additions to the sentiments first advanced by the celebrated Jonathan
Edwards, late president of New Jersey College. Dr. Hopkins was born at
Waterbury, in Connecticut, 1721, and graduated at Yale College, in 1741.
Soon after, he engaged in theological studies, at Northampton,
Massachusetts, under the superintendence of Jonathan Edwards, and, in
1743, was ordained at Housatonic, now Great Barrington, Massachusetts,
where he continued till he removed to Newport, Rhode Island, in
consequence of the diminution of his congregation, and his want of
support. When he had resided some time in this place, the people became
dissatisfied with his sentiments, and resolved, at a meeting, to intimate
to him their disinclination to his continuance among them. On the ensuing
Sabbath, he preached his farewell discourse, which was so interesting and
impressive that they besought him to remain, which he did till his death,
in 1803. He was a pious and zealous man, of considerable talents, and
almost incredible powers of application. He is said to have been sometimes
engaged during eighteen hours in his studies. His doctrinal views are
contained in his “System of Divinity,” published in a second edition at
Boston, in 1811, in two volumes, octavo.
Jonathan Mayhew.
A divine of Boston, was born in Martha’s Vineyard, in 1720 and educated at
Harvard College. In 1747, he was ordained pastor of the West Church, in
Boston, and continued in this station the remainder of his life. He
possessed a mind of great acuteness and energy, and in his principles was
a determined republican. He had no little influence in producing the
American revolution. His sermons and controversial tracts obtained for him
a high reputation; and many of them were republished several times in
England. He died in 1766.
Samuel Seabury.
First bishop of the Protestant Episcopal church in the United States, was
born in 1728, and graduated at Yale College in 1751. After finishing his
classical education, he went to Scotland with the view of studying
medicine; but soon, having turned his attention to theology, he altered
his purpose and took orders in London, 1753. Returning to America, he
officiated, first at Brunswick, New Jersey, then at Jamaica, Long Island,
next at West Chester, New York, and lastly at New London, Connecticut,
where he remained, as rector of the parish in that city, during the
remainder of his life. As much as he was esteemed by his parishioners, his
influence was extended among his brethren throughout the state.
Consequently, when the Episcopal church was organized in that diocese, he
was elected bishop. He went immediately to England, in order to obtain
consecration; but, meeting with some unexpected obstacles, he repaired to
Scotland. Here he was able to accomplish the object of his mission. He was
consecrated at Aberdeen, November 14, 1784. As soon as he was able to
reach home, he resumed his duties as parish minister at New London, in
connection with his episcopal functions for the diocese. Bishop Seabury
had a vigorous and well-cultivated mind, and acquired a reputation
corresponding with his high station. Three volumes of his sermons have
been published.
The following is the inscription on Bishop Seabury’s monument at New
London, Connecticut:—
“Here lyeth the body of SAMUEL SEABURY, D. D., Bishop of
Connecticut and Rhode Island, who departed from this transitory
scene February 25th, Anno Domini 1796, in the 68th year of his
age, and the 12th of his episcopal consecration.
“Ingenious without pride, learned without pedantry, good without
severity, he was duly qualified to discharge the duties of the
Christian and the Bishop. In the pulpit he enforced religion; in
his conduct he exemplified it. The poor he assisted with his
charity; the ignorant he blessed with his instruction. The friend
of men, he ever designed their good; the enemy of vice, he ever
opposed it. Christian, dost thou aspire to happiness? Seabury has
shown the way that leads to it.”
Richard Clarke.
A clergyman of the Episcopal church, who maintained for many years a high
reputation in South Carolina. He was a native of England, and soon after
his arrival in Charleston was appointed rector of St. Philip’s Church in
that city. Here he was greatly admired as a popular preacher, and highly
respected as an exemplary, amiable, benevolent, and liberal man. He
returned to England in 1759, and was soon afterwards appointed a stated
preacher in one of the principal churches in London. In this station, his
eloquence and piety attracted a large share of public attention. His
publications, chiefly on theological subjects, were numerous, amounting to
six or seven octavo volumes. He lived to a late period in the eighteenth
century, universally beloved and respected.
Joseph Priestly.
An English philosopher and dissenting divine, born at Fieldheald,
Yorkshire, 1733. He was educated at Daventry, under Dr. Ashworth, for the
ministry among the dissenters, and at the proper age he took care of a
congregation at Needham Market, Suffolk, and afterwards at Nantwich,
Cheshire. He became, in 1761, professor of belles lettres in the
Warrington Academy, and after seven years’ residence there he removed to
Leeds, and two years after accepted the office of librarian and
philosophical companion to the earl of Shelburne. In this retreat, the
philosopher devoted himself laboriously to metaphysical and theological
studies, and published various works; and when, at last, he separated from
his noble patron, he retired with an annual pension of one hundred and
fifty pounds, to settle at Birmingham, as pastor to a Unitarian
congregation, in 1780. While here usefully employed in advancing the cause
of philosophy, and too often engaged in theological disputes, he became
the victim of popular fury; and the conduct of some of his neighbors in
celebrating the anniversary of the French revolution, in 1791, with more
intemperance than became Englishmen and loyal subjects, excited a dreadful
riot. Not only the meeting-houses were destroyed on this melancholy
occasion, but, among others, Dr. Priestley’s house, library, manuscripts,
and philosophical apparatus, were totally consumed; and, though he
recovered a compensation by suing the county, he quitted this scene of
prejudice and unpopularity. After residing some time at London and
Hackney, where he preached to the congregation over which his friend Price
once presided, he determined to quit his native country, and seek a more
peaceful retreat in America, where some of his family were already
settled. He left England in 1794, and fixed his residence at
Northumberland, in Pennsylvania, where he died in 1804. His writings were
very numerous, and he long attracted the public notice, not only by
discoveries in philosophy, but by the boldness of his theological
opinions. Had he confined his studies merely to philosophical pursuits,
his name would have descended to posterity with greater lustre; but he who
attempts innovations in government and religion, for singularity, and to
excite popular prejudices, must be little entitled to the applauses of the
world.
James Purves.
A learned Arian preacher, born at a little village of Berwickshire, in
1734. His father was only a keeper of cattle, and intended James for the
same profession. He, meanwhile, having obtained the loan of some books on
mathematics, made himself master of geometry and trigonometry, and
afterwards taught these sciences, with other branches of mathematics, and
assisted some public authors in compiling mathematical works, which have
been well received. He joined a party of the ancient Cameronians, and in
1769, at one of their general meetings, was called to be a pastor among
them. To qualify himself for this office, he studied the Greek and Hebrew
languages, and compiled a Hebrew grammar, which is still in manuscript.
These acquisitions led him into the study of the Arian controversy, when
finally he adopted the opinions of Arius, and afterwards became preacher
to a small Arian congregation in Edinburgh, where he also kept a school
and a book-shop, for many years before he died.
John Jebb.
Bishop of Limerick, born September 27, 1775, and died December 9, 1833,
aged 58. He was educated at the university of Dublin, where he gained a
high reputation as a scholar. He was greatly esteemed as a man of a most
amiable and gentle spirit; had the reputation of an accomplished orator
and a learned and able theologian; and as a clergyman and a bishop he was
truly exemplary. His original publications are not numerous, but are of
high merit.
John Gaspar Christian Lavater.
A celebrated writer, born at Zurich, 1741. He was pastor of the church of
St Peter’s at Zurich, and as a minister he acquired great reputation both
by his eloquent discourses and his exemplary life. He was wounded by a
French soldier when Zurich was taken by storm under Massena in 1799, and
died there in consequence of it, 12th January, 1801. He acquired deserved
celebrity as a physiognomist, and his writings on the subject, possessing
great merit, ingenious remarks, and truly original ideas, have been
translated into all the languages of Europe. His Christian piety was of
the highest order.
John Tillotson.
An eminent prelate, was born in 1630, at Sowerby, in Yorkshire, and was
educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge. In 1691, after fruitless attempts to
avoid the honor, he accepted, with unfeigned reluctance, the see of
Canterbury, which was become vacant by the deprivation of Sancroft. This
promotion, however, he did not long survive, as his decease took place in
1694.
In his domestic relations, friendships, and the whole commerce of
business, he was easy and humble, frank and open, tender-hearted and
bountiful, to such an extent, that, while he was in a private station, he
laid aside two tenths of his income for charitable uses. He despised
wealth but as it furnished him for charity, in which he was judicious as
well as liberal. His affability and candor, as well as abilities in his
profession, made him frequently consulted in points relating both to
practice and opinion. His love for the real philosophy of nature, and his
conviction that the study of it is the most solid support of religion,
induced him, not many years after the establishment of the Royal Society,
to desire to be admitted into that assembly of the greatest men of the
age; into which he was accordingly elected on the 25th of January, 1672.
His kindness towards the dissenters was attended with the consequence
intended by him, of reconciling many of them to the communion of the
established church, and almost all of them to a greater esteem of it than
they had before entertained.
He died poor, the copy-right of his Posthumous Sermons (which, however,
sold for two thousand five hundred guineas) being all that his family
inherited. His works form three folio volumes.
Isaac Newton.
A most celebrated English philosopher and mathematician, and one of the
greatest geniuses that ever appeared in the world, descended from an
ancient family in Lincolnshire, where he was born in the year 1642. His
powers of mind were wonderfully comprehensive and penetrating. Fontenelle
says of him, “that in learning mathematics, he did not study Euclid, who
seemed to him too plain and simple, and unworthy of taking up his time. He
understood him almost before he read him: a cast of his eye on the
contents of the theorems of that great mathematician, seemed to be
sufficient to make him master of them.” Several of his works mark a
profundity of thought and reflection that has astonished the most learned
men. He was highly esteemed by the university of Cambridge, and was twice
chosen to represent that place in parliament. He was also greatly favored
by Queen Anne, and by George I. The princess of Wales, afterwards queen
consort of England, who had a turn for philosophical inquiries, used
frequently to propose questions to him. This princess had a great regard
for him, and often declared that she thought herself happy to live at the
same time as he did, and to have the pleasure and advantage of his
conversation.
This eminent philosopher was remarkable for being of a very meek
disposition and a great lover of peace. He would rather have chosen to
remain in obscurity, than to have the serenity of his days disturbed by
those storms and disputes, which genius and learning often draw upon those
who are eminent for them. We find him reflecting on the controversy
respecting his optic lectures (in which he had been almost unavoidably
engaged) in the following terms:—“I blamed my own imprudence, for parting
with so real a blessing as my quiet, to run after a shadow.”
The amiable quality of modesty stands very conspicuous in the character of
this great man’s mind and manners. He never spoke, either of himself or
others, in such a manner as to give the most malicious censurers the least
occasion even to suspect him of vanity. He was candid and affable; and he
did not assume any airs of superiority over those with whom he associated.
He never thought either his merit or his reputation sufficient to excuse
him from any of the common offices of social life. Though he was firmly
attached to the church of England, he was averse to the persecution of the
Nonconformists. He judged of men by their conduct; and the true
schismatics, in his opinion, were the vicious and the wicked. This
liberality of sentiment did not spring from the want of religion; for he
was thoroughly persuaded of the truth of revelation; and amidst the great
variety of books which he had constantly before him, that which he loved
the best, and studied with the greatest application, was the Bible. He
was, indeed, a truly pious man; and his discoveries concerning the frame
and system of the universe, were applied by him to demonstrate the being
of a God, and to illustrate his power and wisdom. He also wrote an
excellent discourse, to prove that the remarkable prophecy of Daniel’s
weeks was an express prediction of the coming of the Messiah, and that it
was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
The testimony of the pious and learned Dr. Doddridge to the most
interesting part of this great man’s character, cannot be omitted on the
present occasion. “According to the best information,” says he, “whether
public or private, I could ever obtain, his firm faith in the divine
revelation discovered itself in the most genuine fruits of substantial
virtue and piety, and consequently gives us the justest reason to conclude
that he is now rejoicing in the happy effects of it, infinitely more than
in all the applause which his philosophical works have procured him,
though they have commanded a fame lasting as the world.”
He departed this life in the eighty-fifth year of his age, and, in his
principles and conduct through life, has left a strong and comfortable
evidence that the highest intellectual powers harmonize with religion and
virtue, and that there is nothing in Christianity but what will abide the
scrutiny of the soundest and most enlarged understanding.
How great and satisfactory a confirmation is it to the sincere, humble
Christian, and what an insurmountable barrier does it present to the
infidel, to perceive, in the list of Christian believers, the exalted and
venerable name of Newton! a man who must be acknowledged to be an ornament
of human nature, when we consider the wide compass of his abilities, the
great extent of his learning and knowledge, and the piety, integrity, and
beneficence, of his life. This eminent character firmly adhered to the
belief of Christianity, after the most diligent and exact researches into
the life of its Founder, the authenticity of its records, the completion
of its prophecies, the sublimity of its doctrines, the purity of its
precepts, and the arguments of its adversaries.
Charles V.
Emperor of Germany, king of Spain, and lord of the Netherlands, born at
Ghent, in the year 1500.
He is said to have fought sixty battles, in most of which he was
victorious, to have obtained six triumphs, conquered four kingdoms, and to
have added eight principalities to his dominions—an almost unparalleled
instance of worldly prosperity and the greatness of human glory.
But all these fruits of his ambition, and all the honors which attended
him, could not yield true and solid satisfaction. Reflecting on the evils
and miseries which he had occasioned, and convinced of the emptiness of
earthly magnificence, he became disgusted with the splendor that
surrounded him, and thought it his duty to withdraw from it, and spend the
rest of his days in religious retirement. Accordingly, he voluntarily
resigned all his dominions to his brother and son; and, after taking an
affectionate and last farewell of the latter, and a numerous retinue of
princes and nobility who respectfully attended him, he repaired to his
chosen retreat, which was situated in Spain, in a vale of no great extent,
watered by a small brook, and surrounded with rising grounds covered with
lofty trees.
A deep sense of his frail condition and great imperfections appears to
have impressed his mind in this extraordinary resolution, and through the
remainder of his life. As soon as he landed in Spain, he fell prostrate on
the ground, and considering himself now as dead to the world, he kissed
the earth, and said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked I
now return to thee, thou common mother of mankind!”
In this humble retreat, he spent his time in religious exercises and
innocent employments, and buried here, in solitude and silence, his
grandeur and his ambition, together with all those vast projects, which,
for near half a century, had alarmed and agitated Europe, and filled every
kingdom in it, by turns, with the terror of his arms, and the dread of
being subjected to his power. Far from taking any part in the political
transactions of the world, he restrained his curiosity even from any
inquiry concerning them, and seemed to view the busy scene he had
abandoned with an elevation and indifference of mind which arose from his
thorough experience of its vanity, as well as from the pleasing reflection
of having disengaged himself from its cares and temptations.
Here he enjoyed more complete contentment than all his grandeur had ever
yielded him; as a full proof of which he has left this short but
comprehensive testimony:—“I have tasted more satisfaction in my solitude,
in one day, than in all the triumphs of my former reign. The sincere
study, profession, and practice, of the Christian religion have in them
such joys and sweetness as are seldom found in courts and grandeur.”
Francis Bacon.
Baron of Verulam, viscount St. Albans, and lord high chancellor of
England, born in the year 1561. He was one of the most remarkable men of
whom any age or country can boast; and his writings furnish incontestable
proofs that his knowledge, wisdom, and benevolence, were very
extraordinary. Lord Bacon died in 1626.
That this illustrious character was deeply influenced by a truly humble
and religious spirit, is manifest from the following prayer, which was
found amongst his papers, in his own hand-writing:—
“Most gracious Lord God, my merciful Father; my creator, my
Redeemer, my Comforter! thou soundest and searchest the depths and
secrets of all hearts; thou acknowledgest the upright; thou
judgest the hypocrite; vanity and crooked ways cannot be hid from
thee.
“Remember, O Lord, how thy servant has walked before thee;
remember what I have first sought, and what has been principal in
my intentions. I have loved thy assemblies; I have mourned for the
divisions of thy church; I have delighted in the brightness of thy
sanctuary; I have ever prayed unto thee, that the vine which thy
right hand hath planted in this nation, might have the former and
the latter rain, and that it might stretch its branches to the
seas and to the floods. The state and bread of the poor and
oppressed have been precious in my eyes; I have hated all cruelty
and hardness of heart; I have, though a despised weed, endeavored
to procure the good of all men. If any have been my enemies, I
thought not of them, neither has the sun gone down upon my
displeasure; but I have been as a dove, free from superfluity of
maliciousness. Thy creatures have been my books, but thy
Scriptures much more so. I have sought thee in the courts, the
fields, and the gardens; but I have found thee in thy temples.
“O Lord, my strength! I have, from my youth, met with thee in all
my ways; in thy fatherly compassions, in thy merciful
chastisements, and in thy most visible providences. As thy favors
have increased upon me, so have thy corrections; as my worldly
blessings were exalted, so secret darts from thee have pierced me;
and when I have ascended before men, I have descended in
humiliation before thee. And now, when I have been thinking most
of peace and honor, thy hand is heavy upon me, and has humbled me
according to thy former loving-kindness, keeping me still in thy
fatherly school, not as a bastard, but as a child. Just are thy
judgments upon me for my sins, which are more in number than the
sands of the sea, but which have no proportion to thy mercies.
Besides my innumerable sins, I confess before thee, that I am a
debtor to thee for the gracious talent of thy gifts and graces;
which I have neither put into a napkin nor placed, as I ought,
with exchangers, where it might have made best profit; but I have
misspent it in things for which I was least fit: so I may truly
say, my soul hath been a stranger in the course of my pilgrimage.
Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for my Savior’s sake, and receive me
into thy bosom, or guide me into thy ways.”
Matthew Hale.
Lord chief justice of England, born in Gloucestershire, in the year 1609,
and, by the care of a wise and religious father, had great attention paid
to his education.
In his youth, he was fond of company, and fell into many levities and
extravagances. But this propensity and conduct were corrected by a
circumstance that made a considerable impression on his mind during the
rest of his life. Being one day in company with other young men, one of
the party, through excess of wine, fell down, apparently dead, at their
feet. Young Hale was so affected on this occasion, that he immediately
retired to another room, and, shutting the door, fell on his knees, and
prayed earnestly to God that his friend might be restored to life, and
that he himself might be pardoned for having given countenance to so much
excess. At the same time, he made a solemn vow that he would never again
keep company in that manner, nor “drink a health” while he lived. His
friend recovered, and Hale religiously observed his vow. After this event,
there was an entire change in his disposition; he forsook all dissipated
company, and was careful to divide his time between the duties of religion
and the studies of his profession.
He became remarkable for his solid and grave deportment, his inflexible
regard to justice, and a religious tenderness of spirit, which appear to
have accompanied him through life. His retired meditations on religious
subjects manifest a pious and humble frame of mind, and a solemnity well
adapted to excite kindred emotions in the breast of the reader.
“True religion,” says he, “teaches the soul a high veneration for Almighty
God, a sincere and upright walking, as in the presence of the invisible,
all-seeing God. It makes a man truly love, honor, and obey him, and
therefore careful to know what his will is. It renders the heart highly
thankful to him, as his Creator, Redeemer, and Benefactor. It makes a man
entirely depend on him, seek him for guidance, direction, and protection,
and submit to his will with patience and resignation of soul. It gives the
law, not only to his words and actions, but to his very thoughts and
purposes; so that he dares not entertain any which are unbecoming the
presence of that God by whom all our thoughts are legible. It crushes all
pride and haughtiness, both in a man’s heart and carriage, and gives him
an humble state of mind before God and men. It regulates the passions, and
brings them into due moderation. It gives a man a right estimate of this
present world, and sets his heart and hopes above it; so that he never
loves it more than it deserves. It makes the wealth and the glory of this
world,—high places and great preferments,—of but little consequence to
him; so that he is neither covetous, nor ambitious, nor over-solicitous,
concerning the advantages of them. It makes him value the love of God and
the peace of his own conscience above all the wealth and honor in the
world, and to be very diligent in preserving them. He performs all his
duties to God with sincerity and humility; and, whilst he lives on earth,
his conversation, his hope, his treasures, are in heaven; and he endeavors
to walk suitably to such a hope.”