of medium size. His head was not Lirge; his fore-
head was low, narrow and receding. His eye was hazel
and was sometimes sleepy. In repose it suggested no
genius. It was, in size and show, what circumstances
made it. It was capable of an indefinable expression.
His hair in early life was light and soft. Time gave
it a darkish hue. His mouth was that of an orator.
His dress was faultless. His senses were unimpaired,
even when his body and mind showed the effects of
age, if not of labor.

Bishop Wiley says of the second likeness contained
in this volume :

The portrait we consider the greatest success that
has yet heen attained in getting the physiognomy of
Dr. Durbin on paper. He is one of the impracticable
men for all kinds of artists; the photographer dreads
such a man, so much of whose facial appearance and
character depends upon his moods, and whose appear-
ance differs so widely as you look upon him alive, and
with his animated countenance aglow with feeling and
inspiration, or as he sits down in quiet repose to have his
face caught up in the camera. The same facts make him
the dread of portrait artists and of engravers. We
remember his leading us at one time to look at a very
finely-painted portrait hanging in a room of his son-in-
law's house. The picture was an admirably-executed
one, but we were mortified at our blunder in not for a
moment supposing it had been intended for himself;
but were saved by his genial laugh when we inno-

CONCLUSION.

355

cently asked whose portrait it was. Several attempts
have been made to put him on wood, but the failure
has been complete. Years ago Dr. Stevens, then
editor of the National Magazine, made a desperate
effort to secure his likene-s, but unmercifully threw the
block under the table. A few years ago the Doctor
visited Europe for the purpose of studying more
closely our European missions. The Germans caught
him, led him to a gallery in Berlin, and in a moment
the sun fixed him on the plate in one of his best moods.
From this photograph our engraver has produced the
excellent likeness that embellishes this book.

The manners of Dr. Durbin were such as would indi-
cate a born gentleman. It cost him no effort to be
what he was. Dr. McClintock said of him, " He was
always a gentleman through and through." In per-
sonal intercourse he had a quiet dignity, and, though
never austere, rarely relaxed. While he was every-
where recognized in his superior talents and position,
in no instance did we ever know him to indicate the
existence of vanity. On going into a company there
was a reserve that might be construed to shyness or to
pride. There was the business rather than the social
air. But contact and conversation drew him out, and
he mingled with the company and in sympathy with
the occasion. With personal friends he could even be-
come sportive, and one remarks that at such time he
had a smile full of benignity and delight and could in-
dulge a hearty laugh. Under no circumstances would
he make himself the hero of the company. He was
never the monopolist of conversation. Nor did he fail
to give respectful attention to the opinions of those least
in harmony with his own. He entered into no cabal,
and was a stranger to cliques and cunning. He sought
not by indirection what open honesty would spurn.
Jealousies, envies, rivalries were not indulged, when the

356

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

greatest freedom prevailed. Though not remarkable
for fluency, wit, or humor, he had enough of each, which
with the salt of wisdom made all savory, ami imparted
the raciness that is remembered without a pang. The
positions that he filled were thrust upon him, and such
were the responsibilities that he felt, and such his de-
votion to his work, as to leave little time for rest, for
amusement, or relaxation. So intent was he on dis-
charging the obligations that his place imposed, and such
were his habiis of reserve, that though while in Europe
multiplied opportunities were afforded him for mingling
in the society of distinguished men, he avoided rather
than sought such intercourse.

Dr. Durbin's position in his Church and in community
for fifty years gave him power. But who ever knew
him to be arrogant with the weak or supple with the
strong? If at any time he was subjected as a writer,
or in any way, to criticism, he let it pass, and it was a
rule with him to allow no concern for the results of duty.

The same charateristics that marked his intercourse
in society distinguished him in his Conference rela-
tions, lie was transferred to the Philadelphia Confer-
ence in 183G. It was a Conference of strong men.

The princely Pitman was in his prime. The sublime
Lybrand was exerting his attractions, the majestic Sorin
was never greater, and Henry White was melting his
congregation by his pathos. The late Bishops Janes
and Scott, and T. J. Thompson and Solomon Higgins
and William Cooper were known as distinguished in
the business of the Conference. Among such men J.
P. Durbin received the honor that his station would
suggest and his talents command. But he showed the
deference that his association prompted, and by real
affiliation secured the confidence, the affection, and ad-
miration of his brethren.

CONCLUSION.

357

His identity with the Conference was not nominal
but real. He observed its doings and took part in its
debates. As a rule, he spoke only when others had ex-
pressed their convictions or thoughts and the subject
was fully before them. Then, with a modesty and
suggest ivoness that gave weight to his words, he would
express a judgment that was often like the conclusion of
the matter. When, as in some instances, there was a
slight abrasion, he was even remarkable for the ur-
banity of his manners and for the control of language.

He who should have accepted Dr. Durbin as an ex-
ample of "clerical manners" in debate might never
find cause to criticise his conclusion. Seven times suc-
cessively was he elected a delegate to the General Con-
ference, and his Conference never ceased thus to honor
him till the infirmities of age forbade the compliment.

The Christian character of Dr. Durbin re-enforced his
ministerial influence. Though not accustomed to ex-
pressions of spiritual rapture he had the fruits of the
Spirit, and the consciousness ol divine approval.

He had the same kind of reasoning in regard to
his spiritual character that many of the most con-
scientious and consistent Christians have indulged. So
far are such from the presumption too common in the
Church that they fail even to rest as fully on the foun-
dations of fa it /tas facts justify and the word commands.
No one that did not know the youthful Durbin can
tell the tendencies that he recognized, fought against,
and overcame. As we saw him in his quiet reserve and
caution, we would not suspect that his temper ever re-
quired particular guard. lint he knew the struggle
that it cost him; that he had attained so perfect a master)/
is one of the evidences of the reign of grace in his
heart. The brief extracts that we have made from the
letters of friendship show the devout spirit of the

358

JOHN P. DUBBIN.

man. Nor can we think of his demeanor in the
house of worship, the care with which he guarded the
divine service from the interruptions and intrusions so
common in some of the churches, the instructive and
edifying manner in which he read his hymns, and the
devout rendering of the lessons from the Holy Script-
ures, his profound reverence in prayer, and the outflow-
ing of his heart in his comprehensive supplications,
without thinking of him as an example in his place.
His prayers might vary in length and ardor, but not
in becoming humility or in the simplicity of language.
He was a child speaking to or pleading with his Father.
But there were times when lie seemed to open heaven
to the penitents at the altar and to hold back the arm
of the Almighty in providence. No one can conceive
of such prayer without recognizing the grasp of his faith
and the firmness of his trust. Illustrations of this power
have been furnished in the narrative of Dr. Joseph
Longking and in the letter of Dr. O. II. Tiffany. We
give one in this place from Dr. Spottswood. It was
at a camp-meeting. He says of Dr. Durbin:

He talks with God as one talketh with his friend.
He tells his heavenly Father the simple story of the
people's trouble and expense in coming there, of the
purity of their motives, to get good and to do good,
and of the constant and excessive rain that had in-
terfered with his children's holy plans. "Now, Lord,"
he prays, " If it be thy will, give us clear weather
from this time to the end of the meeting." Here he
lingers, wrestles, asks, pleads, and importunes. At last,
iu an exclamation, nay, in a triumphant shout, lie de-
clares "It shall he done; we shall have clear skies from
this time forth ! " Never can the teller of this incident
forget his feeling at that moment. It was a cold shud-
der as the thought rushed into his brain, What if the
preacher's prediction should prove a false prophecy?
Hut it did not; that "prayer of a righteous man" was

CONCLUSION.

359

no doubt directly inwrought in his soul by the Holy
Ghost. It was an effectual, fervent prayer, and might
by a sublime faith, to which all things are possible, ac-
complish its end. It verified the divine affirmation— it
availed much; for the rain ceased, the clouds departed,
and God gave clear weather from that time to the close
of the "camp-meeting." He that had such acc< ss to the
Almighty, that so clearly told inquiring souls how to
find the heart of God, was not without the comforts
and strength of successful prayer. Sometimes in his
sermons he bore his grand testimony of his personal
experience of the "powers of the world to come."

In a conversation with the Rev. A. Lowry, D.D., when
dining at the residence of his son-in-law, Mr. Whita-
ker, of Philadelphia, in 1876, Dr. Durbin in substance
said, " In my experience as a Christian I have never
been impulsive, but I have a steady peace with God
and am resting in the truth of his word." A short
time before his death Bishop Janes, the Missionary Sec-
retaries, and the Book Agents, called on him to present
a resolution passed by the Bishops at their last meeting.
On hearing it read he replied, " he could recollect but one
paper of the sort in all his life that was not distasteful
to him," adding, " this paper was so evidently sincere
and was expressed in such terms that he received it
with gladness, and would cherish it among his pleasant
memories." He alluded to his Christian experience.
At first he said, "The fact that he had not the joys
which other Christians had gave rise to questioning
doubts. But he afterward had learned better, and
though he had never been demonstrative, his experience
as a Christian had been and still was satisfactory to
his heart."

But in considering the elements of Dr. Durbin's
strength there should be a stead;/ recognition of his
sterling cotjuuon sense. Amid his multiplied, diverse,

300

JOHN P. DURBIX.

and brilliant endowments this in many eases was a
basal fact in accounting for his success in his varied
labors and in enterprises of great moment. It did what
nothing else could do.

Want of this power, besides subjecting the individual
to humiliating criticisms, is sometimes attended with
worse consequences than result from deficiency of edu-
cation. Was it not this in St. Paul that caught some
with guile ? Was it not this in Dr. Durbin that caused
the management of difficult cases in college to end in
peace and honor? Common sense is sometimes called
" mother-wit," as if inherited from the mother. It is
a gift of nature, but may appear, like other mental fac-
ulties, in various degrees. It may be improved by ob-
servation and exercise or impaired by indifference to
its value or neglect of its dictates.

Some have conceived the idea that remarkable gen-
iuses and profound scholars are as a rule wanting in this
power. If so, the fault is not in genius or scholarship.
Common sense is exercised before learning is acquired.
It is one of the earliest, as it is one of the most neces-
sary, exercises of the mind. It may be called common
sense, as that which we may expect in every well-organ-
ized human being. We therefore look for it in men
much as we do for intuition and conscience. It is not
what is sometimes seen in absence of mind. This may
be found in the greatest intellects, and is the result of
mental absorption. Uoused to its exercise it is found
in its force.

One of the infelicities of the lack of common sense
is seen when he who is deficient cannot be persuaded
of its absence or its need, and so gives no hope of im-
provement. Was it this that many years ago induced
a theological professor to say to his class, what others
have since thought, "If you want Hebrew, we can

CONCLUSION.

361

teach it; if you seek Greek, we can impart it; if you
come for theology, we can give you necessary in-
struction; hut if you have not common sense, the Lord
help you, for we cannot?" Thomas Adams says, "An
ohl man that is not made wiser hy his experience is
like a holter, that lets all the fine flour go through and
cat dies only the bran." But there are those to whom
the lesson of one day is nothing for the next. By the
same processes the same bitter experience is kept up.
Thus they go stumbling and falling, then rising up
with a bruise and again falling with greater injur;/,
now inviting and now encountering an opposition that
is as real, if not as hard, as adamant ; yet reposing in
their own strength they show an inflexibility of purpose
in matters of indifference that is justified only where
principle is involved. No man more certainly needs
common sense than the Christian pastor. To be wise
in preaching the word, in suiting his sermons to the
people, in the labors of the altar and the Sunday-school,
in the leaders' meeting and quarterly conferences,
when in all these places we have so many facts to con-
sult, here is indeed a loud call for the exercise first
of grace and then of common sense. Lack of this
shows what we call imprudence. A word improperly
spoken in some of these relations may kindle a fire
that no waters can extinguish and that hardly any
time will cause to die out. Such ineantion has made
many a minister pass sleepless nights and weeks of
uncertainty as to result. But the discomfort to his
own mind may not be the worst of it. A generation
has not removed from a community the difficulty that
the lack of common sense in administration has cre-
ated.

Strife about minor matters has blasted all hope of
success in things of greatest moment. " The mint,

362

JOHN P. BUBBLY.

anise and cumin " have destroyed the weightier mat-
ters of the law, and the preacher is powerless.

The writer once heard one of the wisest professors
in a theological seminary say to his class, with great
tenderness, " Brethren, more men in the ministry lose
their positions and are kept out of places from want
of discretion than from want of talent and learning."
They are scarcely in a charge before some novel thing
of questionable utility is proposed, suspicion is roused,
prejudice is awakened, and opposition starts, a schism
is made, and the pastor is gone. He enters another
parish; he begins on the same course; the people now
inquire of his history and find he is reproducing the
past, and for like reasons he has to leave. The facts
are carried to other churches. In vain is it said he is
a good man, that he is educated, that he is eloquent, he
is young, and therefore allowance is to be made. He
has lost his place, and there is no prospect of another,
and this when he should be in the height of ministerial
power.

It may sometimes excite our marvel that the cause
seems so slight that renders high merit unavailable.
But as a fly may spoil the apothecary's ointment, so
"doth a little folly him that is of great reputation for
wisdom."

Common sense does not forbid an issue when prin-
ciple demands it. He is a craven who will not meet
responsibility. There were times when Dr. Durbin
encountered difficulty with a courage that no fear
could daunt. The narrative of his life has set forth
some such occasions. It is not the fear of man, but the
fear of God, that gives caution to the wise.

If common sense could not be taught as well as im-
proved it were vain to speak or write of it. Like some
faculties of the mind, it may be of difficult develop-

CONCLUSION.

363

merit, but by close observation, by past mistakes, by
careful guard against those tendencies whence greatest
danger arises, even the obtuse will reveal new charac-
teristics. By studying theories, indulging speculations,
allowing unhealthy trains of thought and habit, the
wise may become foolish, and by ignoring common
sense fanaticism may take the place of discretion. Is
it not a high tribute paid to such decision when we
say in ordinary affairs "our first thought is generally
the best." Common sense seems like a law within us —
determining the questions of which it is capable.

In the face of the assumption that great geniuses and
scholars are apt to be lacking in common sense we
present John P. Durbin. Will any doubt his genius?
Was he not an example of the excellence of common
sense even from youth to age ? Guardianship of his
younger brothers; the care with which he sought and
the fidelity with which he observed the counsel of his
friends in his early ministry; his manly recognition of
the need of study and education for the highest useful-
ness that he desired; his administration of affairs in
the various departments of his work, and nowhere
more than in his conduct as Corresponding Secretary of
the Missionary Society, all manifest the possession of this
faculty in an uncommon degree. Let any one read his
articles in The Christian Advocate and Journal when he
was editor, and especially the one on " Worship," and tell
us when as a preacher, debater, writer, he failed, with all
his genius, to show his common sense. Let those who
consider the exercise of this faculty after he became
learned say whether fine education impairs its exercise.
Was it not like the background in the picture of his
life, that showed all Ids other powers to greatest ad-
vantage ?

It was remarked of the Rev. Albert Barnes that

364

JOHN P. DURBIN.

his clear, strong-, honest, practical good sense was
the secret of his power and the source of his
success. But, while showing this sense what honor
did he bring to the Church ! What benefit by his
writings did he confer upon the world ! Was it not
the sterling common sense of Dr. Durbin that showed
his administration in every place that he filled to such
advantage? Is it not permitted ministers still to say,
with St. Paul to his son in the Gospel, "God has not
given us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of
a sound mind?" 2 Tim. i, 7.

But while we justly emphasize the common sense of
Dr. Durbin we must not fail to consider those powers
that impress us with his high capabilities. He had a
mental penetration, a clear and comprehensive view
of matters of magnitude to the Church of Christ ; a
recognition of the tendency of events. He well under-
stood the workings of human nature ; the influence of
the varying conditions of society ; he had accuracy
in estimating the forces that it is necessary to compute
in the anticipation of desired results. His self-control
in the midst of strong excitements kept him from the
mental disturbance that impairs energy and destroys
faith, and so unfits men for a great crisis or important
changes. These facts marked him as a controlling spirit
in any association, and fitted him for the highest eccle-
siastical statesmanship, while his elevation of character,
his utter freedom from sinister or selfish motives, gave
weight to his reasoning and made his conclusions next
to moral demonstrations.

The greatness of a man may not be traced to its
origin except in God. One who is truly great lives
rather in posterity than in ancestry. Like Abel, " he
being dead yet speaketh."

One has beautifully said that " The beginnings of

CONCLUSION.

365

many a successful career, like those of the river Nile,
are unseen." And Mahaffy declares, "The intellectual
kings of the world are, like Melchisedec, without fa-
ther, without mother, without descent, having neither
beginning of days nor end of life."

Dr. Durbin is one of whom it is difficult to write
with fairness and fullness without seeming to exag-
gerate ; and yet not to describe him as he was is to do
injustice to his memory. The writer knows no motive,
for adulation, and the biographer of an extraordinary
man should not write of him as of one of ordinary
powers.

David said, *' In thine hand it is to make great."
"Whatever of intellectual or moral susceptibility Dr.
Durbin had he received from God, and recognized it as
a divine gift, and improved it as one who must give
account. lie as truly as St. Paul could say, "By the
grace of God I am what I am." If we consider the
powers of Dr. Durbin's mind in the departments of
study to which he devoted his attention, and remember
the embarrassments under which he in so short a time
accomplished so much, we have no reason to doubt
that his aptitudes were equal to his aspirations — that
he could have achieved any other purpose that he
might have cherished. He who at the age of twenty-
five had risen so far as to be the skillful professor of
ancient languages, at the age of thirty to be elected to
the professorship in natural science in our first univer-
sity, that at thirty-two could edit The Christian Advo-
cate and Journal with such ability, that at thirty-four
could till with highest reputation the presidency of a
college that had failed under the greatest talents and
strongest denominational influences; he who could honor
all these positions and at last give twenty-two years of
his mature life to such a work as Corresponding Secre-

366

JOHN P. DURBIX.

tary of the Missionary Society and advance it to snch
a power; he who showed himself a master in skill, an
oracle in wisdom, and a pillar of strength in tlie cause
of his advocacy, he surely may be accepted as " a
jirince and a great man in Israel." Might not the
words that were considered an appropriate epitaph for
Wordsworth be applied with equal justice to Dr. Dur-
bin, " Here lies a man who did what he intended ? "

To one who carefully observed the life and labors of
Dr. Durbin it would be just to conclude that from his
conversion to his death he was influenced by the con-
viction that human existence implies real, stern, abid-
ing responsibility ; that talents are for improvement
and time for a wise appropriation, and that opportuni-
ties impose obligations. We cannot better convey the
estimate of Dr. Durbin as to his true position than in
the language of Albert Barnes on another occasion :
" It has been comparatively rare in this world that
any individual has embarked on life, or on any enter-
prise, with a determined purpose to see how much
could be done by the utmost efforts of which the
mind and the body could be made capable. Occasion-
ally such an individual has appeared, and appeared to
astonish us no less by the vastness and the success of
his own efforts than by the proof which he has thus
furnished of the imbecility and indolence and wasted
talents of the great mass of mankind. Such a man
was Howard — living to make full proof 'of how much
could be done in a single object of benevolence.' The
energy of his determination, it has been said, 1 was the
calmness of an intensity kept uniform by the nature of
the human mind forbidding it to be more and by the
character of the individual forbidding it to be less.'
The habitual passion of his mind was a measure of
feeling almost equal to the temporary extremes and

CONCLUSION.

367

paroxysms of common minds, as a great river in its
customary state is equal to a small and moderate one
when >wollen to a torrent.' Such a man, in a far differ-
ent department, was Napoleon, living to illustrate the
power of great talents concentrated on a single object,
and mnking 'full proof of the terrible energy of the
single passion of ambition. Such a man, too, was the
short-lived Alexander; and, in a different sphere, such
a man was Paul; and, to a considerable extent, such a
a man was Whitefield. But, compared with the im-
mense multitude of minds which have existed on the
earth, such instances, for good or for evil, have been
rare. A part has been sunk in indolence from which
no motives would rouse them. Part have been wholly
unconscious of their own powers. Part have never
been placed in circumstances to call forth their ener-
gies, or have not been endowed with original power to
create such circumstances or to start a plan that should
require such concentrated efforts to complete it. Part
have never been under the right influence, in the proc-
ess of training, to make 'full proof of the powers of
the soul. Part have wasted their talents in wild and
visionary schemes, unconscious of the waste or of the
main error of their life till life was too far gone to at-
tempt to repair the loss; some are thwarted by a rival;
some meet with discouragements, are early disheart-
ened, and give up all effort in despair. Most reach the
close of lite feeling, if they have any right feeling, that
they have accomplished almost nothing; the good
usually with the reflection that if they ever accomplish
much it must now be in a higher state of being'' Dr.
Durbin felt he was God's property, and that he must
make the most of the divine investment in him. To
show the benign influence of a life of such labor and
success in the cause of God and the results of the ef-

368

JOHN P. DURBIN.

forts of an arch-infidel upon the world, whatever may-
he ins learning or eloquence, we adopt the language of
Dr. Southey in his contrast of the lives of Voltaire and
Wesley. He says: " While the one was scattering with
pestilent activity the seeds of immorality and unbelief,
the other, with equal unweariable zeal, labored in the
cause of religious enthusiasm. The works of Voltaire
have found their way wherever the French language is
read, the disciples of Wesley wherever the English is
spoken. The principles of the arch-infidel were more
rapid in their operation; he who aimed at no such evil
as that which he contributed so greatly to bring about
was himself startled at their progress. In his latter
days he trembled at the consequences which he then
foresaw, and, indeed, his remains had scarcely moldered
in the grave before those consequences brought down
the whole fabric of government in France, overturned
her altars, subverted her throne, carried guilt, devasta-
tion, and misery into every part of his own country,
and shook the rest of Europe like an earthquake. Wes-
ley's doctrines, meantime, were slowly and gradually
winning their way; lint they advanced every succeeding
year with accelerated force, and their effect must ulti-
mately be more extensive, more powerful, and more
permanent, for he has set mightiest principles at work."
Nor can any one calculate the influence for good that
went forth from Dr. Durbin, in the various positions
that he filled in the Church, upon our own country and
upon the globe: while he who rejects the claims of the
Almighty, of whatever power of tongue or pen, must
be regarded as an enemy to the human race.

More than thirty years ago Dr. Abel Stevens, the
historian of Methodism, pronounced Dr. Durbin "the
most interesting preacher in the Methodist pulpit."
Learned men we may have had of a more accurate, if

CONCLUSION.

369

not a broader scholarship ; writers of a more fruitful,
if not of a more facile pen ; but where one whose mind
was better disciplined, whose faculties were better di-
rected, or whose resources were more fully at the
Church's command, or by whom more was accomplished
in the divers and responsible positions that he filled ?
When was learning, genius, culture, devotion to duty,
turned to better account? American Methodism has
always had men adapted to her stations, but who from
her origin has occupied so many distinguished places,
and for so long a time ? Is there one of all those various
positions that he did not exalt by his talents and his skill
and moral worth ? If as a Church we can boast a greater
name than John Price Durbin, then indeed we are hon-
ored ! In the senate, cabinet, diplomatic corps, judi-
ciary, or chair of the executive, he might have filled
the first place in the nation.

To the glory of Christ's kingdom, he laid his talents
at the foot of the cross and gave his life to the duties
of the ministry. To the young Methodist preacher the
life of John P Durbin is a vast folio for study, but in
iis title-page is the motto that formed the theme of one
of his first baccalaureate discourses at Dickinson Col-
lege: "The High Purpose and Firm Resolve." This is
the key to his greatness, and Grace furnishes that key.
25

THE END.

The Lire of

John Price Durbin, P.P., LLP.,

WITH AN ANALYSIS OF HIS HOMILETIC SKILL AND SACRED
ORATORY,

By JOHN A. ROCHE, M.D., P.P.,

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY

RANDOLPH S. FOSTEK, D.D., LL.D., Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal
Church.

l2mo., $1 50.

SOME OF THE MANY NOTICES OF DR. DURBIN'S LIFE.

From Thomas Bowman, Senior Bishop of the Methodist
Episcopal Church.— " I am greatly pleased with the life of my dear
College president. I am glad you found so much material out of which you
could prepare so good a book : every one who has spoken to me about it has
given it praise ; it is first rate."

From J. C. Keener, Senior Bishop of the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, South.—" It was due the Church, the Missionary Society,
and Dr. Durbin, that his biography should be written. The admirable preface
of Bishop Foster is fully vindicated in the Life which you have written of this
distinguished Kentuckian and able minister of the Gospel."

From Bishop E. G. Andrews.— "I am glad to hear that the Life of
John Price Durbin has such a wide sale, but I am not surprised ; the qualities
of the man were admirable. Your treatment of him and them not less so."

From Bishop J. F. Hurst.— "f congratulate you on the Life nf John
Price Durbin. You have made a most excellent biography of a man of
genius."

Bishop C. D. Foss says : " You have done your work well. ... It will
long be of use to young ministers."

Eishop E. S. Foster says : " It will live on as a classic ; let it find a
place in every Sunday-school."

From Bishop H. W. Warren.—" i am glad you are able to continue
the marvelous helpfulness that Dr. Durbin exercised toward young men."

Eishop J. EC. Vincent says : " You have succeeded in giving a vivid
and attractive, and I may say inspiring account of that great pulpit prodigy."

From Bishop W. F. Mailalieu.— " I wish the book might be widely
circulated, especially with all young preachers."

Bishop J. P. Newman says : " It is the most vigorous biographical
work extant. It will be of immense service to our preachers. It is a com-
memorative monument to the unrivaled genius of one of the greatest men of
the nineteenth century."

Prom the " Methodist Review," by the Editor, Dr. J. W. Men-
denhall.— " It is not enough to say that the author has produced a remarkable
book, or that he has faithfully portrayed the career of 0:10 of the m.ist remark-
able, men of the century, for, while both statements are true, he has gone
beyond the ordinal y range of the biographer. . . . His is historical, psy-
chological, homili'tical, and philosophical. . . . The details are given with
a fullness that is satisfactory, and in a style that falls little below that of Bos-
well, and occasionally reminds the reader of the excellencies of Motley. . . .
We most cordially commend it to the clergy and the Church."

Dr. A. S. Hunt, Corresponding' Secretary of the Ameri-
can Bible Society, in a resolution unanimously adopted by the New
York East Conference, said, on the Life of Dr. Durbin, "It affords us great
pleasure to afllrm that, interesting and valuable as we trusted the Life would
prove to be, it far surpasses our expectations. We congratulate our brother
on the warm welcome which his work has earned on every hand."

From General Clinton B. Pisk.— " I have read it with my interest in-
creasing through all its pages. May the good book inspire in the hearts, minds,
and souls of thousands of young ministers the high purpose and the Arm re-
solve ! "

From Professor W. F. "Whitlock, D.D., of the Ohio Wesleyan
University. — " When I finished reading the Life of Durbin, I was convinced
that it had no equal among the biographies of Methodism in this country, and
110 superior in American literature. Feeling, because of my lire-work, a special
interest in young men, I heartily wish they might all read it."

Prom the "Divine Life," by the Rev. A. Lowrey, D.D.— "To
say that Dr. Roche has done his task well is tame eulogy. He has done it in a
masterly fashiou. It is what we seldom And — an eloquent biography. It is
not a book of annals, but a philosophical treatment of a great life."

From " Christian Thought," by the Rev. Dr. Chas. F. Deems.—
" There is one book we should be pleased to have placed in the hands of every
theological student in the land. We know no recent book that would do him
more good. It is the Life of John Price Durbin, by Dr. Roche. ... He was a
prince among preachers. He has probably never been surpassed in America

From the " W atchman," Boston, by Dr. Olmstead (Baptist).—
" Any one wh > shall read this richly suggestive and stimulating volume, . . .
particularly younger ministers, will not fail of being both instructed and
moved."

From Professor M. D. Buel, D.D., Dean of the School of Theol-
ogy, Boston University.—-' You have laid the younger generation who
have only heard of the fame of that wonderful man under great obligation.
I am sure, too, that the method you have chosen for impressing upon younger
ministers the principles of homiletics by exhibiting the illustrious examples of
so many of those principles is a very wise and effective one."

F:om Dr. J. A. McCauley, late President of Dickinson Col-
lege. " My estimate is very high. It has taken place among the few biogra-
phies . . . which stand apart from the multitude as being nearly a perfect
presentation of their subject. The style is clear, terse, strong. It is a book Of
lucid statement, animated narration, and graphic and glowing description."

From Dr. A. Rittenhouse, Professor in Dickinson College.—
" Its contents will furnish illustrations for my class in rhetoric."

From the Rev. George H. Whitney, D.D., President of Cen-
tenary Collegiate Institute.—" A fascinating, blessed, and profitable

boob. . . . Would that every young man about to enter the ministry could
read t'.iis book ! "

From the Rev. H. B. Ridgaway, D.D., President of Garrett
Biblical Institute.—" You have done your part in setting the jewel ad-
mirably. How glad I am that you were prompted ! I wonder at your success."

From the Hon. John Field, Philadelphia. — " In perusing the
pages it really seemed to me as if the dead had come to life again, and I
could hear his voice and feel anew the inspiration which his thoughts and
words imparted. Young and old, lay and clerical, owe you a debt which they
can never pay."

From the Rev. Charles J. Little, D.D., Professor in the Syra-
cuse University.—" You have rendered the Church, and especially our
younger ministers, a great service in this portraiture of Dr. Durbin."

From Dr. Henry A. Buttz, President of Drew Theological
Seminary.—" I have read with great interest and satisfaction the Life of
Dr. Durbin. He was great as a preacher, college president, missionary secre-
tary, and you have succeeded in placing him before t:ie reader in all these re-
lations with such force and beauty as {■> hold the attention from the beginning
to the end of the work. . . . While full of interest to all readers ... it is es-
pecially valuable to young preachers . . . and students."

From Dr. James M. Buckley, Editor of "The Christian Ad-
vocate."—" The young ministers of our Church should read Dr. Roche's
work. While Dr. Durbin"s life is the center round which the thoughts are
gathered the book contains much collateral matter."

From " The Central Christian Advocate."—" We wish all our
people, especially all our young preachers, could read and ponder this marvel-
ous life."

From Dr. Joseph Cummings, President of the North-west-

TJniversity.— " From personal knowledge of many of the incidents and
qualities described I feel prepared to appreciate the great ability displayed in
this work. ... In preparing this book Dr. Roche has rendered great service
to the Church, and it is to be hoped that those to whom it is dedicated will
earnestly study it. Iu doing so they will receive a stimulus to a higher and
nobler life."

From "The Philadelphia Methodist."— " Had Dr. Roche done
nothing but produce this work he would deserve to be held in everlasting re-
membrance."

From New England " Yale Review."— "One of the interesting and
valuable features of this volume is its discussion of homiletical principles in
the light of their concrete manifestation in the subject of this memoir. It, in
fact, succeeds iu becoming a valuable contribution to homiletical literature."

From the " Lutheran Quarterly."—" With his fine subject the author
has most successfully achieved his biographical task. . . . Young men, and
young ministers especially, will be instructed by it in the secret sources of
power and usefulness, and find in it inspiration and stimulation to indus-
try, self-reliance, courage, Christian consecration, and fidelity."

From " The Western Christian Advocate," by Rev. Isaac
Crook, D.D.— " I know the fascinations of Hugo and Tolstoi and Macaulay
ar.d Motley, Samuel Johnson and Bulwer I.ytton, but here is as fascinating
and a more universally commendable book."

From "Zion's Herald."—" The young ministers of Methodism to whom
this volume is dedicated will receive it with pleasure and read it with satisfac-
tion, joy, and profit."

3

From "The Evangelist."— " We are thankful to the author for his
bonk, not only because it paints a consummate master, . . . but also because It
revives men and movements in Church and State winch ought not to be for-
gotten."

From "Christian Witness."-" A volume that every Methodist will
find great proQt in reading."

From the "Northern Christian Advocate."— " The work is of
special value in the biographical literature of Methodism. ... In the second
part we have a valuable discussion of homiletical topics illustrated by the style
of Dr. Durbiu's preaching."

From J. O. Roberts, of Kansas, in " The Christian Advo-
cate."—" The book is like a land of springs, planted with goodly trees
crowned with a rich foliage, draped and festooned with beautiful and lovely
vines."

From the " Ocean Grove Record." by Dr. Adam Wallace.-
" The introduction by Bishop Foster is in itself a treatise of remarkable ana-
lytical power. . . . How these burning pages thrill the writer! ... For the
success of some books there may be a question. We apprehend nothing of
failure in Dr. Roche's brilliant biography."

From the " Buffalo Christian Advocate."—" It is no ordinary
memoir. The biographical part is as charming as a romance, while the hom-
iletical section is replete with suggestive, helpful matter to a preacher or pub-
lic speaker. It is one of the best books of the kind we know of to place in the
hands of a young preacher."

From Dr. Sims, Chancellor of Syracuse University— " The
life of Dr. Durbin up through all its successive stages is an Inspiration to noble
young manhood wherever it is known. . . . You have done a valuable service
to the Church in the graphic, true, and entertaining biography you have given
of this great man."

From Dr. T. Hanlon, President of Pennington Seminary.—

"In my class of nearly ninety young men studying for the gospel ministry
I have recommended this book as a text-book in homiletics, as well as fur-
nishing a graphic and charming picture of one of the greatest preachers
in American Methodism. . . . Take him for all in all I have never known his
equal."

From Dr. John Miley, Professor in Drew Theological Sem-
inary.—"Our young preachers should take it into their souls. It would
greatly help them in their own ministry. No one with a true soul could fail
of great profit."

From Dr. J. O. Peck, Corresponding Secretary of the Mis-
sionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.— It will rank
with the great biographies of great men. ... Dr. Durbin is known in Meth-
odist history as the great Missionary Secretary. You have placed this office
under special obligation for the discriminating and masterly portraiture of
this distinguished official, . . . this pulpit genius of Methodism."

In an article over the signatures of Drs. W. Ilerr, J. M.
Trimble, and J. F. Marlay the " Western Christian Advocate"
says : " We call the attention of all members, and particularly young ministers,
to this book as one of the most stimulating and helpful of its class, in our judg-
ment, ever written. Young men preparing for the ministry, as well as those
already upon their sacred calling, will And the closing chapters ... to be a
masterly treatise on sacred eloquence."

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