CHOICE SPECIMENS
OF
AMERICAN LITERATURE,
AND
LITERARY READER,
BEING SELECTIONS FROM THE CHIEF AMERICAN WRITERS,
BY
PROF. BENJ. N. MARTIN, D.D., L.H.D., PROFESSOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE
CITY OF NEW YORK. 1874
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
The former edition of this work was prepared simply as a supplement to
Shaw's "Choice Specimens of English Literature." Though it extended to
a larger size than had been anticipated, and was therefore issued in a
separate volume, it still proved so straitened in point of space as to
be in some important respects defective and inadequate. The decision of
the publishers to reprint it in an enlarged form furnishes to the editor
a welcome opportunity to correct its deficiencies, and to make several
important emendations.
When the work of collecting suitable extracts from the great body of our
literature was fairly entered upon, it soon became apparent that little
aid could be had from the earlier manuals. Besides being in great
measure obsolete, they were from the beginning disproportionate, and
geographically too local in subject and spirit; both of which may be
deemed grave defects.
The last twenty years have made great changes in American authorship.
Many new names must now be added to the older lists, and many formerly
familiar ones must be dropped from them. Hence these extracts have for
the most part been derived, with assiduous care, directly from the
collected works of our standard authors. This part of my labor has been
greatly facilitated by the courtesy of the gentlemen connected with the
Society, the Mercantile, and the Astor, Library, whose constant kindness
I gratefully acknowledge.
The principal alterations which will be found in this edition are the
following.
1. The extracts, formerly, of necessity, brief and fragmentary, have
given place to more extended and coherent passages.
2. A much larger space has been allotted to the more eminent authors.
Such writers as Franklin, Jefferson, Calhoun, Webster, Wirt, Irving,
Cooper, Hawthorne, Channing, Beecher, Prescott, Motley, Shea, Bryant,
Poe, Emerson, and Lowell, have been much more adequately exhibited.
3. Many later writers have been added, so that the work more fully
represents the rapid development of literary effort among us.
4. A few writers, formerly included, have been dropped from the list,
not always as less deserving a place, but sometimes as having less
adaptation to the purposes of the book.
Much care has been bestowed upon the dates of the several authors, and
in bringing up details of information to the latest period. The same
pains have been taken to furnish a just representation of the writers,
too often overlooked in our manuals, of the Southern and Western
portions of our country. Though often wanting in mere grace of style,
they are apt to be original and vigorous; and often possessing valuable
material, they are well worthy of perusal. In all these respects this
collection has been carefully elaborated; and the editor hopes that it
will be found to give a somewhat proportionate and complete view for its
compass, of our best literature.
In adapting the selections to Mr. Tuckerman's interesting "Sketch of
American Literature," specimens have generally been taken from several
authors in each of his groups. Some names not found in his "Sketch,"
have been introduced, chiefly for the fuller illustration of the
literature of the south and west. In this particular, Coggeshall's
"Poets and Poetry of the West" has afforded great assistance. Among
the more recent aids of the same kind, I must also mention Davidson's
"Living Writers of the South," and Raymond's "Southland Writers."
Especial acknowledgment is due to the "Cyclopedia" of the Messrs.
Duyckinck; Appleton's "Annual Cyclopedia" has furnished many important
dates; and I have occasionally been indebted to the works of Allibone,
Cheever, Griswold, Cleveland, Hart, and Underwood. Not only the local
literature however, but the several professions, and the great religious
denominations, are also represented by prominent writers.
It seemed unnecessary to treat the female writers as a distinct class;
they are, therefore, arranged under the departments to which they
respectively belong, as Essayists, Novelists, Poets, &c.
I should be claiming a merit which does not belong to me, should I fail
to say, that, for much of the labor which this treatise has involved, I
am indebted to the co-operation of my brother, Mr. William T. Martin,
whose acquaintance with our literature has not often been surpassed, and
whose valuable aid and counsel have been freely afforded me.
The hours which have been spent in culling extracts from so many able
and entertaining writers, though laborious, have been to the editor full
of interest, and often of delight. He trusts that these fruits of his
labor will be useful, in imparting, especially to his youthful readers,
not only an acquaintance with the best of our national authors, but a
taste for literature, and a good ideal of literary excellence, than
which few things in intellectual education are more to be esteemed. If
successful in these respects, he will be abundantly satisfied; and in
this hope, he submits his work to the judgment of the public.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
=_1._= RELIGIOUS WRITERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES.
Roger Williams, 1598-1683
1. True Liberty defined.
Cotton Mather, 1663-1728
2. Preservation of New England Principles.
Jonathan Edwards, 1703-1758
3. Meaning of the Phrase Moral Inability.
Samuel Davies, 1725-1761
4. Life and Immortality revealed through the Gospel.
Nathaniel Emmons, 1745-1840
5. Rule of Private Judgment.
=_2._= HISTORICAL WRITERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH
CENTURIES.
Cadwallader Colden, 1688-1776
6. The Five Nations assert their Superiority.
William Stith, 1689-1755
7. The rule of Powhatan.
8. Pocahontas in England.
William Smith, 1728-1793
9. Manners of the People of New York.
=_3._= MISCELLANEOUS WRITERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND
EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES.
John Winthrop, 1587-1649
10. True Liberty defined.
11. Proposed Treatment of the Indians.
William Byrd, 1674-1744
12. The Ginseng and Snakeroot Plants.
Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790
13. Good Resolutions.--The Croaker.
14. Franklin's Electrical Kite.
15. Motion for Prayers in the Convention.
16. The Ephemeron. An Emblem.
=_4._= LATER RELIGIOUS WRITERS AND DIVINES.
John Woolman, 1730-1772
17. Remarks on Slavery and Labor.
John M. Mason, 1770-1829
18. Grandeur of the Bible Society.
19. The Right of the State to Educate.
Timothy Dwight, 1752-1817
20. The Wilderness reclaimed.
21. The Glory of Nature, from God.
John Henry Hobart, 1775-1830
22. The Divine Glory in Redemption.
Lyman Beecher, 1775-1863
23. The Being of a God.
William Ellery Channing, 1780-1842
24. Character of Napoleon.
25. Grandeur of the prospect of Immortality.
26. The Duty of the Free States.
Edward Payson, 1783-1827
27. Natural Religion.
Joseph S. Buckminster, 1784-1812
28. Necessity of Regeneration.
Nathaniel W. Taylor, 1786-1858
29. Proof of Immortality from the Moral Nature of Man.
Edward Hitchcock, 1793-1864
30. Geological Proof of Divine Benevolence.
John P. Durbin, 1800-
31. First Sight of Mount Sinai.
Leonard Bacon, 1802-
32. The Day approaching.
33. The Benefits of Capital.
James W. Alexander, 1804-1859
34. The Church a Temple.
Martin J. Spaulding, 1810-1872
35. Trials of the Pioneer Catholic Clergy in the West.
James H. Thornwell, 1811-1862
36. Evil tendencies of an act of Sin.
Charles P. McIlvaine, 1799-1873
37. Attestations of the Resurrection.
George W. Bethune, 1805-1862
38. Aspirations towards Heaven.
39. The Prospects of Art in the United States.
William R. Williams, 1804-
40. Lead us not into Temptation.
George B. Cheever, 1807-
41. Sin distorts the judgment.
42. Mont Blanc.
Horace Bushnell, 1804-
43. Unconscious Influence.
44. The True Rest of the Christian.
Alfred T. Bledsoe, about 1809-
45. Moral Evil consistent with the Holiness of God.
Richard Fuller, 1808-
46. The Desire of all Nations shall come. _Haggai_ ii. 7.
Henry Ward Beecher, 1813-
47. A Picture in a College at Oxford.
48. Frost on the Window.
49. Nature designed for our enjoyment.
50. Life in the Country.
51. The Conception of Angels, Superhuman.
John McClintock, 1814-1870
52. The Christian the only true Lover of Nature.
Noah Porter, 1811-
53. Science magnifies God.
William H. Milburn, 1823-
54. The Pioneer Preachers of the Mississippi Valley.
=_5._= ORATORS, AND LEGAL AND POLITICAL WRITERS, OF THE ERA
OF THE REVOLUTION.
John Dickinson, 1732-1808
55. Aspect of the War in May, 1779.
John Adams, 1735-1826
56. Character of James Otis.
57. The Requisites of a Good Government.
Patrick Henry, 1736-1799
58. The Necessity of the War.
59. The Constitution should be amended before Adoption.
John Rutledge, 1735-1826
60. An Independent Judiciary the Safeguard of Liberty.
Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826
61. Essential Principles of American Government.
62. Character of Washington.
63. Geographical Limits of the Elephant and the Mammoth.
64. The Unhappy Effects of Slavery.
John Jay, 1745-1829
65. An Appeal to Arms.
=_6._= ORATORS, AND LEGAL AND POLITICAL WRITERS, OF THE ERA
SUBSEQUENT TO THE REVOLUTION.
Alexander Hamilton, 1757-1804
66. Nature of the Federal Debt.
67. The French Revolution.
Fisher Ames, 1758-1808
68. Obligation of National Good Faith.
Gouverneur Morris, 1752-1816
69. Qualifications of a Minister of Foreign Affairs.
William Pinkney, 1764-1820
70. Responsibility for Slavery.
71. American Belligerent Rights.
James Madison, 1751-1836
72. Value of a Record of the Debates on the Federal Constitution.
73. Inscription for a Statue of Washington.
John Randolph, 1773-1832
74. Change is not Reform.
75. The Error of Decayed Families.
James Kent, 1763-1847
76. Law of the States.
Edward Livingston, 1764-1836
77. The Proper Office of the Judge.
John Quincy Adams, 1767-1848
78. The Right of Petition Universal.
79. The Administration of Washington.
Henry Clay, 1777-1852
80. Emancipation of the South American States.
81. Dangers of Disunion.
John C. Calhoun, 1782-1850
82. Dangers of an Unlimited Power of Removal from Office.
83. Peculiar merit of our Political System.
84. Concurrent Majorities supersede Force.
Daniel Webster, 1782-1852
85. Inestimable Value of the Federal Union;--Extract from the Reply
to Hayne.
86. Object of the Bunker Hill Monument.
87. Benefits of the U.S. Constitution.
88. Right of changing Allegiance.
Joseph Story, 1779-1845
89. Chief Justice Marshall.
90. Progress of Jurisprudence.
Lewis Cass, 1782-1866
91. Policy of Removing the Indians.
Rufus Choate, 1799-1859
92. Conservative Force of the American Bar.
93. The Age of the Pilgrims the Heroic Period of our History.
William H. Seward, 1801-1872
94. Military Services of Lafayette in America.
Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865
95. Obligation to the Patriot Dead.
Charles Sumner, 1811-1873
96. Prospective Results of the Kansas and Nebraska Bill.
97. Heroic Effort cannot Fail.
98. Our Foreign Relations.
99. Prophetic Voices about America.
Alexander H. Stephens, 1812-
100. Origin of the American Flag.
=_7._= BIOGRAPHICAL WRITERS.
Benjamin Rush, 1745-1813
101. Life of Edward Drinker, a Centenarian.
John Marshall, 1755-1835
102. The Conquest of Canada.
John Armstrong, 1759-1843
103. Capture of Stoney Point.
Charles Caldwell, 1772-1853
104. A Lecture of Dr. Rush.
Thomas H. Benton, 1783-1858
105. The Character of Macon.
Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, 1803-1848
106. Recapture of the Frigate Philadelphia, at Tripoli.
I.F.H. Claiborne. About 1804-
107. Tecumseh's Speech to the Creek Indians.
George W. Greene, 1811-
108. Foreign Officers in the Revolutionary Army.
James Parton, 1822-
109. Career and Character of Aaron Burr.
110. Henry Clay and the Western Bar.
111. Western Theatres.
=_8._= HISTORY, GENERAL AND SPECIAL.
John Heckewelder, 1743-1823
112. Settlements of the Christian Indians.
Jeremy Belknap, 1744-1798
113. The Mast Pine.
David Ramsay, 1749-1815
114. Feeling of South Carolina towards the Mother Country.
Henry Lee, 1756-1818
115. Indian Services of General Rodgers Clarke.
116. The career of Captain Kirkwood.
Peter S. Duponceau. 1760-1844
117. Character of William Penn.
Charles J. Ingersoll, 1782-1862
118. Calhoun Characterized.
119. Battle of Chippewa.
Henry M. Brackenridge, 1786-1871
120. Old St. Genevieve, in Missouri.
Gulian C. Verplanck, 1786-1870
121. The Profession of the Schoolmaster.
John W. Francis, 1789-1861
122. Public Changes during a Single Lifetime.
William Meade, 1789-1862
123. Character of the Early Virginia Clergy.
Jared Sparks, 1794-1866
124. The Battle of Bennington.
125. Services, Death, and Character of Pulaski.
William H. Prescott, 1796-1859
126. Moral Consequences of the Discovery of America.
127. Picture-writing of the Mexicans.
128. Ransom and Doom of the Inca.
George Bancroft, 1800-
129. Virginia and its Inhabitants, in early times.
130. Contrast of English and French Colonization in America.
131. Death of Montcalm.
132. Character of the Declaration of Independence.
133. The First Policy of Spain in the American Revolution.
J.G.M. Ramsey. About 1800-
134. The Military Services of General Sevier.
Charles Gayarré, 1805-
135. General Jackson at New Orleans.
Brantz Mayer, 1809-
136. Rekindling the Sacred Fire in Mexico.
Albert J. Pickett, 1810-1858
137. The Indians and the First Settlers in Alabama.
Charles W. Upham, 1803-
138. Defeat of the Indian King Philip.
John L. Motley, 1814-
139. Character of Alva.
140. Siege and Abandonment of Ostend.
141. The Rise of the Dutch Republic.
Alex'r B. Meek, 1814-1865
142. Exiled French Officers in Alabama.
143. The Youth of the Indian Chief, Weatherford.
Abel Stevens, 1815-
144. The Early Methodist Clergy in America.
Francis Parkman, 1823-
145. The Old Western Hunters and Trappers.
146. Marquette Exploring the Upper Mississippi.
John G. Shea, 1824-
147. Difficulties of the Catholic Indian Missionaries.
148. Exploration of the Mississippi.
John G. Palfrey, 1796-
149. Happiness of Winthrop's Closing Years.
CHAPTER II.
=_1._= ESSAYISTS, MORALISTS, AND REFORMERS.
Joseph Dennie, 1768-1813
150. Reflections on the Seasons.
William Gaston, 1778-1844
151. The Importance of Integrity.
Jesse Buel, 1778-1839
152. Extent and Defects of American Agriculture.
Robert Walsh, 1784-1859
153. False Sympathy with Criminals.
Thomas S. Grimke, 1786-1834
154. Literary Excellence of the English Bible.
Henry C. Carey, 1793-
155. Agriculture as a Science.
Edmund Ruffin, 1793-1863
156. Improvement of Acid Soils.
Francis Wayland, 1796-1865
157. Superiority of the Moral Sentiments.
Horace Mann, 1796-1857
158. Thoughts for a Young Man.
Orestes A. Brownson, 1800-
159. The Duty of Progress.
160. Catholic Europe in the Seventeenth Century, despotic.
Theodore D. Woolsey, 1801-
161. Importance of the Study of International Law.
Taylor Lewis, 1802-
162. Unity of the Mosaic Account of the Creation.
163. Cruel Intestine Wars caused by National Division.
Horace Greeley, 1811-1872
164. The Problem of Labor.
165. The Beneficence of Labor-saving Inventions.
166. Literature as a Vocation;--the Editor.
167. Tranquility of Rural Life.
Theodore Parker, 1810-1860
168. Winter and Spring.
169. The true idea of a Christian Church.
170. Character of Franklin.
171. Character of Jefferson.
Wendell Phillips, 1811-
172. The War for the Union.
173. Character of Toussaint L'Ouverture.
Thomas Starr King, 1824-1864
174. Great Principles and Small Duties.
=_2._= GENERAL AND POLITE LITERATURE.
William Wirt, 1772-1834
175. The Example of Patrick Henry no argument for Indolence.
176. Jefferson's Seat at Monticello.
Timothy Flint, 1780-1840
177. The Western Boatman.
Washington Irving, 1783-1859
178. Title and Table of Contents of Knickerbocker's History of New
York.
179. The Army at New Amsterdam.
180. A Mother's Memory.
181. Columbus a Prisoner.
182. Arrival of Columbus at Court.
183. A Time of Unexampled Prosperity.
184. Death and Burial of General Braddock.
185. Baron Steuben in the Revolutionary Army.
Richard H. Wilde, 1780-1847
186. Interest of Tasso's Life.
George Ticknor, 1791-1871
187. The Design of Cervantes in writing Don Quixote.
James Hall, 1793-1868
188. Description of a Prairie.
H.R. Schoolcraft, 1793-1864
189. The Chippewa Indian.
Edward Everett, 1794-1865
190. Astronomy for all Time.
191. Description of a Sunrise.
192. The Celtic Immigration.
Hugh S. Legaré. 1797-1843
193. The Study of the Ancient Classics.
194. Disadvantages of Colonial Life.
Francis L. Hawks, 1798-1866
195. Japan interesting in many Aspects.
George P. Marsh, 1801-
196. Method of learning English.
197. The Evergreens of Southern Europe.
George H. Calvert, 1803-
198. Estimate of Coleridge.
Ralph W. Emerson, 1803-
199. Influence of Nature.
200. The power of Childhood.
201. Advantage of working in harmony with Nature.
202. Rules for Reading.
John R. Bartlett, 1805-
203. Lynch Law at El Paso.
Nat'l P. Willis, 1807-1867
204. The American Abroad.
205. Character and Writings of James Hillhouse.
H.W. Longfellow, 1807-
206. The interrupted Legend.
Henry Reed, 1808-1854
207. Legendary Period of Britain.
C.M. Kirkland, 1808-1864
208. The Felling of a Great Tree.
209. The Bee Tree.
Margaret Fuller Ossoli 1810-1850
210. Carlyle characterized.
Oliver W. Holmes, 1809-
211. Consequences of exposing an old error.
212. Pleasures of Boating.
213. The unspoken Declaration.
214. Mechanics of Vital Action.
John Wm. Draper, 1810-
215. Truths in the ancient Philosophies.
216. Future Influence of America.
James R. Lowell, 1810-
217. New England two Centuries ago.
218. From an Essay on Dryden.
219. Love of Birds and Squirrels.
220. Chaucer's love of Nature.
Edgar A. Poe, 1811-1849
221. The Chiming of the Clock.
222. The Philosophy of Composition.
H.T. Tuckerman, 1813-1871
223. The Heart superior to the Intellect.
H.N. Hudson, 1814-
224. Instructive Character of Shakespeare's Works.
Mary H. Eastman. About 1817-
225. Lake Itasca, the Source of the Mississippi.
226. A Plea for the Indians.
Mary E. Moragne, 1815-
227. The Huguenot Town.
Richard H. Dana, Jr., 1815-
228. A Death at Sea.
Evert A. Duyckinck, 1816-
229. Newspapers.
Horace B. Wallace, 1817-1852
230. Art an Emanation of Religious Affection.
H.D. Thoreau, 1817-1862
231. Description of "Poke" or Garget, (Phytolacca Decandra).
232. Walden Pond.
233. Wants of the Age.
Elizabeth F. Ellett, 1818-
234. Escape of Mary Bledsoe from the Indians.
James J. Jarves, 1818-
235. The Art Idea.
Edwin P. Whipple, 1819-
236. Poets and Poetry of America.
J.T.L. Worthington, 1847-
237. The Sisters.
Alice Cary, 1820-1871
238. Clovernook, the End of the History.
Donald G. Mitchell, 1822-
239. A Talk about Porches.
Richard Grant White, 1822-
240. The Character of Shakespeare's Style.
Thos. W. Higginson, 1823-
241. Elegance of French Style.
Charles G. Leland, 1824-
242. Aspect of Nuremberg.
Geo. Wm. Curtis, 1824-
243. Under the Palms.
John L. McConnell, 1826-
244. The Early Western Politician.
Sarah J. Lippincott. About 1833
245. Death in Town, and in Country.
Francis Bret Harte, 1837-
246. Birth of a Child in a Miner's Camp.
Wm. D. Howells, 1837-
247. Snow in Venice.
Mary A. Dodge, 1838-
248. Scenery of the Upper Mississippi.
=_3._= LATER MISCELLANEOUS WRITERS.
George Washington, 1732-1799
249. Natural advantages of Virginia.
Matthew F. Maury, 1806-1873
250. The Mariner's Guide across the Deep.
251. The Gulf Stream.
O.M. Mitchell, 1810-1862
252. The Great Unfinished Problems of the Universe.
=_4._= NATURAL HISTORY, SCENERY, ETC.
William Bartram, 1739-1813
253. Scenes on the Upper Oconee, Georgia.
254. The Wood Pelican of Florida.
Alex'r Wilson, 1766-1813
255. Nest of the Red-headed Woodpecker.
256. The White-headed, or Bald Eagle.
Stephen Elliott, 1771-1830
257. Completeness and variety of Nature.
John J. Audubon, 1776-1851
258. The Passenger Pigeon.
259. Emigrants Removing Westward.
260. Interest of Exploration in the Remote West.
Daniel Drake, 1785-1852
261. Objects of the Western Mound Builders.
John Bachman, 1790-1874
262. The Opossum.
J.A. Lapham, 1811-
263. The Smaller Lakes of Wisconsin.
264. Ancient Earthworks.
Chas. W. Webber, 1819-1856
265. The Mocking Bird.
Chas. Lanman, 1819-
266. Maple Sugar-Making among the Indians.
Ephraim G. Squier, 1821-
267. Indian Pottery.
=_5._= WRITERS OF TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE.
Benj'n Silliman, 1779-1864
268. The Falls of Montmorenci.
John L. Stephens, 1805-1852
269. Discovery of a Ruined City in the Woods.
John C. Fremont, 1813-
270. Ascent of a Peak of the Rocky Mountains.
271. The Columbia River, Oregon.
Elisha K. Kane, 1822-1857
272. Discovery of an Open Arctic Sea.
Bayard Taylor, 1825-
273. Monterey, California.
274. Approach to San Francisco.
275. Swiss Scenery;--a Battlefield;--Picturesque Dwellings.
=_6._= NOVELISTS AND WRITERS OF FICTION.
Chas. Brockden Brown, 1771-1810
276. The Yellow Fever in Philadelphia.
Washington Allston, 1779-1843
277. Impersonation of the Power of Evil.
278. On a Picture by Caracci.
279. Originality of Mind.
James K. Paulding, 1779-1860
280. Characteristics of the Dutch and German Settlers.
281. Abortive Towns.
Jas. Fenimore Cooper, 1789-1851
282. The Shooting Match.
283. Long Tom Coffin.
284. Death of the Old Trapper in the Pawnee Village.
285. Escape from the Wreck.
286. Naval Results of the War of 1812.
Catharine M. Sedgwick, 1789-1867
287. The Minister Condemning Vain Apparel.
288. Kosciusko's Garden at West Point.
John Neal, 1793-
289. The Nature of True Poetry.
John P. Kennedy, 1795-1870
290. The Mansion at Swallow Barn.
291. A Disappointed Politician.
292. Wirt's Style of Oratory.
William Ware, 1797-1852
293. The Christian Martyr.
Lydia M. Child, 1802-
294. Ill temper contagious.
Robert M. Bird, 1803-1854
295. The Quaker Huntsman.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1805-1864
296. Portrait of Edward Randolph.
297. Description of an Old Sailor.
298. A Picture of Girlhood.
299. Sculpture: Art and Artists.
300. Ruins of Furness Abbey.
301. Scenery of the Merrimac.
302. A Dungeon of Ancient Rome.
Wm. Gilmore Simms, 1806-1870
303. The Battle of Eutaw.
304. Character and Services of Gen. Marion.
Harriet B. Stowe, 1812-
305. Memorials of a Dead Child.
306. The Old Meeting House.
Maria J. McIntosh, 1815-
307. Debate between Webster and Hayne.
Catharine A. Warfield, 1817-
308. View of the Sky by Night.
Herman Melville, 1819-
309. Sperm-Whale Fishing.
Josiah G. Holland, 1819-
310. The Wedding-Present.
John Esten Cooke, 1830-
311. The Portrait.
312. Aspects of Summer.
Sarah A. Dorsey. About 1835-
313. Scenery at Natchez, Mississippi.
Anne M. Crane,
314. Impression of a Sea-Scene.
Mary C. Ames. About 1837-
315. A Railway Station in the Country.
CHAPTER III.
POETS.
Francis Hopkinson, 1737-1791
316. From "The Battle of the Kegs."
John Trumbull, 1750-1831
317. From "McFingall."
Philip Freneau, 1752-1832
318. From "An Indian Burying-ground."
David Humphreys, 1753-1818
319. From "The Happiness of America."
Sam'l J. Smith, 1771-1835
320. "Peace, Be Still."
William Clifton, 1772-1799
321. From "Lines to Fancy."
Robert Treat Paine, 1773-1811
322. The Miser.
John Blair Linn, 1777-1804
323. From "The Powers of Genius."
Francis S. Key, 1779-1843
324. "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Washington Allston, 1779-1843
325. From "The Sylphs of the Seasons."
John Pierpont, 1785-1866
326. A Temperance Song.
327. The. Pilgrim Fathers.
Jas. G. Percival, 1786-1856
328. The Coral Grove.
Richard H. Dana, 1787-
329. From "The Buccaneer."
Richard H. Wilde, 1789-1847
330. My Life is like the Summer Rose.
Jas. A. Hillhouse, 1789-1841
331. From "Hadad."
332. From "The Judgment."
John M. Harney, 1789-1825
333. From "Cristalina; a fairy tale."
Charles Sprague, 1791-
334. From "Curiosity."
L.H. Sigourney, 1791-1865
335. The Widow at her Daughter's Bridal.
Wm. O. Butler, 1793-
336. From "The Boatman's Horn."
337. The Battle-field of Raisin.
Wm. C. Bryant, 1794-
338. Lines to a Water Fowl.
339. Freedom Irrepressible.
340. Communion with Nature, Soothing.
341. The Living Lost.
342. The Song of the Sower.
343. The Planting of the Apple-Tree.
Maria Brooks, 1795-1845
344. "Marriage."
Joseph R. Drake, 1705-1820
345. The Fay's Departure.
Fitz-Greene Halleck, 1795-1869
346. Marco Bozzaris.
347. The Broken Merchant.
J.G.C. Brainard, 1796-1828
348. From "Lines to the Connecticut River."
Robert C. Sands, 1799-1832
349. From "Weehawken."
George W. Doane, 1799-1859
350. From "Evening."
Geo. P. Morris, 1801-1864
351. Highlands of the Hudson.
Geo. D. Prentice, 1802-1869
352. From "The Mammoth Cave."
Chas. C. Pise, 1802-1866
353. The Rainbow.
354. View at Gibraltar.
E.P. Lovejoy, 1802-1836
355. From "Lines to my Mother."
Edward C. Pinkney, 1802-1828
356. A Health.
R.W. Emerson, 1803-
357. Hymn sung at the Completion of the Concord Monument.
358. Disappearance of Winter.
359. Inspiration of Duty.
Thos. C. Upham, 1799-1873
360. On a Son Lost at Sea.
Jacob L. Martin, 1805-1848
361. The Church of Santa Croce, Florence.
Geo. W. Bethune, 1805-1862
362. Mythology gives place to Christianity.
Chas. F. Hoffman, 1806-
363. The Red Man's Heaven.
Wm. Gilmore Simms, 1806-1870
364. Nature inspires sentiment.
Nath'l P. Willis, 1807-1867
365. From "Hagar in the Wilderness."
366. Unseen Spirits.
H.W. Longfellow, 1807-
367. Lines to Resignation.
368. From The Wedding; The Launch: The Ship.
369. Song of the Mocking-bird, at Sunset.
370. Hiawatha's Departure.
Wm. D. Gallagher, 1808-
371. The Laborer.
John G. Whittier, 1808-
372. What the Voice said.
373. The Atlantic Telegraph.
374. Description of a Snow Storm.
375. The Quaker's Creed.
Albert Pike, 1809-
376. The Everlasting Hills.
Anne C. Lynch Botta. About 1809
377. The Dumb Creation.
Oliver W. Holmes, 1809-
378. From "The Last Leaf."
379. A Mother's Secret.
Willis G. Clark, 1810-1841
380. "An Invitation to Early Piety."
James R. Lowell, 1810-
381 A Song, "The Violet."
382. Importance of a Noble Deed.
383. The Spaniards' Graves at the Isles of Shoals.
Edgar A. Poe, 1811-1849
384. The Raven.
Alfred B. Street, 1811-
385. An Autumn Landscape.
386. The Falls of the Mongaup.
Laura M. H. Thurston, 1812-1842
387. Lines on Crossing the Alleghanies.
Frances S. Osgood, 1812-1850
388. From "The Parting."
Harriet B. Stowe, 1812-
389. The Peace of Faith.
390. Only a Year.
H.T. Tuckerman, 1813-1871
391. The Statue of Washington.
John G. Saxe, 1816-
392. The Blessings of Sleep.
393. "Ye Tailyor man; a contemplative ballad."
394. Ancient and Modern Ghosts contrasted.
395. Boys.
396. Sonnet to a Clam.
Lucy Hooper, 1816-1841
397. The "Death-Summons."
Catharine A. Warfield, 1817-
398. From "The Return to Ashland."
Arthur C. Coxe, 1818-
399. The Heart's Song.
Wm. Ross Wallace, 1819-
400. The North Edda.
Walter Whitman, 1819-
401. The Brooklyn Ferry at Twilight.
Amelia B. Welby, 1819-1852
402. The Bereaved.
R.S. Nichols. About 1820-
403. From "Musings."
Alice Cary, 1820-1871
404. Attractions of our early Home.
Sidney Dyer. About 1820-
405. The Power of Song.
Austin T. Earle, 1822-
406. From "Warm Hearts had We."
Thos. Buchanan Read, 1822-
407. The Mournful Mowers.
408. From "The Closing Scene."
Margaret M. Davidson, 1823-1837
409. From Lines in Memory of her Sister Lucretia.
John R. Thompson, 1823-1873
410. Music in Camp.
Geo. H. Boker, 1824-
411. From the "Ode to a Mountain Oak"
412. Dirge for a Sailor.
Wm. Allen Butler, 1825-
413. From "Nothing to Wear."
Bayard Taylor, 1825-
414. "The Burden of the Day."
John T. Trowbridge, 1827-
415. "Dorothy in the Garret."
Henry Timrod, 1829-1867
416. The Unknown Dead.
Susan A. Talley Von Weiss. About 1830-
417. The Sea-Shell.
Albert Sutliffe, 1830-
418. "May Noon."
Elijah E. Edwards, 1831-
419. "Let me Rest."
Paul H. Hayne, 1831-
420. October.
Rosa V. Johnson Jeffrey. About 1832-
421. From "Angel Watchers."
Sarah J. Lippincott, 1833-
422. "Absolution."
E.C. Stedman, 1833-
423. The Mountain.
John J. Piatt, 1835-
424. Long Ago.
Celia Thaxter, 1835-
425. "Regret."
Theophilus H. Hill, 1836-
426. From "The Song of the Butterfly."
Thos. B. Aldrich, 1836-
427. The Crescent and the Cross.
Francis Bret Harte, 1837-
428. Dickens in Camp.
429. The Two Ships.
Charles Dimitry, 1838-
430. From "The Sergeant's Story."
John Hay, 1841-
431. The Prairie.
Joaquin Miller,
432. The Future of California.
Joel C. Harris, 1846-
433. Agnes.
ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF AUTHORS.
* * * * *
(The Figures refer to the Number of the Selection.)
* * * * *
ADAMS, JOHN 56, 57
ADAMS, JOHN QUINCY 78, 79
ALEXANDER, JAMES W. 34
ALDRICH, THOMAS B. 427
ALLSTON, WASHINGTON 277, 278, 279, 325
AMES, FISHER 68
AMES, MARY C. 315
ARMSTRONG, JOHN 103
AUDUBON, JOHN J. 258, 259, 260
BACHMAN, JOHN 262
BACON, LEONARD 32, 33
BANCROFT, GEORGE 129, 130, 131, 132, 133
BARTLETT, JOHN R. 203
BARTRAM, WILLIAM 253, 254
BEECHER, HENRY WARD 47, 48, 49, 50, 51
BEECHER, LYMAN 23
BELKNAP, JEREMY 113
BENTON, THOMAS H. 105
BETHUNE, GEORGE W. 38, 39, 362
BIRD, ROBERT M. 295
BLEDSOE, ALBERT T. 45
BOKER, GEORGE HENRY 411, 412
BOTTA, ANNE C. LYNCH 377
BRACKENRIDGE, HENRY M. 120
BRAINARD, JOHN G.C. 348
BROOKS, MARIA 344
BROWN, C. BROCKDEN 276
BROWNSON, ORESTES A. 159, 160
BRYANT, WILLIAM C. 338, 339, 340, 341, 342, 343
BUCKMINSTER, JOSEPH S. 28
BUEL, JESSE 152
BUSHNELL, HORACE 43, 44
BUTLER, WILLIAM ALLEN 413
BUTLER, WILLIAM O. 336, 337
BYRD, WILLIAM 12
CALDWELL, CHARLES 104
CALHOUN, JOHN C. 82, 83, 84
CALVERT, GEORGE H. 198
CAREY, HENRY C. 155
CARY, ALICE 238, 404
CASS, LEWIS 91
CHANNING, WM. ELLERY 24, 25, 26
CHEEVER, GEORGE B. 41, 42
CHILD, LYDIA MARIA 294
CHOATE, RUFUS 92, 93
CLAIBORNE, I.F.H. 107
CLARK, WILLIS G. 380
CLAY, HENRY 80, 81
CLIFTON, WILLIAM 321
COLDEN, CADWALLADER 6
COOKE, JOHN ESTEN 311, 312
COOPER, J. FENIMORE 282, 283, 284, 285, 286
COXE, ARTHUR C. 399
CRANE, ANNE M. 314
CURTIS, GEORGE WM. 243
DANA, RICHARD H. 329
DANA, RICHARD H., JR. 228
DAVIDSON, MARGARET M. 409
DAVIES, SAMUEL 4
DENNIE, JOSEPH 150
DICKINSON, JOHN 55
DIMITRY, CHARLES 430
DOANE, GEORGE W. 350
DODGE, MARY A. 248
DORSEY, SARAH A. 313
DRAKE, DANIEL 261
DRAKE, JOSEPH R. 345
DRAPER, JOHN WM. 215, 216
DUPONCEAU, PETER S. 117
DWIGHT, TIMOTHY 20, 21
DURBIN, JOHN P. 31
DUYCKINCK, EVERT A. 229
DYER, SIDNEY 405
EARLE, AUSTIN T. 406
EASTMAN, MARY H. 225, 226
EDWARDS, ELIJAH E. 419
EDWARDS, JONATHAN 3
ELLETT, ELIZABETH F. 234
ELLIOTT, STEPHEN 257
EMERSON, RALPH WALDO 199, 200, 201, 202, 357, 358, 359
EMMONS, NATHANIEL 5
EVERETT, EDWARD 190, 191, 192
FLINT, TIMOTHY 177
FRANCIS, JOHN W. 122
FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN 13, 14, 15, 16
FREMONT, JOHN C. 270, 271
FRENEAU, PHILIP 318
FULLER, RICHARD 46
GALLAGHER, WILLIAM D. 371
GASTON, WILLIAM 151
GAYARRÉ, CHARLES 135
GREELEY, HORACE 164, 165, 166, 167
GREENE, GEORGE W. 108
GRIMKE, THOMAS S. 154
HALL, JAMES 188
HALLECK, FITZ-GREENE 346, 347
HAMILTON, ALEXANDER 66, 67
HARNEY, JOHN M. 333
HARRIS, JOEL C. 433
HARTE, FRANCIS BRET 246, 428, 429
HAWKS, FRANCIS L. 195
HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 301, 302
HAY, JOHN 431
HAYNE, PAUL H. 420
HECKEWELDER, JOHN 112
HENRY, PATRICK 58, 59
HIGGINSON, THOMAS 241
HILL, THEOPHILUS H. 426
HILLHOUSE, JAMES A. 331, 332
HITCHCOCK, EDWARD 30
HOBART, JOHN H. 22
HOFFMAN, CHARLES F. 363
HOLLAND, JOSIAH G. 310
HOLMES, OLIVER W. 211, 212, 213, 214, 378, 379
HOOPER, LUCY 397
HOPKINSON, FRANCIS 316
HUDSON, HENRY N. 224
HOWELLS, WILLIAM D. 247
HUMPHREYS, DAVID 319
INGERSOLL, CHARLES J. 118, 119
IRVING, WASHINGTON 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185
JARVES, JAMES J. 235
JAY, JOHN 65
JEFFERSON, THOMAS 61, 62, 63, 64
JEFFREY, ROSA V. JOHNSON 421
KANE, ELISHA K. 272
KENNEDY, JOHN P. 290, 291, 292
KENT, JAMES 76
KEY, FRANCIS S. 324
KING, THOS. STARR 174
KIRKLAND, CAROLINE M. 208, 209
LANMAN, CHARLES 266
LAPHAM, J.A. 263, 264
LEE, HENRY 115, 116
LEGARÉ, HUGH S. 193, 194
LELAND, CHARLES G. 242
LEWIS, TAYLOR 162, 163
LINCOLN, ABRAHAM 95
LINN, JOHN B. 323
LIPPINCOTT, SARAH J. 245, 422
LIVINGSTON, EDWARD 77
LONGFELLOW, HENRY W. 206, 367, 368, 369, 370
LOVEJOY, ELIJAH P. 355
LOWELL, JAS. RUSSELL 217, 218, 219, 220, 381, 382, 383
MACKENZIE, A. SLIDELL 106
McCLINTOCK, JOHN 52
McCONNELL, JOHN L. 244
McILVAINE, CHARLES P. 37
McINTOSH, MARIA J. 307
MADISON, JAMES 73, 73
MANN, HORACE 158
MARSH, GEORGE P. 196, 197
MARSHALL, JOHN 102
MARTIN, JACOB L. 361
MASON, JOHN M. 18, 19
MATHER, COTTON 2
MAURY, MATTHEW F. 250, 251
MAYER, BRANTZ 136
MEADE, WILLIAM 123
MEEK, ALEXANDER B. 142, 143
MELVILLE, HERMAN 309
MILBURN, WILLIAM H. 54
MILLER, JOAQUIN 432
MITCHELL, DONALD G. 239
MITCHELL, ORMSBY M. 252
MORAGNE, MARY E. 227
MORRIS, GEORGE P. 351
MORRIS, GOUVERNEUR 69
MOTLEY, JOHN L. 139, 140, 141
NEAL, JOHN 289
NICHOLS, REBECCA S. 403
OSGOOD, FRANCIS S. 388
OSSOLI, MARGARET FULLER 210
PAINE, ROBERT T. 322
PALFREY, JOHN G. 149
PARKER, THEODORE 168, 169, 170, 171
PARKMAN, FRANCIS 145, 146
PARTON, JAMES 109, 110, 111
PAULDING, JAMES K. 280, 281
PAYSON, EDWARD 27
PERCIVAL, JAMES G. 328
PHILLIPS, WENDELL 172, 173
PIATT, JOHN J. 424
PICKETT, ALBERT J. 137
PIERPONT, JOHN 326, 327
PIKE, ALBERT 376
PINKNEY, EDWARD C. 356
PINKNEY, WILLIAM 70, 71
PISE, CHARLES C. 353, 354
POE, EDGAR A. 221, 222, 384
PORTER, NOAH 53
PRENTICE, GEORGE 352
PRESCOTT, WILLIAM H. 126, 127, 128
RAMSAY, DAVID 114
RAMSEY, J.G.M. 134
RANDOLPH, JOHN 74, 75
READ, THOS. BUCHANAN 407, 408
REED, HENRY 207
RUFFIN, EDMUND 156
RUSH, BENJAMIN 101
RUTLEDGE, JOHN 60
SANDS, ROBERT C. 349
SAXE, JOHN G. 392, 393, 394, 395, 396
SCHOOLCRAFT, HENRY R. 189
SEDGWICK, CATHARINE M. 287, 288
SEWARD, WILLIAM 94
SHEA, JOHN G. 147, 148
SIGOURNEY, LYDIA H. 335
SILLIMAN, BENJAMIN 268
SIMMS, WM. GILMORE 303, 304, 364
SMITH, SAMUEL J. 320
SMITH, WILLIAM 9
SPARKS, JARED 124, 125
SPAULDING, MARTIN J. 35
SPRAGUE, CHARLES 334
SQUIER, EPHRAIM G. 267
STEDMAN, E.C. 423
STEPHENS, ALEXANDER H. 100
STEPHENS, JOHN L. 269
STEVENS, ABEL 144
STITH, WILLIAM 7, 8
STORY, JOSEPH 89, 90
STOWE, HARRIET BEECHER 305, 306, 389, 390
STREET, ALFRED B. 385, 386
SUMNER, CHARLES 96, 87, 98, 99
SUTLIFFE, ALBERT 418
TAYLOR, BAYARD 273, 274, 275, 414
TAYLOR, NATHANIEL W. 29
THAXTER, CELIA 425
THOMPSON, JOHN R. 410
THORNWELL, JAMES H. 36
THOREAU, HENRY D. 231, 232, 233
THURSTON, LAURA M.H. 387
TICKNOR, GEORGE 187
TIMROD, HENRY 416
TROWBRIDGE, JOHN T. 415
TRUMBULL, JOHN 317
TUCKERMAN, HENRY T. 223, 391
UPHAM, CHARLES W. 138
UPHAM, THOMAS C. 360
VERPLANCK, GULIAN C. 121
VON WEISS, SUSAN A. TALLEY 417
WALLACE, HORACE B. 230
WALLACE, WILLIAM R. 400
WALSH, ROBERT 153
WARE, WILLIAM 293
WARFIELD, CATHERINE A. 308, 398
WASHINGTON, GEORGE 249
WAYLAND, FRANCIS 157
WEBBER, CHARLES W. 265
WEBSTER, DANIEL 85, 86, 87, 88
WELBY, AMELIA B. 402
WHIPPLE, EDWIN P. 236
WHITE, RICHARD GRANT 240
WHITMAN, WALTER 401
WHITTIER, JOHN G. 372, 373, 374, 375
WILDE, RICHARD H. 186, 330
WILLIAMS, ROGER 1
WILLIAMS, WILLIAM R. 40
WILLIS, NATHANIEL P. 204, 205, 365, 366
WILSON, ALEXANDER 255, 256
WINTHROP, JOHN 10, 11
WIRT, WILLIAM 176
WOOLMAN, JOHN 17
WOOLSEY, THEODORE D. 161
WORTHINGTON, JANE T.L. 237
CHOICE SPECIMENS
OF
AMERICAN LITERATURE.
* * * * *
CHAPTER I.
RELIGIOUS WRITERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES.
=_Roger Williams, 1598-1683._= (Manual, pp. 480, 512.)
From his "Memoirs."
=_1.=_ EXTENT OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.
There goes many a ship to sea, with many hundred souls in one ship,
whose weal and woe is common, and is a true picture of a commonwealth,
or a human combination or society. It hath fallen out, sometimes, that
both Papists and Protestants, Jews and Turks, may be embarked into one
ship. Upon which supposal, I affirm that all the liberty of conscience,
that ever I pleaded for, turns upon these two hinges; that none of the
Papists, Protestants, Jews, or Turks, be forced to come to the ship's
prayers, nor compelled from their own particular prayers or worship,
if they practice any.... If any of the seamen refuse to perform their
service, or passengers to pay their freight; if any refuse to help, in
person or purse, towards the common charges or defence; if any refuse to
obey the common laws or orders of the ship concerning their common
peace or preservation; if any shall mutiny and rise up against their
commanders and officers; if any should preach or write, that there ought
to be no commanders nor officers, because all are equal in Christ,
therefore no masters nor officers, no laws, nor orders, no corrections
nor punishments,--I say I never denied but in such cases, whatever is
pretended, the commander or commanders may judge, resist, compel, and
punish such transgressors, according to their deserts and merits.
* * * * *
=_Cotton Mather, 1663-1728._= (Manual pp. 479, 512.)
From the "Antiquities," or Book I, of the "Magnalia."
=2.= PRESERVATION OF NEW ENGLAND PRINCIPLES.
'Tis now time for me to tell my reader, that in _our age_, there has
been another essay made, not by French, but by English PROTESTANTS, to
fill a certain country in America with _Reformed Churches_; nothing
in _doctrine_, little in _discipline_, different from that of Geneva.
Mankind will pardon _me_, a native of that country, if smitten with a
just fear of encroaching and ill-bodied _degeneracies_, I shall use my
modest endeavors to prevent the _loss_ of a country so signalized for
the _profession_ of the purest _Religion_, and for the _protection_ of
God upon it in that holy profession. I shall count my country _lost_, in
the loss of the primitive _principles_, and the primitive _practices_,
upon which it was at first established: but certainly one good way to
save that _loss_, would be to do something, that the memory of _the
great things done for us by our God_, may not be _lost_, and that the
story of the circumstances attending the _foundation_ and _formation_
of this country, and of its _preservation_ hitherto, may be impartially
handed unto posterity. THIS is the undertaking whereto I now address
myself; and now, _Grant me thy gracious assistances, O my God! that in
this my undertaking I may be kept from every false way._
* * * * *
=_Jonathan Edwards, 1703-1758_=. (Manual, p. 479.)
From the "Inquiry, &c., into the Freedom of the Will."
=_3._= MEANING OF THE PHRASE "MORAL INABILITY."
It must be observed concerning Moral Inability, in each kind of it, that
the word _Inability_ is used in a sense very diverse from its original
import.... In the strictest propriety of speech, a man has a thing in
his power, if he has it in his choice, or at his election; and a man
cannot be truly said to be unable to do a thing, when he can do it if he
will. It is improperly said, that a person cannot perform those external
actions which are dependent on the act of the will, and which would be
easily performed, if the act of the will were present. And if it be
improperly said, that he cannot perform those external voluntary actions
which depend on the will, it is in some respect more improperly said,
that he is unable to exert the acts of the will themselves; because it
is more evidently false, with respect to these, that he cannot if he
will; for to say so is a downright contradiction: it is to say he cannot
will if he does will. And in this case, not only is it true, that it is
easy for a man to do the thing if he will, but the very willing is the
doing; when once he has willed, the thing is performed; and nothing
else remains to be done. Therefore, in these things to ascribe a
non-performance to the want of power or ability, is not just; because
the thing wanting is not a being able, but a being willing. There
are faculties of mind, and capacity of nature, and everything else
sufficient, but a disposition; nothing is wanting but a will.
* * * * *
=_Samuel Davies, 1725-1761._= (Manual, p. 480.)
From his "Sermons."
=_4._= LIFE AND IMMORTALITY REVEALED THROUGH THE GOSPEL.
So extensive have been the havoc and devastation which death has made
in the world for near six thousand years, ever since it was first
introduced by the sin of man, that this earth is now become one vast
grave-yard or burying-place for her sons. The many generations that have
followed upon each other, in so quick a succession, from Adam to this
day, are now in the mansions under ground.... Some make a short journey
from the womb to the grave; they rise from nothing at the creative
fiat of the Almighty, and take an immediate flight into the world of
spirits.... Like a bird on the wing, they perch on our globe, rest a
day, a month, or a year, and then fly off for some other regions. It is
evident these were not formed for the purposes of the present state,
where they make so short a stay; and yet we are sure they are not made
in vain by an all-wise Creator; and therefore we conclude they are young
immortals, that immediately ripen in the world of spirits, and there
enter upon scenes for which it was worth their while coming into
existence.... A few creep into their beds of dust under the burden of
old age and the gradual decays of nature. In short, the grave is _the
place appointed for all living_; the general rendezvous of all the sons
of Adam. There the prince and the beggar, the conqueror and the slave,
the giant and the infant, the scheming politician and the simple
peasant, the wise and the fool, Heathens, Jews, Mahometans, and
Christians, all lie equally low, and mingle their dust without
distinction.... There lie our ancestors, our neighbors, our friends,
our relatives, with whom we once conversed, and who were united to our
hearts by strong and endearing ties; and there lies our friend, the
sprightly, vigorous youth, whose death is the occasion of this funeral
solemnity. This earth is overspread with the ruins of the human frame:
it is a huge carnage, a vast charnel-house, undermined and hollowed with
the graves, the last mansions of mortals.
* * * * *
=_Nathaniel Emmons,[1] 1745-1840._=
From his "Sermons."
=_5._= THE RIGHT OF PRIVATE JUDGMENT.
The right of private judgment involves the right of forming our opinions
according to the best light we can obtain. After a man knows what
others have said or written, and after he has thought and searched the
Scriptures, upon any religious subject, he has a right to form his own
judgment exactly according to evidence. He has no right to exercise
prejudice or partiality; but he has a right to exercise impartiality, in
spite of all the world. After all the evidence is collected from every
quarter, then it is the proper business of the understanding or judgment
to compare and balance evidence, and to form a decisive opinion or
belief, according to apparent truth. We have no more right to judge
without evidence than we have to judge contrary to evidence; and we have
no more right to doubt without, or contrary to, evidence, than we have
to believe without, or contrary to, evidence. We have no right to keep
ourselves in a state of doubt or uncertainty, when we have sufficient
evidence to come to a decision. The command is, "Prove all things; hold
fast that which is good." The meaning is, Examine all things; and after
examination, decide what is right.
[Footnote 1: A Congregational clergyman of Massachusetts, original in
theology, and eminently lucid in style.]
* * * * *
HISTORICAL WRITERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES.
=_Cadwallader Colden,[2] 1688-1776._=
From "The History of the Five Nations."
=_6._= CONVICTION OF THEIR SUPERIORITY
The _Five Nations_ think themselves by nature superior to the rest of
mankind.... All the nations round them have, for many years, entirely
submitted to them, and pay a yearly tribute to them in _wampum_; they
dare neither make war nor peace without the consent of the _Mohawks_.
Two old men commonly go, about every year or two, to receive this
tribute; and I have often had opportunity to observe what anxiety the
poor Indians were under while these two old men remained in that part of
the country where I was. An old Mohawk Sachem, in a poor blanket and
a dirty shirt, may be seen issuing his orders with as arbitrary an
authority as a Roman dictator. It is not for the sake of tribute,
however, that they make war, but from the notions of glory which they
have ever most strongly imprinted on their minds; and the farther they
go to seek an enemy, the greater glory they think they gain; there
cannot, I think, be a greater or stronger instance than this, how
much the sentiments impressed on a people's mind conduce to their
grandeur.... The Five Nations, in their love of liberty and of their
country, in their bravery in battle, and their constancy in enduring
torments, equal the fortitude of the most renowned Romans.
[Footnote 2: A native of Scotland, but for many years a resident of New
York, where he was eminent in politics and science.]
* * * * *
=_William Stith, 1755._= (Manual, p. 490.)
From "The History of Virginia."
=_7._= THE RULE OF POWHATAN.
Although both himself and people were very barbarous, and void of all
letters and civility, yet was there such a government among them, that
the magistrates for good command, and the people for due subjection,
excelled many places that would be counted very civil. He had under him
above thirty inferior Kings or Werowances, who had power of life and
death, but were bound to govern according to the customs of their
country. However, his will was in all cases, their supreme law, and must
be obeyed. They all knew their several lands, habitations, and limits,
to fish, fowl, or hunt in. But they held all of their great Werowance,
_Powhatan_; to whom they paid tribute of skins, beads, copper, pearl,
deer, turkies, wild beasts, and corn. All his subjects reverenced him,
not only as a King, but as half a God; and it was curious to behold,
with what fear and adoration they obeyed him. For at his feet they
presented whatever he commanded; and a frown of his brow would make
their greatest Spirits tremble. And indeed it was no wonder; for he was
very terrible and tyrannous in punishing such as offended him, with
variety of cruelty, and the most exquisite torture.
* * * * *
=_8._= POCAHONTAS IN ENGLAND.
However, Pocahontas was eagerly sought and kindly entertained
everywhere. Many courtiers, and others of his acquaintance, daily
flocked to Captain Smith to be introduced to her. They generally
confessed that the hand of God did visibly appear in her conversion,
and that they had seen many English ladies worse favored, of less exact
proportion, and genteel carriage than she was.... The whole court were
charmed and surprised at the decency and grace of her deportment; and
the king himself, and queen, were pleased honorably to receive and
esteem her. The Lady Delawarr, and those other persons of quality,
also waited on her to the masks, balls, plays, and other public
entertainments, with which she was wonderfully pleased and delighted.
And she would, doubtless, have well deserved, and fully returned, all
this respect and kindness, had she lived to arrive in Virginia.
* * * * *
=_William Smith, 1793._= (Manual, p. 490.)
From "The History of the Province of New York."
=_9._=. MANNERS OF THE INHABITANTS.
New York is one of the most social places on the continent. The men
collect themselves into weekly evening clubs. The ladies, in winter, are
frequently entertained either at concerts of music or assemblies, and
make a very good appearance. They are comely, and dress well, and scarce
any of them have distorted shapes. Tinctured with a Dutch education,
they manage their families with becoming parsimony, good providence, and
singular neatness. The practice of extravagant gaming, common to the
fashionable part of the fair sex in some places, is a vice with which
my countrywomen cannot justly be charged. There is nothing they
so generally neglect as reading, and indeed all the arts for the
improvement of the mind; in which, I confess, we have set them the
example. They are modest, temperate, and charitable; naturally
sprightly, sensible, and good-humored; and, by the helps of a more
elevated education, would possess all the accomplishments desirable
in the sex. Our schools are in the lowest order: the instructors want
instruction; and, through a long, shameful neglect of all the arts and
sciences, our common speech is extremely corrupt, and the evidences of
a bad taste, both as to thought and language, are visible in all our
proceedings, public and private.
The history of our diseases belongs to a profession with which I am
very little acquainted. Few physicians amongst us are eminent for
their skill. Quacks abound like locusts in Egypt, and too many have
recommended themselves to a full practice and profitable subsistence.
Loud as the call is, to our shame be it remembered, we have no law
to protect the lives of the king's subjects from the malpractice of
pretenders. Any man, at his pleasure, sets up for physician, apothecary,
and chirurgeon. The natural history of this province would of itself
furnish a small volume; and, therefore, I leave this also to such as
have capacity and leisure to make useful observations in that curious
and entertaining branch of natural philosophy.
The clergy of this province are, in general, but indifferently
supported, it is true they live easily, but few of them leave any thing
to their children.... As to the number of our clergymen, it is large
enough at present, there being but few settlements unsupplied with a
ministry and some superabound. In matters of religion we are not so
intelligent in general as the inhabitants of the New England colonies,
but both in this respect and good morals we certainly have the advantage
of the Southern provinces. One of the king's instructions to our
governors recommends the investigation of means for the conversion of
negroes and Indians. An attention to both, especially the latter, has
been too little regarded. If the missionaries of the English Society for
propagating the Gospel instead of being seated in opulent christianized
towns had been sent out to preach among the savages, unspeakable
political advantages would have flowed from such a salutary measure.
* * * * *
MISCELLANEOUS WRITERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES.
=_John Winthrop, 1587-1649._= (Manual, p. 490.)
From his "Life and Letters."
=_10._= TRUE LIBERTY DEFINED.
For the other point concerning liberty, I observe a great mistake in the
country about that. There is a twofold liberty,--natural (I mean as our
nature is now corrupt) and civil, or federal. The first is common to man
with beasts and other creatures. By this, man, as he stands in relation
to man simply, hath liberty to do what he lists: it is a liberty to evil
as well as to good. This liberty is incompatible and inconsistent with
authority, and cannot endure the least restraint of the most just
authority. The exercise and maintaining of this liberty makes men grow
more evil, and, in time, to be worse than brute beasts. This is
that great enemy of truth and peace, that wild beast, which all the
ordinances of God are bent against, to restrain and subdue it. The other
kind of liberty I call civil, or federal; it may also be termed moral,
in reference to the covenant between God and man in the moral law, and
the politic covenants and constitutions amongst men themselves. This
liberty is the proper end and object of authority, and cannot subsist
without it; and it is a liberty to that only which is good, just, and
honest. This liberty you are to stand for, with the hazard not only of
your goods, but of your lives, if need be.
* * * * *
From "The History of New England."
=_11._= PROPOSED TREATMENT OF THE INDIANS.
We received a letter at the General Court from the magistrates of
Connecticut, and New Haven, and of Aquiday,[3] wherein they declared
their dislike of such as would have the Indians rooted out, as being of
the cursed race of Ham, and their desire of our mutual accord in seeking
to gain them by justice and kindness, and withal to watch over them to
prevent any danger by them, &c. We returned answer of our consent with
them in all things propounded, only we refused to include those of
Aquiday in our answer, or to have any treaty with them.
[Footnote 3: The original name of Rhode Island.]
* * * * *
=_William Byrd,[4] 1674-1744._=
From "History of the Dividing Line between Virginia and North Carolina."
=_12._= THE GINSENG AND SNAKEROOT PLANTS.
Though practice will soon make a man of tolerable vigor an able footman,
yet, as a help to bear fatigue, I used to chew a root of ginseng as I
walked along. This kept up my spirits, and made me trip away as nimbly
in my half jack-boots as younger men could in their shoes.... The
Emperor of China sends ten thousand men every year on purpose to gather
it.... Providence has planted it very thin in every country. Nor,
indeed, is mankind worthy of so great a blessing, since health and
long life are commonly abused to ill purposes. This noble plant grows
likewise at the Cape of Good Hope. It grows also on the northern
continent of America, near the mountains, but as sparingly as truth and
public spirit.
Its virtues are, that it gives an uncommon warmth and vigor to the
blood, and frisks the spirits beyond any other cordial. It cheers the
heart even of a man that has a bad wife, and makes him look down with
great composure on the crosses of the world. It promotes insensible
perspiration, dissolves all phlegmatic and viscous humors that are apt
to obstruct the narrow channels of the nerves. It helps the memory, and
would quicken even Helvetian dullness. 'Tis friendly to the lungs, much
more than scolding itself. It comforts the stomach and strengthens the
bowels, preventing all colics and fluxes. In one word, it will make a
man live a great while, and very well while he does live; and, what
is more, it will even make old age amiable, by rendering it lively,
cheerful, and good-humored....
I found near our camp some plants of that kind of Rattlesnake
root, called star-grass. The leaves shoot out circularly, and grow
horizontally and near the ground. The root is in shape not unlike the
rattle of that serpent, and is a strong antidote against the bite of it.
It is very bitter, and where it meets with any poison, works by violent
sweats, but where it meets with none, has no sensible operation but
that of putting the spirits into a great hurry, and so of promoting
perspiration.
The rattlesnake has an utter antipathy to this plant, insomuch that if
you smear your hands with the juice of it, you may handle the viper
safely. Thus much I can say on my own experience, that once in July,
when these snakes are in their greatest vigor, I besmeared a dog's nose
with the powder of this root, and made him trample on a large snake
several times, which, however, was so far from biting him, that it
perfectly sickened at the dog's approach, and turned his head from him
with the utmost aversion.
In our march one of the men killed a small rattlesnake, which had no
more than two rattles. Those vipers remain in vigor generally till
towards the end of September, or sometimes later, if the weather
continues a little warm. On this consideration we had provided three
several sorts of rattlesnake root, made up into proper doses, and ready
for immediate use, in case any one of the men or their horses had been
bitten....
In the low grounds the Carolina gentlemen shewed us another plant, which
they said was used in their country to cure the bite of the rattlesnake.
It put forth several leaves, in figure like a heart, and was clouded so
like the common Assarabacca, that I conceived it to be of that family.
[Footnote 4: A native of Virginia:--was sent to England for his
education, where he became intimate with the wits of Queen Anne's time.
On his return to Virginia, he became a prominent official. He has left
very pleasing accounts of his explorations.]
* * * * *
=_Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790._= (Manual, pp. 478, 486.)
Extract from his Autobiography.
=_13._= GOOD RESOLUTIONS.--THE CROAKER.
I grew convinced, that _truth, sincerity_, and _integrity_, in dealings
between man and man, were of the utmost importance to the felicity of
life, and I formed written resolutions, which still remain in my journal
book, to practice them ever while I lived. Revelation had indeed no
weight with me, as such; but I entertained an opinion, that, though
certain actions might not be bad, _because_ they were forbidden by it,
or good _because_ it commended them; yet probably those actions might be
forbidden _because_ they were bad for us, or commanded because they were
beneficial to us, in their own natures, all the circumstances of things
considered. And this persuasion, with the kind hand of Providence,
or some guardian angel, or accidental favorable circumstances or
situations, or all together, preserved me, through this dangerous
time of youth, and the hazardous situations I was sometimes in among
strangers, remote from the eye and advice of my father, free from any
_wilful_ gross immorality or injustice, that might have been expected
from my want of religion. I say wilful because the instances I have
mentioned had something of _necessity_ in them, from my youth,
inexperience, and the knavery of others. I had therefore a tolerable
character to begin the world with; I valued it properly, and determined
to preserve it.
We had not been long returned to Philadelphia, before the new types
arrived from London. We settled with Keimer and left him by his consent
before he heard of it. We found a house to let near the market, and took
it. To lessen the rent, which was then but twenty-four pounds a year,
though I have since known it to let for seventy, we took in Thomas
Godfrey, a glazier, and his family, who were to pay a considerable part
of it to us, and we to board with them. We had scarce opened our letters
and put our press in order, before George House, an acquaintance of
mine, brought a countryman to us, whom he had met in the street,
inquiring for a printer. All our cash was now expended in the variety of
particulars we had been obliged to procure, and this countryman's five
shillings, being our first-fruits, and coming so seasonably, gave me
more pleasure than any crown I have since earned; and the gratitude
I felt towards House has made me often more ready, than perhaps I
otherwise should have been, to assist young beginners.
There are croakers in every country, always boding its ruin. Such a one
there lived in Philadelphia; a person of note, an elderly man, with
a wise look and a very grave manner of speaking; his name was Samuel
Mickle. This gentleman, a stranger to me, stopped me one day at my
door, and asked me if I was the young man, who had lately opened a new
printing-house? Being answered in the affirmative, he said he was sorry
for me, because it was an expensive undertaking, and the expense would
be lost; for Philadelphia was a sinking place, the people already half
bankrupts, or near being so; all the appearances of the contrary, such
as new buildings and the rise of rents, being to his certain knowledge
fallacious; for they were in fact among the things that would ruin us.
Then he gave me such a detail of misfortunes now existing, or that were
soon to exist, that he left me half melancholy. Had I known him before
I engaged in this business, probably I never should have done it. This
person continued to live in this decaying place, and to declaim in the
same strain, refusing for many years to buy a house there, because all
was going to destruction; and at last I had the pleasure of seeing him
give him five times as much for one, as he might have bought it for when
he first began croaking.
* * * * *
From a Letter to Peter Collinson.
=_14._= FRANKLIN'S ELECTRICAL KITE.
As frequent mention is made in public papers from Europe of the success
of the Philadelphia experiment for drawing the electric fire from
clouds, by means of pointed rods of iron erected on high, buildings,
&c., it may be agreeable to the curious to be informed that the same
experiment has succeeded in Philadelphia, though made in a different and
more easy manner, which is as follows:
Make a small cross of two light strips of cedar, the arms so long as
to reach to the four corners of a large thin silk handkerchief, when
extended; tie the corners of the handkerchief to the extremities of
the cross, so you have the body of a kite; which, being properly
accommodated with a tail, loop, and string, will rise in the air, like
those made of paper; but this, being of silk, is fitter to bear the wet
and wind of a thundergust without tearing. To the top of the upright
stick of the cross is to be fixed a very sharp-pointed wire, rising a
foot or more above the wood. To the end of the twine, next the hand, is
to be tied a silk ribbon, and where the silk and twine join, a key may
be fastened. This kite is to be raised when a thundergust appears to be
coming on, and the person who holds the string must stand within a door
or window, or under some cover, so that the silk ribbon may not be wet;
and care must be taken that the twine does not touch the frame of the
door or window. As soon as any of the thunder-clouds come over the kite,
the pointed wire will draw the electric fire from them, and the kite,
with all the twine, will be electrified, and the loose filaments of
the twine will stand out every way, and be attracted by an approaching
finger. And when the rain has wetted the kite and twine, so that it
can conduct the electric fire freely, you will find it stream out
plentifully from the key on the approach of your knuckle. At this key
the phial may be charged; and all the other electric experiments be
performed, which are usually done by the help of a rubbed glass globe
or tube, and thereby the sameness of the electric matter with that of
lightning be completely demonstrated.
* * * * *
=_15._= MOTION FOR PRAYERS IN THE CONVENTION.
Mr. President:
The small progress we have made, after four or five weeks close
attendance and continual reasonings with each other, our different
sentiments on almost every question, several of the last producing
as many _Noes_ as _Ayes_, is, methinks, a melancholy proof of the
imperfection of the human understanding. We indeed seem to _feel_ our
own want of political wisdom, since we have been running all about
in search of it. We have gone back to ancient history for models of
government, and examined the different forms of those republics, which,
having been originally formed with the seeds of their own dissolution,
now no longer exist; and we have viewed modern States all round Europe,
but find none of their constitutions suitable to our circumstances.
In this situation of this assembly, groping, as it were, in the dark to
find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented
to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once
thought of humbly applying to the Father of Lights to illuminate our
understandings? In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we
were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for the
divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard; and they were
graciously answered. All of us, who were engaged in the struggle, must
have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in
our favor. To that kind Providence we owe this happy opportunity of
consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national
felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? or do we
imagine we no longer need His assistance? I have lived, Sir, a long
time; and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this
truth, _that God governs in the affairs of men_. And if a sparrow cannot
fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can
rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings,
that "except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build
it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe, that without his
concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better
than the builders of Babel; we shall be divided by our little, partial,
local interests, our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall
become a reproach and a by-word down to future ages. And, what is worse,
mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance, despair of
establishing government by human wisdom, and leave it to chance, war,
and conquest.
I therefore beg leave to move,
That henceforth, prayers, imploring the assistance of Heaven and its
blessing on our deliberations, be held in this assembly every morning
before we proceed to business; and that one or more of the clergy of
this city be requested to officiate in that service.
* * * * *
From his "Essays."
=_16._= THE EPHEMERON. AN EMBLEM.
"It was," said he, "the opinion of learned philosophers of our race,
who lived and flourished long before my time, that this vast world, the
Moulin Joly, could not itself subsist more than eighteen hours; and I
think there was some foundation for that opinion, since, by the apparent
motion of the great luminary that gives life to all nature, and which in
my time has evidently declined considerably towards the ocean at the end
of our earth, it must then finish its course, be extinguished in the
waters that surround us, and leave the world in cold and darkness,
necessarily producing universal death and destruction. I have lived
seven of those hours--a great age, being no less than four hundred and
twenty minutes of time. How very few of us continue so long! I have seen
generations born, flourish, and expire ... And I must soon follow them;
for, by the course of nature, though still in health, I cannot expect to
live above seven or eight minutes longer. What now avail all my toil
and labor in amassing honey-dew on this leaf, which I cannot live to
enjoy!--what the political struggles I have been engaged in for the good
of my compatriot inhabitants of this bush, or my philosophical studies
for the benefit of our race in general! for in politics what can laws
do without morals? Our present race of ephemera will, in a course of
minutes, become corrupt, like those of other and older bushes, and
consequently as wretched. And in philosophy how small our progress!
Alas! art is long, and life is short. My friends would comfort me with
the idea of a name they say I shall leave behind me.... But what will
fame be to an ephemeron who no longer exists? and what will become of
all history, in the eighteenth hour, when the world itself, even the
whole Moulin Joly, shall come to its end, and be buried in universal
ruin?"
* * * * *
LATER RELIGIOUS WRITERS AND DIVINES.
=_John Woolman,[5] 1720-1772._=
From his "Life and Travels."
=_17._= REMARKS ON SLAVERY AND LABOR.
A people used to labor moderately for their living, training up their
children in frugality and business, have a happier life than those who
live on the labor of slaves. Freemen find satisfaction in improving and
providing for their families; but negroes, laboring to support others
who claim them as their property, and expecting nothing but slavery
during life, have not the like inducement to be industrious.... Men
having power, too often misapply it: though we make slaves of the
negroes, and the Turks make slaves of the Christians, liberty is the
natural right of all men equally.... The slaves look to me like a
burdensome stone to such who burden themselves with them. The burden
will grow heavier and heavier, till times change in a way disagreeable
to us.... I was troubled to perceive the darkness of their imaginations,
and, in some pressure of spirits, said the love of ease and gain are the
motives, in general, of keeping slaves; and men are wont to take hold of
weak arguments to support a cause which is unreasonable....
I was silent during the meeting for worship, and, when business came on,
my mind was exercised concerning the poor slaves, but did not feel my
way clear to speak. In this condition I was bowed in spirit before the
Lord, and, with tears and inward supplication, besought him so to open
my understanding that I might know his will concerning me; and at length
my mind was settled in silence.
At times when I have felt true love open my heart towards my
fellow-creatures, and have been engaged in weighty conversation in the
cause of righteousness, the instructions I have received under these
exercises in regard to the true use of the outward gifts of God, have
made deep and lasting impressions on my mind. I have beheld how the
desire to provide wealth and to uphold a delicate life has grievously
entangled many, and has been like a snare to their offspring, and though
some have been affected with a sense of their difficulties, and have
appeared desirous at times to be helped out of them, yet for want of
abiding under the humbling power of truth, they have continued in these
entanglements; expensive living in parents and children hath called for
a large supply, and in answering this call, the faces of the poor have
been ground away, and made thin through hard dealing....
... In the uneasiness of body which I have many times felt by too much
labor, not as a forced but a voluntary oppression, I have often been
excited to think on the original cause of that oppression which is
imposed on many in the world. The latter part of the time wherein I
labored on our plantation, my heart, through the fresh visitations of
heavenly love, being often tender, and my leisure time being frequently
spent in reading the life and doctrines of our blessed Redeemer, the
account of the sufferings of martyrs, and the history of the first rise
of our Society, a belief was gradually settled in my mind, that if such
as had great estates, generally lived in that humility and plainness
which belong to a Christian life, and laid much easier rents and
interests on their lands and moneys, and thus led the way to a right use
of things, so great a number of people might be employed in things
useful, that labor both for men and other creatures would need to be no
more than an agreeable employ, and divers branches of business, which
serve chiefly to please the natural inclinations of our minds, and which
at present seem necessary to circulate that wealth which some gather,
might, in this way of pure wisdom, be discontinued.
[Footnote 5: A Quaker preacher, a native of New Jersey, whose Travels
and Autobiography have been much admired abroad, notably by Charles
Lamb.]
* * * * *
=_John M. Mason,[6] 1770-1829._=
From the Address in behalf of the Bible Society.
=_18._= GRANDEUR OF THE ENTERPRISE.
If there be a single measure which can overrule objection, subdue
opposition, and command exertion, this is the measure. That all our
voices, all our affections, all our hands, should be joined in the grand
design of promoting "peace on earth and good will toward man"--that
they should resist the advance of misery--should carry the light of
instruction into the dominions of ignorance, and the balm of joy to the
soul of anguish; and all this by diffusing the oracles of God--addresses
to the understanding an argument which cannot be encountered; and to the
heart an appeal which its holiest emotions rise up to second....
_People of the United States_; Have you ever been invited to an
enterprise of such grandeur and glory? Do you not value the Holy
Scriptures? Value them as containing your sweetest hope; your most
thrilling joy? Can you submit to the thought that _you_ should be torpid
in your endeavors to disperse them, while the rest of Christendom is
awake and alert? Shall _you_ hang back in heartless indifference, when
princes come down from their thrones, to bless the cottage of the poor
with the gospel of peace; and imperial sovereigns are gathering their
fairest honors from spreading abroad the oracles of the Lord your God.
Is it possible that _you_ should not see, in this state of human things,
a mighty motion of Divine providence? The most heavenly charity treads
close upon the march of conflict and blood! The world is at peace!
Scarce has the soldier time to unbind his helmet, and to wipe away the
sweat from his brow, ere the voice of mercy succeeds to the clarion of
battle, and calls the nations from enmity to love! Crowned heads bow to
the head which is to wear "many crowns," and, for the first time since
the promulgation of Christianity, appear to act in unison for the
recognition of its gracious principles, as being fraught alike with
happiness to man, and honor to God.
What has created so strange, so beneficent an alteration. This is no
doubt the doing of the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes. But what
instrument has he thought fit chiefly to use. That which contributes in
all latitudes and climes to make Christians feel their unity, to rebuke
the spirit of strife, and to open upon them the day of brotherly
concord--the Bible!--the Bible!--through Bible Societies!
[Footnote 6: A Presbyterian clergyman of great distinction, long settled
in New York; rarely surpassed in controversial acuteness, and in
religious eloquence.]
* * * * *
=_19._= THE RIGHT OF THE STATE TO EDUCATE.
No sagacity can foretell what characters shall be developed, or what
parts performed, by these boys and girls who throng our streets, and
sport in our fields. In their tender breasts are concealed the germs, in
their little hands are lodged the weapons, of a nation's overthrow
or glory. Would it not, then, be madness, would it not be a sort of
political suicide, for the commonwealth to be unconcerned what direction
their infant powers shall take, or into what habits their budding
affections shall ripen? or will it be disputed that the civil authority
has a _right_ to take care, by a paternal interference on behalf of
the children, that the next generation shall not prostrate in an hour,
whatever has been consecrated to truth, to virtue, and to happiness by
the generations that are past?
* * * * *
=_Timothy Dwight, 1752-1817._= (Manual, pp. 479, 504.)
From "Travels in New England," &c.
=_20._= THE WILDERNESS RECLAIMED.
In these countries _lands are universally held in fee simple_. Every
farmer, with too few exceptions to deserve notice, labors on his own
ground, and for the benefit of himself and his family merely. This,
also, if I am not deceived, is a novelty; and its influence is seen to
be remarkably happy in the industry, sobriety, cheerfulness, personal
independence, and universal prosperity of the people at large.... A
succession of New England villages, composed of neat houses, surrounding
neat schoolhouses and churches, adorned with gardens, meadows, and
orchards, and exhibiting the universal easy circumstances of the
inhabitants, is, at least in my own opinion, one of the most delightful
prospects which this world can afford.
_The conversion of a wilderness into a desirable residence for man_,
is an object which no intelligent spectator can behold, without being
strongly interested in such a combination of enterprise, patience, and
perseverance. Few of those human efforts which have excited the applause
of mankind, have demanded equal energy, or merited equal approbation. A
forest changed within a short period into fruitful fields covered with
houses, schools, and churches, and filled with inhabitants possessing
not only the necessaries and comforts, but also the conveniences of
life, and devoted to the worship of Jehovah, when seen only in prophetic
vision, enraptured the mind even of Isaiah; and when realized, can
hardly fail to delight that of a spectator. At least, it may compensate
the want of ancient castles, ruined abbeys, and fine pictures.
* * * * *
From the Theology.
=_21._= THE GLORY OF NATURE, FROM GOD.
There is another and very important view in which this subject demands
our consideration. _Theology spreads its influence over the creation
and providence of God, and gives to both almost all their beauty and
sublimity._ Creation and providence, seen by the eye of theology,
and elucidated by the glorious commentary on both furnished in the
Scriptures, become new objects to the mind; immeasurably more noble,
rich, and delightful, than they can appear to a worldly, sensual mind.
The heavens and the earth, and the great as well as numberless events
which result from the divine administration, are in themselves vast,
wonderful, frequently awful, in many instances solemn, in many
exquisitely beautiful, and in a great number eminently sublime. All
these attributes, however, they possess, if considered only in the
abstract, in degrees very humble and diminutive, compared with the
appearance which they make, when beheld as the works of Jehovah.
Mountains, the ocean, and the heavens, are majestic and sublime. Hills
and valleys, soft landscapes, trees, fruits, and flowers, and many
objects in the animal and mineral kingdoms, are beautiful. But what is
this beauty, what is this grandeur, compared with that agency of God, to
which they owe their being? Think what it is for the Almighty hand to
spread the plains, to heave the mountains, and to pour the ocean. Look
at the verdure, flowers, and fruits which in the mild season adorn the
surface of the earth; the uncreated hand fashions their fine forms,
paints their exquisite colors, and exhales their delightful perfumes. In
the spring, his life re-animates the world; in the summer and autumn,
his bounty is poured out upon the hills and valleys; in the winter, "his
way is in the whirlwind, and in the storm; and the clouds are the dust
of his feet." His hand "hung the earth upon nothing," lighted up the
sun in the heavens, and rolls the planets, and the comets through the
immeasurable fields of ether. His breath kindled the stars; his voice
called into existence worlds innumerable, and filled the expanse with
animated being. To all he is present, over all he rules, for all he
provides. The mind, attempered to divine contemplation, finds him in
every solitude, meets him in every walk, and in all places, and at all
times, sees itself surrounded by God.
* * * * *
=_John Henry Hobart,[7] 1775-1830._=
From a "Sermon."
=_22._= THE DIVINE GLORY IN REDEMPTION.
At the display of the divine power and glory that created the world,
"the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for
joy." Surely not less universal, not less ardent the exultation in those
pure and perfect spirits that continually surround the Divine Majesty
at the view of the infinite wisdom, love, and power which planned the
redemption of a fallen world--which thus devised the mode by which
pardon could be extended to the sinner without sanctioning his sin, and
favor to the offending rebel against the divine government, without
weakening its authority, impeaching its holiness, or subverting its
justice. In the nature of the divine Persons thus counselling for man's
redemption, it is not for him, blind, and erring, and impotent, it is
not for angels, it is not for cherubim or seraphim, for a moment to
look. The inner glory of the divine nature burns with a blaze, if I may
so with reverence speak, too intense, too radiant, for finite vision.
But in its manifestations, in its outer, its more distant rays, shining
on the plan of man's redemption, all is mildness, and softness, and
peace. Holiness, and justice, and mercy are seen blending their sacred
influences, and conveying light and joy in that truth which the counsels
of the Godhead alone could render possible. God can be just, and yet
justify the sinner.
... Let us not, then, neglect this wonderful counsel of God for our
salvation; let us not be unaffected by this most stupendous display of
divine power, love, and mercy; let us not reject the offers of peace and
salvation from the God whom we have offended, and the Sovereign who is
finally to judge us. But, on the contrary, let us gratefully adore the
mercy and the grace of the Godhead in the plan of redemption, effected
in the incarnation, the obedience, the sufferings, the death, and the
triumphant resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Let it be
our great object to be conformed to the likeness of his death, in
mortifying all our corrupt affections, and to experience the power of
his resurrection in living a new and holy life, that we may enjoy the
new and lively hopes of everlasting glory, which his resurrection
assures to all true believers.
[Footnote 7: An eminent divine and bishop of the Episcopal church; a
native of Pennsylvania.]
* * * * *
=_Lyman Beecher,[8] 1775-1803._=
From the "Lectures on Political Atheism."
=_23._= THE BEING OF A GOD.
It is a thing eminently to be desired that there should be a supreme
benevolent Intelligence, who is the creator and moral governor of the
universe, whose subjects and kingdom shall endure for ever. Such a one
the nature of man demands, and his whole soul pants after.
We feel our littleness in presence of the majestic elements of nature,
our weakness compared with their power, and our loneliness in the vast
universe, unenlightened, unguided, and unblessed, by any intelligence
superior to our own. We behold the flight of time, the passing fashion
of the world, and the gulf of annihilation curtained with the darkness
of an eternal night.
At the side of this vortex, which covers with deep oblivion the past,
and impenetrable darkness the future, nature shudders and draws back,
and the soul, with sinking heart, looks mournfully around upon this fair
creation, and up to these beautiful heavens, and in plaintive accents
demands, "Is there, then, no deliverance from this falling back into
nothing? Must this conscious being cease--this reasoning, thinking power,
and these warm affections, their delightful movements? Must this eye
close in an endless night, and this heart fall back upon everlasting
insensibility? O, thou cloudless sun, and ye far-distant stars, in all
your journeyings in light, have ye discovered no blessed intelligence
who called you into being, lit up your fires, marked your orbits, wheels
you in your courses, around whom ye roll, and whose praises ye silently
celebrate? Are ye empty worlds, and desolate, the sport of chance? or,
like our sad earth, are ye peopled with inhabitants, waked up to a brief
existence, and hurried reluctantly, from an almost untested being, back
to nothing? O that there were a God, who made you greater than ye all,
whose being in yours we might see, whose intelligence we might admire,
whose will we might obey, and whose goodness we might adore!" Such,
except where guilt seeks annihilation as the choice of evils, is the
unperverted, universal longing after God and immortality.
[Footnote 8: A Congregational clergyman, prominent, in the early part
of this century, for his zeal and piety, and for the eloquence and
originality of his sermons: father of a numerous family distinguished in
theology and literature.]
* * * * *
=_William Ellery Channing, 1780-1842._= (Manual, p. 480.)
From the Essay on Napoleon Bonaparte.
=_24._= CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON.
With powers which might have made him a glorious representative and
minister of the beneficent Divinity, and with natural sensibilities
which might have been exalted into sublime virtues, he chose to separate
himself from his kind, to forego their love, esteem, and gratitude,
that he might become their gaze, their fear, their wonder; and for this
selfish, solitary good, parted with peace and imperishable renown.
His insolent exaltation of himself above the race to which he belonged,
broke out in the beginning of his career. His first success in Italy
gave him the tone of a master, and he never laid it aside to his last
hour. One can hardly help being struck with the _natural air_ with which
he arrogates supremacy in his conversation and proclamations. We never
feel as if he were putting on a lordly air. In his proudest claims, he
speaks from his own mind, and in native language. His style is swollen,
but never strained, as if he were conscious of playing a part above his
real claims. Even when he was foolish and impious enough to arrogate
miraculous powers and a mission from God, his language showed that he
thought there was something in his character and exploits to give a
color to his--blasphemous pretensions. The empire of the world seemed
to him to be in a measure his due, for nothing short of it corresponded
with his conceptions of himself; and he did not use mere verbiage,
but spoke a language to which he gave some credit, when he called his
successive conquests "the fulfilment of his destiny." This spirit
of self-exaggeration wrought its own misery, and drew down upon him
terrible punishments; and this it did by vitiating and perverting his
high powers. First, it diseased his fine intellect, gave imagination the
ascendency over judgment, turned the inventiveness and fruitfulness of
his mind into rash, impatient, restless energies, and thus precipitated
him into projects, which, as the wisdom of his counsellors pronounced,
were fraught with ruin. To a man, whose vanity took him out of the rank
of human beings, no foundation for reasoning was left. All things seemed
possible. His genius and his fortune were not to be bounded by the
barriers which experience had assigned to human powers. Ordinary rules
did not apply to him. He even found excitement and motives in obstacles
before which other men would have wavered; for these would enhance the
glory of triumph, and give a new thrill to the admiration of the world.
To us there is something radically and increasingly shocking in the
thought of one man's will becoming a law to his race; in the thought of
multitudes, of vast communities, surrendering conscience, intellect,
their affections, their rights, their interests, to the stern mandate of
a fellow-creature. When we see one word of a frail man on the throne
of France, tearing a hundred thousand sons from their homes, breaking
asunder the sacred ties of domestic life, sentencing myriads of the
young to make murder their calling, and rapacity their means of support,
and extorting from nations their treasures to extend this ruinous sway,
we are ready to ask ourselves, Is not this a dream? and, when the sad
reality comes home to us, we blush for a race which can stoop to such an
abject lot. At length, indeed, we see the tyrant humbled, stripped of
power, but stripped by those who, in the main, are not unwilling to play
the despot on a narrower scale, and to break down the spirit of nations
under the same iron sway.
* * * * *
=_Manning._=
From a Discourse upon Immortality.
=_25._= GRANDEUR OF THE PROSPECT.
To me there is but one objection against immortality, if objection it
may be called, and this arises from the very greatness of the truth.
My mind sometimes sinks under its weight, is lost in its immensity; I
scarcely dare believe that such a good is placed within my reach. When I
think of myself, as existing through all future ages, as surviving this
earth and that sky, as exempted from every imperfection and error of my
present being, as clothed with an angel's glory, as comprehending with
my intellect and embracing in my affections, an extent of creation
compared with which the earth is a point; when I think of myself as
looking on the outward universe with an organ of vision that will reveal
to me a beauty and harmony and order not now imagined, and as having
an access to the minds of the wise and good, which will make them in
a sense my own; when I think of myself as forming friendships with
innumerable beings of rich and various intellect and of the noblest
virtue, as introduced to the society of heaven, as meeting there the
great and excellent, of whom I have read in history, as joined with "the
just made perfect" in an ever-enlarging ministry of benevolence, as
conversing with Jesus Christ with the familiarity of friendship, and
especially as having an immediate intercourse with God, such as the
closest intimacies of earth dimly shadow forth;--when this thought of my
future being comes to me, whilst I hope, I also fear; the blessedness
seems too great; the consciousness of present weakness and unworthiness
is almost too strong for hope. But when, in this frame of mind, I
look round on the creation, and see there the marks of an omnipotent
goodness, to which nothing is impossible, and from which every thing may
be Loped; when I see around me the proofs of an Infinite Father, who
must desire the perpetual progress of his intellectual offspring; when
I look next at the human mind, and see what powers a few years have
unfolded, and discern in it the capacity of everlasting improvement: and
especially when I look at Jesus, the conqueror of death, the heir of
immortality, who has gone as the forerunner of mankind into the mansions
of light and purity, I can and do admit the almost overpowering thought
of the everlasting life, growth, felicity, of the human soul.
* * * * *
From Remarks on the case of the Ship Creole.
=_26._= THE DUTY OF THE FREE STATES.
I have now finished my task. I have considered the Duties of the Free
States in relation to Slavery, and to other subjects of great and
immediate concern. In this discussion I have constantly spoken of Duties
as more important than Interests; but these in the end will be found to
agree. The energy by which men prosper is fortified by nothing so much
as by the lofty spirit which scorns to prosper through abandonment of
duty.
I have been called by the subjects here discussed to speak much of the
evils of the times, and the dangers of the country; and in treating of
these a writer is almost necessarily betrayed into what may seem a tone
of despondence. His anxiety to save his country from crime or calamity,
leads him to use unconsciously a language of alarm which may excite the
apprehension of inevitable misery. But I would not infuse such fears. I
do not sympathize with the desponding tone of the day. It may be that
there are fearful woes in store for this people; but there are many
promises of good to give spring to hope and effort; and it is not wise
to open our eyes and ears to ill omens alone. It is to be lamented that
men who boast of courage in other trials, should shrink so weakly from
public difficulties and dangers, and should spend in unmanly reproaches,
or complaints, the strength which they ought to give to their country's
safety. But this ought not to surprise us in the present case: for
our lot, until of late, has been singularly prosperous, and great
prosperity enfeebles men's spirits, and prepares them to despond when it
shall have passed away. The country, we are told, is "ruined." What! the
country ruined, when the mass of the population have hardly retrenched
a luxury! We are indeed paying, and we ought to pay, the penalty of
reckless extravagance, of wild and criminal speculation, of general
abandonment to the passion for sudden and enormous gains. But how are
we ruined? Is the kind, nourishing earth about to become a cruel
step-mother? Or is the teeming soil of this magnificent country sinking
beneath our feet? Is the ocean dried up? Are our cities and villages,
our schools and churches, in ruins? Are the stout muscles which have
conquered sea and land, palsied? Are the earnings of past years
dissipated, and the skill which gathered them forgotten? I open my eyes
on this ruined country, and I see around me fields fresh with verdure,
and behold on all sides the intelligent countenance, the sinewy limb,
the kindly look, the free and manly bearing, which indicate any thing
but a fallen people. Undoubtedly we have much cause to humble ourselves
for the vices which our recent prosperity warmed into being, or rather
brought out from the depths of men's souls. But in the reprobation which
these vices awaken, have we no proof that the fountain of moral life in
the nation's heart is not exhausted. In the progress of temperance, of
education, and of religious sensibility, in our land, have we no
proof that there is among us an impulse towards improvement, which no
temporary crime or calamity can overpower.
After all, there is a growing intelligence in this community; there is
much domestic virtue, there is a deep working of Christianity; there is
going on a struggle of higher truths with narrow traditions, and of a
wider benevolence with social evils; there is a spirit of freedom, a
recognition of the equal rights of men; there are profound impulses
received from our history, from the virtues of our fathers, and
especially from our revolutionary conflict; and there is an indomitable
energy, which, after rearing an empire in the wilderness, is fresh for
new achievements.
There is one Duty of the Free States of which I have not spoken; it is
the duty of Faith in the intellectual and moral energies of the country,
in its high destiny, and in the good Providence which has guided it
through so many trials and perils to its present greatness. We indeed
suffer much, and deserve to suffer more. Many dark pages are to be
written in our history. But generous seed is still sown in this nation's
mind. Noble impulses are working here. We are called to be witnesses to
the world, of a freer, more equal, more humane, more enlightened social
existence, than has yet been known. May God raise us to a more thorough
comprehension of our work! May he give us faith in the good which we are
summoned to achieve! May he strengthen us to build up a prosperity not
tainted by slavery, selfishness, or any wrong; but pure, innocent,
righteous, and overflowing, through a just and generous intercourse, on
all the nations of the earth!
* * * * *
=_Edward Payson, 1733-1827,_= (Manual, p. 480.)
From the "Selections."
=_27._= NATURAL RELIGION.
I know that those who hate and despise the religion of Jesus because it
condemns their evil deeds, have endeavored to deprive him of the honor
of communicating to mankind the glad tidings of life and immortality. I
know that they have dragged the mouldering carcass of paganism from the
grave, animated her lifeless form with a spark stolen from the sacred
altar, arrayed her in the spoils of Christianity, re-lighted her
extinguished taper at the torch of revelation, dignified her with the
name of natural religion, and exalted her in the temple of reason, as a
goddess, able, without divine assistance, to guide mankind to truth and
happiness. But we also know, that all her boasted pretensions are vain,
the offspring of ignorance, wickedness, and pride. We know that she is
indebted to that revelation which she presumes to ridicule, and contemn,
for every semblance of truth or energy which she displays. We know that
the most she can do, is to find men blind and leave them so; and to
lead them still farther astray, in a labyrinth of vice, delusion, and
wretchedness. This is incontrovertibly evident, both from past and
present experience; and we may defy her most eloquent advocates to
produce a single instance in which she has enlightened or reformed
mankind. If, as is often asserted, she is able to guide us in the path
of truth and happiness, why has she ever suffered her votaries to
remain a prey to vice and ignorance. Why did she not teach the learned
Egyptians to abstain from worshiping their leeks and onions? Why not
instruct the polished Greeks to renounce their sixty thousand gods?
Why not persuade the enlightened Romans to abstain from adoring their
deified murderers? Why not prevail on the wealthy Phoenicians to refrain
from sacrificing their infants to Saturn? Or, if it was a task beyond
her power to enlighten the ignorant multitude, reform their barbarous
and abominable superstitions, and teach them that they were immortal
beings, why did she not, at least, instruct their philosophers in the
great doctrine of the immortality of the soul, which they so earnestly
labored in vain to discover? They enjoyed the light of reason and
natural religion, in its fullest extent, yet so far were they from
ascertaining the nature of our future and eternal existence, that
they--could not determine whether we should exist at all Bevon the
grave; nor could all their advantages preserve them from the grossest
errors, and the most unnatural crimes.
* * * * *
=_Joseph S. Buckminster, 1784-1812._= (Manual, p. 480.)
From the "Sermons."
=_28._= NECESSITY OF REGENERATION.
Look back, my hearers, upon your lives, and observe the numerous
opinions that you have adopted and discarded, the numerous attachments
you have formed and forgotten, and recollect how imperceptible were
the revolutions of your sentiments, how quiet the changes of your
affections. Perhaps, even now, your minds may be passing through some
interesting processes, your pursuits may be taking some new direction,
and your character may soon exhibit to the world some unexpected
transformation. Compare with this the spiritual regeneration of the
heart. So is every one that is born of the Spirit. Perhaps the following
may not be an imperfect description of the process that takes place in
a mind which is the subject of a radical conversion. The motion of the
wind is unseen, its effects are visible; the trees bend and fields are
laid waste; though the altering sentiments and affections are unnoticed,
the altered character obtrudes itself upon our observation. Truths
before contemplated without concern, now seize the mind with a grasp
too firm to be shaken. The world which is to succeed the present is no
longer a subject of accidental thought, of wavering belief, or lifeless
speculation; a region to which no tie binds us, and which no curiosity
leads us to explore. To the regenerated mind, the character and
condition of man appears in a new, and interesting light. To a being
whose existence has but just commenced, death is only a boundary, a
line, that marks off the first, the smallest portion of existence.
Earth with her retinue of allurements, her band of fascinating
syrens, exclaims, "We have lost our hold on this man! He is no longer
ours!" Religion welcomes her new adherent; she beckons him to turn his
steps into a new,--a pleasanter path; and God himself looks down from
heaven with complacency and love, illuminating his track by the light
of his countenance, marking the first step he takes in religion, and
supporting him by the staff of his grace,--the aid of his Holy Spirit.
The first objects that engage the dawning mind of the child are objects
of sense. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. It is a selfish,
sensual creature, ignorant of its Creator, of its destination;
uninclined to the purity, the spirituality, the power of religion;
alienated from the life of God, the life of the soul. Unrenewed by the
influence of religious truth, undirected by the guiding hand of an
Almighty Father, how shall such a creature reach the regions of immortal
bliss? Is it enthusiasm, is it folly, is it hypocrisy, to say to such, a
creature, "You must be born again before you can see the kingdom of
God?" Is that Redeemer to be disclaimed who offers you his divine aid to
form anew your character, to exalt your affections, to enlighten your
dreary and desolate understanding?
* * * * *
=_Nathaniel W. Taylor[9] 1781-1871._=
From the "Lectures on the Moral Government of God."
=_29._= PROOF OF IMMORTALITY FROM THE MORAL NATURE OF MAN.
The argument from _the moral nature_ of man is made still more
impressive by the superiority of its design and object. If there is no
existence for man beyond the present state, what can we suppose to be
the design of his Creator in forming him a moral being? What powers,
what capacities are involved in his nature! What capacity to enjoy, and
what power to impart happiness to others! Who can reflect on the nature
of such a creature, his intelligence, his susceptibility, his will, his
conscience, the dignity, the excellence of which he is capable, the
moral victories and triumphs he may win, his fitness to hold on his way
with archangels, strong in advancing all that good which infinite wisdom
could devise, and infinite benevolence could love, the graces with which
he may be adorned, and the beatitudes with which he may be blessed,
and not believe that he is made to be one with the God who has created
him--a partaker of his blessedness, a companion of his eternity.
If we consider what an almost total failure there is, even on the
part of every good man, to attain in any respect the great end of his
creation; how weak in resolution and feeble in heart--how little success
in subduing his passions and governing his temper--how much of life is
spent before he even begins to live in obedience to the demands of
duty and of conscience--how remote he is from the uniform and settled
tranquility of perfect virtue--what dissatisfaction he feels with, the
present, unappeased by all the world can offer--what an Impatience and
disgust with the littleness of all he finds--what an ever-restless
aspiration after nobler and higher things--what anticipations and hopes
from futurity never realized, here on earth--how does our spirit labor
under a sense of the incongruity between his attainments and his powers!
and, unless there is a future state, what an insignificance is imparted
to all that can be called virtue here on earth, and also to man himself!
[Footnote 9: An eminent Congregational divine, long professor of
theology in Tale College, and distinguished by the vigor and originality
of his thinking.]
* * * * *
=_Edward Hitchcock, 1793-1804._= (Manual, p. 532.)
From "The Religion of Geology."
=_30._= GEOLOGICAL PROOF OF DIVINE BENEVOLENCE.
My second argument in proof of the divine benevolence is derived from
the disturbed, broken, and overturned condition of the earth's crust.
To the casual observer the rocks have the appearance of being lifted up,
shattered, and overturned; but it is only the geologist who knows
the vast extent of this disturbance. He never finds crystalline,
non-fossiliferous rocks which have not been more or less removed from
their original position. The older fossiliferous strata exhibit almost
equal evidence of the operation of a powerful disturbing force, though
sometimes found in their original horizontal position. The newer rocks
have experienced less of this agency, though but few of them have not
been elevated or dislocated.
If these strata had remained horizontal, as they were originally
deposited, it is obvious that all the valuable ores, minerals, and
rocks, which man could not have discovered by direct excavation,
must have remained forever unknown to him. Now, man has very seldom
penetrated the rocks below the depth of half a mile, and rarely so deep
as that; whereas, by the elevations, dislocations, and overturnings
that have been described, he obtains access to all deposits of useful
substances that lie within fifteen or twenty miles of the surface; and
many are thus probably brought to light from a greater depth. He is
indebted, then, to this disturbing agency for nearly all the useful
metals, coal, rock salt, marble, gypsum, and other useful minerals;
and when we consider how necessary these substances are to civilized
society, who will doubt that it was a striking act of benevolence which
thus introduced disturbance, dislocation, and apparent ruin into the
earth's crust?
* * * * *
=_John P. Durbin,[10] 1800._=
From "Observations in the East."
=_31._= FIRST SIGHT OF MOUNT SINAI.
For two hours we ascended this wild, narrow pass, enclosed between
stupendous granite cliffs, whose debris encumbered the defile, often
rendering the passage difficult and dangerous. Escaping from the pass,
we crossed the head of a basin-like plain, which declined to the
south-west, and ascending gradually, gloomy, precipitous, mountain
masses rose to view on either hand, with detached snow-beds lying in
their clefts. The caravan moved slowly, and apparently with a more
solemn, measured tread. The Bedouins became serious and silent, and
looked steadily before them, as if to catch the first glimpse of some
revered object. The space before us gradually expanded, when suddenly
Tualeb, pointing to a black, perpendicular cliff, whose two riven and
rugged summits rose some twelve or fifteen hundred feet directly in
front of us, exclaimed, _"Gebel Mousa!"_ How shall I describe the effect
of that announcement? Not a word was spoken by Moslem or Christian, but
slowly and silently we advanced into the still expanding plain, our eyes
immovably fixed on the frowning precipices of the stern and desolate
mountain. We were doubtless on the plain where Israel encamped at the
giving of the law, and that grand and gloomy height before us was Sinai,
on which God descended in fire, and the whole mountain was enveloped In
smoke, and shook under the tread of the Almighty, while his presence was
proclaimed by the long, loud peals of repeated thunder, above which
the blast of the trumpet was heard waxing loader and louder, and
reverberating amid the stern and gloomy mountain heights around; and
then God spoke with Moses.
[Footnote 10: A native of Kentucky; is deemed one of the most eloquent
divines in the Methodist church.]
* * * * *
=_Leonard Bacon, 1802._= (Manual, p, 480.)
From a "Missionary Sermon."
=_32._= THE DAY APPROACHING.
The time is to come when the world will be filled with the knowledge,
the fear, and the praise of God Not always will war deluge the earth
with fire and blood. Not always will idolatry offend the heavens with
its abominations. Not always will despotism, political and spiritual,
national and domestic, degrade and corrupt the masses of mankind. Not
always will superstition, on the one hand, and infidelity, on the other,
reject and despise the blessed revelation of forgiveness for sinners
through Jesus, the Lamb of God. Not always will cold philosophy, and
erratic enthusiasm, and fanaticism fierce and malignant, conspire to
corrupt and pervert the gospel itself, turning even the streams from the
fountain of life into waters of bitterness and poison. No, no; the time
will come when the sun, in his daily journey round the renovated world,
shall waken with his morning beam in every human dwelling the voice of
joyful, thankful, spiritual worship. Then shall the boundless soul of
Immanuel, who once travailed in the agony of the world's redemption, "be
satisfied" with his victories over death and sin. The ransomed of the
Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs, and with garlands of
everlasting joy; and from the earth, no longer accursed for the sake of
man, sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
* * * * *
From the New Englander.
=_33._= THE BENEFITS OF CAPITAL.
What wealth can be created without capital? Robinson Crusoe, on his
lonely island, was a capitalist as well as a laborer and a land-holder.
Put him down there without any capital--simply a naked, featherless,
two-legged and two-handed, animal, without clothes, without a gun or a
fish-hook, without hoe, or hatchet, or knife, or rusty nail, without a
particle of food to keep him from fainting, and what will become of him?
He gathers perhaps some wild fruits from the bushes; he picks up perhaps
some shell-fish from the water's edge; he surprises a fawn or a kid, and
throttles it and tears it to pieces with his fingers; he kindles a fire
perhaps by rubbing two dry sticks together till they ignite with the
friction; and so he keeps himself alive for a few days; but how little
progress does he make! But let him by any means have a little to begin
with in the shape of implements and materials; give him an axe or a
spade, a jack-knife, or only a fragment of an iron hoop, give him a gill
of seed wheat, or a single potato, or no more than a grain of maize, for
planting; and how soon will his condition be changed! He has begun to
be, even in this small way, a capitalist; and his labor, drawing
something from the past, begins to reach into the future. Instead of
spending all his time and strength in a constant scratching for the food
of to-day, how soon will he have a blanket of skins, and a hut, and a
garden in which he is preparing to-day the food of future months. Give
him now a little more capital; let him have the means of stocking his
farm with some sort of domestic animals; give him only a steer and a
heifer, or even a pair of goats, and how soon will he begin to be rich.
* * * * *
=_James W. Alexander, 1804-1859._= (Manual, p. 480.)
From his "Discourses on Christian Faith and Practice."
=_34._= THE CHURCH A TEMPLE.
In surveying the past, we observe a beautiful fitness and an enchanting
variety in the materials which have been already built into that part
of the edifice which has thus far been reared. How unlike the corps
of prophets to the corps of apostles; and how unlike the several
individuals of each. We have Scripture authority for placing these
among the most honorable and sustaining parts of the fabric, near the
corner-stone: for we are "built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets." Isaiah with his evangelic clarion. Jeremiah with his pastoral
reed of sorrows, and David with his many-voiced harp, sometimes loud in
notes of triumph, and sometimes subdued to the voice of weeping, stand
out with a marked individuality which becomes the more surprising, the
more nearly we examine the distinctive features. They may be likened
to those immense but goodly stones, carried up in courses, along the
precipitous side of the valley, to form the basis for the temple of
Solomon. The twelve apostles, including the last, and humanly speaking,
the greatest, though brethren, how unlike. Who for an instant, could
mistake Paul for Peter, or either of them for John. They occupy salient
angles of the great foundation, and lie nearest to the corner-stone,
elect and precious. Some of their brethren, though not visible in the
front which meets the eye, may have done equal service in the bearing
up of the mass. Martyrs and confessors found their place, in succeeding
ages, as the wall advanced; some as glorious for ornament as strong for
use. When love needed a signal display, amidst the blood of martyrdom,
we see it immortalized in an Ignatius and a Polycarp. When stalking
heresy needed a front of steel to stand unmoved against all its columns,
we find an "Athanasius against the world." When the language of
Greece is to be elevated to new dignity by conveying the wonders of
Christianity, we hear the golden eloquence of a Basil and a Chrysostom.
When Roman philosophy had died out of the world, we behold it revived in
an Augustine, the father of the fathers. Later down in ages, we catch
glimpses even amidst Romish corruptions of a Bernard and a Kempis. The
note of alarm is given to a sleeping carnal church, first by Wicliff,
Huss, and Jerome, then by Zwingle, Luther, Calvin, and Knox.
* * * * *
=_Martin John Spaulding,[11] 1810-1872._=
From "Sketches of the Early Catholic Missions in Kentucky."
=_35._= LIFE IN THE NEW SETTLEMENTS.
The early Catholic emigrants to Kentucky, in common with their brethren
of other denominations, had to endure many privations and hardships.
As we may well conceive, there were few luxuries to be found in the
wilderness, in the midst of which they had fixed their new habitations.
They often suffered even for the most indispensable necessaries of life.
To obtain salt, they had to travel many miles to the licks, through a
country infested with savages; and they were often obliged to remain
there for several days, until they could procure a supply.
There were then no regular roads in Kentucky. The forests were filled
with a luxuriant undergrowth, thickly interspersed with the cane, and the
whole closely interlaced with the wild pea-vine. These circumstances
rendered them nearly impassable; and almost the only chance of effecting
a passage through this vegetable wilderness, was by following the paths
or traces made by the herds of buffalo and other wild beasts. Luckily
these traces were numerous, especially in the vicinity of the licks,
which the buffalo were in the habit of frequenting, to drink the salt
water, or lick the earth impregnated with salt.
The new colonists resided in log-cabins, rudely constructed, with no
glass in the windows, with floors of dirt, or, in the better sort of
dwellings, of puncheons of split timber, roughly hewed with the axe.
After they had worn out the clothing brought with them from the old
settlements, both men and women were under the necessity of wearing
buckskin or homespun apparel. Such a thing as a store was not known
in Kentucky for many years: and the names of broadcloth, ginghams
and calicoes, were never even so much as breathed. Moccasins made of
buckskin, supplied the place of our modern shoes, blankets thrown over
the shoulder, answered the purpose of our present fashionable coats and
cloaks; and handkerchiefs tied around the head served instead of hats
and bonnets. A modern fashionable bonnet would have been a matter of
real wonderment in those days of unaffected simplicity.
The furniture of the cabins was of the same primitive character. Stools
were used instead of chairs: the table was made of slabs of timber,
rudely put together. Wooden vessels and platters supplied the place
of our modern plates and china-ware; and a "tin cup was an article of
delicate furniture, almost as rare as an iron-fork[12]," The beds were
either placed on the floor, or on bedsteads of puncheons, supported by
forked pieces of timber, driven into the ground, or resting on pins
let into auger-holes in the sides of the cabin. Blankets, and bear and
buffalo-skins, constituted often the principal bed-covering.
One of the chief resources for food was the chase. All kinds of game
were then very abundant; and when the hunter chanced, to have a goodly
supply of ammunition, his fortune was made for the year. The game was
plainly dressed, and served up on wooden platters, with corn-bread, and
the Indian dish-the well known _hominy_. The corn was ground with great
difficulty, on the laborious hand-mills; for mills of other descriptions
were then, and for many years afterwards, unknown in Kentucky.
Such was the simple manner of life led by our "pilgrim fathers." They
had fewer luxuries, but perhaps were, withal, more happy than their more
fastidious descendants. Hospitality was not then an empty name; every
log-cabin was freely thrown open to all who chose to share in the best
cheer its inmates could afford. The early settlers of Kentucky were
bound together by the strong ties of common hardships and dangers--to
say nothing of other bonds of union--and they clung together with great
tenacity. On the slightest alarm of Indian invasion, they all made
common cause, and flew together to the rescue. There was less
selfishness, and more generous chivalry; less bickering, and more
cordial charity, then, than at present; notwithstanding all our boasted
refinement.
[Footnote 11: Born in Kentucky, and long eminent as a controversial
writer and a Prelate of the Roman Catholic church. His "sketches" give
much interesting information respecting the early history of that church
at the West.]
[Footnote 12: Marshall--History of Kentucky.]
* * * * *
=_James Henry Thornwell,[13] 1811-1862._=
From the "Discourses on Truth."
=_36._= EVIL TENDENCIES OF AN ACT OF SIN.
There is a double tendency in every voluntary determination, one to
propagate itself, the other to weaken or support, according to its own
moral quality, the general principle of virtue. Every sin, therefore,
imparts a proclivity to other acts of the same sort, and disturbs and
deranges, at the same time, the whole moral constitution, it tends to
the formation of special habits, and to the superinducing of a general
debility of principle, which lays a man open to defeat from every
species of temptation. The extent to which a single act shall produce
this double effect, depends upon its intensity, its intensity depends
upon the fullness and energy of will which will enter into it, and the
energy of will depends upon the strength of the motives resisted. An
act, therefore, which concludes an earnest and protracted conflict,
which has not been reached without a stormy debate in the soul, which
marks the victory of evil over the love of character, sensibility to
shame, the authority of conscience and the fear of God, an act of this
sort concentrates in itself the essence of all the single determinations
which preceded it, and possesses power to generate a habit and to
derange the constitution, equal to that which the whole series of
resistances to duty, considered as so many individual instances of
transgression, is fitted to impart. By one such act a man is impelled
with an amazing momentum in the path of evil. He lives years of sin in a
day or an hour. It is always a solemn crisis when the first step is to
be taken in a career of guilt, against which nature and education,
or any other strong influences protest. The results are unspeakably
perilous when a man has to fight his way into crime. The victory creates
an epoch in his life. He is from that hour, without a miracle of grace,
a lost man. The earth is strewed with wrecks of character which were
occasioned by one fatal determination at a critical point in life, when
the will stood face to face with duty, and had to make its decision
deliberately and intensely for evil.
[Footnote 13: A Presbyterian divine, and professor of Theology, in South
Carolina, his native state: a distinguished theological writer of the
South.]
* * * * *
=_Charles P. McIlvaine,[14] 1799-1873._=
From a Sermon on the Resurrection of Christ.
=_37._=. ATTESTATIONS OF THE RESURRECTION.
Here we remark, in general, that his resurrection was the great sign
and crowning miracle to which our Lord, all the way of his ministry, to
the day of his crucifixion, referred both friends and opposers, for the
final confirmation of all his claims and doctrines. He staked all on the
promise that he would rise from death. The Jews asked of him a sign,
that they might believe. He answered, "There shall no sign be given, but
the sign of the prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three days and nights
in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth." Thus on that single; event, the
resurrection of Christ, the whole of Christianity, as it all centres in,
and depends on him, was made to hinge. Redemption waited the evidence
of resurrection. Nothing was to be accounted as sealed and finally
certified, till Jesus should deliver himself from the power of death.
All of the gospel, all the hopes it brings to us, all the promises with
which it comforts us, were taken for their final verdict, as true or
false, sufficient or worthless, to the door of that jealously-guarded
and stone-sealed sepulchre, waiting the settlement of the question,
_will he rise?_
But an event so momentous was not left to but one class of evidences.
There was a way by which thousands at once were made to receive as
powerful assurance that Christ was risen, as if they had seen him in his
risen body. Jesus, before his death, had made a great promise to his
disciples, to be fulfilled by him only after his death and resurrection;
a promise impossible to be fulfilled if his resurrection failed; because
then, not only would he be under the power of death, but all his claim
to divine power would be brought to nought. It was the promise of the
Holy Ghost. "When the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from
the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth from the Father,
he shall testify of me, he shall glorify me."
It was after he had "shown himself alive after his passion, by many
infallible proofs, being seen of his disciples forty days, and speaking
to them of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God," that the day
for the accomplishment of that promise came. The day was that which
commemorated the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. It was now to
witness the going forth of the gospel from Jerusalem. I need not relate
to you the wonderful events of that day of Pentecost, the coming of the
Holy Ghost with the "sound as of a rushing mighty wind" that "filled all
the house;" the cloven tongues "like as of fire," which sat on each of
the disciples; the evidence that it was the Spirit of God which had then
come, given in the sudden and astonishing change which immediately came
over the apostles, transforming them from weak and timid men to the
boldest and strongest; in the change which suddenly came upon the power
of their ministry, converting it from the weak agent it had previously
been in contact with all the unbelief and wickedness of men into an
instrument so mighty that out of a congregation of Jews of all nations,
many of whom had probably partaken in the crucifixion of Christ, three
thousand that day were bowed down to repentance and subdued to his
obedience.
Thus was the day of Pentecost, a great day of testimony to the life and
divine power, and consequently the resurrection of Christ. Each of those
who heard the divers tongues of the ministry of that day, each of the
three thousand, was a witness of the same.
[Footnote 14: A native of New Jersey; in early life Chaplain and
Professor of Moral Philosophy in the Military Academy at West Point
and long time Bishop of Ohio in the Protestant Episcopal Church. His
Treatise on the Evidences of Christianity has great merit, and his
theological and controversial writings are in high esteem: greatly
venerated for his truly evangelical character.]
* * * * *
=_George W. Bethune, 1805-1862._= (Manual, p. 487.)
From the "Expository Lectures on the Heidelberg Catechism."
=_38._= ASPIRATIONS TOWARDS HEAVEN.
Our Christian life is a course through, this world, which we are to run
looking unto Jesus, at the right hand of the throne of God. The mark of
the prize of the high calling is in heaven. Nay, it is the hope of
heaven which keeps our souls surely and steadfastly. No matter what
other proofs of his being a Christian, a man may think that he has--what
moral virtue, what present zeal, what reverence for God and sacred
things, what kindness and faithfulness to his fellow-men,--if he have
not this longing thirst for heaven, he should doubt his Christianity.
The regenerate soul can be satisfied with nothing short of awaking with
the divine likeness. We cannot pray aright without hoping for heaven,
for there only will the askings of a pious heart be fully granted. We
cannot give thanks aright without hoping for heaven, for there are the
consummate blessings of the Redeemer's purchase. We cannot serve God
aright without hoping for heaven, for there only is our faithfulness to
be acknowledged, and our wages paid. Our hopes should be submissive, and
our longing patient; we should be willing to remain so long as God has
work for us here, but ever with a yearning sense that to depart and be
with Christ is far better. Grace in the heart is an ascensive power,
ever lifting its desires upward and upward, and so above the temptations
of time and earth. We can never drive this world out of our hearts, but
by bringing heaven into them. And heaven meets our affections when they
ascend, as it met Jesus; and he who so walks, climbing the arduous way
from the Valley of Baca to the temple on the mount (for we must walk
until we get our wings of angelic strength), will so approach the
heavenly threshold, as, like holy Enoch, he can cross it at a step.
Oh, dear friends, what an advantage have they whose Jesus is in heaven,
over those first disciples when they had him with them personally on
earth. They were for building tabernacles on Tabor, looking for a
temporal kingdom, walking by sight and not by faith; but our Lord now
above, draws up to a better, higher, holier home, our aims, our desires,
and our love.
* * * * *
From "A Lecture:" Philadelphia, 1840.
=_39._= THE PROSPECTS OF ART IN THE UNITED STATES.