135. =But in all probability this will never be again.= It is sometimes
asserted that Edwards never again occupied the pulpit in Northampton. This
is not true. He preached, in fact, twelve Sundays, though, to be sure, not
consecutively and only when other supplies could not be secured, before
his removal to Stockbridge. There is perhaps more reason for the statement
of Dr. Hopkins, quoted by Dwight (_op. cit._ p. 418), that the town at
last--it is thought in November, 1750--voted that he should preach no
longer. But the records of town and precinct are alike silent on this
matter, the only vote bearing on it being one passed by the precinct in
November, "to pay Mr. Edwards L10 old tenor per Sabbath for the time he
preached here since he was dismissed." Trumbull, who has established this
fact (_History of Northampton_, Vol. II, p. 227), says that the last
sermon by Edwards in Northampton was in the afternoon of October 13, 1751,
from the text Heb. xi. 16. But even this is doubtful; for among the
manuscripts in New Haven, Professor Dexter discovered a sermon on 2 Cor.
iv. 6 marked as preached in Northampton, May 1755, and in a book of plans
of sermons at least three notes of texts and doctrines of the same period
marked as designed for Northampton. (F. B. Dexter, _The Manuscripts of
Jonathan Edwards_, p. 8.)
145. =By which I became so obnoxious.= The excitement of the Great
Awakening was followed by a period of laxity. In 1744 Edwards was informed
that a number of the young people of his congregation, of both sexes, were
reading immoral books, which fostered lascivious and obscene conversation.
To check the evil, he preached a sermon, of the frankness of which we may
judge from the published sermon on "Joseph's Temptation," from Heb. xii.
15, 16, and after the service communicated to the brethren of the church
the evidence in his possession with a view to further action. A committee
of inquiry was appointed to assist the pastor in examining into the affair
at a meeting at his house. Edwards then read the names of the young people
to be summoned as witnesses or as accused, but without discriminating
between the two classes. When the names were thus published, it was found
that most of the leading families of the town were implicated. "The town
was suddenly all on a blaze." Many of the heads of families refused to
proceed with the investigation; many of the young people summoned to the
meeting refused to come, and those who did come acted with insolence.
Edwards never thereafter succeeded in reestablishing his authority. For
years not a single candidate appeared for admission to the church. See
Hopkins, _Life of Edwards_ (1765), pp. 53 ff. Dwight, _op. cit._ pp. 299
f., copies Hopkins's account almost verbatim, but without acknowledgment.
146. =I have ... meet before him.= The company keeping and worldly
amusements of the young people were an old grievance with Edwards. Writing
of the period before the revival of 1734-1735, he says, "It was their
manner very frequently to get together in conventions of both sexes, for
mirth and jollity, which they called frolicks; and they would often spend
the greater part of the night in them, without any regard to order in the
families they belong to." How the young people amused themselves in these
"conventions," we can only conjecture; it is certain that some, at least,
of the parents saw no harm in them. But Edwards's idea of family
government was very different. "He allowed not his children to be from
home after nine o'clock at night, when they went abroad to see their
friends and companions. Neither were they allowed to sit up much after
that time, in his own house, when any came to make them a visit. If any
gentleman desired acquaintance with his daughters, after handsomely
introducing himself, by properly consulting the parents, he was allowed
all proper opportunity for it: a room and fire, if needed; but must not
intrude on the proper hours of rest and sleep, or the religion and order
of the family." (Hopkins, _op. cit._ p. 44.) We have reason to think that
some of the "other liberties commonly taken by young people in the land"
were calculated to favor anything rather than refinement and
spirituality.
149. =A contentious spirit.= History in a general way corroborates the
following testimony of Edwards concerning the contentious spirit in the
people of Northampton: "There were some mighty contests and controversies
among them in Mr. Stoddard's day, which were managed with great heat and
violence; some great quarrels in the church, wherein Mr. Stoddard, great
as his authority was, knew not what to do with them. In one ecclesiastical
controversy in Mr. Stoddard's day, wherein the church was divided into two
parties, the heat of spirit was raised to such a degree, that it came to
hard blows. A member of one party met the head of the opposite party and
assaulted him and beat him unmercifully. There has been for forty or fifty
years a sort of settled division of the people into two parties, somewhat
like the Court and Country party in England (if I may compare small things
with great). There have been some of the chief men in the town, of chief
authority and wealth, that have been great proprietors of their lands, who
have had one party with them. And the other party, which has commonly been
the greatest, have been of those who have been jealous of them, apt to
envy them, and afraid of their having too much power and influence in town
and church. This has been a foundation of innumerable contentions among
the people, from time to time, which have been exceedingly grievous to me,
and by which doubtless God has been dreadfully provoked, and his Spirit
grieved and quenched, and much confusion and many evil works have been
introduced." Letter of July 1, 1751 to Rev. Thomas Gillespie. Cf.
Trumbull, _History of Northampton_, Vol. II, p. 36.
Footnotes:
[1] See J. A. Stoughton, _Windsor Farmes_, p. 39 and p. 69 n. Students of
heredity may perhaps here find a clew to the character of Edwards's
brilliant, wayward grandson, Aaron Burr.
[2] See H. N. Gardiner, _The Early Idealism of Edwards_ in Jonathan
Edwards: a Retrospect, pp. 115-160: Boston, 1901. Cf. J. H. MacCracken,
_The Sources of Jonathan Edwards's Idealism_, Philos. Rev., xi. 26 ff.
(Jan. 1902).
[3] That to the church at Bolton, Conn. But for some reason, not now
apparent, he was never installed there. See S. Simpson, _Jonathan
Edwards--a Historical Review_, Hartford Seminary Record. xiv. 11
(November, 1903).
[4] First printed by Dwight, _Life of President Edwards_, p. 114, and
frequently reproduced. It has been compared to Dante's description of
Beatrice, which in pure lyric quality it certainly equals, though it lacks
the latter's sensuous coloring and imaginative idealization. The
comparison is made by A. V. G. Allen, _The Place of Edwards in History_,
in Jonathan Edwards: a Retrospect, p. 7; the contrast is pointed out by
John De Witt, Stockbridge (1903), Oration, p. 45 (pub. by the Berkshire
Conference).
[5] Solomon Clark, _Historical Catalogue of the Northampton First Church_,
pp. 40-67 (Northampton, 1891), prints the list in full.
[6] See note, p. 179.
[7] It is impossible here to go into the history of this famous
controversy. Something concerning it will be found in the notes, pp. 172
ff.; Dwight, _op. cit._, pp. 298-448, prints the documents from Edwards's
Journal in full; the records of the church are silent. It should be
stated, perhaps, in fairness to the Northampton people, that the pastoral
relation was not then, as is sometimes supposed, regarded as indissoluble;
six clergymen were "dismissed" from neighboring churches between 1721 and
1755. Moreover, Edwards, eminent as he undoubtedly was as a preacher, was
to them only the parish minister; his great fame as a theologian was
established later. Cf. Trumbull, _History of Northampton_, II, 225. It is
also not unreasonable to suppose that the spiritual capacities of the
people had been overstimulated. The later repentance of Joseph Hawley (see
Dwight, _op. cit._, p. 421), Edwards's cousin, who had taken a leading
part in the movement against him, concerns only the spirit of the
opposition; it does not seriously question the wisdom, under the
circumstances, of the separation.
[8] Aaron Burr, the Vice-President of the United States, who killed
Alexander Hamilton in a duel, was their son.
[9] See, e.g., the incident recorded by Dwight, _op. cit._, p. 133, where
the rapture lasts for about an hour, accompanied for the greater part of
the time "with tears and weeping aloud."
[10] See F. B. Dexter, _The Manuscripts of Jonathan Edwards_, p. 7.
(Reprinted from the Proceedings of the Mass. Hist. Soc., March, 1901.)
[11] As, e.g., in the great ethical sermon on the Sin of Theft and of
Injustice from the text, "Thou shalt not steal." Works, Worcester reprint,
IV, 601.
[12] Examples of this are found in the manuscript sermons on John i. 47
and John i. 41, 42, which are here taken as typical.
[13] Samuel Hopkins, _Life of Edwards_, p. 48.
[14] As illustrating the expansion in the printed sermon as compared with
the manuscript prepared for preaching, see note p. 157.
[15] The next neighbor town.
[16] "If I am in danger of going to hell, I should be glad to know as much
as possibly I can of the dreadfulness of it. If I am very prone to neglect
due care to avoid it, he does me the best kindness who does most to
represent to me the truth of the case, that sets forth my misery and
danger in the liveliest manner."--Sermon on The Distinguishing Marks of a
Work of the Spirit of God.
[17] As Professor A. V. G. Allen informs the editor in a letter, Jan. 23,
1904.
Transcriber's Notes:
Passages in italics are indicated by _italics_.
Passages in bold are indicated by =bold=.
The original text includes several intentional blank spaces. These are
represented by ____ in this text version.
The misprint "dont" has been corrected to "don't" (page 169).