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BIOGRAPHY OF REV. HOSEA BALLOU.
BY HIS YOUNGEST SON,
MATURIN M. BALLOU.
"He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was
strong in faith, giving glory to God: and being fully persuaded
that what he had promised he was able also to perform."
BOSTON:
PUBLISHED BY ABEL TOMPKINS.
1852.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by
ABEL TOMPKINS,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of
Massachusetts.
STEREOTYPED BY
HOBART & ROBBINS,
NEW ENGLAND TYPE AND STEREOTYPE FOUNDERY,
BOSTON.
TO THE
SECOND UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY
OF BOSTON,
THIS BIOGRAPHY OF THEIR LATE PASTOR IS RESPECTFULLY
Dedicated,
BY THEIR HUMBLE SERVANT,
THE AUTHOR.
[Illustration: Portrait of REV. HOSEA BALLOU, Engraved by H. W. Smith]
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
To say that the author experiences a degree of diffidence in writing
upon the theme and subject of these pages, would but inadequately
express his true feelings on taking up the pen for this object. But he
does it with a purpose of strict adherence to facts, nor will any matter
be suppressed or one iota added to the truth. No one who shall read a
dozen pages herein relating to the early life of Rev. Hosea Ballou, but
will at once acquit the author of any false pride as it regards
chronicling the events and circumstances of the subject's life. He is
most happy to state the facts literally, and he is satisfied as to the
verdict that every unprejudiced mind will render.
It may be said that a son cannot write a faithful history of a
parent--that such a production must needs be partial,--though we have
numerous instances of the contrary. To such an objection the writer
would reply, that there is but one side to truth, and it is this, and
this only, that the reader will find in these pages. He offers no
labored extenuation or defence,--there are no circumstances that require
it; no appeal or pleading for a verdict of acquittal,--for there are no
charges to refute; but he gives a simple, unvarnished biography of a
true Christian and a faithful disciple of the gospel, whose whole life,
even from earliest youth, has been a beautiful and consistent tribute to
truth. For some time previous to the decease of the subject of this
biography the author contemplated the present work, and for this purpose
has, at various times, kept minutes relative to dates of his father's
movements; and he has also been briefly assisted by memoranda and short
articles from his father's pen, which are embodied herein, relative to
his feelings concerning himself and his doctrine. The framework, so to
speak, of the book, has therefore been in hand for a considerable
period; and the placing of it in a proper form for the printer has been
all the author has attempted since the death of his respected father.
M. M. Ballou.
_Boston, Sept., 1852._
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY 9
CHAPTER II. BIRTH AND PARENTAGE 14
CHAPTER III. EARLY LIFE 22
CHAPTER IV. BECOMES A PROFESSOR OF RELIGION 38
CHAPTER V. COMMENCES TO PREACH 52
CHAPTER VI. BECOMES A SETTLED MINISTER 64
CHAPTER VII. REMOVES TO PORTSMOUTH, N. H. 89
CHAPTER VIII. SETTLES IN BOSTON 103
CHAPTER IX. COMMENCES THE UNIVERSALIST MAGAZINE 120
CHAPTER X. COMMENCES THE UNIVERSALIST EXPOSITOR 136
CHAPTER XI. DOMESTIC AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 173
CHAPTER XII. MR. BALLOU AS A CONTROVERSIALIST 231
CHAPTER XIII. SPIRIT OF HIS DOCTRINE 258
CHAPTER XIV. SENTIMENTS RELATIVE TO DEATH 322
CHAPTER XV. END OF HIS EARTHLY MISSION 366
CHAPTER XVI. CONCLUSION 392
BIOGRAPHY.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
The gratitude of mankind has not failed to record with honor the names
of those who have been the inventors of useful improvements in the arts,
or the authors of scientific discoveries, of brave warriors and wise
statesmen; ancient history reveals to us the time when the inventors of
letters and the plough, were revered as divinities. If there are any who
are actually worthy of being remembered by the world, they are those who
have proved themselves, by the lives they have led, and by their holy
teachings, to be benefactors of the human family, and true followers of
Christ.
It is conceded by all, that biography is a most important species of
history. Through its agency, men who have been distinguished for merit,
talent, or any peculiar virtue, are remembered, and, though they may be
personally lost to us, yet the good influence they exerted during their
lives, is made to continue for our benefit. The biography of any eminent
individual must be, in some degree, a chronicle of the times in which he
lived, and thus, though the production may be of the most humble
character, the pages of history are enriched, and the records of the
past perfected. We think it was the Rev. John Ewart, M. A., a noted
English divine, who set it down as one of the most interesting
reflections relative to biographical reading, that we may see and know
in heaven, those whose life and excellent works we have read of here.
This is, perhaps, rather a peculiar argument, but not inappropriate in
this connection.
For our own part, we have ever perused, with the liveliest satisfaction,
any book of a biographical character, and believe that such works are
almost universally read with avidity and profit. With living men and
present measures, there is generally some prejudice or passion
connected. But when death has set his seal upon a worthy character, and
he has departed from the din and conflict of the world, then we can
receive the full benefit of his example. For it is very true that genius
rarely shines with full lustre until death hath unroofed it of envy. It
will, therefore, be my object in these pages to adhere to those facts
best fitted to illustrate the personal character of Mr. Ballou, and to
furnish the means of estimating aright the services he rendered to his
own and subsequent times, that his memory may remain to us in evergreen
freshness and beauty, and thus renew to posterity the savor of a good
life.
It is the usual practice with biographers to dwell at length and in
explanation upon the discoveries and doctrines of the object of their
labors, forgetting, apparently, that these things are almost universally
known already, and that the main design of a biography should be to make
public and illustrate the private life of those whom the world already
knows as philosophers, statesmen, divines, or otherwise. It is said of
Mallet, that he wrote the life of Lord Bacon, and forgot that he was a
philosopher. But this is rarely the case, for it is the prevailing
custom, and has ever been, to forget the man in the remembrance of the
philosopher. It is the traits of personal character, those slight, yet
important incidents and anecdotes which mark the individual's every-day
life, that, when preserved and recorded, form the great interest and
charm of biography. Plutarch, the writer of half a hundred lives, in
that of Alexander says:--"As painters labor the likeness in the face, so
must we be permitted to strike off the features of the soul, in order to
give a real likeness of these great men."
Hence, biography written in a true spirit, while something quite
different from history, is, nevertheless, an important supplement and
aid to it, throwing light into its dark corners, and explaining its
obscurity. For the historian, in the spirit of the painter or poet, must
dispense with all the minutiae of detail which would interfere with the
effect of his conception. He has a broad canvas, crowded with many
figures, and in the grouping of these, the bringing out of strong
points, the handling of the light and shade, many minor points must be
obliterated, or thrown into the background. He presents us with truth,
indeed, but not with the whole truth. The historian shows us the warrior
in the hour of battle, on the field of review, or in the pomp of a
military triumph; the statesman in the light of a senatorial victory, as
he appears before the broad gaze of the world; the divine clad in his
sacerdotal robe, at the high altar, or in the pulpit, at the moment of
addressing listening crowds, and swaying the hearts of men by the fervor
of his eloquence.
The biographer, on the other hand, dealing with individuals and not with
masses, painting portraits and not groups, is permitted a more elaborate
finish in the treatment of his subject. He shows us the soldier not only
in the hour of battle, but in the privacy of his tent, or in the bosom
of his family; the statesman in his study, or unbending from his public
tasks in social intercourse; the divine in the daily walks of life, in
the discharge of parochial duties, amid the toils and trials common to
all humanity. The biographer is often at variance with the historian in
treating the same subject. He often shows us the littleness of the
great; for many a prominent actor in the world's great drama wears a
mask upon the public stage that conceals his real features. Few men are
found abroad, beneath the searching light of heaven, with the same
aspect of soul, the same undisguised native promptings, visible in every
act and word, as characterize them at their own firesides, and
surrounded by those who know them most intimately. It is truly going
"behind the scenes" to enter the domestic circle, for there the
artificial man must be dropped, the cloak that is sometimes worn before
the eyes of the world is laid aside, and we have the soul unmasked
indeed.
It will be our endeavor, in the following pages, to illustrate the
perfect harmony of a Christian character, the daily beauty of whose
private life accorded with that of his public career; through whose
existence religion ran like a silver thread, linking all its component
parts together,--who "showed the path to heaven and led the way." The
world is anxious, when it contemplates the memory of such an exalted
character, to know the steps by which the subject rose to the situation
which he filled, as well as the incidents by which he terminated his
noted career. We are gratified to observe such characters in the private
walks of life, to follow them into their families and closets, and to
discover thus how those who challenged the respect and admiration of the
times in which they lived, conducted themselves amid those cares and
duties common alike to the humble and the exalted. These remarks will
introduce the reader to the plan of the present work.