BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME PROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF fienrg W. Sage 1891 AlH.ioS.f /$/i2/J.p 3 1924 021 975 754 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 924021 975754 THE CLERGY AMERICAN LIFE AND LETTERS Wational StutitEB in American SLctterg. GEORGE EDWARD WOODBERRY, Editor. OLD CAMBRIDGE. By Thomas Wentworth Higginson. BROOK FARM. By Lindsay Swift. THE HOOSIERS. By Meredith Nicholson. THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE AND LETTERS. By THE Rev. Daniel Dulany Addison. IN PREPARATION. THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL NOVEL. By Paul Leicester Ford. THE KNICKERBOCKERS. By The Rev. Henry van Dyke, D.D. SOUTHERN HUMORISTS. By John Kendrick Bangs. FLOWER OF ESSEX. By The Editor. Others to he announced. THE CLERGY AMERICAN LIFE AND LETTERS BY DANIEL DULANY ADDISON THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON : MACMILLAN & CO., LTD. I goo All rights reserved Q^ Copyright, 1900, I By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. STortaooli ^resa J. S. CuBhinjc & Co. — Berwick Sl Smith Norwood Mass. U.S.A. TO THE MEMORY OF Hg iFatljer THOMAS GRAFTON ADDISON FOR MORE THAN A QUARTER OF A CENTURY A PREACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS 3ht OT[aB}iiTtgt0n PREFACE The object of this book is to present the literary work of the American clergy in its two- fold aspect as the expression of religious life and national thought. A study of the more varied influence of the clergy on American life is a necessary introduction to a consideration of their influence in American letters, because their literary activity was so frequently the natural outcome of the life and thought habitual to therri. Contained in their discourses and sermons is often to be found the essence of their intel- lectual life, and, in the institutions they founded, the accompUshment of their ideas for the im- provement of the people. Among their political orations, also, are some of the most important examples of this form of literature, in which the clergy recorded their opinions on the national questions of the day, and exercised their influ- ence on American thinking. In dealing with a field so broad, a freedom of viii PREFACE treatment has been used in certain parts, nota- bly in the chapter on " The Clergy in American Life," which seemed more suitable than a formal and technical study ; and in the chapter on " Denominational Literature " the limit of space has made it necessary to condense the refer- ences to some important men. The book does not aim to be either exhaustive or encyclopaedic, but to give a general view of the literary work of those who, by their religious calling, may be included in the term " the clergy." It was thought that this could best be done by treat- ing in sketches typical clergymen who were lit- erary men, and then making a more extended examination of the most important writers, — Dwight, Channing, Parker, Bushnell, Beecher, and Brooks, who by their work would illustrate the whole subject. Sufficient biographical material has been in- troduced to give a background to the purely literary analysis. No attempt has been made to enter into theological discussion or criticism. Religious references occur only when rendered necessary because of the theological character of the books that are examined. PREFACE IX In the main it has been the plan of the author to follow the suggestion of the editor of this Series to tell the story of the influence upon American life and letters of the clergy during the national era of American literature. Little attention, therefore, has been given to the clergy who lived before the Revolution. D. D. A. Brookline, Mass., September i, igoo. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE II. EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS III. POETRY AND ROMANCE IV. DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE V. TIMOTHY DWIGHT . VI. WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING VII. THEODORE PARKER VIII. HORACE BUSHNELL IX. HENRY WARD BEECHER X. PHILLIPS BROOKS . 39 84 "3 157 191 229 268 3°4 341 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE AND LETTERS CHAPTER I THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE Lowell, in his Harvard address, spoke of the parson in the olden time as being what his name implied — the chief person of every community. This foremost place was occupied by him without a rival in the colonial period, and even far into the national era. In rural districts, especially in New England, he was the most loved of men, and at times the most feared. This autocratic position often devel- oped rugged types of men who by reason of their long settlement became privileged char- acters. There is hardly a town that does not have a tradition of some strong minister about whom humorous tales were told. Of one it was sung after his death — " Young to the pulpit he did get And seventy-two years in't did sweat." 2 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS It was long remembered that Mather Byles, in turning over the hour-glass during a very lengthy sermon, remarked, " Now, my hearers, we will take another glass." Sometimes the peculiarities of the parson were as marked as those of the Rev. Joseph Moody, com- monly called " handkerchief Moody," the per- son who suggested to Hawthorne his story of "The Minister's Black Veil." Mr. Moody usually shrouded his face with a black hand- kerchief. When reading a sermon he would lift the veil, but turn his back to the people so that they could not see his face. Sometimes the benevolence of the minister was like that of Mr. Eaton of Harpswell, Maine, who carried in his saddle-bags, on his pastoral visits, lancets and medical supplies, and thus became the welcome guest of the parents, but the terror of the children. The awe with which the clergyman was regarded reached a climax on the Sabbath morning, when he proceeded to the meeting- house for worship, as in the case of Rev. Mr. French of Andover. "The whole space before the meeting-house," says Josiah Quincy, THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 3 as he recalled the incident, "was filled with a waiting, respectful, and expecting multitude. At the moment of service the pastor issued from his mansion with Bible and manuscript sermon under his arm, with his wife leaning on one arm, flanked by his negro man on his side, as his wife was by her negro woman, the little negroes being distributed, according to sex, by the side of their respective parents." When the discourse was concluded, sometimes called by admiring friends "a large, nervous, and golden discourse," the minister went back to the regular life of the manse, which means that he often worked in his garden, and sawed wood, and mingled with the people on terms of friendly interest. Within the parsonage or manse, or in the South the rectory, there was a wholesome, intellectual life, deepened often by a manly religion. From out of these ministers' homes, where large questions were of daily concern, and a visit from a neighboring parson meant a solid argument or a sprightly conversation, have issued some of America's best men, as statesmen and writers of literature. The only 4 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS library of any size in the community was in the parson's house. Nor were the books only calf-bound, theological treatises. Locke " On Government " was sometimes squeezed be- tween Johnson's " Lives of the Poets " and Butler's "Hudibras." Milton and a stray vol- ume of Shakespeare might be occasionally seen wedged in between a series of election ser- mons. These books were often thumbed by the minister's boys, and loaned to other in- quiring lads. Not the least gift of the Ameri- can clergy has been the training of their sons. It can never be forgotten that the ancestors of Emerson had been ministers for five generations ; his own grandfather ren- dered signal service to the state by encourag- ing his parishioners at the fight over Concord Bridge in 1775, and died of fever later, on his way with the soldiers to Ticonderoga. It was from the home of old Dr. Lowell that James Russell Lowell started upon his public career to enrich American letters and to ele- vate political thinking. Oliver Wendell Holmes was prepared to take his place among the cheerful singers in the parsonage of his father, THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 5 Dr. Abiel Holmes, near the college in Cam- bridge. In order to educate their own children, the clergy often, because of the smallness of their stipends, taught school. The Rev. Abijah Weld of Attleborough had a salary of two hundred and fifty dollars a year, but he suc- ceeded in rearing a family of eleven children ; and some of his brother ministers increased their families to two or three times that num- ber by taking the neighbors' children as pupils. These little clerical schools were specially fitted to give a sound foundation of learning, and incul- cate a piety that is at the basis of strong charac- ter. It is related that the venerable Moses Hal- lock educated, in his own family, over three hundred young people ; and among the pupils that Dr. Wood of Boscawen, New Hampshire, trained for college, were two of his parishion- ers, Ezekiel and Daniel Webster. Patrick Henry was always ready to acknowledge his debt for instruction and inspiration to Samuel Davies, whose style of eloquence in the pulpit was the model that he adopted in his own great speeches. Timothy Dwight established 6 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS a school at Northampton, and afterward con- tinued it for many years at Greenfield, Con- necticut. The efforts of the clergy in education are seen most fully in the founding and sustain- ing of colleges and higher institutions of learn- ing. Here they have rendered to literature the greatest service. These institutions have been the breeding-ground of the best men of America. Even among self-made men the col- lege has been a powerful element for education, because the very books from which they learned, when following the plough or reading by the light of the wood fire, were written under the shadow of the universities. The college has almost invariably furnished the tools, without which the strongest native genius would be a mute statesman or a tuneless bard. The clerical graduates of Cambridge, Eng- land, were responsible for the founding of Har- vard College in 1636 ; and the Rev. James Blair, in 1693, may be called the father of Will- iam and Mary College. The clergy have been vigorous supporters of the American colleges as they gradually came into being : Yale in THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 7 1700, Princeton in 1746, Columbia in 1754, Brown in 1764, Dartmouth in 1759, Rutgers in 1770, and the many others that have come to enrich American life. The names of many of the great college presidents were those of minis- ters whose strong personalities and attainments were impressed upon the institutions for genera- tions. Not to mention the colonial college presidents, it is sufificient to recall Ezra Stiles, Timothy Dwight, and Noah Porter of Yale, Eliphalet Nott of Union, Francis Wayland of Brown, James McCosh of Princeton, and Mark Hopkins of Williams. These were men of administrative ability, with great personal mag- netism, wise in judgment, and looked upon as heroes in their day. Many a young man dated his success in life from a conversation in the study of one of these college presidents. They had different methods of discipline, but they were all moved by the same impulse, — the de- sire to prepare young men who should do a man's work in the world. Though this type of presi- dent may not be needed in the modern uni- versity, it must be remembered how those men made possible the institutions that have 8 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS grown so extensively since their day. The col- lege sermon of the president, coming from a man whom the students trusted, had no little influence in moulding their thought ; and when this was enforced by a word of personal encour- agement, or warning privately given, one can well understand why the alumni regarded the college president as the father of their intel- lectual and spiritual life. ' The clerical control of colleges has not al- ways been an untempered blessing. Enforced attendance on religious services, compulsory subscription to forms of belief, as well as a minute inspection of conduct, with petty rules and methods of discipline, have often retarded the normal growth of a free manhood. A conservatism which feared innovations often barred the way to progress. The spell of the classics was probably prolonged by those who read the Old Testament in Hebrew, the New Testament in Greek, and the Church Fathers in Latin. But there has always been a pro- gressive as well as a conservative clerical I element. The conservative clergy were doubt- less disturbed by the liberal tendencies of the THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 9 colleges, but the consent of the broad-minded ministers was gladly given to reforms. Mr. Henry Adams, in his " History of the United States," referring to this element says, "with- out the moral and material aid of this clerical body, which contained several hundred of the most respectable citizens clad in every town with the authority of spiritual magistrates, the college would have found itself bankrupt in means and character." The clergy have naturally, in their preaching, dealt with questions of public interest when these have involved what they considered moral issues. Christianity applied to contemporary conditions has been a favorite theme. In the colonial days this application of religion to life was interpreted to be a careful oversight of the daily lives of the people. The clergy were then practical magistrates, and scored the of- fenders by public announcement as well as by private advice. They were also as deeply interested in political questions as in moral ones, and used every occasion- — the Sabbath worship and the special anniversary. Fast Day and election-sermon time — for laying down, not 10 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS general principles only, to be vaguely applied by the people, but for entering boldly the arena of political strife. Such civic activity was to I be expected from the American clergy, for the traditions of their English ancestors were those of warfare waged with the sermon and the tract, as also with the spear and sword. The state controversies in England had been a mix- ture of politics and religion; and with this traditional justification for discussion, the clergy entered vigorously into the debate of the hour. In New England especially, the minister, in his three-cornered hat, dressed in small-clothes, carrying a gold-headed cane, was the village oracle when he entered the private door or outlined a political duty. The clergy in no other part of the country exercised the same kind of influence. In Virginia, though for the early period the Church of England was estab- lished, and the clergy, with exceptions known as the fox-hunting parsons, were often men of education and force of character, they did not exercise much direct control in political matters. In Pennsylvania and New York, the Quakers, the Dutch, and the Presbyterians were never THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE II backward in expressing themselves on moral and political issues. When the Revolution came, however, and independence was secured, the clergy from every part of the country, unless they were Tories, used their voices and their pens in the common cause of American freedom. The same love for their country made them freely preach the truth as they saw it during the Federalist and Republican struggle for the mastery in the War of 1812, the Missouri Compromise, the antislavery agita- tion, and the events that led up to the Civil War, as well as during that war, and in later times. The clergy have always looked upon themselves as citizens of the land with the same right as others to join in the discus- sion of public questions ; and whenever these questions have had a moral bearing, they have felt it a duty not to keep silent. As striking an illustration of American politi- cal preaching as can be found is contained in the long series of Massachusetts election ser- mons from 1634 to 1884. The leading clergy- men of New England were honored by the appointment as preachers before the General 12 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Court. While some dealt lightly with the burning issues, many of the clerical orators boldly spoke to the times. Many a phrase let fall in the early sermons became prophetic of coming events, as when Thomas Shepard, in 1672, taking "Eye-salve" as his subject, urged the establishment of " Free Schools where poor Scholars might there be educated by some Publick Stock." At another time the phrase " Democracy is Christ's government in Church and State" clung to the memories of men. In his optimism, one trusted that God will apply a " Sanative Cataplasm, an healing Plas- ter," and looked upon the new land of America as a place planted with the seed for which " God sifted a whole nation that he might send Choice Grain over into this wilderness." The preachers, nevertheless, discerned the evils of the age and poured forth upon them the min- gled fury from more than seven vials of wrath, using such words as " epanalepsis," "horren- dous," and "brizzils." When the French and Indian wars were settled, the Lord was thanked for sweeping "away thousands of those salvage Tawnies with a mortal Plague, to THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 13 make room for a better people." When signs of the Revolution began to multiply, among its first heralds were Jonathan Mayhew and Sam- uel Cooke, who, in 1770, laid down "The True Principles of Civil Government." Constant references were made to the "absurd and ex- ploded doctrines of passive obedience and non- resistance"; and when the actual conflict was on, the preachers were unfailing in their ap- peals to patriotism, asserting at times, " It is better to be free among the dead, than slaves among the living." The interest in slavery is early reflected in these sermons ; but as the Civil War drew near, the subject seems to have been avoided. This, however, is not an evidence of fear on the part of the ministers, for in many other ways, and on other occasions, they let their opinions be known, and worked strenuously for emancipa- tion ; it is rather a sign of their self-restraint and a desire to use the special election ser- mon for other purposes. The importance of the annual sermon at a later period was not so great as it had been. There were many other forces at work, and it is doubtful if any good result 14 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS would have been accomplished by a partisan ser- mon delivered before the General Court. For the last fifty years of the existence of the cus- tom, the discourses deal more than previously with ethical and social and philosophic ques- tions. Doctrinal and even political discus- sions were giving way before the steady rise of the social movements which occupy such an important place in our modern world. Temperance, the rights of the laborer, the administration of charities, the duties of the strong to the weak, the need of hospitals and proper care for the insane and prisoners, were the themes treated. Such a selection of topics was as much a sign of the times as was the dogmatism of Puritan days, or the Federalist preaching of the War of 1812. The cause of the people was being heard. A Chris- tianity of the daily life was beginning to take the place of a Christianity for the special occa- sion and the political crisis. These indications in the election sermon of the interest of the clergy in state and national affairs were also to be found in the various towns and parishes. For evidence of this it is THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 15 not necessary to go back into the colonial days when the official magistracy of the ministers was recognized, and they served as colonial agents to England, John Norton going over in 1662, and Increase Mather helping to procure the Provincial Charter of 1694. The history of the clergy during the Revolution is in the main that of patriotic men, who believed in the cause of the colonies, and who urged upon the people the duties of resistance and the wisdom of establishing a confederacy of states. At the time of the Revolution there were the two well-defined parties, the Tories and the Whigs — those who believed in submission to England and those who were for rebellion. It was natural to find some of the clergy in each party; and it is a fact that in the various churches in different sections of the country there were those loyal to King George and those loyal to Congress. The Tory element was not confined to any particular church, though perhaps the greatest number of Tory ministers was found in the branch of the Church of England, in the colonies known as the Episcopal Church. Episcopalians, how- 1 6 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS ever, both clergymen and laymen, were among the foremost of the patriots ; but there were members of both orders who felt it their duty to return to the mother country. As many of the Episcopal clergy in New England withdrew, leaving in Massachusetts only two who re- tained their parishes during the war, — Edward Bass of St. Paul's Church, Newburyport, and Samuel Parker, of Trinity Church, Boston, — . the impression went abroad in that section that all of the Episcopalians were disloyal to the Revolutionary cause. A great many more than a majority of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Episcopalians, while Wash- ington, Hamilton, Marshall, and many of the most prominent generals and statesmen be- longed to the same church. It was the Rev. M. Duche who opened, in a most impressive manner, the session of the Continental Con- gress in Philadelphia in 1774. John Adams, writing to his wife about this service, described the clergyman in his robes as he read the collects and the psalter for the seventh day, it being September ; further stating that " Mr. Duchd, unexpectedly to everybody, struck out THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 17 into an extempore prayer, which filled the bosom of every man present. I must confess I never heard a better prayer, or one so well pronounced. Episcopalian as he is, Dr. Cooper himself never prayed with such fervor — such ardor — such earnestness and pathos — and in language so elegant and sublime — for America, for Congress, for the Province of Massachusetts Bay and especially for Boston. It has an excel- lent effect upon everybody here." William White, afterward bishop of Pennsylvania, was at one time chaplain of Congress ; and William Smith, a learned and eloquent Episcopal divine, preached often to the troops in Philadelphia, and celebrated in appropriate sermons, since col- lected into important volumes, the successive victories of the Revolution. One of the most valuable contributions to the organization of the colonies for consulta- tion and defence was a suggestion made by a minister, Jonathan Mayhew, the brilliant and fearless preacher of Boston. The origin of the proposal for the concerted action of the colonies is told in a letter from Mayhew to James Otis, written on the Lord's Day, June 8, 1 8 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS I "jSG. " You have heard of the communion of churches" he wrote, "and I am to set out to- morrow morning for Rutland, to assist at an ecclesiastical council, not expecting to return this week ; while I was thinking of this in my bed, the great use and importance of a com- munion of colonies appeared to me in a strong light, which led me immediately to set down these hints to transmit to you." With such an illustration of the fertility of suggestion on the part of the clergy before them, it is no wonder that the First Provincial Congress of Massachusetts in 1774 addressed a petition to the clergy to aid them in securing the ad- herence of the people to the enactments of Congress. The petition reads, " That they assist us in avoiding that dreadful slavery with which we are now threatened by advising the people of their several congregations, as they wish their prosperity, to abide by and strictly adhere to the resolutions of the Continental Congress." The clergy responded in their usual way, at first by sermons and pamphlets, and then when the shots were fired, by enlistment both THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 19 as common soldiers and chaplains. Even in the midst of the enemy they were mindful of their duty. It is related of a minister of New Haven, during the British occupation, that, when ordered to offer prayers for the king, he obeyed by praying, " O Lord, bless thy ser- vant. King George, and grant unto him wis- dom ; for Thou knowest, O Lord, he needs it." The clergy helped the cause by such preach- ing as that of Samuel West, who boldly pro- claimed that " Providence seems plainly to point out to us the expediency, and even the necessity, of our considering ourselves as an independent state," as well as by marching to battle, as did Samuel Eaton of Brunswick, Maine, who headed forty of his parishioners, and proceeded to the front. Eaton was not unlike the minister in Danvers whose deacon was captain of the minutemen, while he him- self was lieutenant ; or Thomas Allen of Pitts- field, who, having served on the Committee of Correspondence, joined in battle, musket in hand, with the army at White Plains, Ticonder- oga, and Bennington. Joshua Paine of Stur- bridge showed the same spirit when he offered 20 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS to pay one-fifth of his salary for a cask of powder, the deacon being responsible for the bul- lets. More important than bullets and powder often were the chaplain's sermons, which were printed and freely circulated, and the soldier's songs, which were used on many battle fields, composed by Timothy Dwight. The music of the songs and the solemnity and earnestness of the spoken words stirred the men to action. Who could resist the words of one of the Revo- lutionary preachers when he declared, " It is an indispensable duty, my brethren, which we owe to God and our country, to rouse up and bestir ourselves ; and being animated with a noble zeal for the sacred cause of liberty, to defend our lives and fortunes even to shedding the last drop of blood " ? After the Revolution, until the Presidency of Thomas Jefferson, the clergy were active in using their influence for the ratification of the Constitution and in organizing the Republic during the critical period of the building of a nation and adopting just laws for the govern- f ment of the independent states. The churches, however, were weakened in various ways. In THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 21 Virginia, the governmental support being with- drawn, the church declined to such an extent that Bishop Madison, finding so few clergy in his diocese, was forced to become a teacher in William and Mary College. The effect of the French Revolution was also seen in the church- going habits of the people, and the colleges became hot-beds of infidelity. In Yale College the students were so fond of Voltaire and Rous- seau that they applied these names to them- selves as nicknames. Paine's "Age of Reason " rather increased the disrespect into which reli- gion in many places had fallen. The infidelity and antagonism to religious institutions that had grown up explain the hatred of the New Eng- land Federalist clergy for the great Democratic movement that placed Jefferson in the presi- dential chair. Their horror of Napoleon and a possible Fi^ench alliance, together with their fear of Jefferson and the mob, was in real- ity religious rather than political. Their reli- gious prejudices dictated their political ideas. They could never forget that Jefferson had allowed Paine to be brought from France to America in a government ship, and then invited 22 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS him to the White House, — the man who had said to Washington, "You are treacherous in private friendship and a hypocrite in pubhc Ufe." Jefferson they regarded as a demagogue, whose word could not be trusted, and were only too willing to believe the stories circulated about his private life. At one time in their sermons they called him Ephraim who had become entangled with the heathen, and again, he was Jeroboam who weaned the people from Jehovah. The celebrated minister, Joseph Buckminster of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, represented many of his brethren when he thought that a divine scourge would fall upon the land because of Jefferson's success. This attitude of the New England clergy reached a climax when the War of 1812 was declared. Their sermons had much to do with forming the general sentiment of New Eng- land regarding the war. What Channing and Dwight preached with moderation, others propounded with less self-restraint. The ex- tremists of the Hartford Convention were encouraged by such statements as those of the rector of Trinity Church, Boston, J. S. J. THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 23 Gardiner, who exclaimed from his pulpit on July 23, 1812: "The alternative then is, that if you do not wish to become slaves of those who own slaves, and who are themselves the slaves of French slaves, you must either, in the language of the day, cut the connection, or so far alter the National Compact as to insure your- selves a due share in the government." Moral questions interested the clergy even more than political ones ; though it is surpris- ing not to find more reference to the special sins of the time than is contained in the writ- ings of the ministers of the first quarter of the nineteenth century. The consciences of the people were just being awakened ; and occa- sionally vague applications of ethical principles were made to such concrete evils as duelling, intemperance, prison reform, and slavery. A theology of metaphysics was gradually being supplanted by a theology of life. Duelling was a well-recognized method of settling disputes that involved the honor of the contestants. It was the survival of the old trial by combat, and though often used for purposes of revenge and actually for murder, it 24 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS was considered, especially in the South, as a most respectable way of satisfying the demands of personal honor. Members of Congress, when led into personal recrimination by the heat of debate, often cooled their ardor by an exchange of shots at Bladensburg, a few miles from the capital. Duelling pistols with inlaid handles and silver mountings were as usual a gift to a gentleman as a silver snuff-box or a cut-glass decanter. Occasionally the clergy would rouse themselves and point a moral when there occurred some specially shocking duel. A brave man was Walter Dulany Addison, rector of St. John's Church, Georgetown, D.C., who had himself appointed special constable by Presi- dent Jefferson for the purpose of arresting duellists. Many were the stories told in Wash- ington of " Parson Addison " and his experi- ences with those determined to fight ; how the minister chased them on horseback ; how at another time he interrupted the little affair by suddenly appearing in their midst armed with the authority of the state. His congregation knew, if he was absent from the Sunday ser- vice, that he was following the scent of a duel THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 25 arranged to occur at the very time when the duellists were sure the parson would be busy with his public ministrations. The practice of duelling received a serious setback when the nation was startled, in 1804, by the death of Alexander Hamilton, pierced by a bullet from the pistol of Aaron Burr. The clergy everywhere were vehement in their de- nunciation of the act which robbed the country of one of its most trusted advisers and greatest men. The sermon that set forth in the most commanding fashion the indignation at the crime was preached by Dr. Eliphalet Nott in the North Dutch Church in Albany, on July 29, 1804. "I cannot forgive," he said, "that min- ister at the altar, who has hitherto forborne to remonstrate on this subject. I cannot for- give that judge on the bench or that gov- ernor in the chair of state who lightly passed over such offences. I cannot forgive the public in whose opinion the duellist finds a sanctuary." Timothy Dwight's famous sermon against duel- ling, delivered in the college chapel at Yale, was long remembered, and contributed, with others, to create a public opinion hostile to 26 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS the practice, though many famous duels were fought after that of Burr and Hamilton. Ly- man Beecher's ringing words, "We are mur- derers, — a nation of murderers, — while we tolerate and reward the perpetrators of the crime," occur in a sermon of his, forty thou- sand of which were printed and scattered over the North and used against Henry Clay. The duty of avoiding drunkenness was early preached by the clergy, though there are ac- counts of frequent "jolly ordinations" where the wine-cup was a natural part of the festivi- ties, and this in New England. In Virginia the hospitable sideboard always had upon it decanters from which the parson, as an honored guest, was expected to partake. Even Cotton Mather had asked in 1689, "whether the tnul- titude or quality of drinking -houses in the midst of us had not once been a stumbling-block of our iniquity," and Joseph Baxter in 1727 in- quired, " Is there nothing more to be done to keep Town-dwellers from sotting away their Time at Taverns "i And cannot there be some- thing done that will be more effectual to pre- vent the making of Indians Drunk .' " THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 27 The growth of a real temperance question, with kindred ideas of total abstinence, did not begin until the years between i8o8 and 18 13, the date of the starting of the Boston Society for the suppression of intemperance, though this society could not be called a total absti- nence body. The Presbyterian clergy in 18 18 put themselves on record, that men ought "to abstain from even the common use of ardent spirits." The two men who had the most to do with the formation of public sentiment at the start were Dr. Nott and Lyman Beecher. Dr. Nott, when President of Union College, prepared a series of most exhaustive lectures, treating the subject from the scriptural, physi- cal, and social sides, and showing how both religion and morals were arrayed against the drinking habits of the people. These lectures were afterward collected and printed, in 1823, in a volume that attained great popularity, called " Sermons on the Evils of Intemper- ance." Lyman Beecher's famous " Six Ser- mons" were among the first publications to hint at prohibition; in these he declared that the only remedy for intemperance was "the L 28 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS banishment of ardent spirits from the list of lawful articles of commerce." When Channing came to deal with the subject in his address before the Massachusetts Temperance Society on February 28, 1837, he spent very little of his time in condemnation, but in his wise way, seeking the causes that produced intemperance, he antedated our modern methods by suggest- ing reforms that might substitute some health- ful occupation and amusement to satisfy the cravings which brutal and inferior minds con- ceive are only appealed to by intoxication. He asserted that the widespread vice was due to the burden of toil that the poor had to bear, to intellectual depression, to sensuality and want of self-respect. To remove these causes he advocated innocent pleasures for recreation and culture : popular music, dancing, and even the theatre, if a better drama might spring up in the place of the coarse and indeli- cate performances which were then given. Restrictive legislation and the enforcement of important laws have resulted from the temper- ance agitation by the ministers, though they have not always agreed as to the best ways and means of solving the problem. THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 29 The greatest moral question, without doubt, that the American clergy had to face, was slavery ; and after all is said, and the facts are known, it is just to say that they faced it boldly and with wisdom. Long before the slavery question entered into the domain of politics it was both directly and indirectly the svibject of their work and preaching. With subtle power it was sure to be felt when serious and religious men preached the moral principles of Christianity : the only wonder is that the agitation did not begin earlier. In colonial days there were more than occasional refer- ences to the iniquity of the institution. When the first society for the abolition of slavery was organized in 1774 among the Quakers of Phila- delphia, there were ministers in Massachusetts who unhesitatingly advocated emancipation. Dr. Hopkins in Newport, the centre of the slave trade, urged, without ceasing, the sin of buying and selling human beings, and Samuel Stillman, in a sermon preached in Boston in 1779, prayed, "May the year of jubilee soon arrive, when Africa shall cast the look of grati- tude to these unhappy regions for the total 30 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS emancipation of her sons." He was followed by Moses Hemmenway, in 1784, who described " that inhuman monster, slavery, which has too long been tolerated. . . . And it is devoutly wished that the turf may lie firm upon its grave." Dr. Levi Hart, in 1774, at a town meeting in Farmington, Connecticut, had spoken freely on the subject, which was further con- demned in a poem published in 1775, by Aaron Cleaveland of Norwich, that singular character who was both a hatter and a minister. The first deliberate announcement of the moral wrong of slavery by any of the churches was made by the Methodists in the conference of 1780, when they resolved "that slavery is contrary to the laws of God, man, and nature, and hurtful to society ; contrary to the dictates of conscience and pure religion, and doing that which we would not that others should do to us and ours." The Presbyterian Church no less than six times, between the years 1787 and 1836, declared in favor of the abolition of slavery, by asserting "the deepest concern that any vestiges of slavery remained in the country." It was in 1823 that the annual Fourth of July address THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 3 1 against slavery was begun in the Park Street Church, Boston. Then, in various parts of the country, and even in the South, there was a dissemination of antislavery ideas, before the abolition movement began its crusade. His- tory has not brought out sufficiently the power- ful influence exerted in frontier towns and cities of the West, by the itinerant Methodist preachers and the Universalists, under the impulse of that vigorous soul, Elhanan Win- chester, who, by planting his doctrines west of the AUeghanies and in the Ohio Valley, secured Christian civilization to many scattered hamlets, and nourished the thoughts which developed among the people a clear conscience to deal with the slavery issue when it came. When slavery became a burning political question and the air was full of recrimination, and homes and friendships were rent asunder, the churches felt the strain. The Methodist church. North and South, divided in 1845, the immediate cause being a slave-holding bishop, James O. Andrews, who said, " Strange as it may seem to brethren, I am a slave-holder for conscience' sake." The Northern Methodists could not 32 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS stand this, and they so legislated that a great schism in the church occurred. There was the same break in the Presbyterian church in 1857, when the Fugitive Slave Law became the cause of contention. The abolitionists claimed some of the clergy as their ardent supporters, notably, many of the Methodists, and men like Theodore Parker, who threw himself heart and soul into the movement ; but the large body of the clergy, among them such men as Channing and Bush- nell, refused to ally themselves with the ex- tremists. They were as opposed to slavery as the most vituperative fanatic. They, however, felt that the abolitionists were taking the wrong course to achieve any practical results. It has often been charged that the clergy were cow- ardly and time-servers, because they did not join in the general chorus of invective. Their position should not be misunderstood. When they thought it wise to act, they protested in overwhelming numbers, as in the memorial against the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, which bore 3050 signatures. They preached against slav- ery, and upheld continually the principles which THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 33 they knew in time would undermine the whole institution. One leading cause of their absence from the abolitionist meetings was, that slavery was not the only theme under discussion. Other things were dragged in, and frequently religion was held up to ridicule. " If the assembly was disorderly," said Emerson, "it was picturesque. Madmen, madwomen, men with beards, Dunkers, Muggletonians, Come- outers, Groaners, Agrarians, Seventh-day Bap- tists, Quakers, Abolitionists, Calvinists, Unita- rians, and Philosophers, — all came successively to the top." The mistakes of Moses and the mistakes of the churches were illuminated with the same coruscation as the "southern broods of Hell." The air thus became sulphurous and difficult for rational people to breathe. The abolitionists seemed to care little for the Union. " Let the slave states go," became the cry ; the clergy believed in the Republic, and were willing to use every means to keep it a united whole. They also desired to retain some hold on the South until that moment arrived when it was no longer possible ; and they felt that there were other arguments to be used in debate than abuse 34 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Webster told the Senate that hostility to slavery was born in the religion of his constitu- ents. He uttered a great truth : the religion they had learned from childhood, which they associated with every stage of their history, and the traditions of their ancestors, which developed in them the sense of brotherhood and touched their practical natures with sym- pathy, were the force that made them act when the fulness of time had come. The vital seed sprang to the harvest when the soil was watered with the red blood of sacrifice. As the time for the great conflict drew near, representatives of the clergy everywhere were using their might to stay the impending seces- sion. General Scott said that the state of Cali- fornia was saved to the Union "by a young man of the name of King." This was none other than Thomas Starr King, a strong preacher and brilliant lecturer, who was the champion of the Union at political gatherings throughout California just before the war. Dr. William Ehot of St. Louis, it was freely said, " has done ten times as much as any other ten men to keep Missouri true to the Union THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 35 as a free state." Even the leading Southern bishops opposed secession. "You see I am almost in despair," wrote Bishop Meade ; " I am told that our clergy in Charleston preach in favor of disunion." Bishop Otey of Tennes- see exclaimed, "It is God alone that can still the madness of the people." The Episcopal General Convention threw its great influence on the side of the Union, by declaring the readiness of its members to fight for the cause. Those were days when men had to choose, and every indication of loyalty was of value. While Moses Stuart of Andover upheld slavery, and Bishop John Henry Hopkins advocated the peculiar institution of the South in his notori- ous book on the "Vindication of Slavery," there were many men in all the churches who believed in the righteousness of the war and who foresaw that emancipation must result from the successful ending of the conflict. Abraham Lincoln knew what the churches and ministers had really done in upholding his policy. His opinion is preserved for us in the following words : — "Nobly sustained as the government has 36 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS been by all the churches, I would utter nothing which might in the least appear invidious against any. Yet without this it may fairly be said that the Methodist Episcopal Church, not less devoted than the rest, is by its greater numbers the most important of all. . . . God bless the Methodist church ! bless all the churches ! and blessed be God, who in this our great trial giveth us the churches." During the Civil War, in many ways, through the Sanitary Commission, as chaplains, and as a home-guard of inspiration, the clergy man- fully bore their part in the great struggle. More conspicuously abroad, men like Henry Ward Beecher, Archbishop Hughes, and Bishop Mcllvane rendered important service in sustain- ing the friendly neutrality of European govern- ments. Beecher's remarkable series of speeches in England on slavery and the war did much to arouse the people of England to see the justice of the Union cause. Archbishop Hughes, in response to Seward's request, went on a semi- official mission to France and helped, by his tact and good sense, to prevent any possibility of intervention or recognition of the belliger- THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 37 ents. Bishop Mcllvane went on a similar errand to England, where, as an ecclesiastic of the Anglican Communion, he was cordially received, and was able, even beyond his expec- tations, to place the facts so clearly before his hearers, that they became more favorably dis- posed toward the administration of Lincoln. Thus, by the use of voice and pen, the Ameri- can clergy have exercised, through well-recog- nized literary channels, a great influence upon American life. In referring to this influence, it must also be remembered that they were preachers of the Christian religion. If Chris- tianity has been a power in the land in devel- oping the human conscience and inspiring rectitude of character, in encouraging men to lives of service, in introducing sentiments of high honor and business integrity, it has in large measure been due to the ministers. They have had a hearing in every hamlet, — on one day set apart from the seven when the children, the ignorant, and the men of education and of power have heard them. They have thus sus- tained a sense of the divine source of duty, and led their hearers into the presence of universal 38 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS moral forces. Their teaching has been potent on every battle-field, and in every legislative hall, in fine examples of devotion and in acts of heroism. The place that Christianity occupies in American civilization is largely due to the life and example of the clergy. CHAPTER II EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS From the colonial and provincial periods of American letters there have survived, out of the mass of sermons, systems, and pamphlets of the theologians, a few books that may be called literature. "The Magnalia" is curious, and a mine for the historian of manners ; but by far the best survival is Edwards's " Freedom of the Will," a study full of originality and a cer- tain buoyant force that makes the metaphysical treatise as lucid and harmonious as the author's own aesthetic love when dealing with nature and the soul, unhampered by inherited dogma- tism. Edwards stands at the head of the list of American theologians and literary men ; and though he contributed to the philosophi- cal and theological side of life, his work is so genuine and so beautifully done that he 39 40 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS must be claimed as a literary force, the move- ment of which has not yet been stayed. Another of these survivals is Michael Wigglesworth's " Day of Doom," a solemn relict of Puritan poetry before the verse of New England tripped lightly along and cele- brated themes other than the dread mystery of a fallen race. Even Nathaniel Ward, the author of " The Simple Cobbler of Agawam," occasionally left Sinai for Parnassus and ob- served that " Poetry's a gift wherein but few excel, He doth very ill, that doth not passing well, But he doth passing well, that doth his best, And he doth best, that passeth all the rest." The loving diary of David Brainard still breathes of the suffering that willed to sacri- fice, and through gloomy self-analysis he reached a joy in the thought of service to man and God, exclaiming on his death-bed, as Edwards tells us: "My Heaven is to please God, and glorify Him, and to give all to Him, and to be wholly devoted to His Glory ; that is the Heaven I long for ; that is my Religion, EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 41 and that is my Happiness." The Quaker John Woolman, school-teacher, tailor, and preacher, has left a journal with a simple literary style, self-poised and direct, which Whittier, in editing in 1871, speaks of as revealing a serene and beautiful presence. The thought pervad- ing the whole of the diary, that "religion is love," is a mild antidote to the fierceness of belligerent theologians, and proves that within the whirlwind of debate there was a still small voice which could be heard in the sheltered soul. In the national era of American literature this same impulse for self-expression is to be seen in even a more vigorous form. For the most part college graduates, except when cer- tain sects have rejoiced in an uneducated minis- try, the clergy have in varying degrees put their learning into the form of precise expression with uninterrupted regularity and unrestrained voluminousness : the weekly sermon, written with care, has been their editorial leader, enforced with special addresses and orations, making an inevitable event as "sure as preach- ing." In the exposition of doctrines and the 43 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS controversies between sects there have been books innumerable, books of attack and de- fence, pamphlets with curious names, huge com- mentaries and systems of theology and philos- ophy ; and occasionally some of the more ener- getic of the clergy have turned aside from the immediate duty and written histories, biogra- phies, sketches, poems, hymns, and even novels. ' There are many reasons which account for the lack of genuine literary fertility among the clergy. They have been engaged in the work of creating churches and institutions. The very fabrics and endowments have had to be built up, especially in the rapidly growing parts of America. There are few fellowships with pecuniary value attached which make it possible for a man to devote himself to special branches of study ; and the average American parish, with its numerous demands of a public and pri- vate character, is not favorable to profound study or that quiet reflection necessary for works of the imagination. The clergy have been preachers, organizers, reformers, citizens, men eminently respected in their communities, giving of their time and thought to the needs EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 43 of the people. These very characteristics have prevented them from developing their talents in literary directions. Centred about the univer- sities there have been clergymen who could de- vote themselves more particularly to writing, and here and there a parish minister has been able to take the time to make himself proficient in some branch of learning. But in the main, it has been difficult for the clergy to do two things at once, be pioneer builders and upholders of the institution, and give free play to their talents for research or delicate literary expression. What time or inclination for letters had the Metho- dist itinerant preacher and circuit-rider, who fre- quently camped out in the mountains or found a night's lodging in a log-cabin on the prairies ? He did an important work in connecting the scattered settlements together with a bond of friendly and moral interest, but he could rarely even keep a diary of his experiences and, in many cases, thrilling adventures. The Univer- salist preacher, pushing his way into the forests of Ohio and Illinois, engaged in the same kind of pioneer work, could do little more than carry with him the doctrine of John Murray and 44 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Hosea Ballou. The Baptist ministers through- out the South and West created congrega- tions and taught them the principles of right conduct. In their pathway sprang up innumer- able colleges which they founded, and these became important elements in the general diffusion of education. Among the Congregational clergy of New England with the Unitarian development so fruitful in literary inspiration, and the sturdy Scotch-Irish Presbyterians of the Middle states with their love for dogmatic theology, and the Episcopalians drawing upon the wealth of Eng- lish Church tradition and refinement, are to be discovered the sources of literature. The old established universities belonged to them. They were in closer touch with foreign thought, and better able to interpret contemporary events. Harvard and Yale, Princeton and Columbia, were the breeding-places of Ameri- can ideas. It has been said that the American mind has worked, first in theology, second in politics, and last in literature. Historically, this makes an easy division, but in each department there EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 45 have always been representatives, sometimes more of one than of another ; it would be a narrow definition of literature to exclude from it either the theology of earlier or later days, or their politics, and confine it to the poetry, or essay, or novel of the modern time. Pro- fessor Richardson, in his admirable book on American Literature, speaking of the early theo- logical writings of the ministry, says : " Their kinship in literature lies only in the fact that they were written, and that they had an ideal theme. This must be the final verdict with reference to thousands of printed pages, pro- duced by godly and justly honored American ministers before the Revolution. Their quaint characteris'tics and their doctrinal systems do not make them literature for the most part." This may be true, but it does not exclude from literature theological writing either in the colo- nial or national era, if such writing attains the dignity of important utterances on human rela- tionships and man's duty to his Creator. Eng- lish literature has surely been indebted to the sermons of Hooker, Tillotson, Leighton, and Paley. The American clergy have in many 46 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS different ways made similar valuable contribu- tions to our literature. The parish minister would take the time usually allotted to exercise and spend it in his library, or use his vacations for investigation into some subject that inter- ested him. Many who, because of ill health or for other reasons, retired from their active ministry, often made fruitful their declining years by writing and publishing books on sub- jects of importance. In more than one case, however, the love for letters superseded the love for the clerical profession, and the latter was renounced in order to devote the whole time to the pursuit of learning. Among the clergy, therefore, there are many names of men who have enriched the literature of America as historians, poets, hymn-writers, authors of fiction, builders of theological sys- tems, expounders of philosophy, and writers of a vast variety of books included in what has well been called "borderlands of literature." It is by no means easy to classify these various authors, because they did not confine them- selves to any one branch of literature, often being conspicuous for works in several depart- EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 47 ments, and, in addition, having a well-earned fame as preachers and, it may be, as administra- tors and theologians. One wrote history, and also indulged in philosophical speculation ; another was something of a poet, while at the same time he would be known as the writer of a Latin grammar ; one famous as a college presi- dent would write important treatises on moral science ; and one known as the author of novels, would become the stately historian. Authorship was often incidental to the main purpose of life, though in many cases the mis- sion of literature, as a permanent and wide- spread method of rendering service to the nation, was recognized, and the author sacri- ficed a temporary success in less exacting fields to the more lasting benefits conferred through the printed page. History was a congenial study to the clergy, because they were ministers of a historical religion. Doctrines and church organizations in every stage of their development bear the marks of historical conflicts. Naturally, there- fore, those who watched the passage of the centuries with special interest, would be among 48 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS the first to record contemporary events, and delve into the traditions of the past. Promi- nent among these historians are Ezra Stiles, Jeremy Belknap, Abiel Holmes, William White, John G. Palfrey, John Stephens Cabot Abbott, Jacob Abbott, and Octavius Frothingham. Ezra Stiles (1727-1795) was acknowledged to be one of the most learned men of his generation. Before he was elected to the Presidency of Yale College in 1777 he was a correspondent of many foreign literary men, writing at one time a letter in Latin to the principal of a Jesuit college in Mexico, and again to the Prefect of the University of Co- penhagen to make minute inquiries about some Arabic manuscript that had been dis- covered in Egypt. He was a remarkable He- brew scholar, and made more progress than any of his American contemporaries in Per- sian, Arabic, and Syriac. In scientific ex- periments he was aided by Benjamin Franklin, who sent Stiles, when a tutor at Yale in 1749, an electrical apparatus with which he made many experiments, — the first, in fact, ever made in New England. Franklin continued EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 49 his interest, and sent him a Fahrenheit's thermometer, and later suggested to the Uni- versity of Edinburgh that it confer the de- gree of D.D. upon him. These favors were reciprocated when Franklin visited Yale, and President Stiles made an appropriate address of welcome in Latin, though this was nothing unusual for him, for at Commencement he sometimes delivered a Hebrew oration in the morning and a Latin one in the afternoon. The funeral orations in honor of Governor Law and Bishop Berkeley were considered impressive, though in the Latin language. Classical scholarship did not prevent Dr. Stiles from taking keen interest in the history of his country. He began an " Ecclesiastical History of New England," which, however, he never finished ; and his manuscript Journal filled fifteen volumes. The chief historical work he engaged in was " A History of Three of the Judges of King Charles I.," containing the account of Whalley, Goffe, and Dixwell, who, at the Restoration in 1660, fled to Amer- ica and were concealed for many years, though frequent efforts were made by the Crown to 50 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS bring them to justice. This historical work is valuable as a careful inquiry at first hand into the history and fate of the three judges. Governor Hutchinson's account of their ca- reer is generally sustained. An investigation is made into the compilations of Whitlock and Rushworth, with quotations from other Euro- pean sources ; and a careful examination into the local traditions and reports concerning their places of residence, adventures, and graves in America are added, with arguments for their defence, and a full account of their deal- ings with the king. The object of the book is to enable " the world to form an idea of the principles and design of these worthies," and the hope is expressed that " the memory of these suffering exiles will be immortalized with honor when there is a proper method adopted of judging criminal royalty." The conclusion is reached that " all three were of King Charles's Judges ; all three were of the Par- liamentary and Oliverian army ; all three mem- bers of Parliament ; two of them of Oliver's most honorable House of Lords." The three men on landing in America stayed EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 5 1 for a time in Cambridge, but later sought safety in flight to New Haven, in which city Dixwell lived for many years, changing his name to Davids. Goffe and Whalley went to Hadley and were secreted by the minister, Mr. Russell, in a little chamber of his house, behind the chimney and between two rooms. It was re- lated that they were buried in the cellar of the minister's house. All together the story is a most romantic one, and well told. Dr. Stiles showing the instincts of the true historian by basing his conclusions on documents he had inspected and the evidence of persons whom he had cross-questioned. The analysis of the inscription on a tombstone in New Haven to discover whether Whalley was buried by the side of the acknowledged grave of Dixwell is most ingenious, suggesting the mind of the mathe- matician, and must have been like the calculations of Dr. Stiles when computing the orbits of the stars, as he pursued his favorite study of astron- omy. In the chapter on the justification of the judges we have a clear Puritan estimate of the righteousness of the verdict against Charles I., in the contention: "That in great revolutions 52 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS and national rescues of parties and entire liberty, these tribunals may be and have been as dif- ferently instituted, and yet become vested and clothed with just, legal, and plenary authority : and that the high court of 1649 was such a' legal tribunal, and that their sentence was righteous and just." Before the Revolution, Dr. Stiles was one of those calm observers who saw that it was com- ing and helped to form public opinion by the remark that "there will be a Runnemede in America." When during the war there were British commissioners appointed to negotiate with Congress, he forcibly maintained that " no proposal for interviews and negotiations should be attended to without this preliminary : An act of Parliament renouncing the dominion of these states, and acknowledging their indepen- dence and sovereignty ; at the same time withdrawing their armies ; then we may listen to propositions of alliance." Though Dr. Stiles hesitated to accept the Presidency of Yale, say- ing that " the diadem of a President is a crown of thorns," he fulfilled the duties of the office acceptably, being also Professor of Divinity, EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 53 Oriental Languages, Philosophy, and Natural Sciences. His administration of the college was hampered by controversies concerning the constitution of the institution, the legislature refusing to make appropriations for its financial assistance. The conduct of the students and a certain laxity of discipline further interfered with the best organized work, but he paved the way during the trying time just after the Revo- lution for the more normal regime under his successor Timothy Dwight. His published works include a celebrated " Election Sermon " and "An Account of the Settlement of Bristol" ; and he left behind him in manuscript more than forty volumes. His journal is full of historic interest. A fragment of it has been published, containing an account of a journey on horseback from New Haven to Philadelphia, where he viewed with pleasure " the rods and wires which defended the Academy House from lightning." He noted such peculiarities as a woman three feet high, and a monkey which he saw by the way, not failing to describe his entertainment in New York, where with his friends he "supped and settled politics over a generous bottle." 54 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Jeremy Belknap (1744- 1798) has been called "The Father of American History." His claim to this title rests mainly on his two works, " History of New Hampshire " and " Historical Account of those Persons who have been Distinguished in America"; though he also was one of the founders of the Massa- chusetts Historical Society, having drawn up, in 1790, a plan of an Antiquarian Society. At first he was a minister in Dover, New Hamp- shire, where his interest in local history was aroused, and then minister of the Federal Street Church in Boston. The " History of New Hampshire " was one of the first attempts to gather the scattered material lying hid in pri- vate secretaries and town houses, and use them in a connected whole as the story of a state. De Tocqueville commended the work, and Governor Wentworth, who was a conspicuous figure in the state at the outbreak of the Revo- lution, contributed facts of importance to the historian, and, though differing from the author in many particulars, spoke highly of its accu- racy and fairness. The book has been regarded as authoritative, and is written with polish and learning. EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 55 The most ambitious of Belknap's works was the series of biographies under the undiscrimi- nating title, " Historical Account of those Per- sons who have been Distinguished in America." His aim was to produce a sort of extended bio- graphical dictionary, which should embrace the biographies of "the discoverers, adventurers, statesmen, philosophers, divines, warriors, au- thors, and other remarkable characters, com- prehending a recital of the events connected with their lives and actions." This great undertaking was not completed, but a sufHcient number of persons were treated to show his design and to present their histories for the first time in a series of sketches not unlike Plutarch's Lives. The list of names includes the pre-Columbian discoverers, Biron, Madoc, Prince of Wales, and Zeno, the Venetian ; also Columbus, the Cabots, John Smith, Bartholo- mew Gosnold, Henry Hudson, Francis Wyatt, Miles Standish, John Winthrop, Calvert, and William Penn. Besides drawing on original sources whenever he could get at them, he often visited distant points to verify his state- ments. In preparing the account of Gosnold, 56 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS he visited the island of Cuttyhunk at the entrance of Buzzards Bay, and assured himself that this was the island on which the discoverer lived, because, to his satisfaction, he found the remains of Gosnold's store-house, as it had been described, " on an islet in the middle of a pond of fresh water." This work was the beginning of the growth of that historical consciousness on the part of the American people which since these early efforts has flourished so extensively. "The Foresters," of Belknap, published in 1796, was popular in its day. It is a humorous tale of American history, not without subtlety and wit. Originally appearing in the Colum- bian Magazine, it attracted attention and was read as an ingenious method of presenting the writer's views on many historical and political topics. The different countries and states play their parts in the story under appropriate names : John Bull is, of course, England, his mother is the Church of England, and his wife is the Parliament, his brother Patrick being Ireland. The Foresters represent Amer- ica, Peregrine Pickle stands for Plymouth Col- EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 57 ony, Peter Bull-Frog for New York, Hunter Longknife for Kentucky, Black Cattle for the Negro Slaves, Roger Carrier for Rhode Island, and Walter Pipeweed for Virginia. These characters have their family troubles and amusing adventures, all slyly pointing to genuine political and social conditions. John Bull proved very good to his friends "as long as they continued to be of his mind." The religious peculiarities of Rhode Island were indicated when Roger took offence at the letter X, and desired to have it expunged from the alphabet because it was the shape of a cross ; he refused to do his duty at a military review because there was an X in the colors. At the same time Roger seemed to have a leaning toward knavery, "for he publickly advertised that he was ready to pay his debts by note of hand, subject to a dis- count, the amount of which was indefinite because continually increasing." The conten- tion of some of the colonists that the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, originally formed to convert Indians, was using its money to win over to the Church of England the 58 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Puritans was thus set forth, after a description of the failure to propagate knowledge among the savages : " After some trials, which did not answer expectation. Old Madam Bull con- ceived that the money which was collected might as well be expended in teaching Mr. Bull's own tenants a little better manners ; for some of them were rather awkward and slovenly in their deportment, while others were decent and devout in their own way. Madam, as we have before observed, was a great zealot in the cause of uniformity, and had a vast influence over her son, by virtue of which the attention of the club was principally directed to the promoting of this grand object. Ac- cordingly, every one of the tenants was fur- nished with a Bible and a Prayer Book, a clean napkin, basin, platter, and chalice, with a few devotional tracts, and some young ad- venturers, who had been educated in the family, were recommended as chaplains; who had also by-orders to keep a look-out toward the sav- age animals when they should fall in their way." The humor of " The Foresters " is often strained, but is interesting for other rea- EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 59 sons than the unwonted spectacle of a serious divine treating Hghtly the ponderous facts of history, which in other places he had expounded with sufficient solemnity. There is a lack of humor, however, in the bald statement found in Belknap's diary concerning an extremely sentimental fact : — " June 14. Preached at Ipswich. "June 15. Preached, Boston ; evening, mar- ried. " yune 18. Set out on our return." In the Revolution, Dr. Belknap was active principally in writing addresses to the people of New Hampshire and to British officers. When there was resistance to the Boston Port Act, he publicly solicited aid by urging the people to help the rebellious ones, saying, " Shall not we, though our ability is but small in proportion to theirs, do what we can to enable our brethren, who are foremost in the conflict, to maintain the cause in which they are engaged by a firm and manly persever- ance.''" To General Gage when his army was camped on Boston Common he appealed, not in the most persuasive tones : " Gentlemen, I 6o THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS pity you, — what have you done to deserve such disgrace ? You are sent over into Amer- ica for the meanest and basest purposes." In sketching Revolutionary characters, especially those whom he had met. Dr. Belknap was graphic, as is well illustrated by what he said of General Charles Lee: "a perfect original, a good scholar and soldier, and an odd genius, full of fire and passion, and but little good manners ; a great sloven, wretchedly profane, and a great admirer of dogs, of which he had two at dinner with him." Dr. Belknap's other works were the " Life of Isaac Watts " and a compilation of hymns called " Sacred Poetry," the principle of selection being announced to provide pleasure to different types of Chris- tians, those who do not scruple to sing praises to their Redeemer, "and others whose tender- ness of conscience may oblige them to confine their addresses to the Father only, will find no deficiency of matter suited to their ideas of the chaste and awful spirit of devotion." Oliver Wendell Holmes playfully describes himself as a youth bumping about in a library when he was hardly taller than the folios of EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 6 1 his father, whom he refers to as a clergyman and an author, his "Annals of America" hav- ing made him a reputation as an accurate and trustworthy writer. Abiel Holmes (1763-1837), preacher in Cambridge, author of biographies and histories, and published discourses, and sometimes poems, was all of this, "an accu- rate and trustworthy writer " ; and more, for he was a wise father and a pioneer in the field of the study of the complete history of America. There are sage letters of advice to his son, Oliver Wendell, that prove his judgment ; and the career of the son shows that the instruction was heeded. When the future wit and poet was at school in Andover, he may have smiled at the stateliness of his father's tone in the letters he received, but he was careful to listen to the admonition. Dr. Abiel Holmes was, however, one of the most " delightful of sunny old men," and though the son met in his father's house some "ministers with meagre throats and a funeral service in their physiog- nomies," he also knew those who spoke " as living men to living men," not all his minis- terial acquaintances being of the sort who prided 62 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS themselves on discoursing "as dying men to dying men." It was in preparing the " Life of Ezra Stiles " that Abiel Holmes first became engrossed in literary studies. He had married the daughter of Dr. Stiles, and received possession of the manuscripts of the learned President of Yale on his decease. After this he wrote "The History of Cambridge," a description of the soil, the trees, the river, the churches, and Har- vard University, with an account of each build- ing, not omitting to mention the first license for an inn "to sell beare and bread for enter- tainment of strangers, and the good of the town." The volume concludes with biographi- cal sketches of the ministers of Cambridge, especially Thomas Hooker, Samuel Stone, Will- iam Brattle, and Nathaniel Appleton. The great book of his life, however, was "The Annals of America" from the days of Columbus to 1826, the date of the last edition of the work. The project of writing such a comprehensive his- tory was formed when he learned that no such attempt had been made before in the domain of American history. There had been separate EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 63 histories of special localities and phases of American life, but this work of Dr. Abiel Holmes may be considered the genuine fore- runner of Bancroft's " History of the United States." " While local histories of particular portions of America have been written," writes Abiel Holmes, "no attempt has been made to give even the outline of its entire history." None knew better than the author how difficult a task was his in the effort to include within one work the events of several centuries, and he was modestly satisfied should the volumes serve as an "index to the principal sources of Ameri- can history." The work was well received in America ; and an English reviewer said, " It displays great industry and research, and js peculiarly valuable," though it called forth the usual British sarcasms and misrepresentations that then assailed any venture into the realm of American letters. Dr. Abiel Holmes pleaded in answer that there be "no party in the Re- public of Letters." The term "Annals" indi- cates the character of the history. It relates in chronological order events, without show- ing much logical connection between them, 64 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS the influence of cause and effect on the prog- ress of history being not so well understood then as now. It would be called, judged by modern methods, fragmentary, because it can hardly be said to be welded into a whole. There are many series of facts given like the following : — "1719. The first number of the Boston Gazette was printed at Boston, and the Weekly Mercury at Philadelphia. "The first Presbyterian church in New York was founded this year. "The Aurora Borealis was first seen in New England on the 17th of December." The historical work of Dr. Abiel Holmes found another outlet through the Massachusetts Historical Society, of which he was for some time corresponding secretary. The records contain several of his contributions, notably a curious " Memoir of the French Protestants, who settled in Oxford, Mass., in 1686," and the " Memoir of the Mohegan Indians." His printed sermons usually deal with historical subjects, the address before the American Antiquarian Society in 18 14 being of this char- EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 6$ acter, as also the two discourses, December 24, 1820, on "The Completion of the Second Cen- tury from the Landing of the Forefathers of New England at Plymouth." Two of the important sermons of Dr. Holmes were occa- sioned by the death of General Washington. He preached one almost immediately after the death of Washington, and the other on Feb- ruary 22, 1800. The first was a general estimate of Washington's character, and the other, " Recommending the Counsel of Wash- ington." After comparing the great President to " Camillus flying to defend the Capital," " Cato ready to devote his fortune and his life to the salvation of his country," and " Cincin- natus returning from the camp to the farm," he adds, " In the peculiar situation of our infant country, the wisdom of Washington was better than weapons of war " : he was also character- ized as " deliberate, without perplexity ; calm, without apathy ; animated, without enthusiasm ; decisive, without pertinacity ; and bold, without temerity." The counsels of Washington recom- mended, were for unity of government with no geographical discriminations, good faith and 66 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS justice toward all nations and regard to moral and religious duties. There was one side of Dr. Abiel Holmes's nature which few recall, but which has a pecul- iar interest because of the genius of his son. There survives a little time-stained book, called " A Family Tablet," containing some of his verses and others by friends, which he col- lected. The poetry is not of great merit, but displays at least a love for versification. The author of " The Autocrat " and " Elsie Ven- ner " believed so fully in the doctrine of hered- ity that it is not without its suggestiveness to run across such a little book of verse emanat- ing from his father. The dignified historian enjoyed the writing of serious and occasional verse almost as much as his son. It is natural to find him writing a hymn at sea, singing : — "Who here can cast his eyes abroad, And not adore the eternal God ? Vast are the products of His skill, Nor aught can stay His sovereign will." A reflection on the flight of life is like the setting to rhyme of sentences from a sermon. But it is altogether delightful to hear him EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 6/ writing to his sweetheart, thanking her for the gift of a jonquil : — " What magic art hath taught thee thus to live ? What hand but Myra's could thy bloom revive ? Sweet lovely flower ! by that fair nymph caressed, Myron thrice welcome hails thee to his breast ; Here all thy verdure, all thy sweets display, Bloom while she smiles ; and when she frowns decay." It is not surprising that the episode of the jonquil was followed by other verses that com- plete the story, in which the Puritan divine shows decided human traits. Though calling himself " Fittest for a hermit's cell," he yet exclaimed : — " Now I know true happiness. For I come with thee to dwell." William White (1770-1836), minister of the Church of England in Philadelphia before the Revolution and after it Bishop of Pennsyl- vania, has left a valuable historical record, in his " Memoirs of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America," and of certain religious causes that influenced the separation of the colonies from England. 68 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS The Church of England parishes in America before the Revolution were dependent, in many instances, entirely on the support of the So- ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel; and in their feeble condition appealed often to the Mother Church to have a bishop set over them, since without such Episcopal oversight there was no method of discipline, and young men seeking the ministry were compelled to cross the ocean for ordination. From New England and Virginia petitions were from time to time sent asking for an American bishop. These requests created much opposition in America, for the Puritans especially were strenuously opposed to the presence of such an ecclesiastic. Hot controversies raged over this question, started in the first instance by Jonathan May- hew, the vigorous and outspoken minister of Boston. Newspapers and pamphlets soon en- gaged in the controversy ; and pictures of a tyrannical and revenue-absorbing bishop ex- ercising jurisdiction in territory that was felt to be forever secure from such intrusion were painted in vivid colors. Many took alarm. Samuel Adams wrote in 1768 expressing the EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 69 hope that "such an establishment will never take place in America. . . . The revenue raised in America for aught we can tell may be as constitutionally applied toward the support of prelacy as of soldiers and pensioners." When Archbishop Seeker answered, showing that if the English church should send a bishop there was no intention of making him other than a spiritual leader of his own people, there was the retort: "You see how we are cajoled. A colony bishop is to be a more innocent crea- ture than ever a bishop was since diocesan bishops were introduced to lord it over God's heritage. . . . The arrival of a bishop would raise them [the people] as much as any one thing." No bishop was sent, but the political ferment caused by the suggestion served to increase the bitterness between Britain and the colonies. As William White indicates, the failure to send a bishop to America was not due entirely to opposition from the colonies, but, as he says, "any ministry, who should have ventured on the measure, would have raised up against themselves the whole of the dissenting interest in England ; and the weight 70 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS of that interest was more important to them, in their estimation, than the making of a party for the mother country in the colonies." As to the motives of both sides, William White justly says : "The Episcopal clergy disclaimed the designs and the expectations of which they were accused ; and as the same was done by their advocates on the other side of the water, particularly by the principal of them, the great and good Archbishop Seeker, they ought to be supposed to have had in view an Episcopacy purely religious. On the other hand, as their opponents laid aside their resistance of the religious part of it, as soon as American inde- pendence had done away with all political danger, if it existed, it ought to be believed that in their former professed apprehension they were sincere." The " Memoirs " relate in a most interest- ing way the method by which the author and Dr. Provoost, after the Revolution, went to England and were consecrated bishops in the chapel of Lambeth Palace on February 4, 1787. They were delightfully entertained by Arch- bishop Moore ; and John Adams, the Ameri- EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 71 can Minister, forgetting his former prejudice, did all in his power to bring their mission to a successful issue, even suggesting that if they failed in securing their consecration from the English bishops, they might receive the same from the bishops in Denmark. The book is written in a spirit of fairness, and gives valuable papers relating to Amer- ican history in the "Appendix of original papers." Bishop White wrote many other books and pamphlets, principally dealing with religious topics. He was a friend of Washing- ton, Franklin, and Dr. Priestley, with whom he corresponded. Though a clergyman of the Church of England, when the Revolution broke out he was among the first to take the oath of allegiance to the new government. A gen- tleman standing by intimated by a gesture the danger he was exposing himself to. " I perceived by your gesture," he replied, "that you thought I was exposing my neck to great danger by the step which I have taken. But I have not taken it without full deliberation. I know my danger, and that it is greater on account of my being a clergyman of the Church 72 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS of England. But I trust in Providence. The cause is a just one, and I am persuaded will be protected." He faithfully served as chap- lain of Congress and was always true to the American cause. As the venerable bishop of his diocese, he was beloved by all, at times showing unusual sympathy and courage ; when the Asiatic cholera claimed many victims in Philadelphia in 1832, he ministered to the sick and dying, regardless of any fear of contagion. The appreciation of the people was shown when his portrait was hung in Independence Hall by the side of Lafayette and Washington. One of the most voluminous of American writers was John Stephens Cabot Abbott (1805-1877), who published over fifty books, on moral and religious subjects, but chiefly historical. He was a hard-working parish minister for many years, serving five different parishes, notably at Worcester, Roxbury, and New Haven. Almost from the first he began writing books in addition to the weekly sermon, the earliest being "The Mother at Home," in which, with a clergyman's insight into the need of moral training in the home, he wrote EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 73 familiarly on the duties of motherhood in rela- tion to the children. This book was translated into many languages and was used freely by missionaries in their distant labors. His at- tention, however, was soon turned to historical subjects. Feeling that a knowledge of great men and deeds of our own land and of other countries was a stimulus to character, Abbott's aim was to popularize history by presenting in a readable form the important events in the lives of individuals and nations. He was not the erudite historian writing for scholars, but he had a mind for the picturesque and striking fact which might lodge in the people's thought through the simple medium of biographical stories, though he was also fond of quoting Lamartine's remark that "the impartiality of history is not like that of a mirror which merely reflects objects ; it should be that of a judge who sees, listens, and decides." His power of historical imagination, combined with a delicate moral sense, enabled him to write for the people, though his judgment was not always to be relied upon because of his prejudices. 74 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS The method and extent of Abbott's literary work is well shown in a letter which he wrote in 1870, and illustrates the regular habit of his life. " I have full charge of not a small par- ish," he said, "with all its pulpit and parochial labors ; it is a rule with me to prepare one new sermon every week. In addition to this I pre- pare a monthly article of twenty pages for Harper's Magazine, and am writing two books, one on the ' History of Louis XIV.,' and the other, the ' History of the Christian Religion.' Last week I wrote the tenth chapter of this history. I have sent the first four chapters of the 'History of Louis XIV.' to Harper's, and have four other chapters completed." In this methodical way he produced those graphic accounts of pioneer life, " Kit Carson " and "Daniel Boone," and the valuable series of American pioneers and patriots, including "Ferdinand de Soto" and "Benjamin Frank- lin." His foreign histories were numerous, making in all a formidable list : " The Empire of Austria," " History of Frederick the Great," " History of Henry the Fourth, King of France and Navarre," "History of Josephine," "His- EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 75 tory of Madame Roland," " History of Hernando Cortez," and many others of similar character. "The Romance of Spanish History" has al- ways been considered one of his best books. Among his American books must be mentioned the "Lives of the Presidents of the United States " and the " History of the Civil War." "The History of Napoleon" caused a good deal of controversy, because in dealing with the character of the Emperor he was greatly influ- enced by English prejudices and failed to enter with any sympathy either into Napoleon's mo- tives or accomplishments. The book has not the judicial fairness of the calm student. Cov- ering such a wide field of historical inquiry, it is not surprising that many of his books are at times superficial and run the risk of the popular writer of over-emphasizing dramatic details and neglecting the subtle play of cause and effect. Abbott was a strong anti-slavery man, as is seen in his pleasant book of travels, " South and North, or Impressions received during a Trip to Cuba and the South." But his most valuable contribution to the cause of freedom was the " History of the Civil War," published •J& THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS contemporaneously with the war, comprising a full account of its origin and progress. In the earlier volumes it was most important to have an interpretation put upon the events of the conflict which would inspire men to uphold the Lincoln administration in the course that was being pursued ; and doubtless the many who read the book were led to continued efforts and were given a clearer thought of the reasons for the conflict. He taught that the war was a " conflict between aristocratic usurpa- tion and popular rights.'' In answer to the cry for peace and a willingness to let the South go, he exclaimed : " Better let the slave- holders go ! This is the dotage of amiability. There is not an intelligent man. North or South, who does not know that separation is eternal war. Who will fix the boundaries .''... It is impossible for two different nations to live side by side. Either slavery must be dominant on the continent or freedom." Jacob Abbott, the brother of John Stephens Cabot Abbott, though better known as a teacher and writer for the young, was the author of many historical books of importance. His EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS "JJ occupation as a teacher doubtless first inter- ested him in juvenile literature, and his profes- sion as a minister led him to consider the best methods for moral training. The Rollo Books and the Lucy Books were widely read, and stimulated the minds of young people to seek knowledge and good living. Rollo at work, at play, on his vacations and travels, in his experiments and forming his museum, was a very real character to the children of a former generation. Rollo's philosophy and code of morals dealt with questions of daily ethics and inculcated excellent principles as a foundation for early manhood. Jacob Abbott's " Lecture on Moral Education" and "The Young Chris- tian " carried out the same general plan of en- forcing ethical training in addition to the education which consisted in the accumula- tion of facts. The books were all interesting because they explained principles by many illustrations and explanations, — the' illustra- tions at times being too diffuse perhaps, and the applications were occasionally vague. The germ of later educational methods is to be dis- covered in them, but in their day they were 78 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS valuable possessions for the children, and aids to those who had to teach. Juvenile literature is by no means an insigniiicant part of general literature because of its influence at a formative stage of life ; and those, like Jacob Abbott, who seized upon it as a medium for reach- ing the young in a bright and wholesome way, have contributed to the well-being of society. The historical books of Jacob Abbott were written as much with the object of instruction as the desire to find the truth. They therefore bear the marks of the schoolmaster, and can hardly be called independent researches, though they are always accurate, full, and entertaining. The " History of Cyrus the Great " and the "History of Alexander the Great" are much more than school books. They draw upon origi- nal sources of information, and present the lives of these kings in the true historical setting, with a va'st amount of picturesque detail. The "History of King Richard the Third of Eng- land," "History of Mary Queen of Scots," " History of Queen Elizabeth," and " History of Peter the Great" in different ways illustrate EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 79 the same painstaking care, and create a vivid impression of the characters described. In the account of Peter the Great the relations between the Czar and his son Alexis are very dramati- cally told, and when the dissolute youth is led to conspire against the throne and finally cap- tured and condemned to death, the forgiveness of the father is brought out in strong contrast to the viciousness of the son. In the same general style, but with more completeness, the series of American Histories, containing accounts in separate volumes of the discovery of America, the Southern and Northern colonies, the two colonial wars, and the revolt of the colonies, is a presentation of facts with an examination into causes and effects. The schoolmaster and the moralist are perhaps too much in evidence to make the books more than handbooks and com- pendiums, though there are often many passages, especially in setting forth the principles of gov- ernment and the differences between European and American ideas, that suggest the accom- plished historian. The quality of the books, however, was determined by the author's aim to make the work " useful to the young in awaken- So THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS ing in their minds an interest in the history of their country." A good object, no doubt ; and one must not complain if the adult reader does not always find that largeness of view and rapid character sketching which lend a charm to the historian's craft. On the other hand, the thoughtful student will have enjoyment in reading Jacob Abbott's " New England and her Institutions," where, with humor and anec- dote, the story of the social life and institu- tions that are passing away is told with the freshness of personal knowledge and reminis- cence. It is not with entire justice to his career that John Graham Palfrey (i 796-1881) can be included among the clerical historians. It is true that he was at one time a minister in the Unitarian church, and professor of Sacred Literature in Harvard, and Dean of the Theo- logical Faculty, but his subsequent career as a member of Congress, Secretary of State of Massachusetts, and postmaster of Boston, was so different from his earlier life, that it is diffi- cult to associate him with the ministerial pro- fession. However, he has left many important EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 8 1 sermons ; and the books on the " Elements of Chaldee" and "Relation between Judaism and Christianity " are a sufficient reminder of a ministry of some importance. His " Papers on the Slave Power," and speeches on the " Politi- cal Aspect of the Slave Question " delivered in Congress and widely read, indicated that the same lofty morality that he preached from the pulpit did not desert him when he entered the political arena. As a historian, especially in his " History of New England," he stands easily first among those of the clergy who have written history. The accuracy of his knowledge, the justice of his opinions, and the pictorial effects of his work, were such that Lowell was moved to say of his " History of New England " that " it is httle to say that his work is the only one of its kind. He has done it so well, that it is likely to remain so ; " and commenting on him as a historian, Lowell adds, "Patient, thoughtful, exact, and with those sensitive moral sympathies which are worth more than all else to a historian, he has added to our stock of truth, and has helped us in the way of right thinking." 82 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Octavius Brooks Frothingham (1822-1895), as the historian of Transcendentalism and the biographer of Theodore Parker, George Ripley, and William Henry Channing, has a place in the list of clerical historians. He was a suc- cessful preacher to a large congregation in Masonic Hall, New York City, and a man deeply interested in the spread of liberal theology; but literature claimed his most serious work, in which he was an indefati- gable student and preacher. The " History of Transcendentalism in New England " is an authoritative account of the historical move- ments that preceded the rise in New Eng- land of the philosophy that came to its flower in Emerson and found an interpreter in Theo- dore Parker and the more liberal wing of Unitarianism. One will have to look far for a better or more appreciative analysis of the thought and character of Emerson than that given by Frothingham. The " Life of George Ripley" is a model of careful biography, and contains, besides, one of the best brief descrip- tions to be found anywhere of "Brook Farm." The most apparent fault of his style is perhaps EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 83 the lack of a sense of proportion, and the exaggeration of the importance of details, which, however, often explain and make more vivid the persons and events about which he is writing. CHAPTER III POETRY AND ROMANCE From the accurate statement of facts and the record of past history, the clergyman often turned to the more imaginative and lighter literary forms of expression in sonnet, ballad, and even the measured lines of the epic. Poetic ability is sometimes discerned in the illus- trations and similes used in the sermon, but there it was necessarily limited in scope and force ; and, struggling to embody itself in the recognized methods of verse, it often sang its way into a quatrain or a hymn. The clergy have always been fond of the poets, storing up a phrase or a couplet to lend greater beauty and power to the truth which they have set forth. Horace and Milton were read, not only with the interest of the teacher, but because of a message to the imagination, which loosed the play of fancy and created a music 84. POETRY AND ROMANCE 85 within, seeking an outlet in verse. There have been many of the clergy who, in moments of special feeling, or to commemorate impor- tant events, to stir up patriotism, or to aid in worship, have written lines that bear within them the human emotions of passion, devotion, and reverence. Timothy D wight joined the band of poets by writing odes and songs, as well as the ambitious epics, " The Conquest of Canaan" and "Greenfield Hill." John Pier- pont by his " Airs of Palestine " and anti- slavery verses entered into the sacred company. Rufus Wilmot Griswold, by his book of poems, but more especially by his contributions to the study of poetry in his "Poets and Poetry of America" and "Female Poets of America," rendered service to the cause. William Cros- well, George Washington Doane, Robert Traill Spence Lowell, Abram Joseph Ryan, and Arthur Cleveland Coxe, all laid their tribute of verse at the shrine of the muses. John Pierpont (1785-1866), sometime minis- ter of Hollis Street Church, Boston, was so great a reformer in matters of temperance and slavery, that the parish concluded to have 86 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS milder sermons and less pronounced opinions, and were more than willing to sever the con- nection between people and pastor. After serving various other churches, he became a chaplain of the Twenty-second Massachusetts Regiment, and went with it to Virginia. Dur- ing a long life he was always ready with his pen when special events needed to be cele- brated by the poet. At ordinations, dedication of churches, charity and temperance occasions, and funerals, as well as more formal celebra- tions, he made interesting contributions in verse which were afterward collected into vol- umes, one of which was the "Airs of Pales- tine." Pierpont's rule of action was laid down in a celebrated sermon having as a title, "A Moral Rule of Political Action," and it was, in a word, summed up in the statement that "When my party run away from morality, they run away from me." His estimate of Channing shows how his life and thought had been influenced by the great preacher : " In his love and labors for humanity," he wrote, "in his exalted conceptions of the dignity of our nature, and the nobleness of our destiny. POETRY AND ROMANCE 8/ in his forgetfulness of interests that are merely local and temporary. Dr. Channing has bound himself to the heart of man." These conceptions of absolute morality and nobleness of human nature appear in Pier- pont's verse, as they find a place in the ex- pressed object of his poetry, which he states to be "to rebuke high-handed or under-handed wrong, or to keep alive the fires of civil and religious liberty." The seriousness of his strain comes out in the poem read before the New England Society in 1855, when he exclaimed : — " Sons of the Pilgrims ! Need ye to be told It takes ' perpetual shoulders ' to uphold The exceeding weight of glory that is theirs, And prove your title as your fathers' heirs ? " More stirring are the lines written for the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker Hill monument, June 17, 1825, when the poet makes Warren address his soldiers in words familiar to the schoolboys of two generations. "In the God of battles trust! Die we may, — and die we must ; — But, O, where can dust to dust 88 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Be consigned so well, As where Heaven its dews shall shed On the martyred patriot's bed, And the rocks shall raise their heads, Of his deeds to tell!" " The Fugitive Slave's Apostrophe to the North Star" is a poetical relic charged with the spirit of contemporary rhetoric and with Pierpont's hatred for the slave power and the government that upheld it : — " At slavery's beck, the very hands Ye lift to Heaven to swear ye're free, Will break a truce to seize the lands Of Seminole or Cherokee! Yea — tear i^flag, that Tartar hordes Respect and shield it with their swords." In the " Airs of Palestine " the author turns to the Hebrew lyre. There is a sweetness and charm about the Judean melody that often suggests Bishop Heber's verses. The poem is not without effective lines. Pierpont's work on the whole has intensity and smooth- ness without the art or music to make it great, but there is melody and tone in some of it which places him in the company of our earlier poets. POETRY AND ROMANCE 89 William Croswell (1804-185 1) was the rector of old Christ Church, Boston, from the steeple of which the lanterns gave warning to Paul Revere, and founder of the Church of the Ad- vent. He was by nature delicate and refined, capable of deep feeling, warm in his friendships, and devoted to his church. The order and dig- nity of the Episcopal services with the recurring anniversaries of the church year ever impressed him, and he could not help putting into verse his appreciation and religious emotions. Poetry to him was the occasional feast when he al- lowed himself to give way to the song and joy in his heart. He felt the spell of the arch and aisle and altar of the Christian church as George Herbert felt it ; and as Keble set to music the teachings of the church seasons, so he welcomed the holy day or the saint's festival with a poem of gratitude. He was thus almost entirely a religious poet, humble with reverence and earnest in worship. The battle-song and call to the active duty of the day in the out- ward struggle of men are absent from the medi- tations of the priest, but there are hymns of praise, and odes to mark friendships, and rec- go THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS ords of experiences of the soul. The poems are so simple often, and without enough elabo- ration to take away a certain roughness at times, that they conceal for the moment the serene and hopeful spirit within them. He was so shy that after having written his vale- dictory sonnet he was led back again to the art only when Mrs. Sigourney addressed him in appealing tones : — " Minstrel return ! Resume the hallowed strain ; Repent thee of thy sin, and woo Heaven's harp again." The little book of Dr. Croswell's verses col- lected after his death is called "Poems Sacred and Secular." It contains, however, more of the sacred than of the secular, though there are humor and sprightly rhymes enough to justify the name. Christmas and Advent, Easter and Whitsunday, are celebrated by carols and medi- tations. Holly berries and lilies form parts of many pictures that grow under the poet's touch, as he sings of Christmas : — " When white-robed altars, wreathed in living green, Adorn the temples." POETRY AND ROMANCE 91 The series of thirty-four sonnets is the most striking part of the collection. The sonnets are not always in perfect form as regards the Italian model of rhyme or arrangement of octave and sestette. Many of them are good ; a few are excellent, of which number must be counted " Saint Luke " : — " Blessed Physician ! from thy ancient scroll Can we not draw some wholesome medicine To heal the heart that sickens with its sin, And cure the deep distemper of the soul ? Is there no balm in Gilead, to make whole The bruised and broken spirit, and within The bleeding bosom stanch the wound and win The stubborn malady to its control ? " In "The Ordinal " and " Hymns of the Ancient Time " there is a beautiful spirit of consecration and prayer. Of another kind are such poems as "The Chapel Bell, Yale College" and "Na- hant," the one a rollicking undergraduate's doggerel and the other a half-satirical descrip- tive fragment. The description of Nahant must have been written before it became a fashionable summer resort : — "Rocks, sands, and seas, What charms hast thou but these, 92 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS O desolate Nahant ! Rocks, sands, and seas, Twelve grotesque cottages, And six storm-beaten trees, Struck all aslant ! " Robert Traill Spence Lowell (1816-1891), a brother of James Russell Lowell, might have been known more generally as a poet if his famous brother had stuck to prose. As it is, Robert Lowell is credited with some books of note in the line of fiction, history, and the short story. His reputation was first won by "The New Priest in Conception Bay " and sustained by " Antony Brade " and " A Story or Two from an Old Dutch Town," but his volume of poems may be remembered the longest. Dr. Lowell was for some years a minister of the Church of England at Bay Roberts, Newfound- land, and later the Master of St. Mark's School, Southborough, and professor of Latin in Union College. Classical tastes and scholarship are evident in his poetry, as also the inspiration from the rugged shores of Newfoundland. The language of the verses is often vigorous, and their conception original. Of his island home he sings : — POETRY AND ROMANCE 93 " O rugged land ! Land of the rock moss ! Land whose drear barrens it is woe to cross, Thou rough thing from God's hand ! " In "The Delphian Children," the motive of the theme is Greek. Parnassus looms up, wrapped in wondrous clouds, and Pythian garlands strew the way, and " Flowers that when thou art dead Will ever be the same." Religious feeling expresses itself in the reflec- tive poems, " The Pitying Christ " and " Dirge to a Soul Departing." "The Painter's Proba- tion " has force and lines of strength : — " There comes in life a frequent hour, When the full voice of Fate Calls with a dread, mysterious power, On those who should be great ; To warn them that a mighty dower Somewhere for them doth wait." Of ballads there are many that have a pleasant swing, like " The Brave Old Ship, the Orient," "The Biirger's Lenore," and "The Men of the Cumberland." "The Relief of Lucknow" is well sustained and dramatic when the fever- 94 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Stricken lassie hears the distant slogan of the relief army before any of the garrison, and cries aloud, " Tfie Highlanders ! oh ! dinna ye hear The slogan far awa' ? The McGregor's ? Ah ! I ken it weel ; It's the grandest o' them a'." During the Civil War Dr. Lowell wrote many songs to inspire the people to carry on what he considered holy warfare. Though a man of peace he felt the sacredness of the cause and the duty of maintaining the Union, but his prayer was constant that the baser mo- tives might be absent. Of poems written on the Southern side, there are good illustrations among those of Abram Joseph Ryan (1839- 1886), ^^^ Roman Catholic priest, who was a chaplain in the Con- federate army. Father Ryan wrote verses of a religious character, but his heart was in the South ; and during the war, and immediately after it, he printed many poems which became popular. These were collected in the volume, " Poems, Patriotic, Religious, and Miscellane- ous." They are musical and show great inten- POETRY AND ROMANCE 95 sity of feeling. The modesty and simplicity of the author are revealed when he says, "Souls were always more to him than songs. . . . But still somehow — and he could not tell why — he sometimes tried to sing." " The Sword of Lee " was one of the best known of the poems : — " Out of its scabbard where, full long. It slumbered peacefully, Roused from its rest by the battle's song, Shielding the feeble, smiting the strong. Guarding the right, avenging the wrong, Gleamed the sword of Lee." After the defeat came "The Conquered Ban- ner," which pathetically mourned over the for- tunes of war, and sang a dirge over the fallen standard : — "Furl that Banner, softly, slowly! Treat it gently — it is holy — For it droops above the dead. Touch it not — unfold it never, Let it droop there, furled forever. For its people's hopes are dead." Among Father Ryan's verses are those that interpret the doctrines and ritual of his church. They enter deeply into the spirit of worship, and have about them a touch of imagination 96 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS and mysticism. The " Feast of the Sacred Heart " is a tender appreciation of the sacra- ment, and expresses the reverence felt by the believer : — "A silence falls on the altar ^ An awe on each bended face — For the Heart that bled on Calvary Still beats in the holy place." Rome, as the centre and symbol of ecclesias- tical power, becomes to the poet the centre of the world : — " Beyond the Tiber gleams a dome Above the hill-tops seven : It arches o'er the world from Rome, And leads the world to Heaven." Ireland, almost as much as the church, claims the devotion of the priest, who suffers under the wrongs of his native country, and longs for its release. The flag of Erin becomes to him a national ensign, and there cluster about it the desires of a people for their independence. The fervor of struggle and the passion of unattained hopes are felt in many of Father Ryan's poems. American hymnology has not been thoroughly POETRY AND ROMANCE 97 studied, but enough is known to justify the assertion that this branch of poetry has been largely cultivated among the clergy of all de- nominations. The writing of hymns was of a comparatively late date in America, because of the hostility in some of the churches to the use even of metrical versions of the Psalms. The psalmody question divided one church, the Pres- byterian, many opposing the use of Watts' version of the Psalms and preferring the Scotch psalter. The introduction of a musical accompaniment was not an easy victory on the part of those who wished to substitute something more varied than the traditional five tunes of Puritan worship. When an organ was placed in King's Chapel, Boston, it was considered by many to be un- godly and frivolous ; and sarcastic pamphlets asked, "How inspired was the music of the primitive Christians compared with what is now used in most of our churches ? The organs charm the ear, they ravish the heart, and carry the souls of the churchmen in rapture to heaven." Another reason that retarded the growth of American hymnology was the wealth of English 98 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS hymns that could be used in the collections for the different churches. Notwithstanding these facts, there has been a very marked de- velopment in the writing of hymns, and among those used in the churches, more than a seventh probably are of American origin; of these Mr. Stedman remarks that "the religious verse of America, whether the work of poets at large or of those whose range is chiefly confined to it, ranks in quality if not in quantity with the hymnology of other lands." The hymn that wins its way by the directness of its purpose, its simplicity, and strength of idea and rendering, is a powerful teacher. As a missionary it is far more effective than the sermon, because it sinks deeply into the mem- ory, and may become, by one's voluntary act of singing it, a living thing. The genuinely famous hymns, those that have found their way into other lands, are not numerous, but they are the flower of American hymnology. As litera- ture they have a vital quality about them which gives them a much greater influence than many a longer and more ambitious poem. The con- tribution of a song or a hymn to the national POETRY AND ROMANCE 99 life is one of the surest paths to literary immor- tality, because patriotism and religion are uni- versal elements. Among these hymns that are used by churches everywhere are, " My faith looks up to Thee," by Ray Palmer ; " Stand up, stand up for Jesus," by George Duffield ; "I would not live alway," by William Augustus Muh- lenberg ; George Washington Doane's " Softly now the light of day " and " Fling out the ban- ner"; John Leland's "The day is past and gone"; "Lord, lead the way the Saviour went," of William Croswell ; Edmund Hamilton Sears's "Calm on the listening ear of night"; and " My Country, 'tis of thee " and " The morn- ing light is breaking," by Samuel Francis Smith. Among most of the denominations, the clergy, inspired by the genius of the different institutions, have provided hymns which are used in their services. Those peculiar to the special church are used exclusively by that church, and were written to express certain doctrines for which the rehgious body stands. It thus comes about that there are various types of hymnology that have grown up in the 100 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS churches, — each has its own familiar names of hymn writers. The Quakers, to be sure, are without hymns. A story is told of an enterprising Boston firm of publishers that, having learned that there was no Quaker hymn-book, they forthwith began to collect the material for what seemed to be a good opening. They were dismayed when they learned that the Quakers never sing. Among the Presbyterian hymn writers must be mentioned Samuel Davies, President of Princeton, Thomas Hastings, professor of Sacred Rhetoric in Union Theological Semi- nary, and Philip Schaff, the church historian. In addition to Mather Byles and Timothy Dwight, the Congregationalist hymn writers include such men as Thomas Hopkins Gal- laudet, the beginner of deaf-mute instruction in America, John Brainard, the missionary to the Indians, Ray Palmer, and Leonard Bacon. The Episcopal church numbers among its sacred-song writers Alexander Viets Griswold, Bishop of Massachusetts, William Augustus Muhlenberg, George Washington Doane, Bishop of New Jersey, George Burgess, Bishop POETRY AND ROMANCE lOI of Maine, Edward Abiel Washburn, and Ar- thur Cleveland Coxe, Bishop of Western New York. The Unitarians have many brilliant writers of hymns : Henry Ware, Jr., Fred- erick Henry Hedge, Edmund Hamilton Sears, Chandler Robbins, and Samuel Longfellow, the brother and biographer of the poet Long- fellow. Among the Methodist contributors to American hymnology are Thomas Hewlings Stockton, William Hunter, and Thomas Os- mond Summers. The Baptist hymn writers include the names of Thomas Baldwin, Adoni- ram Judson, John Newton Brown, and George Barton Ide ; and among the Universalists must be mentioned George Richards, Hosea Ballou, Abner Kneeland, and Edwin Hubbell Chapin. These writers, in the main, bear the marks of the doctrines and history of their special churches. The Presbyterian reflects the stern doctrines of the Westminster Confession, the Congregation alist manages to set his Calvinism to music, the Episcopalian is interested in the institution and the Church Year, the Unitarian is under the sway of Transcendentalism, the Methodist and Baptist are inspired by the I02 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS emotional needs of the revival, and the Uni- versalist sets forth his doctrines in long and short metre. Among the large number of American hymns it is natural that many should be of an ephemeral character, being more of the nature of sacred songs than genuine hymns, without much poetic quality ; but there are marked exceptions, and the list of hymns hav- ing in them universal religious elements is by no means small. They are worthy to be classed with the Christian hymns of any age. Among the writers of fiction in America, the clergy have had representatives, though none of them attained the same reputation for literary skill and scholarship as Charles Kingsley in England. The novels of Sylvester Judd, Will- iam Ware, Robert Lowell, Henry Ward Beecher, and Edward Payson Roe were widely read in their day, and are by no means without strong sketches of character, well-ordered plots, scenes of beauty, discussions of important religious and social questions, often with genuineness of moral feeling. The "Margaret" of Judd, the " Zenobia " of Ware, the " New Priest in Con- ception Bay" of Lowell, "Norwood" by Beecher, POETRY AND ROMANCE 103 and " Barriers Burned Away " and " What Can She Do ? " by Roe have a rightful place in American letters. Sylvester Judd (1813-1853) was a lecturer and author, serving, however, for the greater part of his life, as minister of the Unitarian church in Augusta, Maine. He was a man of strong convictions, and being influenced by Channing and later by Transcendentalism, gave voice to the spiritual aspirations and freedom of the new movement in his eagerness for an abundant life of thought and feeling. He saw keenly the difference between the old life of New England with its crystallized customs and dogmas, and the new time of growth and recon- struction. The struggle between the two he felt to be vital ; and while he, and others, fought the battle through sermons and treatises, he tried to aid the cause by works of fiction which might reach out in directions not touched by the more formal methods. " Margaret " and " Richard Edney and the Governor's Family " were his two novels, while in " Philo : an EvangeHad," a didactic poem, he defended the Unitarian position, as he did in "The Church: 104 '^HE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS in a series of Discourses." Of these books " Margaret " is by far the most significant, and contains passages of great beauty, the full title being, " Margaret : a Tale of the Real and Ideal, Blight and Bloom ; including sketches of a place not before described, called Mons Christi." The book is a loosely constructed story of New England life between the periods of the Revolution and the more stable condition of the Republic. Margaret, a child of nature, sensitive and mystical, grows out of her crude and narrow surroundings into a woman of wide vision, of faith, and philanthropy. The direct contact with nature and the soul of all things reveals to her the beauties of the inner life and the spiritual interpretation to be put upon human living. She has her dreams and ecstasies and revolts ; and at the end tries to realize a Utopia where men can live in happiness without intem- perance, capital punishment, or war. In the suggested system of festivals to be observed by the community, Margaret anticipates " Arbor Day," when flowers and trees are to be planted. She is reared in the home of drunken Pluck and his satirical wife. Brown Moll ; and from the POETRY AND ROMANCE 105 companionship of many of the village charac- ters, the mysterious infidel Rose, Deacon Ramsdill, Parson Wells and his wife, and Evelyn, she passes through many outward and inward experiences until she becomes the aes- thetic and educational inspiration of the commu- nity, though the imaginary Mens Christi, with its symbolic avenues and temples, remains in the realm of the ideal. The greatest interest of " Margaret," how- ever, is not so much in the book as a whole as in special scenes and descriptions of nature. In these, Sylvester Judd writes with the insight of the mystic and the poet. As the soul in its own strength essays to know Deity through the appeals of nature to the physical senses, so Margaret enters into communion with the spirit of nature through the signs and symbols of forest, glade, stream, clouds, and sunsets. " She sat there alone," Judd writes of Margaret sit- ting under the open sky, "with no eye but God's to look upon her ; He alone saw her face, her expression, in that still, warm, golden sun- setting ; she sat as if for her the sun had gone down and the sky unloosed its glory ; she sat I06 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS mute and undisturbed as if she were the child- queen of this great pageant of nature." The famous description of a snowstorm has in it elements of delicacy and power, in the contrast between the winter night, with the wind and storm, and the housed family reading and mak- ing music about the glowing hearth. Margaret, going out in the morning, entered the thick woods, and " saw the deep, unalloyed beauty of the season : the large moist flakes that fell in the morning had furred and mossed every limb and twig, each minute process and fila- ment, each aglet and thread, as if the pure spirits of the air had undertaken to frost the trees for the marriage festival of their prince. The slender white birches, with silver bark and ebon bough, that grew along the path, were bent over; their arms met intertwiningly, and thus was formed a perfect arch, voluptuous, dreamlike, glittering, under which she went." William Ware (1797-1852), a Unitarian min- ister, after preaching in New York and else- where, gave up the active labors of his profes- sion and devoted himself mainly to literature, writing often for the Knickerbocker Magazine, POETRY AND ROMANCE 107 and producing books of more than temporary value. Ware had the artistic temperament ever seeking an outlet for itself in drawing, or the study of art, or the writing of novels. As Dr. Bellows says in his memorial sermon, "Beauty was the innocent idol of his soul. His mind was a gallery of pictures." William Ware's " Lectures on the Works and Genius of Washington Allston " reveal this intense inter- est in art, and indicate a sensitive mind quick to appreciate beauty in color and form, together with a large knowledge of historical and con- temporary art. He put into literary form and analysis the popular appreciation of Allston's work, marking the painter's characteristics as the colorist, the man who is conscientious and religious in a true sense, yet limited when drawing the human face, and attempting the sublime, which he did not always reach. Per- haps Ware's comparison between Allston and Titian may seem eccentric as he says, " In the great Venetian I have found nothing more true, nothing more beautiful, nothing more perfect than I have seen in Allston;" but no one would deny the beauty of color and conception I08 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS in AUston's "Jeremiah," "The Valentine," "The Spanish Girl," and "Belshazzar." In the criticism of AUston's work there is a very just recognition of his earnestness and purity of motive, when it is pointed out that he made his pictures because he loved and honored his art on its own account : " because through it, as a medium, he could express himself in the best way possible to him; because in this manner only could he reveal to others his conception of the beautiful, the grand, the divine." Of Ware's novels the principal ones were " Letters from Palmyra," sometimes called "Zenobia," " Probus," and "Julian, or Scenes in Judea." In conception, they were the fore- runners of such novels as " Ben Hur " and " Quo Vadis " ; they dealt mainly with the early Christian period and portrayed the life in Pales- tine when the New Testament characters were making religious history. " Julian " is in the form of letters written from Judea immediately preceding and during the public ministry of Jesus. Though many of the scenes are ficti- tious, the care and scholarship of the author are shown in the accuracy of such details as places, POETRY AND ROMANCE 1 09 political movements, and historical personages. The plot moves from Caesarea to Jerusalem ; and Julian, the young Roman Jew, takes part in the discussions and riots caused by the Mes- sianic expectations of the people. The descrip- tions are often vivid, and the character study is not without ability. Pilate appears, holding a court in Caesarea : " The aspect of this man is cold and dark. His countenance is bloodless, his eyes restless, near together, and set deep beneath his brows, which are straight and black." The only direct presentation of Jesus is in the triumphal entrance into the city of Jerusalem. The whole story ends with the crucifixion and the despair of the disciples. By far the most voluminous and popular of the clerical novelists was Edward Payson Roe ( 1 838-1 888). Matthew Arnold once wrote sar- castically about him, saying, "The Western states are at this moment being nourished and formed, we hear, on the novels of a native author called Roe." Many were certainly nour- ished on Roe's novels, for they were phenome- nally successful from the publishers' standpoint of rapid sales; and in spite of Mr. Arnold they no THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS were read almost as much in England as in America. Though many American critics could not take Roe's art seriously, he was stoutly defended by George Ripley. Roe was a graduate of Williams College, an army chaplain during the Civil War, and min- ister of a Presbyterian church in Highland Falls, New York, until he changed his resi- dence to Cornwall-on-the-Hudson. His first story was occasioned by the great Chicago fire of 1871, and was called "Barriers Burned Away." It contains many excellent accounts of the fire, for the author, being present during part of it, set down what he saw. Other stories, nineteen in all, followed, the most noted being " What Can She Do .? " " The Open- ing of a Chestnut Burr," " A Face Illumined," "The Earth Trembled," "Nature's Serial Story," "Near to Nature's Heart," and "His Sombre Rivals." The books were all written with a moral purpose, — to instil into the popular mind the ideals of right living. This was done by presenting daily experiences and familiar types of character, dealing with prob- lems of moral significance. This preaching POETRY AND ROMANCE m through the novel was condemned by the critics, as was the commonplace artificiality of some of the books. There is no doubt that the novels of Roe can be easily attacked on the grounds of loose construction, mawkish situations, unreality, and exaggeration, but they cannot be entirely dismissed with such cavalier treatment. Roe was conscious of his short- comings, but he wisely said, "The only thing for a writer is to be himself and take the con- sequences." The books set many people to thinking, and by presenting real life in the form of interesting problems, disguised as stories, he wrought for an excellent end. Such a book as " What Can She Do .' " undoubtedly aided in the movement for an educated and capable womanhood, able to look out for itself in trials of a severe nature. This was the pur- pose of Roe in writing it. "This book was not written," he says, "to amuse, to create purposeless excitement, or to secure a little praise as a bit of artistic work. It would probably fail in all these things. ... If I in my little sphere can by this book lead one father to train his children to be more strong L 112 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS and self-reliant, one mother to teach her daugh- ters a purer, more patient, more heroic woman- hood, ... I shall be well rewarded." Certainly the struggles of the self-indulgent daughters of Mr. Allen, after his failure and death, to gain a respectable living, must have awakened many to the dangers lying in the path of young women who have not been trained to the practical duties of life. "A Face Illumined" had in it a lesson for beauty with a sleeping soul ; and the illuminating of the features by the calling out of a nobler spirit is told with something like art. "Near to Nature's Heart" is a story of the American Revolution. In " His Sombre Rival " there is an excellent account of the battle of Bull Run. CHAPTER IV DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE "How can I live in a country," Dr. Del- linger once said, "where they found a new church every day ? " According to statistics, the number of the separate churches and sec- tarian bodies is large ; but there has been, how- ever, a decided tendency in America to the centralization of religious life into great de- nominational families, and these, with different histories and trend, have produced denomina- tional literature characteristic of each. Most of this work is purely local, though occasion- ally a book has been produced of more general interest. The Methodists, the Baptists, the Presbyterians, the Roman Catholics, the Con- gregationalists, and Unitarians, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Universalists, have favorite writers whose books are read within the de- nomination and mould its intellectual life. I 113 114 '^^E CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS The great Methodist movement in America was an appeal from "the theology of the intellect to the theology of the feelings." It produced more conversions than books when Asbury, Coke, and Garrettson gave their message to the aroused soul, feeling an inward change, and illuminated by the " Inner Light," which the Quakers felt but did not use so effectively. The story of early Methodism is the record of journeys. It was said that As- bury, during his long ministry, rode a dis- tance that would have taken him twelve times around the world, with the object, so strik- ingly expressed on Philip Embury's tomb, " to beautify the earth with salvation." "Lowly preaching" was the protest against aristocratic pride of institution. The Methodists laid little stress on dogmatic distinctions, and in the early days cared nothing for a knowledge of Latin and Greek. Their exhortations were to the spiritual natures of men, and whatever doc- trines lay behind their appeal were restate- ments of scriptural phrases in homely dialect. The contributions of Methodism to scientific theology have not been numerous, but they DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 115 have given to American life many picturesque and rugged characters that grew up from the soil, full of color, with the vigor of the prairies and the forests, examples of devotion from the plain people of the land. And there are books that reflect this primitive life in a simple way. Peter Cartwright (1785-1872), called the " Backwoods Preacher," during a long ministry in Kentucky, Tennessee, and forty-five years in the Illinois Conference, has given, in his two books, "Fifty Years a Presiding Elder" and "Autobiography of Peter Cartwright," a vivid account of pioneer life and the success of itinerant preaching. He was unconventional and brusque, but earnest, it being told that he once knocked a man down because he was inattentive. A type of the scholarly Method- ist is to be seen in Wilbur Fiske (1792-1839), who studied law first, and then became a preacher, being chosen later the first President of Wesleyan University. He was an admin- istrator of ability, with a wise appreciation of the value of education. His career as a col- lege president was most successful, and he gave an impetus to that movement, which has 116 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS been so fruitful among the Methodists, of founding educational institutions. His books indicate his attainments and scholarship : "The Calvinistic Controversy," " Sermons and Lec- tures on Universalism," and, in a less severe vein, "Travels in Europe." Abel Stevens (i 8 1 5-1 897) was more a literary man, writing the voluminous " History of Methodism," "Tales from the Parsonage," and "Madame de Stael." It is interesting to note how the desire for education among the Methodists expressed itself in the starting of colleges which have become important factors in Amer- ican life. They are responsible for Wes- leyan University, Drew Theological Seminary, Dickinson College, Syracuse University, Bos- ton University, and many others scattered throughout the country. The professors of these institutions, through the enormous dis- seminating power of the " Book Concern " and the Chautauqua movement, have written ex- tensively and aided in no small degree the effort to bring wholesome knowledge within reach of the people. Indeed, Methodism in these latter days has undertaken on a vast DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 117 scale the task of developing popular educa- tion. The Baptist, like the Methodist, began with a contempt for learning and the doctrines of historical Christianity. It was a revolt from tradition and church authority to "the Bible, the Bible only." But the needs of the time forced the denomination to establish institu- tions of learning. Colgate University, the University of Rochester, Vassar College, and the Newton Theological Institution and others, show the estimation in which learning came to be regarded. Brown University was es- tablished earlier. Of the Baptists, says Pro- fessor J. Lewis Dimon, "Among their divines are men whose names are ornaments of Ameri- can scholarship, but it is a noticeable fact that their valuable contributions to religious litera- ture have all been in the line of Biblical exe- gesis ; to speculative theology they have made no important addition." The name of Francis Wayland, the great President of Brown Uni- versity, stands out above any other in the denomination. He was a theologian, philoso- pher, and statesman. Richard Fuller (1804- Il8 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 1876) was also a most eloquent preacher, being at one time coeditor of the Baltimore Herald and author of a curious book, " Letters on the Roman Chancery." Adoniram Judson (1788-1850), the ardent missionary to India, was an inspiration to his church. His labors in Burmah were crowned with signal success when he finished his revision of the Old and New Testaments in the Burmese lan- guage. John Mason Peck (1789-1857) was called the .father of the American Baptist Home Missionary Society and projected the American Baptist Historical Society. His book, " The Emigrant's Guide," induced a large num- ber of persons to make their homes in the West ; and his literary tastes were shown in his " Life of Father Clark " and " Life of Daniel Boone," in Spark's "American Biography." The Bap- tist writers and preachers have been noted for their simple eloquence and the democratic methods of their teaching and activity. In contrast to the Baptists and Methodists, the Presbyterians have always upheld the necessity of a learned ministry ; and they have unflinchingly stood by the Westminster Con- DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 119 fession. They have believed in a strong cen- tralized church government, and have developed a systematic and rigorous theology. They have always had preachers of national fame, from the days of Davies, Witherspoon, Tennent, John Breckenridge, Dickinson, and Miller, to those of the Alexanders, Hodges, and James McCosh. Besides Dr. Charles Hodge, they have had as systematic theologians, Henry Boynton Smith and William G. T. Shedd ; as church histo- rians, that indefatigable writer, Philip Schaff, and William Buel Sprague, whose " Annals of the American Pulpit " is a storehouse of origi- nal information about the American clergy ; as writers on various religious subjects, Edward Robinson, the author of " Biblical Researches," William M. Thomson, who wrote " The Land and the Book," David Nelson, who published the " Cause and Cure of Infidelity," Robert Baird, who wrote "Religion in America," and Albert Barnes, whose book on "The Atone- ment " created much discussion. David Swing, who was a Presbyterian until after his trial for heresy, was a man of decided literary ability, and wrote constantly for the Chicago papers ; 120 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS his books also have had a wide circulation, the best known being "Truths for To-day." One of the greatest of the early Presbyterians was John Witherspoon (1722-1794), a signer of the Declaration of Independence and Presi- dent of Princeton College. He was an ardent patriot, writing in 1774 the "Considerations on the Nature and Extent of the Legisla- tive Authority of the British Parliament." A Scotchman, his efforts for American inde- pendence in the Provincial Congress and else- where had great weight with the Scotch-Irish population. As a metaphysician, he first in- troduced into America the philosophy of Thomas Reid. An imposing statue of him was erected, in 1876, in Fremont Park, Phila- delphia. Henry Boynton Smith (1815-1877) attained his greatest influence during his pro- fessorship in the Union Theological Seminary of New York City. He was a profound scholar and theologian, and impressed the students with his vast knowledge and his philosophical acumen. He wrote exhaustively for the reli- gious periodicals of his denomination ; and though he produced only one important book, DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 121 the " History of the Church of Christ, in Chronological Tables," his occasional addresses and pamphlets were widely known, and received commendation from such men as Sir William Hamilton and George Bancroft. Of his dis- course on " Church History," Bancroft wrote to him, " I know no one in the country but yourself who could have written it." His "Faith and Philosophy," "Apologetics," and " Introduction to Christian Theology " are his most important remains. William Greenough Thayer Shedd (i 830-1 894) was also a professor in the Union Seminary, and a constant writer of theological books. His reputation was as great in Scotland as in America. In addition to his translations from the German, he wrote a "History of Christian Doctrine," "Theological Essays," "Literary Essays," and "The Doc- trine of Endless Punishment." Philip Schaff (18 19-1893), born in Switzerland, had an in- teresting career in Germany as a lecturer on church history before he came to America. First at Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, then at the Union Seminary, New York, he labored unceasingly in many departments of Christian 122 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS thought. He was a scholar, in the German sense of being a student, in the sources of history, combining a profound knowledge of facts with a power of generalization which made his work accurate and brilliant. His most noted work was the " History of the Apostolic Church," but a long list could be made of his other writings, which would include "The Creeds of Christendom," "The Religious En- cyclopaedia," based on Herzog, and " A Se- lect Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers." His numerous translations and edi- torial work, together with his literary essays, show an immense amount of labor in the interests of scholarship and exact thought. The Roman Catholic Church, by reason of its great growth through immigration, has had to devote the best administrative ability of its members to dealing with the problems of its internal development. In the early part of the century it kept aloof from American affairs, but its interest in the education of its adherents soon brought it into collision with the public school system. After unsuccessful attempts to secure money from the State, there were DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 123 established numerous parochial schools. Semi- naries for the training of priests were founded ; and the teaching orders, notably the Jesuits, have exercised an important influence on the intellectual life of the church. In the main, the men who have written books have had in mind the peculiar needs of Catholicism in America. St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, the college in Georgetown, and many other institu- tions of learning have sent forth men who have been prominent in church and secular walks of hfe. The first Roman Catholic bishop in America, John Carrol (1735-1815), was a friend of Washington and delivered a cele- brated eulogy at the time of his death. As a theological writer none has surpassed Francis Patrick Kenrick (1797-1863), who wrote the " Theologica Dogmatica " and the " Theologica Moralis," used as text-books in the seminaries. They are both written in Latin, and aim at being a comprehensive treatment of doctrines and ethics. His revision of the translations of the Bible rank very high in his church. John Hughes (1797-1864), the first archbishop of New York, was a man of great constructive 124 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS ability, strengthening his diocese by the build- ing of St. Patrick's Cathedral, and meeting the attacks upon his church by letters, pam- phlets, and joint debates. His encounters with John Breckenridge and Nicholas Murray were famous. His collected writings give a fair account of the history of the Catholic Church in America up to the time of his death. One of his most noted orations was delivered before Congress in 1 847 on " Christianity, the Only Source of Moral, Social, and Political Power." His semi-official journey with Thurlow Weed, in 1 86 1, with the object of securing the neu- trality of the European nations, was successful, and received the commendation of Secretary Seward. Martin John Spalding (18 10-1872), Archbishop of Baltimore, made that city a centre of influence in the church. He built the cathedral in Louisville, and established the Trappist monks in Kentucky. His debate with George D. Prentice on the Know-nothing move- ment became famous. His principal books were the " History of the Protestant Refor- mation," " Sketches of Early Catholic Missions in Kentucky," and " Miscellanea." Orestes DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 125 Augustus Brownson (i 803-1 876), though at dif- ferent times a Baptist, Presbyterian, and Uni- tarian, preacher and socialist, found his final home in the Roman Catholic Church, becom- ing a strong ultramontane and apologist for the church. His unconventional book, " New- Views of Christianity and the Church," marks his period of socialist interests, and Brownson' s Quarterly Review was a literary and religious magazine of intellectual force. The line of great Congregational ministers, from the time of the Mathers and Edwards, was continued in the national period of American literature in the persons of Samuel Hopkins, Ezra Stiles, Timothy D wight, Abiel Holmes, Horace Bushnell, Henry Ward Beecher, Noah Porter, and Mark Hopkins. These men retained the same interest in theology and speculative philosophy. They interpreted the older dog- matism in the light of later knowledge, but a continuity of theological thinking is visible in their writings. The traditions of the past were sacred to them. Though making their own new traditions, there was always something reminiscent in them. The Congregationalist 126 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS has been as dogmatic as the Presbyterian. Having greater freedom, they have had more variations in their systems. The hberty of the separate congregation has been apparent in the increasing use of private judgment. While Nathanael Emmons (1745-1840) was a fol- lower of Samuel Hopkins, his system of thought was more an evolution from, than a restatement of, Hopkinsianism. He taught that the least transgression deserves eternal punish- ment, but he also held that men act freely under the divine government. He was a noted theolo- gian and preacher, his chief books being "A Dissertation on the Scriptural Qualifications for Admission to the Christian Sacraments " and an " Essay on Miracles." The theological stu- dents who were taught by him at his home in Franklin, Massachusetts, generally carried away his distinctive views. Lyman Beecher (1775-1863) was an original and rugged char- acter whose uncompromising morality and se- vere theology never forsook him, either when he was a professor in Lane Theological Semi- nary, or as a preacher in Boston, where he stoutly combated the Unitarian heresy. The DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 127 New England conscience and will power were embodied in this ardent revivalist and theolo- gian. His " Views of Theology " and " The Bible a Code of Laws " were as characteristic of his thinking as the " Six Sermons on Intemper- ance " were of his daily habit. " The Autobiog- raphy and Correspondence" shows his human side in the delightful description of his home life with its sternness and devotion, and pre- pares one to understand how, from his fireside of companionship and paternal affection, there came forth into the world two such persons as Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher. Noah Porter (1811-1892), the presi- dent of Yale College, was more of a metaphy- sician than a theologian, realizing that truth was broader than any system ; and with more modern culture and Uterary interest than the older men of his denomination, he struck out into new fields and harvested his thought in such books as "The Human Intellect," "Science and Sentiment," " Elements of Intellectual Sci- ence," and " Kant's Ethics." His generous views made him defend Horace Bushnell when he was attacked for heresy; and his earnest 128 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS advocacy of Bushnell's liberty of thought proved that he was both wise and tolerant. Growing out of Congregationalism and pro- testing against its orthodoxy and rigidity, Uni- tarianism arose to give a new impetus to American letters. Channing began it, in its most effective form at least, by his Baltimore sermon, in 1819, at the ordination of Jared Sparks ; and the controversy about the free- dom of inquiry and the dignity of human nature, with perfect liberty of discussion about accepted doctrines, divided the New England churches. Unitarianism was an appeal to reason and man's best sentiments, and it in- spired new thought, and brought men into closer touch with nature, literature, and life. With no creed but the self-expression of the individual, with no forms but those suited to the present needs, with no prejudices but the discoveries of the human reason and intuitions, Unitarianism stimulated the search for truth in every department of human history and experience. It was the father of Transcen- dentalism, coming to its full flower in Emer- son, Lowell, and Holmes. The unfettered DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 129 mind seemed to revel in beauty, poetry, and philosophy. German theology and English poetry united to develop its best representa- tives. Boston and Harvard University led in the movement which began in Arminianism and ended in a radicalism which refused to accept any external authority. Channing was conservative, while Theodore Parker went to the extremes of denial and reconstruction. Orville Dewey was a more systematic defender and expositor of Unitarianism than either of them, his " Discourses and Discussions in Ex- planation and Defence of Unitarianism " being widely read. Thomas Starr King (1824-1863) carried the new faith from Boston to San Francisco, where he was also active during the outbreak of the Civil War in influencing California to remain in the Union. He was an eloquent speaker and writer of ability, with a sympathetic love of nature, which expressed itself in "The White Hills, Their Legends, Landscapes, and Poetry." His other books were " Patriotism and Other Papers," " Chris- tianity and Humanity," and " Substance and Show." He was celebrated as a lecturer and I30 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS preacher. William Henry Channing (1810- 1884), besides writing the " Memoirs of Will- iam Ellery Channing " and " Memoirs of Mar- garet Fuller Ossoli," was an earnest reformer, who endeavored to change the social condi- tions of his time. In Liverpool and Washing- ton he was a pioneer in sociological studies, embodying his views in " The Christian Church and Social Reform." Frederic Henry Hedge ( 1 805-1 890) was one of the most scholarly of the Unitarians, an editor of the Christian Ex- aminer, and rendered effective service to his church by means of his careful thought and philosophical studies. His " Reason in Reli- gion," the "Ways of the Spirit," and "Atheism in Philosophy " were recognized as able expo- sitions of the Unitarian position. James Free- man Clarke (18 10- 1888) was a prolific writer and a revered pastor in Boston, where, during a long ministry, he gained honor for himself and his church by the gentleness of his nature and his leadership in all philanthropic move- ments. His extensive learning was shown in "The Ten Great Religions," and his prac- tical spirit in "Common Sense in ReUgion." DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 131 His sermons and poems breathe a devout spirit. The Church of England parishes in America after the Revolution organized themselves into the Protestant Episcopal Church. The Episco- pal system was perfected by the consecration of bishops in Scotland and England; and a church, akin to the Mother Church and in com- munion with her, was set up in America. It was natural that at first the traditions and liter- ary characteristics of the English Church should have been most congenial to the Episcopalians, but after a time the new conditions reqviired more varied expression, and other tendencies made themselves felt. The comprehensiveness of the church and its freedom from doctrinal definition produced many differences of opin- ion, and these found their way into the church's literature. A regard for the institution and different interpretations of it, and the growth of types of churchmanship, gave rise to con- troversies. These appeared not only in con- ventions and assemblies, but in books, which reflected a devotion to the polity, liturgy, the sacraments, and festivals, and explained and 132 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS defended them. Writings of an ecclesiastical more than of a theological nature have ema- nated from the Episcopal Church, though there have been numerous books that properly should be called religious, and others distinctly literary in their tone. Bishop White, Dr. Croswell, Robert Lowell, and Phillips Brooks are representatives of these qualities of the Episcopal Church : White the organizer, Phil- lips Brooks the great preacher, the other two being poets. William Smith (i 727-1 803) was a publicist and an ecclesiastic. With the coop- eration of Bishop White he made alterations in the English Prayer-book for the church in America, and prepared what is known as the " Proposed Book," an amended Prayer-book for the use of the Episcopal Church. He was provost of the University of Pennsylvania, and devoted to scientific research. "The Pres- ent Situation of American Affairs " and his " Eulogy on Franklin " show his patriotism during the struggle for independence and his statesmanlike appreciation of the needs of the republic. John Henry Hobart (i 775-1 830) was a man of commanding personality and DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 133 an advocate of Episcopal ordination, his " Apology for Apostolic Orders " and " Com- panion to the Altar" marking him as an ecclesiastic of strong convictions. He was responsible for the founding of Hobart Col- lege, which bears his name. Bishop William Meade (i 789-1 862) of Virginia was a man of a different kind, loyal to his church, but not so exclusive and narrow as Hobart. He was a friend of Washington and John Ran- dolph. He was a great believer in personal religion, and emphasized the spiritual rather than the official side of a minister's life in his " Lectures on the Pastoral Office." Virginia will always be indebted to him for his "Old Churches and Old Families of Virginia." One of the most vigorous and intellectual bishops of the Episcopal Church was Alonzo Potter (1800-1865), Bishop of Pennsylvania. He was at one time Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Union College, and his interest in science and philosophy always continued. His "Religious Philoso- phy," a course of Lowell Lectures, was a serious and scholarly attempt to systematize 134 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS modern knowledge and interpret its religious bearing. He was a Union man, and up- held by his voice and pen the principles involved in the preservation of the nation. The University of Pennsylvania, the city of Philadelphia, and the whole state felt the influence of this strong and energetic man. Young men's lyceums and workingmen's in- stitutes owe much to Bishop Potter's energy and wise suggestion. John Henry Hopkins (i 792-1 868), Bishop of Vermont, took the side of slavery, much to the consternation of his Northern brethren, his "Vindication of Slavery " being a much-abused book in the North. But he was a man of strong opinions, and not to be influenced by a love of popular favor. He held his high-churchmanship up in the face of New England Puritanism, and never quailed at the commotion he caused. His " History of the Confessionals " and " Refu- tation of Milner's End of Controversy," in the controversy with Archbishop Kenrick, estab- lished his position as an uncompromising adherent to the Anglican position he had taken. Francis Lister Hawks (i 798-1 866) DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 135 was noted for his eloquence, but his historical investigations were of more permanent value. His interest in the past doings of his church secured for him the position of historiographer of the Episcopal Church, and he prepared important volumes of "Contributions to the Ecclesiastical History of the United States." George Burgess (i 809-1 866), Bishop of Maine, was a man of parts, as a learned and clever man used to be described. He had decided literary leanings ; and with the missionary work in his feeble diocese he combined the pursuit of letters and a taste for poetry, which enabled him to translate the Psalms into Eng- lish verse, and to write " Pages of the Eccle- siastical History of New England." William Augustus Muhlenberg (1796-1877) was an altogether lovable character. His charity was unbounded. St. Luke's Hospital, New York, is his monument; and the Church Village at St. Johnland is an evidence of his belief in the practical use of the Sermon on the Mount. Music and Christian harmony were the two things for which he worked most assiduously. His " Plea for Christian Hymns " and his own 136 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS religious poetry, illustrated by his hymns, " ' I would not Live Alway' and other Verses," reveal the tenderness and depth of his feeling. Arthur Cleveland Coxe (18 18-1896), Bishop of Western New York, was devoted to scholar- ship and to poetry. His " Christian Ballads " and " Athanasion and other Poems " indicate the purity and wholesomeness of his mind. He was under the spell of the delicate spirit- ual influences of the English Church, and its representative in America. But there was a vein of militarism in his make-up, and he could defend what he held sacred against the mighti- est opponents. " An Open Letter to Pius IX " and other controversial writings sprang from his deepest convictions. As editor of the " Ante-Nicene Library " he made an important contribution to religious history. Samuel Smith Harris (i 841-1888), Bishop of Michigan, was a broad-minded and zealous sympathizer with the liberal thought of the Episcopal Church. He was a skilful administrator. In his book, " The Relation of Christianity to Civil Society," he outlined a noble conception of the State and the position that Christian law and mo- DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 137 rality should hold toward it. William Stevens Perry (1832-1898) was a historical writer of unusual gifts for research into original sources. His " History of the American Episcopal Church " was the first attempt to give in com- pleteness the history of his church. His work in American history, in the discovering of co- lonial and Revolutionary facts, was of value, though his other religious books are not of so much importance. American religious life has been enriched by the work of the systematic theologians and the moral philosophers. Certain of them have defi- nitely started out with the intention of develop- ing a finished system. Others in less formal ways have made contributions to theology and ethics. Among these strong intellectual men none stand higher than Samuel Hopkins, Archi- bald Alexander, Hosea Ballou, Francis Way- land, Charles Hodge, Elisha Mulford, Mark Hopkins, and James McCosh. Samuel Hopkins (1721-1803) was instructed in the household of Jonathan Edwards, and, possessing many of his manuscripts, became a great student of the Edwardsian scheme. He 138 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS was a close reasoner, but lacked the sustained power sufficient to perfect a complete system, though his modification of Edwards's thought into what was known as " Consistent Calvin- ism " settled the trend of " New England The- ology" for half a century. Scattered through his many writings and embedded in them are his leading ideas. The main doctrines are the freedom of the individual in choosing right and wrong, yet being acted upon, while he acts, by divine decree, which extends to his sin or his goodness ; sin is overruled by God and becomes an occasion of good ; no man is under obliga- tions to perform an act unless he has the natu- ral ability for it ; one must sacrifice all his interest for the sake of the "being in general" ; and the atonement was not for the elect only, but for all men. The sterner features of Ed- wards were softened somewhat ; and the equity of God and the beauty of holiness were more sympathetically put forth. For this temperate- ness the doctrines of Dr. Hopkins have been called Pelagian. "A System of Doctrines con- tained in Divine Revelation," "An Inquiry into the Nature of True Holiness," and "The Di- DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 139 vinity of Christ " were among his most promi- nent theological books. He also wrote "The Life and Character of President Edwards." The most memorable work of Dr. Hopkins was in connection with slavery. Privately and publicly he kept up the agitation. When he first startled his congregation in Newport by proposing the setting free of the slaves, as Mr. Whittier said : " It well may be doubted whether on that Sabbath day the angels of God in their wide survey of the universe looked upon a nobler spectacle than that of the minis- ter of Newport, rising up before his slave-hold- ing congregation and demanding in the name of the Highest, the deliverance of the captive." He afterward published his famous "Dialogue Concerning the Slavery of the Africans" and the "Address to Slave-holders," and gave the copy- right money on his "System of Doctrines" to send some freed negroes back to Africa. Through correspondence with John Erskine and Granville Sharp he started the movement which resulted in the establishment of the American Colonization Society. Eccentric, but full of kindly impulses, he was one of the theological giants of his day. I40 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Archibald Alexander (1772-1851) was an- other of the Princeton theologians who, by founding the Princeton Theological Seminary, gave a trend to the whole intellectual life of the Presbyterian church. His history of " Log College " gives an interesting account of the early beginnings of Princeton College, and excellent biographical sketches of the first Alumni. Dr. Alexander's work, however, of a more far-reaching kind, was in moral science. His more professional theological writings were the " Outlines of the Evidences of Christi- anity " and " Canon of the Old and New Testaments," but his ethical work, "Moral Science," became even better known, and was used as a text-book in many institutions of learning. The reasoning is close and the illustrations are familiar, as it treats of the supremacy of conscience, the moral emotion, the nature of virtue, leading to the conception of the Divine Being. It maintains that the intuitive perceptions of conscience are inde- pendent of every doctrine of theology. A moral basis is found for action. The treatise is positive and didactic rather than controver- DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 141 sial, the language being simple and clear. The application of fundamental principles to details of life is done in a way to hold the attention and to make duty seem reasonable and sacred. The connection between ethics and theology is of course indicated. In the argument against Paley's contention that ideas of moral obligation resolve themselves into principles of benefit and injury, the uniformity of moral dictates is asserted as coming from a divine source. Other of his writings are "A Theory of Conduct," " Some Problems of Philosophy," and "Theories of the Will in the History of Philosophy." He also prepared a "History of African Colonization." Hosea Ballou (1771-1852), one of the fathers of Universalism, started life with little educa- tional equipment, learning to read in his boy- hood by the light of burning pine knots. He was very much distressed at the current esti- mate of the proportion of the elect and non- elect as only one in a thousand of mankind. This caused him to study the Bible for him- self ; and later he found himself in sympathy with John Murray and Elhanan Winchester. 142 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS His vigorous and common-sense methods soon won many followers, his preaching being pas- sionate, but full of homely wit and hopefulness. The principal books which contain his most serious thought are " Notes on the Parables," "Treatise on Atonement," and "Doctrine of Future Retribution." In these and his other writings, which were most numerous, he de- veloped a scheme, rather than a system of doctrine, that was the intellectual guide of Universalism. He was influenced by Paine's "Age of Reason" "to see that it was utterly impossible to maintain Christianity as gen- erally believed by the Christian church." He was also an anti-Trinitarian, being a Unitarian in thought probably most of his life. As an illustration of his plain speaking the statement of his reason for rebellion against Calvinism may be recalled. " I am born into this world of sorrow and trouble," he said ; " the first vibration of sense is want ; I endeavor to supply my needs, and to maintain my exist- ence, which my Maker has bestowed upon me ; but as soon as I come to years of under- standing, I am told of an infinite debt which DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 143 stands against me, which I owed thousands of years before I was born ; and that my Maker is so angry with me and has been ever since the debt was due, that he has prepared a fur- nace of endless flames to torment me in, according to the due requirements of justice." Ballou's theology may be described in a few words as the sovereignty of good in the Uni- verse, the universality of God's providence, the final overthrow of evil, Christianity being the moral appeal of divine love to sinful man, and the atonement an illustration of it. His controversies brought forth these views with greater clearness, as is seen in his pamphlets, "The Divine Benevolence " and his discussion with Abner Kneeland on the " Authenticity of Divine Revelation." Ballou's playfulness and humor, which often softened the rigors of con- troversy, early manifested itself. " What book are you reading ? " asked his father when Hosea was a boy. "A Universalist book, father," he answered. " I cannot allow a Universalist book in my house," said the father. Then Hosea carried the book to the woodpile and hid it. The father soon discovered the volume, 144 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS and his surprise was great when he saw it was the Bible. An opponent once asked in a con- vincing way, " What would you do with a man who died reeking in sin and crime ? " Ballou answered, " I think it would be a good plan to bury him." Altogether Ballou was the most noted theologian and picturesque character of the Universalist church. Francis Wayland (1796-1865), the famous President of Brown University, was a great edu- cator, preacher, publicist, and philosopher. He reorganized the university and through his per- sonal contact with the students exerted a last- ing impression upon them. They felt that he was a rock of strength and always had confi- dence in his judgment. As a citizen he was prominent in public affairs, doing much to es- tablish charitable institutions. The first free public library was the direct result of his efforts ; and he was an energetic promoter of universal education for the people, his work for the school system of Providence being long remembered. His book on "Do- mestic Slavery " was an important contribu- tion to the Northern side of the discussion, DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 145 and defined their position for many members of the Baptist denomination. Dr. Wayland's principal literary work, outside of his discourses and orations, was the writing of text-books con- taining the substance of his college lectures on economic and moral subjects. "The Elements of the Intellectual Philosophy " was a compre- hensive study of the mental powers, with chap- ters on memory, reasoning, imagination, and taste. The discussion of the value of evidence reads like the pages of a law book. "The Ele- ments of Political Economy" stated in the plainest terms the principles of production, ex- change, distribution, and consumption. Though it could hardly be called a work of great origi- nality, it systematized for popular use facts and theories of economic value, and called attention to a science which was just beginning to be generally taught. More on his own ground was " The Elements of Moral Science." This dealt with theoretical and practical ethics in a plain, straightforward way, starting with the origin of the notion of a moral quality of action and continuing in a treatment of such practical questions as justice, veracity, the law of mar- 146 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS riage, and the duties of citizens. He acknowl- edges his indebtedness to Bishop Butler, whose treatment of conscience he did little more than restate ; of his other writings, " The Duties of an American Citizen" and "The Education demanded by the People of the United States " were well known. Dr. Wayland was one of those vigorous men who make vital every sub- ject they touch ; and his eminence in his denomination brought into immediate notice whatever he had to say. Another of the system-builders was Charles Hodge ( 1 797-1 878), one of the most honored professors in the Princeton Theological Semi- nary. His articles in the Princeton Review helped to make that review famous. They were written upon a variety of subjects, na- tional and religious, and always with great care and learning. The one on the "State of the Country," published in 1861, excited much attention, being reprinted in pamphlet form and widely distributed. It was attacked in the South as "Black Republican," and, be- cause of its moderate tone, in the North by the radical party with Garrison and Wendell DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 147 Phillips as the representatives. His "Consti- tutional History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States," "Way of Life," and "Commentaries" came from a mind enriched by theological studies and a spirit that was essen- tially devotional. The work of his life, how- ever, was the voluminous "Systematic The- ology," which gathered together his mature thought, the result of years of study and teaching. This work is a comprehensive re- view of theology in four parts, embracing theology, anthropology, soteriology, and escha- tology. There is little speculation or phi- losophy in it, and no attempt at original treatment. He once said that "Princeton had never been charged with originating a new idea." He rejoiced in this ; and would have deemed it more than an intellectual error to have gone beyond the exegesis of the Bible and let his unrestrained reason deal with creed or doctrine. The system of Dr. Hodge was the setting forth anew of the Protestantism of the Reformation and a Calvinism which had modified itself in few important particulars. A decided interest attaches to the polemical 148 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS portions of the work, because of the excellent review of the newer religious conceptions that were just arising through the study of science. Dr. Hodge could never see anything but rationalism and dangerous materialism in the novel scientific studies. There are two things which strike one about this magnum opus that are not evident in commentaries as a rule ; the first is the devotional spirit through the whole of it, and the other is the fairness and clearness with which the subjects are treated. The small book on " Darwinism " exhibits unmistakably the fear Dr. Hodge felt that evolution would pro- mote atheism. The scholarship of the professor was not greater than his affectionate nature. This impressed itself upon a constantly increas- ing number of students who passed from under his influence into the Presbyterian ministry. Elisha Mulford (1833-1885), a lecturer in the Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, was a writer of originality and power. His studies in Halle and Heidelberg prepared him for a life of devotion to philosophic and theological thought. His knowledge of the German theo- logians, especially Hegel and Rothe, and his DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 149 sympathy with Maurice and Erskine, fitted him to write two remarkable books, "The Nation, the Foundation of Civil Order and Political Life in the United States " and " The Repub- lic of God." The last named, called "An Insti- tute of Theology," was the condensed expression of his religious thought and experience. It is full of epigrammatic force and has a fine literary flavor. It deals with the reasons for the being of God, and the relations of religion and phi- losophy to the revelation of God, the Incarnation, the redemption of the world, and the life of the spirit. It presents a complete survey of the no- blest conceptions of humanity, history, and the Christian religion, with all the aid to be received from a frank acceptance of the scientific contri- butions to theology. It comes the nearest of the books by American writers to being a sys- tematic treatment of Christianity in the light of modern thought. Profound reverence, combined with mystical and poetic insight, gives the book a quality at once dignified and monumental. The main features of Dr. Mulford's theology are the indwelling of the Spirit of God in humanity and Christ's organic relations with I50 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS man, the Incarnation being the natural revela- tion in history of the character of God. Sin is bondage to the order of nature and redemption is the elevation of the soul into the life of the spirit. Death is a law of nature but not the law of the spirit. Historical Christianity with its scriptures, sacraments, and church is the power to develop the spirit's life. This is brought out very clearly in the chapter with the striking title, " Christianity not a Religion and not a Philosophy." "The Nation" is a book of political philosophy which has many of the same elements of religious feeling. The conception of the State as a divinely ordered instrumentality to bring about the solidarity of men is a daring essay into the field of philo- sophical statesmanship. " It is a most impor- tant contribution to our political literature," said Charles Sumner, "and cannot fail to ele- vate our national life." Dr. Mulford's gentle- ness and nobility of purpose and character drew from Whittier these beautiful lines of appreciation : — " Unnoted as the setting of the star He passed ; and sect and party scarcely knew DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 151 When from their midst a sage and seer withdrew To fitter audience, where the great dead are In God's republic of the hearts and mind, Leaving no purer, nobler soul behind." The name of Mark Hopkins (1837-1887) is synonymous with the idea of the inspiration of a teacher to a pupil. As President of Will- iams College he was a moulder of men, and vindicated forever the value of the small col- lege where the professor knows his students. It has been said that if Mark Hopkins was on one end of a bench and a student on the other, there would be a university ; and it is true that the knowledge, good sense, and persuasiveness of the teacher would give to the student the best elements of education, and such an ideal of life that he would go forth to do a man's duty in the world. At the installation of a new president of Williams College, President Gar- field, referring to his own indebtedness to Mark Hopkins, said : " You are entering upon a work always great, always difficult, but now made doubly so by the example of him who has so long and so nobly trodden the path which you now enter. We will not ask you to bend the 152 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS bow of Ulysses. Let it here remain unbent for- ever, as the sacred symbol and trophy of vic- tories achieved." Such testimony comes from all who ever came in contact with the gracious and affectionate nature of the noble President of Williams College. But the world also learned to know him. His "Evidences of Christianity," "The Law of Love," "Moral Science," "An Outline Study of Man," and " Strength and Beauty " carried his influence far beyond the college town hid in the Berk- shire Hills. Though he knew the affairs of men chiefly from books, and meditated on life in his own study, he learned a truth of univer- sal application and brought a word of encour- agement to men engaged in more direct contact with the rush of practical duty. Though almost a recluse, he was elected President of the Board of Foreign Missions, because his spirit was large enough to include the world in the circle of his thought and endeavor. Of his writings there is this to be said, that they express the fulness of his nature and are clear and beautiful expositions of his faith. " The Evidences of Christianity " is DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 153 most sane in its effort to show the reasonable- ness of essential Christianity, and " The Law of Love " aims to show that there is an inherent force in life which reveals a har- mony of love and dominates disorder and sin. While indebted to Scotch philosophy, he re- jects its teachings when it becomes too refined, and deals with the problems of meta- physics in his own lucid and practical way. Mark Hopkins reached the world through his books, but more completely through the men who carried his teaching and admonitions with them through life and in more than one instance were able to decide the policies of the nation in Congress and in higher stations. Before James McCosh (1811-1894) came to America to accept the presidency of Princeton College, he had already had a successful career as a professor and author of metaphysical books, in Scotland and in Queen's College, Belfast. The appointment of a Scotch professor to an Irish university caused dismay among Irishmen, and called forth in Punch a ballad by Thackeray containing the lines : — 154 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS "As I think of the insult that's done to this nation, Red tears of rivinge from me faytures I wash, And uphold in this pome, to the world's daytistation, The sleeves that appointed Professor M'Cosh. "O false Sir John Kane, is it thus that you prayeh me? I think all your Queen's Universitees bosh ; And if you've no neetive Professor to taych me, I scawurn to be learned by the Saxon M'Cosh." When the professor came to America there was no such feeling as was reflected in "The Last Irish Grievance " by the author of " Vanity Fair." It did not take him long to make his way into the hearts of the American people, who soon learned to love the Scotchman with his wholesome and broad-minded ways. Prince- ton was proud of him, and for more than twenty years he stood as an example of intel- lectual manhood to the young men of the col- lege and the country. The logical caste of his mind, and his learning in Scotch Theology and philosophy, kept him ever writing on meta- physical subjects. Whenever one wants mental exercise there is no better way to secure it than by dipping into some of the articles or books of Dr. McCosh. His productivity was DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 155 remarkable. A list of his publications is like a bookseller's catalogue. There seems to be no subject that he failed to treat. From col- lege regattas at Saratoga to " Robert Elsmere," from hazing to the lesson to be derived from a plant, from prayer to Herbert Spencer's " Data of Ethics," from Tyndall's Belfast address to the "Confessions of an Agnostic," he seemed to be equally informed and able always to express himself with distinction. His greatest works, however, were "The Method of Divine Gov- ernment, Physical and Moral," "The Super- natural in Relation to the Natural," "An Examination of Mr. John Stuart Mill's Phi- losophy," "The Scotch Philosophy, Biographi- cal, Expository, Critical, from Hutcheson to Hamilton," and "The Intuitions of the Mind, Inductively Investigated." He watched the publications of the scientific writers ; and what- ever seemed to bear upon theology in even a remote way was sure to draw from him a pam- phlet, a review in the Princeton Review, or a book. His writings are a religious corrective to the opinions of the Positivists and those who use physical nature as the only basis for theo- 156 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS ries and ethics. And he spoke with authority, because he was known to be a logician and familiar with the intricate details of scientific investigation. If there was a weak point in Darwinian evolution he was sure to find it, in the interest of truth, not merely because he wanted to establish his own position. Among the thinkers and students of the land Dr. Mc- Cosh always had a message, and it was given a respectful hearing. As a religious man he was the stalwart defender of the faith in its most reasonable aspects against the serious or easy- going materialism of the laboratory or the street. It was on all sides admitted that he was a worthy champion to engage in combat the giants of science or philosophy who as- serted that they could find no evidences of a spiritual life in nature or man's understanding. He always upheld the integrity of religious truth as it appealed to man's reason and knowl- edge of the universe. It was a day of impor- tance in American thought when James McCosh left the Irish university to take up his abode in an American college. CHAPTER V TIMOTHY DWIGHT Wherever the blood of Jonathan Edwards runs in the veins of a new generation there is sure to result intellects and characters of unusual power. This fact was illustrated in the person of Timothy Dwight, born May 14, 1752, at Northampton, whose mother was the third daughter of the old theological and metaphysical champion. Young Dwight under his mother's tuition learned the alphabet in one lesson and read the Bible at four years of age, studying Latin at six, and being instructed in geography and history by the mother, who acted on the theory that children often lose several years of profitable learning by being considered too young to be taught. The father being a mer- chant of position in Northampton had fre- quently at the family table as visitors men of distinction in learning ; these early impressed 157 158 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS the youth and filled him with the ambition to become a great man by writing something of importance, — a desire which followed him through life, from his first compositions to the books upon which he was engaged at the time of his death in 1817. At thirteen he went to Yale College and wasted two years in the idleness and disorder then frequent in the college, but soon applied himself with zeal to his studies, rising before chapel to study, prayers being at 5.30 in winter and 4.30 in summer. This vigorous application weakened his eyes, which later were more seriously in- jured by small-pox, though it enabled him at fifteen years to begin writing poetry and making a collection of church music. After graduating at the head of his class, with the intermission of two years at scljool teaching, he was appointed a tutor at Yale. From this time may be dated his ravenous search for knowledge, his mind being stimulated by the study of mathematics and the sciences ; and his love for poetry had a chance to grow by exercising itself in actual accomplishment. His devotion to study was such that he restricted his diet so that he TIMOTHY DWIGHT 159 might not be compelled to take any exercise, his dinner at one time being consumed with the mathematical exactness of twelve mouth- fuls. The foundations for ill health were laid in these ascetic practices, though he had the satisfaction of securing a master's degree, de- livering as his first public address, " A Disser- tation on the History, Eloquence, and Poetry of the Bible," — a foretaste of that literary fer- tility which satisfied his ambition and won him the reputation of publishing more exten- sively than almost any other man on this side of the Atlantic at the time. Dwight's decision to enter the Congrega- tional ministry was put to a practical test at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War when he was appointed chaplain to General Parsons' brigade, part of General Putnam's division. His discourses to the soldiers became famous, while the Muse inspired him to write patriotic songs and odes which were sung throughout the army. Military experience led him into close association with distinguished officers, especially General Washington. Patriotic fervor and a belief in the triumph of American arms with l6o THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS the establishment of a great nation found ex- pression in the " Ode on the Glory of Colum- bia." The spirit of the lines is at times ecstatic, there being, however, a clear vision of the great- ness of the new republic in the arts of peace and science as well as victory on the field of battle. " Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise, The Queen of the world and the child of the skies — Thy genius commands thee ; with rapture behold While ages on ages thy splendors unfold. Thy fleets to all regions thy powers shall display, The nations admire, and the oceans obey ; Each shore to thy glory its tributes unfold, And the east and the south yield their spices and gold. As the day-star unbounded their splendor shall flow, And earth's little kingdoms before thee shall bow ; WhUe the ensigns of union in triumph unfurled Hush the tumult of war, and give peace to the world." This optimistic view of the nation's future did not blind the eyes of the preacher to the dis- orders and dangers that were to arise, and those that were caused by the war itself. In the ser- mon preached at Northampton, November 28, 1 78 1, occasioned by the capture of the British army under Cornwallis, the victory was cele- brated in fitting terms as "one of the most TIMOTHY DWIGHT l6l compleat and glorious," conducted with wis- dom, secrecy, and courage, casting "the bright- est lustre on our great Commander and the army immediately under him," but it also was an opportunity to point out the faults of na- tional character and the evils that the war had brought with it, showing a side of the social life that is often forgotten in general acclaim at the success of the Revolution. "This very war" the preacher said, "a judgment which ought to awaken repentance and humiliation, hath produced a dissipation of thought, a pros- titution of reason, a contempt of religion, a dis- dain of reason, a deliberation in vice, and an universal levity and corruption of soul before unseen and unimagined." This was the literary period in which John Trumbull's " McFingal " had seen the light of day and Joel Barlow was tuning his lyre. Dwight caught the infection. With Trumbull, Lemuel Hopkins, Richard Alsop, and Barlow he belongs to the Connecticut School of poets who began the series of publications known as "The Anarchiad." Alsop once wrote of him thus, — l62 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS " Majestic Dwight sublime in epic strain, Paints tlie fierce horrors of the crimson plain." This eulogy was called forth by the pretentious epic poem " The Conquest of Canaan " which Dwight published in 1785, though most of it was written earlier ; this poem received the appreciative remark of his son that "it is not believed that the history of English poetry contains the account of any equal effort made at so early an age." " The Conquest of Canaan " with its eleven books and thousands of lines is a monumental example of industry on the part of a young man who through its pages sought literary im- mortality. The poet's plan was ambitious. He reasoned that since Greece had its great epic poem, "The Iliad," and Rome was the posses- sor of "The .^neid," America must not be behind in the race for poetic honors. There must be a great American poem. Seeing the need, he straightway determined to supply it ; and instead of frankly taking an American subject, he hit upon a Biblical topic as most likely to give general satisfaction. It is by no means unnatural, however, that to the Puri- TIMOTHY DWIGHT 1 63 tan mind the selection of such a theme should seem a perfectly normal matter, for Palestine was a good deal better known than many parts of America. The kings of Israel were better known than the worthies of Connecticut. The hero of the poem is Jabin the Canaanite who performs wonders not in the record, places and battles being arranged to suit the exigen- cies of the composition. Dreary as it is as a whole, there are lines and passages of merit. There is little attempt at writing a scriptural poem ; the subject is used like the text of a Puritan divine who finds a prototype in David, Solomon, or Jeroboam, for characters in con- temporary life. The real interest lies in read- ing between the lines, and seeing presented in varied forms the theories, doctrines, and political ideas that were rife in America just before and during the Revolution. When Joshua speaks of the Rights of Man, and prophesies a great future for his sons, we discern a spirit working, which suggests a speech in the Conti- nental Congress : — " Then o'er wide lands as blissful Eden bright, Type of the skies, and seats of pure delight, 164 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Our sons with prosperous course shall stretch their sway, And claim an empire spread from sea to sea ; In one great whole the harmonious tribes combine, Trace Justice' path, and choose their chiefs divine ; On Freedom's base erect the heavenly plan, Teach laws to reign and save the Rights of Man." A London edition of " The Conquest of Canaan " was brought out in 1788 and re- ceived careful reading from Cowper, who re- viewed it in The Analytical Review. Though he found in it various anachronisms, such as eulogies of American Revolutionary soldiers, Warren's death on Bunker Hill being men- tioned, he wrote fairly enough of the poem as a whole. "His numbers," writes Cowper, "imi- tate pretty closely those of Pope, and there- fore cannot fail to be musical ; but he is chiefly to be commended for the animation with which he writes, and which rather increases as he proceeds, than suffers abatement. His seventh book, in which he describes with great spirit the horrors of a battle fought by the light of a city in flames, affords one proof of it ; and his tenth book, which is the last but one, another. Here an angel reveals to Joshua, in vision, the further destiny of his nation, and TIMOTHY DWIGHT 165 the poet takes his course through all the great events of prophecy, beginning with the settle- ment of the chosen race in Canaan, and clos- ing with the consummation of all things. A strain of fine enthusiasm runs through the whole book ; and we will venture to affirm that no man, who has a soul impressible by a bright display of the grandest subjects that revelation furnishes, will read it without emotion." Timothy D wight lived in Northampton, Massachusetts, 1777 to 1783, and twice dur- ing this time was a representative in the legislature of Massachusetts, being especially noted for his speeches and aid in passing what was known as the " Harvard Grant." In 1783 he took charge of the parish in Greenfield, Connecticut, where he resided as minister and school-teacher until 1795, when he was elected to the presidency of Yale College. As recrea- tion from parish cares he continued to write and publish poetry. His pen was as fluent in writing verses less pretentious than an epic ; a good example of which is a rhymed letter to his friend Colonel Humphrey who was travelling abroad. Dwight 1 66 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS urges him not to forget his native land and adopt manners that would seem strange to those at home, there being no reason why "interfluent seas " should change a man's char- acter and make him like those who "the plain, frank manners of their race despise," the poet exclaiming, " Good Heaven preserve us from the travell'd ape ! " who had " A head, enqueue, by Monsieur Frizzle dress'd ; Manners, a Paris Taylor's arts invest." Foreign learning with its sceptical tendencies was to be avoided, and it was not necessary for him to know " What Peter, Paul, and Moses never knew ; The light of new-born wisdom sheds abroad, And adds a lean-to to the word of God." A note explained to unfamiliar readers the mean- ing of " lean-to " as " an awkward addition to a dwelling-house very common in New England." A patriotic outburst claims America as the only land worth living in because of its freedom and love of truth : — "In fair Columbia's realms how changed the plan Where all things bloom, but, first of all things, man ! " TIMOTHY DWIGHT 167 The worthies of America teach the world, both in philosophy and science, "Hence Edwards cheer'd the world with moral day, And Franklin walk'd, unhurt, the realms where light- nings play.'' The new learning, with Hume and Vol- taire as exponents, stirred Dwight's soul, and his Muse became strangely theological. In the quiet town of Greenfield he found leisure enough to read deeply in the thought of the time, and the more he read the less sympathy did he have with those who cast a slur on Calvin- ism. Either a French sceptic, or an English or American theologian, who cast doubts upon received traditions, was his foe ; and not content with smiting them in a ponderous discourse, he tried the keener weapons of irony and satire. This form of combat was essayed in 1788, when he published "The Triumph of Infidelity," a poem of satire intended to strike between the joints of the armor those who congregated with Satan. A critic of the poem has said : " Prob- ably there can now be left for us on this planet few spectacles more provocative of the mel- ancholy and pallid form of mirth than that 1 68 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS presented by these laborious efforts of the Rev- erend Doctor Timothy Dwight to be facetious at the expense of David Hume, or to slay the dreadful Monsieur de Voltaire in a duel of irony." This may be true, but the poem is not without amusement, and at times possesses a rugged irony that is surprising. The poem is dedicated to Voltaire. The main theme is the rejoicing of Satan, "Hell's terrific God," at the throng of his worshippers and his efforts to gain new converts. In the midst of his various travels Satan is made to say : — " To France I posted, on the wings of air, And fir'd the labors of the gay Voltaire. He light and gay, o'er learning's surface flew, And prov'd all things at option, false or true." To the delight of Satan, Hume sang : — " All things roll on, by fix'd eternal laws ; Yet no effect depends upon a cause : Hence every law was made by chance divine. Parent most fit of order and design! " The devotees of infidelity increased in such numbers that the throng contained a choice lot of souls : the Epicure, " his cheeks of port and lips of turtle green " ; the Letcher, " a cur, who TIMOTHY DWIGHT 169 prowl'd around each quiet bed" ; Hypocrisy, "his sabbath face all furrow'd with a frown " ; and "The infidel of modern breed A swine unbristled and an untail'd ape : To couple, eat, and die — his glorious doom — The oyster's churchyard and the capon's tomb." This array of spirits was enforced by one "Who taught the soul of man was made of mud, Cold mud was virtue, warmer mud was sin. And thoughts, the angleworms that crawl'd within." When they were all assembled on Pandemonia's plains, they then learned a pleasing truth : — " Here shall you, raptur'd, find there is no hell ; A priest shall teach it, and the gospel tell : The pleasing truth, so long from earth conceal'd. To bless desponding guilt is now reveal'd." The triunaph was almost complete until Satan discovered that there was no virtuous man pres- ent, and then he was enraged because his domin- ion was not universal. At first in pride he " Mark'd all the throng, beheld them all his own, And to his cause no friend of virtue won ; Surpris'd, enrag'd, he wing'd his sooty flight And hid beneath the pall of endless night." Throughout the poem the interest is held I'JO THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS by more than one clever turn of phrase and curious simile. As a whole it is a more inter- esting relic of past polemics than many a famous discourse. The ambition to produce a great poem was never absent from Dwight's mind. During the whole of his residence in Greenfield, he was working away with this end in view. The result saw the light in 1794, when he published the long poem " Greenfield Hill," which soon became popular. He had the poem by him for seven years, adding to and correcting it, chiefly at first with the idea of gaining relief from work, and then desir- ing, as he stated, "to contribute to the inno- cent amusement of his countrymen, and to their improvement in manners, and in ceco- nomical, political, and moral sentiments." The outlook upon life was from his own home as a height from which he saw the world about him, the village and its inhabitants, the physical beauty of the landscape, and the moral condition of the people, with wide ranges of horizon beneath which the thrift and energy and religion of New England became the true elements of American life with its TIMOTHY DWIGHT 171 peace and freedom and opportunity for all. Frankly the author states that it was his de- sign to imitate, in the different parts of the poem, the peculiarities of many British poets, and though he gave up the plan as to the details there is a strong suggestion of Sir John Denham's " Cooper's Hill," and passages that show plainly his indebtedness to Thompson, Goldsmith, and Gay. The poem is divided into seven parts, each with an appropriate name, descriptive of the contents : " The Pros- pect," "The Flourishing Village," "The Burn- ing of Fairfield," "The Destruction of the Pequods," " The Clergyman's Advice to the Villagers," " The Farmer's Advice to the Vil- lagers," and " The Vision or Prospect of the Future Happiness of America." In each of these sections there is opportunity for excel- lent description, homely advice, and instruc- tion, besides the stating of one's opinions on many subjects. The verses thus grew to be a reflection at close range of the author's sur- roundings and well-known moral and politi- cal views. In " The Prospect," the account of the place that an American village occu- 172 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS pied in the nation's growth and strength is admirably set forth : — " How bless'd the sight of such a numerous train In such small limits, tasting every good Of competence, of independence, peace And liberty immingled ; every house On its own ground, and every happy swain Beholding no superior but the laws. And such as virtue, knowledge, useful life, And zeal, exerted for the public good. Have raised above the throng, for here in truth, Not in pretence, man is esteem'd as man. Not here how rich, of what peculiar blood, Or office high, but of what genuine worth, What talents bright and useful, what good deeds, The question is. To this an answer fair The general heart secures." There is a fear that these simple habits may be corrupted, and he cautions his fellow-citizens against imitating the customs and policies of the old world : — " Ah then, my favor'd land, thyself revere ! Look not to Europe for examples just, Of order, manners, customs, doctrines, laws, Of happiness or virtue. ******* See the world All set to sale ; truth, friendship, public trust, TIMOTHY DWIGHT 1 73 A nation's weal, religion, scripture, oaths Struck off by inch of candle. See war, from year to year, from age to age, Unceasing, open on mankind the gates Of devastation ; earth wet-deep with blood, And pav'd with corpses, cities whelm'd in flames. * * * * t^ ^ ]^ To gain a wigwam built on Nootka Sound, Or Falkland's fruitfiil isles, or to secure That rare soap-bubble by children wise, Floated in air, and ting'd with colors fine. National honor. Say then, ah say, wouldst thou for these exchange Thy sacred institutions ? Thy mild laws ? Thy pure religion ? morals uncorrupt ? Thy plain and honest manners, — order, peace, And general weal ? " But his own land is not free from stain. Slavery rests upon it ; and before the question became a burning issue he sets his face against it: — " Thus slavery's blast bids sense and virtue die ; Thus lowered to dust the sons of Afric lie. Hence sages grave, to lunar systems given. Shall ask why two-legg'd brutes were made by Heaven ; 4: « if! * * 4: * O thou chief curse, since curses here began. First guilt, first woe, first infamy of man ; Thou spot of hell, deep smirch'd on human mind ; Alike in church, in state, and household all. 174 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Supreme memorial of the world's dread fall ; O slavery! laurel of the infernal mind, Proud Satan's triumph over lost mankind." The description of the country minister is so true to the author's own experience, and so applicable to many other cases, that it is worth quoting. It is from the minister's own point of view, not a general account of his theo- logical or legal position in the community. The village minister " All rejoic'd to meet. And all reluctant parting ; every aim, Benevolent, aiding with purpose kind ; While season'd with unblemished cheerfulness, Far distant from the tainted mirth of vice. Their hearts disclose each contemplation sweet Of things divine ; and blend in friendship pure. Friendship sublim'd by piety and love. * * * * * :^ S^ Not the least happy, he who free from broils. And base ambition, vain and bustling pomp, Amid a friendly cure and competence Tastes the pure pleasure of parochial life, What though no crowd of clients at his gate, To falsehood and injustice bribe his tongue. And flatter into guilt; what though no bright And gilded prospects lure ambition on To legislative pride or chair of state. TIMOTHY DWIGHT 1 75 ... His virtues, round the year Repeating, and his faults with microscope Inverted, lessen ' till they steal from sight.' " " Greenfield Hill " can easily be read to-day, not merely as an antiquary would examine an ancient manuscript for its bearings on the history of a previous generation, but for the purpose of seeing what the fathers read, and helping us to appreciate the qualities that now make virile the best parts of American life. Of D wight's minor poems, a list would include "The Critics, A Fable," "The Trial of Faith," " Address of the Genius of Colum- bia to the Members of the Continental Conven- tion," and " Message of Mordecai to Esther." As a hymn writer he issued an edition of " The Psalms of David," the translations being in the main by Dr. Watts, but many of them he versified anew in proper metres. He will, however, be remembered longest by the famous hymn which is now sung in many lands, — " I love thy kingdom, Lord." The literary exertions of Timothy Dwight up to the time of his election as President of Yale College give slight indication of the greatness 176 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS and force of his character or his influence throughout the young Repubhc, both as a theo- logian and leader of men. From the moment he assumed the control of the college in 179S, his reputation grew as that of few of his con- temporaries. He soon was recognized as one of the foremost preachers, a man of administrative ability, a statesman whose opinions were held in reverence, the originator and cooperator with others in the founding and sustaining of institu- tions. What he said was quoted everywhere, his information on all kinds of subjects being accurate and extensive. " I think I never knew a man," said Professor N. W. Taylor, speaking of him, " who took so deep an interest in every- thing, from the best mode of cultivating a cab- bage, as well as the phenomena of the heavens or the employments of angels." He had been farmer, school-teacher, parish-minister, legis- lator, student, and literary man; and from all these different pursuits he had gained, accord- ing to the voracity of his mind and general sympathy, a fund of experience and information which made him a marked person. When he entered upon the duties of the TIMOTHY D WIGHT 177 president's office, he found the college in a dis- organized condition ; the number of students had decreased, discipUne was relaxed, and infi- delity was rampant. Dwight, having had expe- rience with almost a thousand scholars, both boys and girls, in his excellent schools at North- ampton and Greenfield, proceeded at once to grapple with the situation, and by his vigor and determination succeeded in laying anew the foundations for the great university that has grown from these early beginnings. The presi- dent, being also an instructor of the senior class and Professor in Belles Lettres, Oratory, and Theology, came into close touch with the stu- dents, and was able to inspire them with some of his enthusiasm, and meet them in arguments that always meant their defeat. Besides, their respect grew when they understood his methods of work. For many years an acute pain just back of the eyes prevented him from reading or writing for more than a quarter of an hour at a time. He was compelled, therefore, to use an amanuensis, and whatever writing he accom- plished was with the assistance of another ; and he was known to dictate a letter and a sermon 178 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS at the same time, sometimes dictating as many as three letters at once. It is difficult to think of one dictating poetry, but this he often did, the result being not altogether satisfactory from a literary point of view. This method of composition accounts in some degree for his directness of style and its declamatory char- acter, though entailing very observable de- fects, as Professor Moses Coit Tyler describes it, " Composition by the tongue, rather than the pen ; the style of an eloquent declaimer with the audience before him ; clever improvisation, — affluent, emphatic, sonorous, moving on in balanced numbers " without lightness and ease and charm. The most important of Timothy Dwight's literary labors after going to New Haven were without doubt the sermons that he preached to the students, both by reason of their imme- diate effect, and their influence on religious thought when published after his death, in five volumes, under the title "Theology Ex- plained and Defended." These sermons had first been preached in Greenfield extemporane- ously from notes, as was his earlier custom, TIMOTHY DWIGHT 1 79 but later were written out carefully and arranged in a course which he repeated in the college chapel every four years, so that every student might receive his systematic instruction. The sermons taken as a whole constitute a thoroughly logical system of religious thought, dealing with a wide range of theological sub- jects from philosophy to specific doctrines, aiming to appeal to reason as well as faith, and to combat the intellectual objections which Hume, Priestley, and Paine had raised against the truth of Christianity as interpreted by the orthodox thinkers. Though Dwight's teaching is a milder form of Calvinism than that of Edwards, and differed from Hopkinsianism, he did not eliminate the severity of the older theologians. Without attempting to assign him a theological position, it can be said of the sermons that they were a departure from the usual modes of preaching, in that they are full of original thought, clear, at times sprightly, bringing to bear upon the topics chosen a mass of information and argument, which explains their popularity almost to the present day ; and they have long been considered by theo- l8o THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS logians to be a valuable contribution to their science. Two other volumes of Dwight's sermons were published in Edinburgh in 1828, being a selection of his more practical and brilliant discourses, two of which became noted as a defence of religion against the attacks of infi- delity ; they were originally printed by them- selves, having for their subject "The Nature and Danger of Infidel Philosophy." There were many other discourses which he delivered on special occasions, indicating his interest in public affairs, the most valuable being " On the Character of George Washington, Esquire," preached on February 22, 1800. There is no better contemporary analysis of Washington's character. He asserted that " Perhaps there never was a mind on which theoretical specu- lations had less influence, and the decisions of common sense more." In his political views Dr. D wight was out- spoken both in the class room and in the pul- pit. Fear of the influence of French ideas and belief in a strong central government made him a Federalist of the Hamilton school. TIMOTHY DWIGHT l8l With many of the clergy he opposed the democracy of Jefferson ; and of all imaginable evils he considered an alliance with France the worst. The Fast Day sermon of July 23, 1812, called the " Burden of Dumah," was a strange application of prophecy to political conditions, wherein he argued that the country was now under the sixth and seventh vials of wrath, illustrated by the effect of the French Revolution on America. •' The touch of France," he said, "is pollution; her embrace is death;" and in another place he stated that "to ally America to France is to chain living health and beauty to a corpse dissolving with the plague." Naturally the War of 18 12 was looked upon as a national calamity, and he spoke against it as unnecessary and unjust; but the greatest danger was that the superior force of the enemy might drive us to seek aid from France. There is no doubt but that Dwight's Federalist position settled the trend of Yale College for many years. When the news of Waterloo was brought to New Haven it was long remembered with what unction he prayed in thanksgiving, and read with 1 82 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS emphasis the passage of Scripture which he thought most applicable to the fall of Napo- leon : " The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; they break forth into singing. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning ; how art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations." A curious little book of Dr. Dwight's which apparently was not published until after his death is "An Essay on the Stage." In ap- proaching such a topic he could not draw largely on personal experience, so he reiter- ates the general phrases of condemnation that characterized the pulpit of his time, using against all forms of the modern drama the ancient objections against the amphitheatre and the circus. Not finding in the Bible the term Sacred Drama even, not "a single dra- matic piece " in the sacred pages, he con- cludes that there is no divine sanction for such performances. The idea of the stage being a moral teacher seemed to shock the good doctor exceedingly, and he makes the strange exclusive claim that if this is admitted "it would infringe on the claims of the word TIMOTHY DWIGHT 1 83 of God," the only moral teacher being the Word and its Author, who in the accomplish- ment of moral growth "will have no rival but declares that he himself alone can accompHsh ■ this great work ; " as if the Divine Being was jealous of whatever uplifting influences there might be in the world ! Any possibility of reforming the stage would not be entertained for a moment, because " evil can never be reformed ; it must be changed in its essence. We might as soon attempt to reform the gam- bler by teaching him fair game, or the thief, by teaching him concealment, as attempt to reform the stage." The actor was to be placed on "the splendid tarnished list," — a man "with St. Anthony's fire in his veins and St. Vitus's dance in his limbs," who, though a mere mimic, learns how to deceive the multi- tude. Remembering, however, the dry and sometimes uproarious sermons that he has heard, the ministerial critic of the drama ad- mits that there is something in the actor's retort to the pulpit. " You are a speaking, life- less, man-like frame more fitted by your lion- like roar, and hideous groans, and clown-like 1 84 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS appearance, to disgust than to command the attention, the affections, and the actions of your audience." The whole book is written from a one-sided point of view and reveals the utter inability of the author to perceive the art or beauty of the drama in any of its forms. It is of the essence of Puritanism untouched by the love of warmth or color, or even literary excellence. While this is true, there is much in the book besides criticism of the stage; it is a general moral treatise, and, though at times ponderous, has in it many wise remarks and admonitions on life, which befit the stately theologian dealing with questions of greater lightness than usual. By his conspicuous position as an orator and author, a man of learning and judgment, a friend of the leading professional and politi- cal men of his state, and indeed of the coun- try, President D wight exerted a widespread influence. One of his pupils called him " a Father to New England, — her moral legisla- tor," and others, not so appreciative, perhaps disciplined students, spoke irreverently of him as " Old Pope Dwight." His work was by no TIMOTHY DWIGHT 185 means confined to the college or the church. It was he who formed the plan, in 1799, of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, contributing to the meetings by preparing val- uable papers, notably " A Statistical History of New Haven," and " Observations on Lan- guage." He was one of the promoters of Andover Theological Seminary, and a founder of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, preaching the sermon before the latter body, September 16, 181 3. The crowning literary work of a long and earnest life was the " Travels in New Eng- land and New York," published some years after his death. Many consider these bulky volumes as the most important gift that the good doctor has made to American letters. Southey, who reviewed them at length in the Quarterly Review, speaking of the work as a whole, says, "Though the humblest in its pre- tences, this is the most important of his writ- ings, and will derive additional value from time, whatever may become of his poetry and of his sermons." The "Travels" came into exist- ence gradually through many years and with- 1 86 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS out any intention at first of being more than a record for his family. In the first year of his Presidency at Yale, he decided to use his vacations as a means of exercise and enjoy- ment ; so he drove about the country from town to town, going sometimes as far as New York, always with his note-book near, jotting down for his family the incidents of the day, the condition of the country through which he passed, the character of the inhabitants, conversations with leading men about politics, the weather and the crops, and other bits of curious and new information that he gained by the wayside. These recorded peregrinations, repeated for successive vacations, soon pro- duced such a mass of notes, journals, and diaries that the plan was formed of weaving them into a book, with the view of presenting an eye-witness account of the state of New England, for the information of the people and the enlightenment of foreigners, especially the English, who still thought of America as a wilderness. Favorite college students vol- unteered to write out the notes at his dictation ; and the summer travels soon were reduced to TIMOTHY DWIGHT 1 87 reams of papers, only waiting for the printer, to come forth to the pubhc in four stately vol- umes. They contain literally everything that might strike the physical eye or the mind's eye in journeys through a limited section of the world, — scenery, the height of hills and the depths of rivers, the general lay of the land, the names of the trees and fruits and vegetables, the produce of each locality, the number of the population, the progress made in society, the buildings, the industries, with, as Southey says, " a dehghtful curiosity in strange rocks, whirlwinds, and insects." There are preserved in these pages old superstitions and legends that would long ago have vanished if they had not caught the ear of the inquisi- tive wanderer. History and character sketches are placed side by side with good stories and epitaphs on tombstones. Biographies are writ- ten down at first hand, and accounts of battles are received from soldiers who fought under Putnam and Warren. Indian stories and tales of the early settlers are given with as much precision as if they were being recounted for the archives of a historical society. The book, t88 the clergy in American letters in fine, is a panoramic picture of the social, industrial, educational, and religious condition of New England at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. It is genuinely interesting and readable, and of inestimable value to the historian or the student of manners and customs. The "Travels" are in the form of lengthy letters to an imaginary Englishman who is kept well informed about the advantages of America over the mother country, and whose prejudices and superciliousness are not allowed to bias him against the truth, for as the author says, " To the task he was greatly prompted by the unfair and illiberal accounts given of us by foreigners who have done little else than cari- cature both the country and its inhabitants . . . society and character of government." It is noted that America has no law of primogeni- ture ; and in describing the villages he is justly proud : " A succession of New England villages composed of neat houses, surrounding neat schoolhouses and churches adorned with gar- dens, meadows, and orchards, and exhibiting the universally easy circumstances of the in- TIMOTHY DWIGHT 1 89 habitants is, at least in my opinion, one of the most delightful prospects which the world can afford." Of the national government, he says, though foreigners " see it in theory more liable to fluctuations than any other, yet they are obliged by facts to acknowledge that it is one of the most stable and unchanging." He replies indignantly to the English opinion that the American countenance has undergone a change and is growing in features more like the savage Indians, and exclaims, " Except by the religious part of the British nation we seem to be chiefly unknown or forgotten in the character of ra- tional beings." The American patriot speaks out everywhere in the book. The biographical sketches contained in this work are well done and valuable, especially the accounts of Judge Oliver Ellsworth and General Phinehas Lyman, and of many other important New England men about whom delightful anec- dotes are told. There is a vivid description also of the battle of Bunker Hill. To illustrate the strange mixture of fact and opinion with curious information in the record one has only to read the six reasons given why the river at Niagara Falls I go THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS never moves faster than six miles an hour, — a question which was argued at length with the ferryman who did not agree with the traveller. Though the book has no logical order in the arrangement of its facts, being a huge note-book of everything under the sun, with a kind of Sunday newspaper method in its inclu- siveness, it has little in it of dulness, much of cleverness and even brilliancy. When Dr. Dwight was laid at rest in 1817, undoubtedly a great man had passed away. For many years his dignified presence and vigorous character, his attainment and power as a speaker and thinker, had made him a force in American life. When one considers these characteristics and adds to them his numerous writings and his influence on the careers of young college men, one can understand what may have been the foundations for the exag- gerated opinion of Judge Sherman, one of his friends, who said, " I have often expressed the opinion, which length of time has continually strengthened, that no man except 'the Father of his Country ' had conferred greater benefits on our nation than President Dwight." CHAPTER VI WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING During the forty years of his ministry in Boston, from 1803 to 1842, WilHam Ellery Channing was one of the best known men in America. Editions of his works were issued in England and France. The words spoken in his New England pulpit made their way every- where. But he was neither a literary man, nor profound scholar, nor philosopher. He never but once set himself deliberately to write a book. This he did not finish. His originality was not great unless we accept Renan's criti- cism that the originality of Channing is in "the idea of a pure Christianity, free from all ties of sect ; in his aversion to all spiritual despot- ism, even when freely accepted ; in his hatred against everything which he calls a degrading uniformity of opinions." His writings are mostly collected sermons, book-reviews, lec- 191 192 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS tures, open letters to statesmen, and treatises on moral and political questions of the day. These were written for the occasion that brought them forth, without any intention of their being put into permanent form, so they have not the finish of serious literary work. The style is sometimes prolix, and the illustrations are often dull. But the secret of his great power is to be found in the moral rather than the intellec- tual force of his work. Referring to the enrichment of American civilization after the Revolution, Martineau says very truly of him, "Adams was ready to secure it the honor of statesmanship ; Story, to cre- ate its jurisprudence; Allston, its art; and Channing its moral literature." Aside from his distinctly theological sermons, his writ- ings, taken as a whole, may fitly be described as "moral literature." Their aim is not contro- versial, but ethical. The standard of conduct, both private and public, which he maintained, is of the highest. Next to this unfaltering loy- alty to his ideal, he had a love for the beauty of holiness, which was ever present in his en- thusiasms. WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 193 Channing, from the early days in Newport, where he was born on April 7, 1780, to his college life and the experience as a tutor in Virginia, was peculiarly under influences that developed the spiritual side of his nature. Bred in a gentleman's family, surrounded by the sweetness of his mother and the strong manliness of his father, he enjoyed a healthy and normal life. The conversation at his father's table was stimulating when there were visits from such men as Dr. Stiles, who fostered in him, as he afterward said, " the indignation which I feel toward every invasion of human rights " ; Dr. Hopkins, from whom he first gained his convictions of the iniquity of slavery, and whose doctrine of disinterestedness ap- pealed to him ; and Father Thurston, a Bap- tist minister who was earnest in checking the vice of drunkenness then prevalent in Newport. A personal experience like the following, called into being his first touch of sympathy which all through his life was ready to express itself in act and word. " I remember an incident in my childhood," he said, "which has given a turn to my whole life and character. I found 194 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS a nest of birds in my father's field which held four young ones. Every day I returned to feed them. As soon as the school was done, I would run home for some bread and sit by the nest and feed them. When I came one morning, I found them all cut up into quarters. The grass around was red with blood. I never forgot my feeling. The impression will never be worn away." While at New London, where he was sent to prepare for college under his uncle, the Rev. Henry Channing, he began to take an in- terest in religious questions, and to gain some- thing of the free and tolerant spirit which was beginning to grow in the midst of the Calvin- ism of Connecticut. He entered Harvard Col- lege in 1794 with a fine class of fellows, among whom were Judge Story and Joseph Emerson. Judge Story, writing about him in later years said, " The qualities of mind and character which then were unfolded to my own view were precisely the same which in after life gave him such celebrity." His friends all speak of him as an enthusiastic companion, small in stat- ure, but ready to prolong his encounters in wrestling matches with a larger antagonist, WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 1 95 with a laugh that was contagious and never to be forgotten, and recognized by all as the lead- ing scholar in his class. But these are common enough qualities. To understand him we must find out the elements that distinguished his young manhood, because in a very real sense these were his life possessions, only increased in certain directions by time and restrained in others. His moral purity of thought and act was due to a refinement of nature which made anything gross abhorrent. Though the moral tone of the college was low when he entered, he could truthfully say that " an almost instinc- tive shrinking from gross vice, to which natural timidity and religious principle contributed not a little, proved effectual safeguards. I look back on the innocence of my early life with no self-complacency, but I do recollect it with great satisfaction and with fervent gratitude to Divine Providence." Vivid spiritual insight was no less a characteristic of his. He had moments of exaltation, when the guiding truths of his life flashed out upon him. He saw more in nature than serenity and beauty, and felt that he was a part of the loveliness about him, 196 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS and began to be conscious of that dignity of the human soul which became an abiding doc- trine with him through life. The books that seemed to interest him most were those that dealt with moral things. He read Locke, Berkeley, Reid, and Price. " Price saved me from Locke's philosophy," he said, " and during my life I have written the words Love, Right, etc., with a capital. That book probably moulded my philosophy into the form it has always retained." Ferguson on Civil Society developed his longing for social prog- ress. When the students desired to express the sympathy of the college with President John Adams, he was selected to carry out their wishes. His love for freedom of discussion was shown by his refusal to deliver his Com- mencement Oration unless he could deal un- hampered with the political state of the times. Channing's residence in Richmond, Virginia, from 1798 to 1800, as a tutor in the family of a Southern gentleman, was of great value in broadening his sympathies. He formed an attachment for his Virginia friends because of their warmth and hospitality. " Here I find WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 1 97 great vices, but greater virtues than I left be- hind me," he wrote; "there is one single trait which attaches to the people I live with more than all the virtues of New England. They love money less. They are more disinter- ested." In speaking of the debates in the Virginia legislature, he admitted, "I have lis- tened to these speeches with a great deal of pleasure. The Virginians are the best orators I have ever heard." But he found slavery depressing. "This alone," he said, "would prevent me from settling in Virginia." It was during this Southern experience that Channing decided to enter the ministry. He had much time for study, and by an asceticism which was severe he trained himself to forego many pleasures and even necessities. At times he would sleep on the bare floor, go without food, and clothe himself insufificiently. He read all kinds of books, especially histories, and Rousseau, and Godwin's "Caleb Williams." The thought of reforming modern society by bringing it back to simple methods of living grew to be his dominant idea. His study of the Bible and the evidences of Christianity led 198 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS him to feel that religion in its essence was moral truth. The words, in which he recorded his decision to become a clergyman, show how from the beginning of his public career the moral rather than the intellectual element of religion appealed to him. " I have now sol- emnly given myself up to God," he wrote; "I consider love to Him as the first of all duties, and morality seems a branch from the vigorous root of religion. I love mankind because they are the children of God." After a period of special preparation in New- port, to which he returned in 1800, he began to preach occasionally until his ordination on June I, 1803, when he became the minister of the Federal Street Church, Boston, a position he held for forty years until his death. The pulpit was his seat of authority. From it, he exerted a moral and spiritual influence not only in Boston, where he was loved, but in widely scattered parts of the country. His appearances out of his pulpit became notable, as when he delivered, in 18 19, the ordination sermon in Baltimore, when Jared Sparks was settled over the Unitarian church in that city, WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 1 99 but it was from Boston that his influence was felt as he spoke upon the leading questions of the day and evolved his plans for the improve- ment of mankind. As a man he was gentle, refined, courteous but retiring, and oracular in his words, being able, however, to impart enthusiasm to those who came near him. As a preacher, always writing his sermons, he was not carried away in passionate appeal, but held his hearers by a sense of reserve force which lay behind his measured sentences and rounded periods. He was small of stature, thin, with high cheek bones and large dark eyes, having shadows about them almost as dark as the eyes. When visibly moved by his subject he seemed to increase in height and breadth, and, as one expressed it, his " small body fairly dilated." There was no mistaking his earnestness and it was always caught by the people. His manner as well as his reasoning held their attention. When urging earnestness of manner in the pulpit he once said, and it very well describes his own manner : "I do not mean that a minister must have lungs of iron and a 200 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS voice of thunder. Noise and earnestness are very different things. I only mean that the minister should deliver his message as if he felt its infinite weight . . . and this he may do without being a brawler;" again, "The expression of the heart is the perfection of ministerial eloquence." But neither manner nor personality explains Channing. His principles incorporated into life and applied to human conditions insured him the hearing that he received. There were certain fundamental conceptions that regulated his thinking. Foremost among these was his belief in the essential nobility and dignity of the human soul. The centre of his philosophy" was man, and from man, as a potentially moral being, created to attain perfection, he examined the current theology. Past and present dog- matism as well as political theories he con- tended must be tested by human sentiment and reason. This emphasis on the soul and its rights was in direct contrast to previous New England theological thinking and caused the repudiation of the teaching of Edwards and Hopkins. Channing was more under the WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 20I influence of the writers of the French Revolu- tion than the PuritaiL Fathers. The doctrine of the total depravity of man was answered by the assertion of the inherent nobility of man; the doctrine of a bound and predesti- nated will by the freedom of the individual life ; the sovereignty of divine wrath by the sov- ereignty of divine love^ In the arguments against Calvinism Channing's final answer always was that its teachings were contrary to the moral sentiments. In " The Moral Argu- ment against Calvinism," while he was willing to recognize the moral worth which the system possessed, he frankly stated that "Calvinism owes its perpetuity to the influence of fear in paralysing the moral nature," asserting that "nothing is so necessary on this subject as to awaken moral feelings in men's breasts." When these moral feelings are aroused they have the right to judge whatever alleged truth is brought to them. The final test of truth must be a man's own mind and heart, for, as Channing says, nothing is gained to piety by degrading human nature, and " the ultimate reliance of a human being is and must be on 202 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS his own mind." Any doctrine which contra- dicts our ideas and outrages our feelings can- not come from a just God and cannot represent His character. Though Calvinism answers that because a revealed truth opposes the sense of rectitude, that is no reason why it should be neglected, inasmuch as the ultimate happiness of the universe may require a method different from our ideas of morality, Channing answers that if a different administration of justice is required, then right and truth can- not be right and truth. These must always be eternally the same both in the bosom of man and in the bosom of God. This moral revolt against Calvinism led to Channing's intellectual revolt from the ortho- dox interpretations of Scripture. Freedom of discussion and freedom of the mind in dealing with all of these questions were upheld and exercised. It was in defending the right of the churches to free inquiry and personal interpretation that he was drawn into the early stages of the Unitarian controversy. He thought that the free spirit of man should neither be bound by tradition nor authority, and WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 203 that if a man ceased to believe a doctrine and honestly held another he should be permitted to hold the new doctrines. His individual- ism was so extreme that he put more confidence in truth as expressed by the individual than by associations of individuals. He often exclaims that no one is responsible for his views but himself, and that he does not represent any one but himself. Associations and parties might be joined, but one must stand above both. In his " Remarks on Associations," speaking of man's great duty as a social being, he said the real duty is "to open our minds to the thoughts, reasonings, and persuasions of others, and yet to hold fast the sacred right of private judgment ; to receive impulses from our fellow- beings, and yet to act from our own souls; to sympathize with others, and yet to determine our own feelings ; to act with others and yet to follow our own consciences. . . . The rev- erence for our own moral nature, on which we have now insisted, needs earnest and perpetual inculcation." This desire for the personal freedom of the individual led him to fear insti- tutions, to care little for the machinery of 204 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS societies, to look with disfavor upon organized charities and even missions. He believed in charities and missions, but he thought that initiative was crushed out by the routine of a regular charitable establishment, as he ex- plained himself more fully : " An individual who thinks that he is doing a more religious act in contributing to a missionary society than in doing a needful act of kindness to a relative, friend, or neighbor, is leaving a society of God's institution for one of man's making." The distinguishing characteristic of Chan- ning was his reverence for his own soul, in the search for truth and beauty and moral perfec- tion ; and in the right to interpret by his own intellect and feelings what he had discovered or what had been revealed to him. He with- drew apart from men in intellectual isolation, where the voices of the world were silent, and he listened to the voice of God, calm, direct, and unmistakable. Then when the truth had been apprehended he gave it to men. Whether they could accept it or not, he considered that he had done his duty in announcing his discov- ery. But he had sufficient faith in men to WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 205 think that they would accept the truth when it appealed to their moral natures which were only waiting to be stirred. If a received opin- ion stood in the way of his idea of right, down went the opinion, whether it was in religion or politics, and no considerations of fitness could restrain him. Such championship of the freedom of discussion and belief in the right- eousness of his cause never came from egotism or undue self-assertion, but from conviction. He was one of the most humble of men. It was a continual surprise to him that people had heard of him as far off as Germany. But when he had a truth to proclaim he cared for no one and stood up in the might of a conscious inspiration, like an authoritative teacher or a prophet. Another of his characteristics was feeling joined to self-restraint. The suppressed emo- tion in his style gives energy and dignity to his word without marring it by exhibitions of passion. He was always the gentleman, cour- teous to his adversaries and anxious not to be misunderstood. When he had expressed him- self strongly he invariably added qualifying 206 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS statements. Sometimes these became incon- sistencies. He seems to say two different things at once. He takes back with one hand what he gave with the other. Again, in dealing with questions that would easily lend themselves to vigorous criticism he surprises one by being cold and analytic and self-contained. On the whole, however, the even flow of his style was like his life, outwardly calm and uneventful; within burning and full of excitement. Channing's writings may be divided into three sections, political, religious, and philan- thropic ; while these divisions in a measure are chronological they are not sharply defined. He wrote on all three subjects in different proportions during the whole of his productive life. In addition there are a few essays, dis- tinctly literary, notably, " Remarks on the Char- acter and Writings of John Milton," " Remarks on the Life and Character of Napoleon Bona- parte," " Remarks on the Character and Writ- ings of Fenelon," and " Remarks on National Literature." The literary essays were book-reviews in the Christian Examiner. In the one on Milton he WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 20/ shows his interest in poetry, an interest that was fostered afterward by Wordsworth whom he read more frequently than any other poet but Shakespeare. To him poetry was the "divinest of all the arts," and of God's gifts he considered "poetical genius the most tran- scendent." Channing's thought of poetry was noble, for he believed its greatness to lie in its interpretation of truth, and in its inspiration toward the ideal. It had in it the germ of immortal life, for through it, and by means of it, "the soul is perpetually stretching beyond what is present and visible, struggUng against the bounds of its earthly prison-house and seek- ing relief and joy in imaginings of the unseen and ideal being." In answer to the strange Puritanic objections to poetry, that it abounds in illusions and unrealities, his answer was that "the fictions of genius are often vehicles of the sublimest verities." Though Channing had this appreciation of poetry, and the poetic aspect of nature stimulated him as when he roamed the seashore at Newport, or crossed the ocean and travelled in Switzerland, and visited Niagara, yet it was something above him which 208 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS he enjoyed without entering fully into its mean- ing. He could always have been an appre- ciative reader of poetry; never a producer of it. He had what in a vague way is called the poetic temperament. He had none of the true poet's fire. His biographers speak of his poetic potentiality. It is a favorite way of biographers when dealing with intense natures. There is no evidence in his writings that he had the fancy of the born poet. What appreciation he had was made. It never took vital hold of him enough to lighten his orations and sermons with anything above commonplace imagery. His interest was greatest in Milton's prose. This took hold of him because it expressed what he believed in, the loftiness of virtue, the love of liberty and contempt for " hereditary faith, ser- vile reverence for established power." The theological Milton maintaining human freedom and applying reason to Christian doctrines was a figure of heroic proportions. The final joy of Channing when considering Milton was that he was an anti-Trinitarian, for it gave him a new name with which to back up his own position : " Our Trinitarian adversaries are per- WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 209 petually ringing in our ears the names of the Fathers and Reformers. We take Milton, Locke, and Newton, and place them in our front, and want no others to oppose to the whole army of great names on the opposite side. Before these intellectual suns, the stars of self-named Orthodoxy hide their diminished heads." In the essays on Napoleon and F^nelon, Channing applies to each the principle of his high conception of human character. His judg- ment on both men is neither historical nor liter- ary. It is ethical. Napoleon, therefore, appears as the basest of men, F^nelon as the noblest. In the general condemnation of the one and the unrivalled praise of the other, there is a lack of analysis and discrimination, the result of applying a general principle to a particular case without an insight into motives and accomplish- ment. Napoleon's love of power and ambition, that led him into cruelty and disregard of the rights of others, gave Channing the chance to discuss the relations between the individual and government. Republicanism, Monarchy, Mili- tarism, and industrial prosperity. The main 2IO THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS purpose of the essay is set forth in the perora- tion, " We have labored to show the superiority of moral power and influence to that sway, which has for ages been seized with bloody and eager hands. We have labored to hold up, to unmeasured reprobation, him who would estab- lish an Empire of brute force over rational beings. We have labored to hold forth, as the enemy of the race, the man who in any way would fetter the human mind, and subject other wills to his own. In a word, we have desired to awaken others and ourselves to a just rever- ence of our highest powers, and especially to that moral force, that energy of holy, virtuous purpose, without which we are slaves amidst the freest institutions." One of Channing's best essays was the pro- found paper on " National Literature." With the growth of nationality and the development of a genuine Americanism, he foresaw the need and possibility of a native literature, to give expression to the thoughts that were seeking utterance, and to lead the people to ideals of patriotism and knowledge and religion. Coming just before the creative period in WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 211 American literature, when it flowered forth in philosophy and poetry and fiction, the essay marks the transition from the meagreness of intellectual output, to the abundance that was so soon to come. Channing seemed, therefore, conscious of the impetus to letters that would result from the broader and freer use of the human intellect for which he contended. It was no accident that American literature grew up in the path of the movement for an unre- strained use of reason and investigation. His conception of the value of literature was not without an ethical content. He felt that it would produce nobler men. " The great dis- tinction of a country," he wrote, "is that it produces superior men. Its natural advantages are not to be disdained ; but they are of sec- ondary importance. No matter what races of animals a country breeds, the great question is, Does it breed a noble race of men ? No matter what its soil may be, the great question is, How far is it prolific of moral and intellectual power.?" Again he asserted that "the true sovereigns of a country are those who deter- mine its mind, its modes of thinking, tastes, 212 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS its principles." He exposed two errors, which constantly found their way into print, one be- ing that, since we had English literature to draw from, it was unnecessary for us to develop one of our own, and the other that what America needed was useful knowledge rather than what was termed "elegant literature." Of the first he said, we should not be confined to English literature, but the literatures of Continental Europe should also be ours, and this, instead of being a reason for making sterile the seed of self-expression, should rather fertilize it; and in dealing with the second, he enlarged the sphere of what was termed useful knowledge, by showing that any literature was useful which "calls forth the highest faculties, which ex- presses and communicates energy of thought, fruitfulness of invention, force of moral pur- pose, a thirst for the true, and a delight in the beautiful." He considered history revealing the causes and means of happiness, poetry touching the springs of the human soul, and philosophy treating of the foundations of knowl- edge and duty, to be as useful as mathematics. When the essayist dealt with the means of pro- WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 213 ducing a native literature, he gave due credit to institutions of learning for which he pleaded, and the arousing of individual genius; but he argued for "a new action of the religious principle," asserting that our "chief hopes of an improved literature rest on our hopes of an improved rehgion." Channing saw that the idealism which inspired the noble deed, or the poem, was closely related to the idealism which inspired prayer and worship. There was no interest of Channing's life of more vital concern to him than the history, the politics, and the statesmanship of America. The State to him was the guardian of the law and the upholder of moral principles. Whenever he saw partisan desire for gain propose and carry through schemes which he felt were wrong in motive and plan, he .publicly stated his opinions in discourses, pamphlets, and books. Many of his most important publications, therefore, were of a political nature. They differ from many political writings of the clergy in that they are calm, reasoned out without excitement, full of a spirit of conciliation toward his 214 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS opponents, but uncompromising when deal- ing with their principles. The War of 1812, the Seminole War, the questions arising out of the Hartford Convention, the annexation of Texas, and slavery in its many aspects, all deeply stirred him and brought forth char- acteristic utterances from his pen. In Channing's attitude toward the War of 1812 he allied himself, as nearly as it was possible for him to become a member of a party, with the Federalists. He was in poli- tics, as religion, an individualist. Though he feared the invasion of French influence as much as the most ardent Federalist, and re- garded the war as unnecessary and unjust, he never for a moment considered the possi- bility of a secession from the Union because other states committed the nation to a policy of which he did not approve. In a review of the " Correspondence between John Quincy Adams and several citizens of Massachusetts, concerning the charge of a design to dissolve the union alleged to have existed in that state," he repelled the charge and took occa- sion to define what "the Union" should mean WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 21$ to a devoted citizen, not neglecting to point out the failures of the Federalists. Federal- ism, he said, "failed through despondence. Here was the rock on which Federalism split. Too many of its leading men wanted a just confidence in our free institutions, and in the moral ability of the people to uphold them." In Channing's idea of "the Union" there is none of the passionate regard of a later time. There is nothing sacred about it as there was to Webster. The highest function of the federal institutions which bound the states together was merely to avert evil, the highest political good, liberty, being negative ; this he asserted over and over again. "We prize our bond of Union," he wrote, " as that which constitutes us one people; as preserving the different states from mutual jealousies and wars, and from separate alliances with foreign nations ; as mitigating party spirit ; in one word, as perpetuating our peace." The General Government should act as its name implied, not protecting certain branches of trade and neglecting others, and not mak- ing internal improvements a fountain of dis- 2l6 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS cord and bitterness through a palpable favoritism. There was no subject upon which Channing wrote more vigorously than slavery. He never became an abolitionist, partly because of his calmness of view, and partly because he dis- liked to join with others in associations, believing firmly as he did in the importance of individual action. He rendered, however, important ser- vice in creating public sentiment; and his books were read where others were destroyed. The most noted of his anti-slavery writings were the treatise simply called "Slavery," his letter to James G. Birney on "The Abolitionist," the letter to Henry Clay "On the Annexation of Texas," " Remarks on the Slavery Question," "Emancipation," and "The Duty of the Free States." Through all these different books and letters and pamphlets the same spirit is to be seen, the eagerness to point out to the slave owner and the Northern poli- tician and capitalist, the moral facts that were involved, and how contrary the institution was to Christian principles. In the treatise " Slav- ery," Channing really said almost all that was WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 21/ in his mind. The other writings are simply repetitions and elaborations of these first ideas. The book is divided into eight chapters, dealing with such questions as property rights, the evils of slavery. Scripture in relation to the institu- tion, the means of removing slavery, and the duties of the hour. As to the contention that the slaves are property or as the South Caro- lina laws said, " chattels personal in the hands of their masters, and possessions to all intents and purposes whatsoever," Channing answered by taking the highest ground : " He cannot be property in the sight of God and justice because he is a rational, moral, immortal being." When told that governments decide what is property, he exclaimed, " What ! is human legislation the measure of right.' Are God's laws to be re- pealed by man's ? Can governments do no wrong .'' " The evils of slavery were very fully set forth as destructive of intellectual life in the slave, the ignorance of the slave being neces- sary to the security of the master. The domes- tic influences of the institution were of the worst type : " The slave's home does not merit the name. To him it is no sanctuary. It is 2l8 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS open to violation, insult, outrage. His children belong to another, are provided for by another, are disposed of by another. . . . His wife, son, and daughter may be lashed before his eyes, and not a finger must be lifted in their defence." The corresponding evil influences on the master's character and his conception of the purity of the home were unsparingly dealt with, as well as the influence on politics and on the nation. The analysis of Channing was keen. He allowed no argument to escape him, and when he approached the assertion that Scripture upheld slavery he could not keep his intensity in check. "Why may not Scripture be used," he said, "to stock our houses with wives as well as with slaves .■" " The true spirit of Christianity was shown to be the fulfilment of the law and the introduction of a life of freedom and brotherhood. On the subject of the removal of slavery, Channing seems never to have got beyond the thought that such removal must be brought about by the slave-holding states themselves. Colonization, as well as gradual emancipation was suggested, but forcible interference by WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 219 the North never became a possibility to him. "What is needed," he thought, "is that the slave-holding states should resolve conscien- tiously and in good faith to remove this greatest of moral evils and wrongs." Of the abolition- ists Channing was outspoken ; while he felt they were sincere he could not help deprecating their methods, and the perfectly futile cry of " Im- mediate Emancipation." The agitation of the abolitionists had done great harm in strength- ening the sympathies of the free states with slavery and in alienating the South ; " It made converts of a few individuals, but alienated multitudes. Its influence at the South has been wholly evil. It has stirred up bitter pas- sions and a fierce fanaticism, which has shut every ear and every heart against its arguments and persuasions." In the letter to Birney, Channing deplores the physical violence used against the abolitionists, because he believed they should have the right of free speech, and he spares no words of condemnation against those who selfishly misrepresent the aims of those seeking to free the slaves. The influ- ence of the judicious pleading of such men 220 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS as Channing did more to educate the people of America in the moral way of dealing with the question than the boisterous opposition of hot-headed men who were fond of denunciation. As an important state paper reflecting the sentiment of many, the letter to Henry Clay on " The Annexation of Texas to the United States " ranks high. It is written with dignity and force ; and attracted general attention at the time of its publication in 1837. The motive for writing the letter is fully expressed in the words : " Should Texas be annexed to our country, I feel that I could not forgive myself, if, with my deep, solemn impressions, I should do nothing to avert the evil. . . . The annexa- tion of Texas, under existing circumstances, would be more than rashness ; it would be madness." The arguments against annexing Texas are put forth with rare skill. The crimi- nality of the revolt which severed the country from Mexico, the unprincipled spirit of land speculation with the manufacture of land titles, the resolution to throw Texas open to slave- holders, are all treated from the highest ethical standpoint. Though the contention that " Texas WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 221 is the first step to Mexico" was not justified, yet the Mexican War showed the prophetical wisdom of the preacher in fearing bloodshed. He could not imagine that Mexico would be a passive prey or surrender without a struggle. The strongest argument found against the measure was that it would perpetuate slavery, and this would have an important bearing on the existence of the National Union. The South by an extension of territory would acquire disproportionate power and this would give new violence to the agitation of the slavery question. " Let slavery be systematically pro- posed as the policy of these states, let it bind them together in efforts to establish political power, and a new feeling will burst forth through the whole North. It will be a con- centration of moral, religious, political, and patriotic feelings. The fire, now smothered, will blaze out." Channing in later life foresaw the possibility of the division of the Union, and should it be brought about he could not keep from himself the disaster that would ensue. Though Channing recognized the dangers that were ahead he never counselled force. In 222 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS the "Duty of the Free States" he expressed very fully his opinion on this subject : " What is the duty of the North in regard to slavery ? On this subject I will only say, I recommend no crusade against slavery, no use of physical or legislative power for its destruction, no irruption into the South to tamper with the slave, or to repeal or resist the laws. Our duties on this subject are plain. First, we must free our- selves, as I have said, from all constitutional or legal obligations to uphold slavery. In the next place we must give free and strong expression to our reprobation of slavery. The North has but one weapon, moral force, the utterance of moral judgment, moral feeling, and religious conviction." Channing, by temperament, education, and contact with the vigorous minds of his time, was especially fitted for the position he took as a social reformer. Keenly alive to the trend of society in the direction of an enlarged democracy he felt the power that resided in the people when they were trained in the best arts of living and freed from the false restraints that had been put upon them by the ruling WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 223 classes. He has a place therefore among those who, in the early portion of the nineteenth century, worked in the cause of the laboring man, and made possible in America the bene- ficial legislation, the numerous protections to life and limb, the establishment of libraries for the people, and the general excellence of the public schools. As the Earl of Shaftsbury in England befriended the working classes, and kept children of tender age out of the factories, alleviating the conditions of the in- sane, improving the treatment of prisoners, so in a less extensive, but as earnest a way, Channing worked for the same objects. Child- labor, American penal institutions, the educa- tion of the people, and the uplifting of the masses of the poor were continually in his mind ; and by the use of his pen and his voice he worked so strenuously that he has the right to stand among those men of the century who have heard the cry of the multitudes ; — prophetic enough to see that the advancement of human society can only come through the progress of the many as they cast aside the burdens and injustices of earlier times. 224 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS One of the first evils of modern society he attacked was war. He preached on many occa- sions in favor of arbitration and against the iniquity of settling disputes by the sword. His discourse on "War," preached in 1816, prepared the way for the formation of the Peace Society of Massachusetts, the parent of similar societies in America. Dr. Channing prepared one of the first memorials to Congress on the subject of American cooperation with European gov- ernments in the "acknowledgment of those principles of peace and charity on which the prosperity of states and the happiness of fami- lies and individuals are alike suspended." The Seminole War was another opportunity for him to express his views on the cruelty and Heed- lessness of war. In Channing's most noted address on the evils of war, he shows himself to be a careful observer of men as well as a stu- dent of history. After dealing with the obvious miseries caused by armed conflict such as dis- ease, death, poverty, and the undermining of moral standards, he lays his finger on the causes that produce war which he ranks "among the most dreadful calamities which WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 225 fall on a guilty world. ... It tends to multi- ply and perpetuate itself without end. It feeds and grows on the blood which it sheds. The most luxuriant laurels grow from a root nour- ished with blood." The causes of war are classed as the love of excitement, of emotion, and of strong interest, the passion for superiority and for power, the admiration of the brilliant quali- ties displayed on the battle-field — "war being as we first see it decked with gay and splendid trappings" — and the early training of the people in the sentiments of barbarous ages. The line is drawn skilfully between moral courage and physical bravery, the latter being found in ani- mals and among pirates and robbers "whose fearlessness is generally proportioned to the in- sensibility of their consciences." To the argu- ments in favor of war, that it kindles patriotism and sweeps off the idle and vicious members of the community, the answer is made, that the patriotism cherished by war is spurious, a vice not a virtue, for the genuine patriot knows that the welfare of his own country is conditioned upon the general progress of society, and that "war commonly generates as many profligates Q 226 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS as it destroys." "There is another method," he urged, "not quite so summary as war, of rid- ding a country of unprofitable and injurious citizens, but vastly more effectual. ... I re- fer to the exertions, which Christians have com- menced, for the reformation and improvement of the ignorant and poor, and especially for the instruction and moral culture of indigent chil- dren." But Channing was not an ardent disci- ple of the doctrine of Non-Resistance. "We are indeed told," he said, "that the language of Scripture is ' resist not evil.' But the Scriptures are given to us as reasonable beings." In a letter to a friend he wrote, " The precept ' re- sist not evil ' is plainly to be understood with much limitation, for, were it literally followed, without exception, by the private citizen and magistrate, all government, domestic and civil, would cease and society would fall a prey to its worst members." The cases in which war is justifiable are the defence of one's country and the rescue of the oppressed. The lectures " On the Elevation of the Laboring Classes," " Ministry for the Poor," and " The Philanthropist," indicate a deep sym- WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 227 pathy with the social problems that confront thinking men. Ideals of government and the duties of the people are so beautifully set forth that it is no wonder the people regarded him as their friend. When Horace Mann decided to devote himself to the large plans of popular education which he conceived, Dr. Channing wrote to him in most characteristic fashion : " I understand that you have given yourself to the cause of education in our Commonwealth. I rejoice in it. Nothing could give me greater pleasure. I have long desired that some one uniting all your qualifications should devote him- self to this work. You could not find a nobler station. Government has no nobler one to give. You must allow me to labor under you accord- ing to my opportunities." Dr. Channing through his long and busy career as the minister of the Federal Street Society in Boston, from 1803 until his death in 1842, was an intellectual and moral leader. In the midst of the Unitarian controversy he was foremost in contending for freedom of thought, and in the crises of American life, he always upheld what he considered to be the truth, urg- 228 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS ing a fearless application of Christian ethics to contemporary conditions. He was, in every- thing he engaged in, a pronounced individualist, not feeling responsibility to any association or organization, but giving utterance to his own ideas, believing firmly in their righteousness. Whether he is read much to-day matters not, he gave an impulse to the life about him, an impetus to fearless thought and to the freedom of the human soul. He was one of the spiritual forces of his time, and his watchwords are every- where incorporated into life. CHAPTER VII THEODORE PARKER There is no man about whom more diverse opinions have been held than Theodore Parker. He was loved as intensely as he was hated. To certain of his friends he was the Martin Luther of the latest Protestantism, and to his enemies the language did not contain the words of op- probrium that should have been created for his special benefit. In " A Fable for Critics," Lowell thus apostrophized him in verse, doing honor to his rugged qualities : — " There he stands, looking more like a ploughman than priest. If not dreadfully awkward, not graceful at least. His gestures all downright and same, if you will, As of brown-fisted Hobnail in hoeing a drill; But his periods fall on you, stroke after stroke, Like the blows of a lumberer felling an oak, You forget the man wholly, you're thankful to meet With a preacher who smacks of the field and the street. And to hear, you're not over-particular whence, Almost Taylor's profusion, quite Latimer's sense." 229 230 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS To Emerson he was "a son of the soil, charged with the energy of New England ; strong, eager, inquisitive of knowledge; of a diligence that never tired ; of a haughty inde- pendence, yet the gentlest of companions." Yet in Boston he was cut on the street by his old friends, refused admission into the pulpits of his brother ministers, and held up to pubUc meetings as a fit subject for prayer, whom if the Lord would not save. He might remove. "O Lord if this man is a subject of grace," urged his opponents, "convert him and bring him into the kingdom of thy dear Son ! But if he is beyond the reach of the saving influence of the gospel, remove him out of the way, and let his influence die with him." This was milder than the prayer that a hook might be put into his jaws so that his tongue might be kept quiet. This man, who caused a deal of commotion in the religious and political world of his day, between the delivery of his first broadside at the ordination of Mr. Charles C. Shackford at South Boston, on May 19, 1841, and his letter on the John Brown raid, written in Florence in THEODORE PARKER 23 1 i860, just before the soil of Italy was laid upon his grave, was the possessor of so many varied characteristics, and active in such differ- ent departments of human affairs with an utter disregard of present consequences, that it was natural he should have excited extreme emotions wherever he went. He was student, theologian, philosopher, preacher, reformer, publicist, orator, writer of books and always the speaker of his own mind ; managing gen- erally to get on the unpopular side, selected perhaps, because of its small present chances, in hope of larger chances at another time ; with no regard for traditions or any institutions organ- ized by men ; acting with the force of a new conviction wherever his own reason or illumina- tion led the way. He was an uncomfortable neighbor, but an inflexible adherent, provided you agreed with him ; he disliked dogma and creed, but no man had more uncompromising dogma than his own opinions, nor a more iron- bound creed than the personal beliefs which he desired to force upon mankind. Yet he had a sweet side to his character. His supporters and friends loved him, as he them ; and children 232 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS and flowers were a great delight to him ; he sometimes tried his hand at verse-making, and shed tears when an act of kindness was done to him. Theodore Parker was a farmer's lad born in Lexington, August 24, 18 10, not so many years after his grandfather Captain Parker led the little band of patriots on the village green. In youth he could plough the field as well as any, but reserved for himself certain hours for study, and almost unexpectedly slipped into college. His father missed him one day, and wondering where he had gone was astonished when his son returned at midnight, explaining his absence by saying, " Father, I entered Harvard College to-day." His greatest preparation for life was the sturdy religion of his father and the teach- ing of his mother on the subject of righteous- ness and conscience. His college and divinity course were marked from others only by a greater devotion to study, the formation of habits of reading that lasted him through life, and a willingness to seek truth in its furthest hiding-place. Books were always his passion. He collected them by the thou- THEODORE PARKER 233 sand, and read them, too, on every possible subject, thus furnishing himself with facts, sta- tistics, arguments, illustrations, and whatever else was needed to clear his own thought and enable him to present the truth as he held it for the acceptance of others. When lecturing throughout the country it was a familiar sight to see him with a carpet-bag filled with books, which he read on the train and in his hotel. His desire for accuracy of statement led him to write for information at first hand from mem- bers of Congress and authors of foreign note. Whatever he wrote was the result of hard work and careful preparation. The enormous fer- tility of his pen in letters, journals, reviews, ad- dresses, sermons, and books, never tempted him into vague statement of fact, or the careless use of other men's opinions. He verified what he used, going however to the sources that were not open to every one. The study that exer- cised the dominant influence on his life was German. Through it as a medium he was brought into contact with the theology and philosophy of Germany. These both found a soil prepared for them, and grew up with pro- 234 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS fusion on American soil. Kant, Goethe, Schlei- ermacher, De Wette, and Baur, with others of the Tubingen School opened his eyes to the new possibilities of Biblical interpretation ; and he was not slow in adopting the novel ideas. In consequence of this assimilation of Ger- man thought, the Unitarianism into which he had been born began to appear too narrow. It had been a movement for breadth and freedom of thought, but the Bible was its source of authority. When Unitarianism differed from Orthodoxy, it was a matter of the interpreta- tion of texts ; the older doctrines were not be- lieved because the Bible taught otherwise. The Trinity as well as the Atonement or Total De- pravity were denied because it was contended they were not Scriptural. To Parker, influ- enced by the Germans, the authority of the Bible was little above the authority of any other historical book. He was willing to dis- card almost the whole of it; and instead of appealing to the book for his religious ideas, he turned to the soul of man with its intui- tions and direct communication with Deity. It was very early in his ministry that he wrote, THEODORE PARKER 235 " The Orthodox place the Bible above the soul ; we the soul above the Bible." Thus Christi- anity became to him simply one of the religions of the world with its errors of opinion and doc- trine as marked as that of any other system. The founder of the religion was a righteous man who, however, did not even exhaust the possibilities of humanity. These changes in Parker's intellectual atti- tude toward the current theology of his friends and ministerial companions came slowly at first. He tried to resist them, but after his ordination in 1837, and settlement as parish minister in West Roxbury, he grew bolder in his investiga- tions, and less guarded in his public utterances. His parish was a rural one, containing at most about sixty families. The duties were such that he had ample time to devote to research. Occa- sionally he preached in Boston, exchanging with some neighboring minister. In the early days of his pastorate his preaching was simple enough. Few could take exception to it. Soon his preaching became more aggressive, and his heresies were noised abroad. He began to be looked upon with suspicion. Suspicion 236 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS grew into open hostility when he delivered his celebrated discourse at the ordination of Mr. Shackford in 1841 on " The Transient and Per- manent in Christianity." The sermon was loose in structure, with many faults of style, rhetori- cal and redundant, but it had in it the fearless and direct statement of opinion for which he became renowned. The lectures delivered in Boston in 1841-1842, afterward collected and published in his most popular book under the title, " A Discourse of Matters Pertaining to Religion," gained the ill- will of most of the Unitarian clergy of Boston. To exchange pulpits with Parker was looked upon as a disgrace. He was asked to withdraw from the Boston Ministerial Association. This he refused to do, replying that they might expel him if they so desired. Rev. John Turner Sargent of Suffolk Street Chapel in Boston, in November, 1844, had the temerity to exchange with the arch-heretic, and he was forced to resign his charge. Unitarianism which began by the assertion of independence and freedom of thought was startled to see its contentions accepted so heartily and carried to the logical THEODORE PARKER 237 results of unrestrained speculation and speech. Parker's training had accustomed him to free- dom in handling dogma ; and he was prepared to go far afield in his thought, and turn upon religion the light from every possible source. Destructive criticism had found him an ardent disciple, and he was ready to advance the boundaries of liberal theology ; but those who guarded the outposts were unwilling to move, and he learned that he must stand alone, not without sorrow for the separation from his friends, yet with the knowledge of the satis- faction that would come from the approval of his conscience. The book that caused most of the trouble, "A Discourse of Matters Pertaining to Re- ligion," was a treatise which contained most of his religious and philosophical ideas, after- ward set forth in other volumes : " Ten Ser- mons of Religion," and " Sermons of Theism, Atheism, and the Popular Theology." The first-named book was popular in form, more for the general reader than the scholar, put- ting in the hands of those of ordinary intelli- gence a vigorous and clear exposition of the 238 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS advanced ideas of the German thinkers. It attracted attention because it was destructive, and in no way softened the force of a blow. The main subject of the book was a discus- sion of the relation of the religious element, of the human sentiment of religion, to God, to Jesus, to the Bible, and the Church. This gave every chance to bring forward whatever positive ideas he had and to deal with the important questions of religion. Throughout the philosophical part it is easy to discern the influence of Schleiermacher in his conception of the religious sentiment as being based on a feeling of dependence that man has natu- rally and universally, — the source of Fetich- ism, and Polytheism, as well as of Monotheism. Religion in its essence is voluntary obedience to the law of the universe, "inward and out- ward obedience to that law he has written on our nature, revealed in various ways — through Instinct, Reason, Conscience, and the Religious emotions." The effect of the Intuitional School of Philosophy is shown in the explanation of the idea of God's existence as an " Intuition of Reason." Thus defining man's relation to THEODORE PARKER 239 Deity as the recipient of revelation in his own person through the channels of natural in- stincts, feeling, and emotion, it is only a step for one to become an absolute individualist and to stand aloof from institutions, sacred books, sacred persons, forms of any kind, or even sacraments, and be sufficient unto oneself, relying upon personal inspiration rather than upon any assistance from a church or an organization of religion. It was this utter dis- regard for the institution that made him ridi- cule the church and the ministers, and even the sacraments that men held dear. In speaking once of the elements used at the celebration of the Holy Communion he rather unnecessarily referred to them as " grocer's wine and baker's bread," and thought that a good way of observing the sacrament would be "to have a meeting in the evening for reli- gious conversation and prayer (if needful) at private houses; and bread and wine might form part of the entertainment." The best friends of Parker could not always commend his good taste or judgment. He could make himself a very offensive opponent. When 240 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Emerson resigned his parish because he had become convinced of the uselessness of ad- ministering the Lord's Supper he was not guilty in his farewell sermon of offending against the canons of considerate judgment. Parker, however, was so earnest in putting down the errors of mankind that he had no time to consider a bruised feeling. He was one of those who prided himself on his ability to strike out from the shoulder, and he did not care much whom he hit. His sarcasm, ridicule, scorn, and invective were weapons kept Vvrell burnished, and they flashed with such rapidity that his opponents were some- times stunned. Martineau reviewing one of Parker's books, remarks that " his convictions are rather a series of noble fragments waiting adjustment by ma- turertoil than a compact and finished structure." Parker never had a finished structure, because, for one reason, he was the child of many impres- sions. He absorbed from many sources, and in a partial measure only assimilated what he received. It is easy to trace the direct influence upon him of the books he was reading, and the THEODORE PARKER 24 I men who were his companions. His association with the little group of Transcendentalists who met at the Tremont House, Boston, for social intercourse and discussion was one of the great- est factors in his development. There he learned to know intimately Emerson, who became his philosophic guide in the Transcendental scheme; George Ripley, the earnest reformer and literary man who organized Brook Farm ; William Henry Channing, whom Parker referred to as "a most delightful man, full of the right spirit ; a little diseased in the region of conscious- ness, but otherwise of most remarkable beauty of character " ; Margaret Fuller, whom he con- sidered a critic, not a creator or seer, but "a prodigious woman, though she puts herself upon her genius rather too much" ; and Alcott, Hedge, and the others. Parker was deeply inter- ested in all their plans ; and when George Ripley resigned his ministry to establish the Utopian scheme of Brook Farm, the colony settled very near him in West Roxbury. Though he never joined the enterprise he became in a sense its father confessor, was a constant visitor, and con- tributed articles of importance to The Dial; 242 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS but his sense of humor did not always make him take the new movement seriously, and his practical common-sense probably saved him from being involved in the failure that was sure to come. Speaking of The Dial, he wrote : " If I were going to do the thing in paint, it should be thus : I would represent a body of minute philosophers, men and maidens, ele- gantly dressed, bearing a banner inscribed with The Dial. A baby and a pap-spoon and a cradle should be the accompaniment thereof. The whole body should have ' rings on their fingers, and bells on their toes ' and go ' mincing as they walk ' led by a body of fiddlers, with Scott's Claude Halcro ' playing the first vioUn and repeating new poetry.' " He used the pages of The Dial, however, for a very caustic piece of work when he reviewed the proceedings of the council called to adjust the relations between Rev. John Pier- pont and the Hollis Street Society. Pierpont had preached against the evils of intemperance, condemning those who manufactured liquor. His parishioners were disturbed by this out- burst when they were enjoying their wines and THEODORE PARKER 243 making money by sales of rum. Pierpont had to go, and Parker, feeling the insecurity of his own position, had a sympathy for him which found its way into the pages of The Dial, soothing the soul of the unfortunate minister by calling the members of the council a set of hypocrites and double-dealers, and the paper they put forth a " Jesuitical Document." In lighter vein was his article on " A Bumblebee's Thoughts on the Plan and Purpose of the Uni- verse," in which he caricatured a meeting of learned scientists, who assumed to know all the mysteries of nature. "There is consciousness below us," said the chief Bumblebee, "though dim and feeble. But self-consciousness is our glorious monopoly ! It is only the Bumblebee that can lay his feeler on his proboscis and say, " I am a me." After the failure of The Dial, which con- tained within its pages some of the most remarkable bits of American literature, Parker's only other connection with periodical literature was his founding and coeditorship with Emer- son and J. E. Cabot of The Massachusetts Quarterly Review, which ran a troubled but 244 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS brilliant career of about three years. Serious and timely articles from his pen appeared in many of the numbers, together with articles of unusual merit by the leading literary men of the day. A careful estimate of Emerson's writings, savage reviews of Prescott's histories, a bio- graphical paper on John Quincy Adams, and a strong article on "The Political Distinction of America," were among his best contributions. Both The Dial and The Quarterly were valuable in giving an opportunity for public expression to the brilliant set of men who, hav- ing entered the Unitarian ministry, felt com- pelled to withdraw and devote themselves to other pursuits. In many cases, what the church lost, the world gained : and the move- ment for free and unrestrained thought did not end in a new Unitarianism, but in a literary self-expression, adding richness to American letters. Emerson, Ripley, William Henry Channing, and Pierpont, all began as clergymen, but the world of action and letters was too strong and drew them away from the teachings of a religion which ceased to hold them with any ties of the institution ; and preaching by THEODORE PARKER 245 the use of the pen seemed a more important task than the use of the voice in the pulpit. Emerson retired to Concord and wrote his essays, books, and poems; Ripley, after the failure of Brook Farm, went to New York and made The Tribune a daily paper of literary power; Channing became an ardent reformer, both in America and England, contributing to literature many books, among them the transla- tion of Jouffroy's, " Introduction to Ethics " ; and Pierpont, after serving as a chaplain in the Civil War, resided in Washington as a clerk, having, however, published his book of verse " Airs of Palestine." Parker would have fol- lowed the example of these men if he had been shut into the small compass of , the parish in West Roxbury. No one would give him an opportunity to be heard in Boston ; and he felt that his life was not reaching out as it should. A year abroad, in 1844, only served to estab- lish him more firmly in his intellectual attitude. He had met Carlyle and Martineau in England, and, in Germany heard Tholuck lecture, visited De Wette at Bale, met Baur and Ewald. When he returned to Boston the conflict with the 246 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS churches was renewed, and it was made impos- sible for him even to deliver "the great and Thursday Lecture." It was then that his with- drawal from the pulpit might have been made, and probably would have been made had not some gentlemen met together and resolved, on January 22, 1845, "That the Rev. Theodore Parker shall have a chance to be heard in Boston." The chance that was needed to develop Parker to the utmost had at last arrived. He was henceforth to be a power in Boston, through- out New England and America. His energy and boldness, together with his immense knowl- edge of facts and his convictions, were to be at the service of an ever increasing number of sympathizers. From the platform of the Melodeon, and later of Music Hall, to which he removed March 21, 1852, he preached his burning words ; clear, forcible, sometimes restrained in their vigor, at other times as regardless of consequences as a conflagration. As a preacher he generally read from a manuscript, having few gestures, the most THEODORE PARKER 247 characteristic being the raising and falling of his hand. His voice was not musical, but his eyes were searching, glowing with intensity when he was intent upon his subject, though their full effect was hindered by the glasses he wore. He held his audience by the earnestness of his thought. A plain man who heard him once asked, " Is that Theodore Parker ? You told me he was a remarkable man ; but I understood every word he said." His language was simple and his illustrations direct, his style sometimes being epigrammatic and occasionally relieved by poetical passages that in some cases could hardly escape being called fine writing. He cared more for what he said than for the way in which he said it. He was quick to use any incident occurring during the service to enforce his lesson. Once, describing obsta- cles, he said, " Before such a man all obstacles will " — at this moment there was a snow-slide on the roof — " slide away like the ice from the slated roof." It was remembered that, when he was praying, a dog having strayed into the hall set up a howl; he continued, undisturbed, "We thank Thee, O Father of 248 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS all, who hast made even the humblest dumb creature to praise Thee after its own way." Adverse criticism did not worry him. " If a man called that a 'rowdy speech,' it was because he had the soul of a rowdy," he re- torted, " and if fifty men said so, it was because there were fifty so ensouled." The themes that he handled in the pulpit were by no means confined to theological dis- cussion. After a time theology became inci- dental only. He took up the questions of the day, social and political, with such frequency that his weekly sermon became the manifesto of the reformer and the publicist and at times the politician. These sermons, printed and circulated by the thousands, were his chief source of power ; and the questions of labor and capital, the rights of the workingmen and the selfishness of corporations and the control of the liquor interest were vital problems that he attacked. When he dealt with war, a favorite topic with reformers, he proved himself not to be a non-resistant. His nature was too fiery. He would have been willing to lead a regiment, playing his part, THEODORE PARKER 249 as he undoubtedly did, in the Kansas War, and aiding more than is now known in John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry. An eye to detect wrong and a mind ready to lend its best powers to support the cause of the weak, and a hand eager to battle against oppression were the characteristics of this reformer, who did not always neglect the sweetness of life that lies behind the sturdy blow and gives a kind of delicacy to the roughest usage. His strength was often reinforced by a strain of verse which sang its way into the private journal and helped to lighten the load he was carrying. " Give me the power to labor for mankind ; Make me the mouth of such as cannot speak ; Eyes let me be to groping men and blind ; A conscience to the base ; and to the weak Let me be hands and feet ; and to the foolish, mind." The abolition of slavery soon occupied more of Parker's thought than theology. It became to him a living issue of theology, — a practical application of his religion. He judged men and measures solely by their stand on the slav- ery question in its many phases. The Free- 250 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Soil movement gained his hearty support; and his Sunday orations, notably the one on the death of Zachary Taylor, were occupied with this question. He never could forget that Taylor was a slave-holder. His greatest out- burst, however, was when the Fugitive Slave Bill was passed and Daniel Webster delivered his famous speech in its favor on March 7, 1850. He condemned Webster's speech at a meeting of citizens in Faneuil Hall, March 25, 1850, and urged that such a law should be broken because it was the unrighteous law of selfish men. The higher law of God must be obeyed, and as the Stamp Act was repudiated by New England, so this act should be dis- obeyed by Christian men. This position was taken with great violence in his famous speech on Daniel Webster just after the statesman's death. This oration, de- livered in October, 1852, was in many respects his most elaborate effort. With an attempt at fairness he commended him as one of the great- est men of America, but was forced to confess that the mighty had fallen, that Webster had sold himself to the South, hoping to gain by THEODORE PARKER 25 I his compromise the presidential nomination, and thus became the assassin of Hberty. No better statement of the abolitionist opinion of Webster can be found. Webster's contention that the Union was in danger and that the South would secede was laughed at. The abolition- ists felt no danger from this source. Whether one agrees or not with Webster's speech, there is no denying that he was one of the first to see the great danger of civil war. While others were blind to the dangers, and played with fire as children, he worked to extin- guish the flames that threatened to burn up Constitution, Union, and the future prosperity of America. The sober historian will hardly accept Parker's description of Webster as set- ting forth the truth about him in all respects, or representing the final verdict of his country- men. On the other hand Parker was one of those determined and conscientious men who rendered a service that we cannot calculate in forcing the moral issue to the front, and who never could be silenced. In every address and public utterance he disentangled from the current political issues the one great moral 252 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS issue that was at the basis of them all, and forced it on popular attention. Those of the people, certain of the clergy among them, who upheld slavery as just and even Scriptural, received no quarter. The colleges which held aloof from the discus- sion were impaled on the sharp edges of rhetoric. The excited minister, who, in a moment of partisan ecstasy had said that he would turn his own mother from his door if she were a fugitive slave rather than break the law, never heard the end of it, and those who defended the " peculiar in- stitution " of the South on Biblical grounds were held up to scorn. To a Southern cor- respondent who urged the curse of Ham in extenuation of slavery, Parker said, " Dear sir, Christianity does not consist in believ- ing stories in the Old Testament about Noah's curse, and all that, but in loving your brother as yourself, and God with your whole heart." Parker's advice to others he followed himself. When the fugitive slaves were sought for in Boston, and two of his parishioners, William THEODORE PARKER 253 and Ellen Craft, were in danger of being taken back to slavery by a former owner, he helped in their escape, collecting money enough to send them to England. Parker was president of the Vigilance Committee formed in Bos- ton for the purpose of warning the slaves, and aiding in their protection and escape. He wrote a poster describing the slave-hunt- ers in thrilling language, warning the city against them. Then with a company of gen- tlemen he interviewed the slave-hunters, repre- senting to them the hopelessness of their undertaking, and the indignation of the city at their errand. They left at once. William and Ellen Craft were married by Parker before they set sail for England, committed to the charge of James Martineau. In an open letter to President Millard Fillmore he gave an account of the marriage ceremony, stating his own determination to break the law if it was necessary to protect his brethren who had been slaves : " William Craft and Ellen were parishioners of mine. They have been at my house. I married them a fortnight ago this day; after the ceremony I put a 254 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Bible and then a sword into William's hands, and told him the use of each." The Vigilance Committee was kept wide awake when the fugitive Shadrach was seized by the United States officers on February 15, 185 1. Headed by a member of the com- mittee, a crowd pushed into the room where the slave was confined and rescued him, hur- rying him off to Canada. Parker wrote in his diary, " I think it's the most noble deed done in Boston since the destruction of the tea in 1773. I thank God for it." The case of Thomas Sims caused even greater excite- ment, because he was legally given into the hands of the slave-owner and transported to South Carolina. Parker bore his testimony against the inhuman act at the time, and preached his famous discourse on " The Bos- ton Kidnapping " before the Vigilance Com- mittee "to commemorate the Rendition of Thomas Sims, delivered on the first anniver- sary thereof, April 12, 1852." He did not hesitate to tell the truth about the Boston sympathizers with the return of the fugitive slaves : " Boston capitalists do not hesitate THEODORE PARKER 255 to own Southern plantations, and buy and sell men; Boston merchants do not scruple to let their ships for the domestic slave-trade, and carry the child from his mother in Balti- more to sell him to a planter in Louisiana or Alabama; some of them glory in kid- napping their fellow-citizens in Boston. Most of the slave-ships in the Atlantic are com- manded by New England men. A few years ago one was seized by the British Govern- ment near Africa, 'full of slaves'; it was owned in Boston, had a ' clearance ' from our har- bor, and left its name on the books of the insurance offices here. Why not, if the pro- tection of property be the great object of Gov- ernment .■' why not, if interest is before justice.-' why not, if the higher law of God is to be sneered at in state and church ? " When Anthony Burns was arrested in Bos- ton, May 24, 1854, claimed as a slave of one Suttle of Virginia, the city was stirred to its depth. A meeting of protest was held in Faneuil Hall, addressed by Theodore Parker and Wendell Phillips. The object was to arouse the people to such an extent that they would 256 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS rush upon the Court House and liberate the prisoner. A powerful platform speaker, Par- ker went beyond himself on this occasion. "We are the vassals of Virginia," he said, "she reaches her arm over the graves of our mothers, and kidnaps men in the city of the Puritans. Gentlemen, there is no Boston to-day. There was a Boston once, now there is a North Suburb to the city of Alexandria." A raid was made upon the Court House ; a deputy marshal was killed ; the militia was ordered out ; but the black man was sentenced and returned, amid thousands of sorrowing people, to his Southern owner, the church bells solemnly ringing and many of the houses being draped in black. Parker with others was arrested for complicity in the attack. The charge, however, was dismissed, because of a defective indictment. So he was free to use his Sunday sermon as a trumpet call to arms to oppose "The New Crime against Humanity." It was a ringing sermon, pro- duced by an overwrought mind feeling keenly the outrage and defeat, yet eager to enlist the best elements of society in behalf of the THEODORE PARKER 257 despised negro. The arguments were clear and well stated, and the passion was vehe- ment. This sermon with the other anti-slav- ery discourses was not allowed to pass into oblivion, but helped to form the two volumes of " Additional Speeches," which were dissemi- nated everywhere. His lectures, sometimes seventy in a year, delivered in various parts of the country, spread his influence broadcast. He may be reckoned as one of the important men who kept up the agitation on moral grounds against slavery. His voice and pen were again busy during the Kansas War. He aided the emigrants to pay their passage to Kansas and to buy arms to fight the "border ruffians." "I am more than ever of the opinion," he wrote, " that we must settle this question in the old Anglo- Saxon way, — by the sword. There are two constitutions for America, — one written on parchment, and laid up at Washington ; the other also on parchment, but on the head of a drum." True to these sentiments when John Brown came to Boston to obtain advice and money with which to carry on the free-state 258 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS war in Kansas, Parker was a confidential adviser ; it is also more than conjecture that Brown unfolded to him some of his plans for the Virginia raid and the insurrection among the slaves. Parker was a member of the Boston Kansas Committee, and when, in 1858, Brown secured from the committee the use of rifles for the defence of Kansas, more than one member of the committee, perhaps, knew that they might be used for other pur- poses. When the Virginia attack was made, ending in miserable failure and the exe- cution of Brown, the warlike minister of Music Hall was far away from his accus- tomed place. Mortal disease had seized him, but from his sickroom in Rome he wrote to America letters justifying the course that Brown had pursued. If he had been in Bos- ton he would have said the same things without any hesitation. In his letter to Mr. Francis Jackson reviewing John Brown's ex- pedition he upheld such propositions as that a slave has a right to kill every one who seeks to prevent his enjoyment of liberty and that it may be his duty so to kill, that a freeman THEODORE PARKER 259 has a natural right to help the slaves to recover their liberty, and in doing so to aid them in killing such as oppose their natural freedom, and that the performance of this duty is to be governed by the freeman's power and op- portunity to help the slaves. In the course of the letter he expressed himself thus : " No American has died in this century whose chance of earthly immortality is worth half so much as John Brown's." Parker was not to be permitted to behold the rousing of the North during the Civil War when the chains of the slave were broken. By his incessant labors in the cause of freedom he had thrown away his strength. A whole night passed in a stagecoach in the midst of inun- dated meadows near Albany was his final death- blow. The hemorrhage that seized him just before his Sunday service on January 9, 1859, put an end to his public ministrations, and sent him forth to wander in search of health until he came to Florence, where on May 10, i860, he laid down the burden of life, having said to Frances Power Cobbe, who was near him in the last moments, those remarkable words, " There 26o THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS are two Theodore Parkers now : one is dying here in Italy; the other I have planted in America. He will live there and finish my work." There was something simple and direct about Theodore Parker; manly, courageous, conscien- tious; whatever he did was performed with a straight-a-way determination, like the farmer's lad that he was, as if he were ploughing a furrow. He could not be accused of self-seeking, for he always chose the unpopular side. With the instincts of a reformer he did not bandy words in the courtesies of life ; he was attacked in no smooth phrases and in returning the blow there was a natural lack of consideration as to the force of it. While he lost many friends by his course of action, he gained many. No one can read his rollicking letters, full of sprightliness and fun, with many a touch of affection, with- out seeing the happy side of his full life, rejoic- ing in friendships, and eager to render many little services. The parish duties connected with the Twenty-eighth Congregational Church were not modelled on those of the old established churches ; but they implied a fascinating min- THEODORE PARKER 26 1 istry at large, dealing with all sorts of people, which kept Parker busy and gave him a strong hold upon those who needed him. As a literary man Parker, with the exception of brief editorial duties, almost always wrote addresses, orations, and sermons that were to be spoken. They all have, therefore, the mark of the orator's skill rather than that of the care- ful literary man seeking the best methods of expression. There are many short sentences and exclamations, many interrogations, all arranged to hold the attention of an audience. As orations are often the noblest form of litera- ture so these strong words of an earnest soul, dealing with the great questions that were mak- ing history, are more worthy of preservation than many a speech in Congress. There is in them a minute knowledge of history and an unusual ability in making historical parallels; and facts are massed so as to give them the greatest force. Character sketch as well as invective is used to emphasize a point or fit- tingly describe a person ; while sarcasm and humor play an important part. "After one has beaten the single barley-corn of good sense 262 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS out of a whole wagon-load of chaff, the easiest way to be rid of the rubbish," he said, " is to burn it up with the lightning of wit." Carrying out this suggestion, he would make remarks like the following, which were sure to be quoted : " Ministers ought to be ordained on horse-back, because they are to remain so short a time in one place. It would be as emblematic to inaugurate American politicians by swearing them on a weather cock." Next to the books, the letters can be classed as literature. He was a great correspondent, writing to many of the most prominent men of the day, and having a few persons to whom he was a regular letter writer. These private letters abound in brilliant sayings, and often lead one to decide that in these unrestrained methods of writing many of his best thoughts were created. He did much of his thinking in letters. The public letters, like those to George Bancroft, Millard Fillmore, and Seward, and to his congregation after he had left them for the last time, are more conventional; but at times these bubble over with his irrepressible spirits. The letters are full of characteristic THEODORE PARKER 263 sentences. Speaking of the study of history to a young student he says : " It is not of much importance to know whether General Fairfax charged up hill or down hill, wore a blue feather or a red one, or whether his military breeches were of plush or fustian ; but it is of great importance to know what ideas were in his head, or in the heads of his opponents, and of his soldiers, and what organization those ideas got in the world ; " of himself, " I live in taverns, move in railroad cars, and have my being in the Music Hall and other places of public speaking. I am not a skylark, but ' a wandering voice.' " Of greater value than the letters, is the pri- vate journal. He early formed the habit of keeping a diary, in which he wrote his most secret thoughts. The motives behind his ac- tion, the processes of reasoning, the changes of attitude that were gradually coming, are here to be seen in a remarkably real way. Certain things were put into it which could not be printed at the time, as, in one case, he wrote "to be printed in 1899, as a memorial of the nineteenth century." The journal has never been printed as a whole. It seems as if it 264 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS should be, for it would throw much light on the period during which it was written. Particularly concerning the first European trip, the journal contains many fine and critical passages. In a comparison between the Venus of Milo and the Venus de Medici, it is recorded that "the toy- woman came to her perfect flower in the Medi- cean Venus : that is all she is, — woman as a plaything, a bawble woman, voluptuous, but not offensive directly to the conscience. It is only after much reflection that you say ' Get thee behind me ! ' But the Venus of Milo is a glori- ous human creature, made for all the events of life." A passage on Venice is worth remem- bering, as the city of color and silence and re- flected beauty stole into the heart of the writer : "Venice is a dream of the sea. Occidental science and Oriental fantasy seem to have united to produce it. A pagan Greek might say that Neptune, drunk with nectar and Aphrodite, slept in the caves of the sea, and dreamed as he slept : Venice is the petrifaction of his dream. The sun colors curiously the walls of her palaces and churches ; it seems as if their wealth had run over, and stained the THEODORE PARKER 265 walls." Of political and religious opinions, the journal is full ; but they are in a line with his public statements, often more pointed and with less regard for conventionality. The occasional poems and translations, while showing an interest in poetry, never rose above a very ordinary level. They seem to have been inspired principally by religious subjects. In them, and his more formal prayers, are best to be seen his moments of meditation and devo- tion. Sonnets, songs, blank verse lyrics, and little quatrains of verse were written all through his life, but as a pastime or to hold some fleeting mood. In youth they bore such titles as " An Evening Hymn," " Reflections at Midnight," "To a Little Flower," "A Sere- nade." At a later date they were distinctly religious, and, during the last years, were often translations from the German poets, especially Heine. He took great pains with them, think- ing they were better than much of his more serious work. But they are halting in versifi- cation, with little imagination, and lack any ele- ment of permanent strength. "The Evening Hymn " begins : — 266 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS " The chiming of the evening breeze That plays among the boughs ; The ripple of the purple seas, As night her mantle throws ; The unveiling of each timid star That sheds its beauty from afar, All these have voices for mine ear.'' In the fourteen line poems, which hardly merit the name sonnet, there are better lines : — " Thy truth is still the light Which guides the nations groping on their way, Stumbling and falling in disastrous night, Yet hoping ever for the perfect day." And in a blank verse stanza :^ — "For the sad sense of human woe is deep Within my heart, and deepens daily there." Or when writing of the ending of his days, " Well, I shall lay my bones In some sharp crevice of the broken way." It is hardly fair to give any prominence to Parker's poetry. He was a man of action. His words were deeds, and he swung his pen as if it had been a sword. Before he was put to rest in the little Protestant cemetery in Flor- ence, where he found a lonely grave, he wrote to his constant friend, George Ripley, a letter THEODORE PARKER 267 which showed how he rated the work of his life: — " O, George ! the life I am here slowly drag- ging to an end — tortuous, but painless — is a life, very imperfect, and fails of much I meant to hit and might have reached, nay should, had there been ten or twenty years more left for me ! But on the whole, it has not been a mean life, measured by the common run of men ; never a selfish one. Above all things else, I have sought to teach the true idea of man, of God, of religion with its truths, its duties, and its joys. I never fought for myself, nor against a private foe ; but have gone into the battle of the nineteenth century, and followed the flag of humanity." CHAPTER VIII HORACE BUSHNELL Once, on a stray piece of paper, Horace Bushnell wrote in pencil a fragment of biog- raphy, in which he described his Hfe. " I have never been a great agitator, " he said, " never pulled a wire to get the will of men, never did a politic thing. It was not for this reason, but because I was looked upon as a singularity — not exactly sane, perhaps, in many things — that I was almost never a president or vice- president of any society, and almost never on a committee. . . . But still it has been a great thing even for me to have lived." If there ever was a man, independent, self-reliant, dis- daining schemes, speaking the truth as he con- ceived it, and creating the antagonism of little minds, it was this man who never was on a committee, nor president of anything. He did not work well with any yoke-fellow, and 268 HORACE BUSHNELL 269 always spoke his own mind without regard to the opinions of any one who might take him to task. For these reasons, among others, he was never on a committee, but caused a good many committees to be formed to consider him. His singularity of opinion and the vigor with which he expressed it, bred much disquietude in the Hartford Central Association, and to those who write letters to religious periodicals, and to the race of pamphleteers. " But still it has been a great thing even for me to live," he said. Great indeed to have a rugged soul face to face with life and human thought, and man's government, and man's faith ; and without fear, not confused by the many voices about, looking steadily, yet reverently into the heart of truth. Such men dwell alone. If they give their message to the world in vari- ous forms, sometimes with impatience, even rudeness, sometimes with obscurity, and again with the fervor of exalted expression too subtle for all to understand, it is because of their iso- lation and ignorance, perhaps, of the propri- eties by reason of absorption in something higher than etiquette. It is a great thing to 270 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS have such a man Hve, even if he is self-confi- dent, irritating, and heretical. Such a life gives an impulse to everything it deals with, the college where he studies, the community where he lives, the church that he has chosen, the state and the country which he loves. So Horace Bushnell has left his mark wherever he has gone : at Yale College, in Hart- ford, in New England, in California, through- out America, as his speeches and books have reached through the land. Political science, education, ethics, theology, the making of his- tory, — all have received something from his thought and work. Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, April 14, 1802, and living in Hartford, as minister of the North Church until his retirement in 1859, and after this until his death, with short resi- dences elsewhere, Horace Bushnell was pecul- iarly a Connecticut man. His early days were passed in one of those "primitive universities of homespun," as he described such a humble home as his father's, where hard manual work was dignified by sturdy character and religious training. He did a man's work early, and built HORACE BUSHNELL 27 1 for recreation the stone dam above his father's carding mill. The mother was the household power, whose sacrifices he afterward said "were scarcely to be noted without tears." In college he was looked upon as a remarkable man. His tutor wrote, " Few men have left on my mind impressions of their personal identity more clear and abiding." He was strong of physique, tall, muscular, with a head of unusual size covered with black hair; and a ruddy com- plexion, with deep-set gray eyes, — one of the type of masterful young men that occasionally a college class numbers among its members, good at athletics and in the class room, lead- ers in debate who make the current political issues vital, founders of musical societies, and sometimes rebellious against authority. Young Bushnell was of this kind, debating the Mis- souri Compromise and whether the President ought to be elected directly by the people, founding the Beethoven Musical Society, and rusticated because of revolt against an unfair examination that included a portion of Conic Sections that had been omitted in the course. After graduation he taught for a brief time, 2/2 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS then made a brilliant success on the Journal of Commerce, New York, returning to New Haven as a tutor and preparing to study law, and later entering the ministry. The story of Bushnell's life has few dra- matic incidents in it, nor was it varied by noted friendships or residence in many places. He remained the faithful minister of the North Church in Hartford from his settlement, 1833, until his withdrawal because of ill-health in 1859, from which date until his death on Feb- ruary 17, 1876, he enjoyed a ministry at large, preaching on many important occasions and writing some of his best-known books. A trip to Europe, one to Cuba, and visits to California and Minnesota in search of health were espe- cially delightful to him, and stored his mind with fresh illustrations and widened his sym- pathies. He dwelt for many years in his house in Hartford which he designed, and where he passed the greater part of days of research and study. Ill health pursued him, and after a severe strain of work he was forced to remain idle for a time, though his appearance was far from HORACE BUSHNELL 273 that of a delicate man. As Carlyle said of John Sterling : " Less than any man he gave you the idea of ill health. Ill health? Nay; you found out at last it was the very excess of life in him that brought on disease." He had an abundance of vitality even in his sickness. When abroad for rest he could not remain inactive. In London during the Oregon boun- dary discussion, he wrote an important pamphlet to explain the American position. During this same visit in Europe he did a most characteris- tic thing. When deeply interested in Italian independence, he wrote his " Letter to the Pope," which was of sufficient account to be translated into Italian and placed on the Index Expurgatorius. His keen observation of men and events is displayed in his letters from abroad. He found that Lord John Russell said " havin' and walkin' " ; and of Thiers as an orator he remarked upon his " husky but shrill treble, John Randolph-wise voice," but found him full of enthusiasm and "gesturing up and down with both hands as fast as he could." But this was play. His serious work was great in quantity and in quality. Besides his 274 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS regular sermons he prepared:'^rations and addresses to be delivered l)efore societies and educational institutions. He was much sought after as a special preacher. He spoke before the New England Society, and delivered the *.B.K. oration and Commencement addresses at Yale. He never failed to observe the civil anniversaries, and when questions of political moment were before the people he always lifted up his voice with a message. The work of such a ministry is not confined to the weekly sermon or the parish calls, as impor- tant as these are ; and when the sermon is vital and deals with present conditions it be- comes an opportunity for a wise man with a well-stored mind to touch upon a great range of subjects. The themes of the pulpit are not limited, but whatever touches the intellectual or moral nature of man comes in for discussion. What chances there are to bring to hearers history, poetry, philosophy, ideal dreams of a regenerated society, and to infuse into them inspiration and faith ! Then, besides these regular discourses, there are the special occa- sions and the printing of books to disseminate HORACE BUSHNELL 275 one's thoughts more broadly. To Bushnell a special occasion was the signal for the use of his best powers. He threw into the prepara- tion for it his greatest energy, and many of his most forcible utterances thus became known. At other times his pen was not idle, for he loved to express what was in him. He there- fore published many books. They consist chiefly of pamphlets containing special dis- courses, inspired by some topic of current in- terest, volumes of sermons carefully prepared, books on moral questions, and theological treatises, — all remarkable for freshness of treatment, independence of thought, a wealth of illustration, keen reasoning, and passages of genuine eloquence. They are full of epigram and common sense, marked by a breadth of view and wide sympathies, ingenious and, above all, interesting either to listen to or to read. They have signs of life, even to exuber- ance, rough at times, and with the vigor of a wielded sabre or the blows of a hammer. A man who had served his time in a news- paper office and who seriously thought of studying law with a view to a possible political 276 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS future could not long hold aloof from a discus- sion of political questions. As early as 1839 he delivered on the subject of slavery an important sermon which was freely circu- lated. It had in it none of the passion of the anti-slavery movement, but was an attempt to reason with his Southern brethren and for a moment to take their point of view. He saw that nothing could be gained by stir- ring up anger on either side, and he felt that if the evils were temperately shown, not by reference to special cases of wrong, but by indicating what the law permitted as wrong in principle, and then appealing to the South to modify its own institution, he would accom- pKsh more than by ill-considered condemnation. The denial of marriage rites to the slave, with no protection to life or limb or chastity, and the ignoring of a moral or intellectual nature in the slave, were the special points dwelt upon. To show his lack of sympathy with the aboU- tionists and the futility of their methods, he exclaimed : " If I were a Southern legislator I should think it my first duty to save the sovereignty of my state, and I would never HORACE BUSHNELL 2/7 SO far humble it as to vote for the abolition of slavery at the beck of a Northern associa- tion." The abolitionists were in error because they attempted to drive the slave owner as the overseer drives the negroes, and the first sin of the organization "was a sin of ill man- ners. They did not go to work like Christian gentlemen." In explanation of the attitude of the clergy toward the abolitionists it was stated that " the clergy have been thrown into a false position. Many of them have seen and pitied the sad mixture of false opinion which has been at work in this movement. They have attempted to drive the clergy. They would feel, in fact, that an identification with your society would be only throwing themselves into the worst possible position for acting with effect." In later years, when the slavery question became more acute, Bushnell again and again spoke upon the subject. The Fast Day ser- mon of 1844 on "Politics under the Law of God," as he was fond of remarking, "made a breeze." The Whigs in the congregation were very much disturbed and thought their minister 2/8 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS was dealing with subjects outside the Gospel. He did not hesitate to refer to Mr. Clay's aspirations for the Presidency and condemned him because of the Missouri Compromise. The sermon was printed and used as a campaign document, and circulated so generally that the remark of an expert was probably true when he stated that Bushnell struck Mr. Clay such a blow that it cost him ten thousands of votes. As a remarkable analysis of the relations between the North and the South a few years before the Civil War, the sermon on " Northern Iron," preached in 1854, is a good example. The text contains one of those powerful figures that Jeremiah so often uses, " Shall iron break the northern iron and steel .'' " The application is obvious : Is the iron will of the North to be broken by the political methods of the South .■' The Northern blood needs strengthening. The dignity of Northern power demands assertion. Bushnell saw the possibility of the strife ahead, but it was faced with confidence as to the issue. Whatever might come, war or disaster, there was a splendid faith in the description of the " Northern Iron " as the true democratic ele- HORACE BUSHNELL 279 ment in American history, which "is in the people, the unsophisticated people, and it is just as certain to assert its powers and come out in the unfolding of life as a tree to bear fruit in its kind." There was never a wavering from the thought that slavery would be destroyed, and one of the strongest signs that pointed to the annihilation was the fact that literature and scholarship were arrayed against it; "for what people were ever able for any length of time to withstand the supremacy and fight off the ideas of their own literature ? " It was noted with equal confidence that the theatre-goers who took no interest in what went on in the churches "have been hearing Uncle Tom and weeping with him night after night." The exhibition of such sturdy manhood in upholding the right must have been felt through many communities. Such words created opin- ion, and kept the people with steady gaze on the principle at stake. They were heard by the future captains of regiments, and talked about among the enlisted men to be. It is something to have the lofty principle of a nation's history interpreted frequently for men and voices speak- 28o THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS ing truth amid the confusion of political conflict. In the midst of the fanaticism and hysterics it was good to have a well-balanced set of men who were just as earnest as the extremists but more rational in their attitudes. Those were the men who possessed the nation ; when the trial came, the wisdom of their opinions became more apparent. After the disaster of Bull Run, when the nation was humiliated, Bushnell's calmness of attitude was again illustrated by his discourse on " Reverses Needed." He was always try- ing to find the bright and positive side of a failure, feeling sure that the meaning did not lie on the surface, but was below. The defeat of Bull Run was necessary he thought to unite the people of the North, to kindle a new alle- giance, to inake the cause seem more sacred. "There must be tears in the houses," he said, " as well as blood in the fields. In these, and such terrible throes, the true loyalty is born." Another of the civic questions that Bushnell dealt with in a public way was the appropria- tion of money to the parochial schools. The schools were to him as important as the arse- HORACE BUSHNELL 28 1 nals or armed defences of the country, the foundation of the social order. Any attack upon them was met by firm resistance. Paro- chial schools were no more than private schools, and it would be unwise to give money from the public fund to local and private institutions. It might be demanded next that the state should support schools to teach Paine's "Age of Reason" or the Mormon Bible. "We tax," he said, "the Quakers for defect of military service, bachelors who have no children, and we ought to tax the refractory un-American." He thought on the whole that there was a good deal of cant in the complaint of godless education, for he said that if the Bible was excluded from the schools, " I would yet under- take, if I could have my liberty as a teacher, to communicate more of real Christian truth to a Catholic and a Protestant boy seated side by side, in the regulation of their treatment of each other as related in terms of justice and charity." Dr. Bushnell's interest in education was put to practical uses when in search of health he spent some years in California. The new 282 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS country delighted him with its picturesque pioneer life, and he thought of resigning his church and settling in the far West as Presi- dent of the College of California, to which position he was called in 1856. He actually assumed the duties of the office without salary for a time, declining to serve finally in 1861, as in 1840 he had refused the Presidency of Middlebury College. In the meantime he de- voted himself to the selection of a site for the college, visiting many places and publishing appeals for the support of the institution. He spent a good deal of time " in examining views and prospects; exploring water courses, deter- mining their levels ; inquiring and even prospect- ing to form some judgment of the probabilities of railroads." An illustration of his practical good sense is given in the fact that the college was located as he advised, and the route of the Pacific Railroad which he selected was the one adopted. His interest in local matters was shown by his efforts to secure a beautiful park for Hart- ford, which was named after him. Through years of opposition he at last succeeded in HORACE BUSHNELL • 283 turning an unattractive area of the city into an extensive and well-ordered park, the pride of all the inhabitants. He appeared in person before the city council, and outlined for them on a large map his plan. The members were opposed to him at first, but were won over to his view; and by his persistence, in having bills even introduced into the Legislature, he attained his object. In after years it was com- mon for him to hear some of his former oppo- nents say, " After all, the best investment our city has ever made is the Park." No one had a greater love than he for his native state of Connecticut, its history, tradi- tions, and accomplishments. When he was invited to address the Legislature on the occa- sion of the opening of the Normal School in 185 1, he delivered a notable oration on the theme, " Historical Estimate of Connecticut." It was a well-considered survey of what the state had stood for. He took the subject be- cause he had often felt that there was .a want of public feeling in the state. The result was an address of great power and judgment ; and the people must have been stimulated to give 284 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS evidence of a new public spirit. Historical analysis showed clearly that the term "blue- law state "in no wise described Connecticut, and that the so-called blue laws were the inven- tion of a Tory renegade, Samuel Peters, and were as false as the stories of the wooden nut- megs. Connecticut never had a royal gov- ernor, and the independence of the colony was such that no officer dared to sell any of the stamps of the Stamp Tax within its borders. The claim was made that the colony, only three years after its settlement, formed the model of the first American Constitution by providing for elective franchise not limited to church members; that the oath of allegiance was made not to king or parliament, but directly to the state, and that Connecticut con- tributed the Federative idea to the Constitution. At the hands of the historians Connecticut has never received her due, and it was in the interests of truth that Bushnell contended that the Ticonderoga expedition was projected by Connecticut, and executed by her men, Massachusetts only assisting, and that Putnam was the leader at Bunker Hill. This oration, HORACE BUSHNELL 285 together with one on "The Age of Home- spun," set forth better than in formal history the stern virtues of Connecticut, the nursing mother of great men, who from the farms and the cottages on the hillside went forth into other regions to bless them. In the latter oration he described the heroes of homespun : " When the hard, wiry-looking patriarch of homespun sets off for Hartford or Bridgeport to exchange the little surplus of his year's pro- duction, carrying his provision with him and the fodder of his team, and taking his boy along to show him the great world, you may laugh at the simplicity, or pity, if you will, the sordid look of the picture ; but five or ten years hence, this boy will, like enough, be found in college, digging out the cent's worth of his father's money in hard study ; and some twenty years later he will be returning, in his honors as a celebrated judge or governor, or senator and public orator, from some one of the great states of the Republic." In his estimate of Connecticut there was no narrowness, for he could equally see the greatness of the fathers of New England. 286 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS This was his topic when he delivered the ora- tion before the New England Society of New York in 1849. He felt that they had been overpraised in assigning to them a knowledge of what they were founding, with a prophet- ical vision of the whole fabric of the future government. " The Founders Great in their Unconsciousness" was his special subject, and he had his sarcasm ready for those who sup- pose " the world to be a kind of professor's chair and expect events to transpire logically in it." The fathers came not to found a democracy nor a republic, but they accepted their present duty, and out of that grew the future. In this oration occurs one of his most eloquent passages : " They came not with any conscious or designing agency in those great political and social issues which we now look upon as the crowning distinctions of our history. Their ideal was not in these. Some- times we smile at their simplicity, finding that the highest hope they conceived was nothing but the hope of some good issue for religion. We wonder that they could not have had some conception of the magnificent re- HORACE BUSHNELL 287 suits of liberty and social order here to be revealed. We want them to be heroes, but we cannot allow them to be heroes of faith. But it will sometimes be discovered that in actual life there are two kinds of heroes — heroes for the visible and heroes for the in- visible; they that see their mark hung out as a flag on some turret or battlement, and they that see it nowhere save in the grand ideal of the inward Hfe; the extempore heroes fighting out a victory definitely seen in some- thing near at hand ; and the life-long, cen- tury-long heroes that are instigated by no ephemeral crown or ephemeral passion, but have sounded the deep bass-work of God's principle and have dared calmly to rest their all upon it, come the issue where it may or when it may or in what form God will give it." The civic question that brought forth more of a book from Bushnell than the usual pamphlet was " Woman's Suffrage." He had taken a great dislike to the idea of giving the franchise to women. The title of the book alone was a contribution to the opposi- 288 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS tion arguments, and was more influential than the book itself. It was called " Reform against Nature." This phrase went every- where, and confirmed the objectors and won new adherents to the cause of conservatism, through it was strange that in this instance he should have been called a conservative, when in everything else he was generally con- sidered most radical. But his chivalry and con- ception of the purity of the home and woman's refined and delicate position in life made him feel that it would be a loss to the world to brush aside the bloom and flower of feminine aloofness from the sordid struggle of men for political honors. Nature had designed the two individuals to play different and sup- plementary parts. Let the man have his field in war, politics, and commerce, where he is fitted to use his power, and the woman reign in the home, in the field of charity, of music, and poetry. There was a reform that he was willing to admit, viz., women should be given more of a chance to make advances toward marriage ; and coeducation seemed more feasible to him since he visited Oberlin HORACE BUSHNELL 289 and Antioch College where it was said that the influence of the young women was such that "male students were first called gentle- men at Antioch." The book is an example of special pleading throughout, and has the advantage of massing in a convenient form the anti-suffrage arguments. Though there are many imaginary and fantastic dangers in- vented, he is not able to withstand the prog- ress of the newer conception of womanhood. A woman has a right to make her own liv- ing. She may study a profession, but there are limitations. A woman may study law, but not address a jury, or make a speech in the courtroom. She may practise medicine, but not surgery. " Reform against Nature " will remain a curiosity of what a progres- sive mind can do in the matter of conser- vatism when the emotions are touched rather than the reason. These political books and addresses of Dr. Bushnell reveal thoroughness of research and an intimate knowledge of contemporary condi- tions. They show him as the citizen, loving his city, and state, and country, the spokesman of 290 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS the conscience of many, and the guide to their political thinking. They contain pointed sen- tences that stick, winged words that fly. While his civil interests were great, his ethical and religious interests were greater. He was a religious and moral teacher, but one who could not help applying his principle to life; so even his most abstruse theological reasonings become clear as appeals to a common humanity, which has its days to live in the streets and houses of an intricate civilization. As a minister of religion. Dr. Bushnell's principal literary work was contained in his sermons. They were always written with great care, until later in life he was forced to extempo- rize, because of his many duties and delicacy of health. The sermons were collected into volumes, and through them he preached to ever larger and more enthusiastic congregations. When they were delivered from the pulpit there was always behind them the force of his nervous personality, emphasized by the favorite swing of his right arm from the shoulder, but when read they lose none of their power. They were written in the heat of thought, and HORACE BUSHNELL 29 I carry with them the glow of earnestness. Sometimes the effect of a sermon was not what he intended, as when, for instance, he preached the doctrine that our earthly employ- ments would be continued in the next world, and thus greatly disturbed an undertaker by making him feel that there would be nothing for him to do throughout eternity ; and an old woman was heard to remark, " Well, if heaven is such a place for work, I don't care to go there. I hoped I should rest." The principal volumes of sermons were " Christ and His Salvation," "Sermons on Living Subjects," and "Sermons for the New Life." The last was the most famous and gained for him the reputation of a great preacher, great in originality, in spiritual power, in imagery, and eloquent in appeal. These sermons justify the appreciation of one of his most scholarly hearers, who said that his " emotions from the depth of a passionate nature bore him sometimes to the highest flights of elo- quence, and wit and sarcasm flashed from his talk and speeches, and he stood the most indepen- dent and muscular sermonizer in the American pulpit." The sermons were not controversial, 292 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS nor considered heretical by his fiercest opponents, some of whom wrote him letters of approval. The controversy and opposition, however, that raged around him for many years were caused by his distinctively theological works, such as " God in Christ," " Christian Nurture," " Vicarious Sacrifice," and " Nature and the Supernatural." When each of these was pub- lished a storm of editorials and pamphlets in reply or in condemnation broke over his head. From college days he had felt a lack of sym- pathy with the current orthodoxy of the old school and determined to examine the Christian doctrines in the light of a more intelligent exegesis, and in accordance with the dictates of reason. He knew that he would be misinter- preted, that his motives would be assailed, and that he would draw down upon himself the violent wrath of the acknowledged custodians of the faith. It would be said that he was a Unitarian and should no longer be recognized as a Congregational clergyman. He considered what this antagonism would mean, and he did not speak until he was fully prepared, not with immature thought, but as a result of hard work HORACE BUSHNELL 293 and prolonged study. When he saw the dan- ger of his attitude for freedom of discussion he wrote his wife, " Has my dear wife any of Luther's spirit? Will she enter into hazards and reproaches and perhaps privations which lie in this encounter for the truth?" Happily the privations did not come, because his church in Hartford stood by him, and many of the strongest of his ministerial friends defended him ; though one of the deacons of his church wrote him a letter of remonstrance, expressing his pain that he now, for the first time, differed from his pastor " on doctrines concerning which his own views have not changed for the last thirty years." The first evidence of this independent thought was an address at Andover Seminary on " Revelation " in 1839. As he told his friend, Dr. Cyrus Bartol, " he had many questions hanging on pegs, to take down as their turn should come." These questions he was in- vited to discuss at the Divinity School in Har- vard University, in the Phi Beta Kappa oration at Cambridge, in addresses at Yale College, and elsewhere. 294 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS One of these questions he discussed in his book on " Christian Nurture," published in 1846. The manuscript was submitted to the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, and after some hesitation, because of the novelty of treatment of the subject of the child's reli- gious training, it was accepted and printed. The book was attacked so vigorously that the Society suppressed it, fearing its dangerous tendencies. Then Dr. Bushnell republished it himself with a communication to the Society in which he frankly announced to the members, " Whether you will believe it or not, a new day has come. If we will, we can make it a better day." In some respects "Christian Nurture " is the most important of Dr. Bush- nell's books. It applied intelligent methods to child education, and with wisdom and love dealt with the rights of childhood, and the best methods of training the young life in Chris- tian nurture. The growth of the child in a Christian home, influenced by the character of the parents, and the unfolding of its true nature under the guidance of moral and religious sur- roundings, were considered of more importance HORACE BUSHNELL 295 than the crisis of a forced or hypocritical conversion. It had previously been taught in New England households that the child was a depraved being who, through a confession of sin as an outcast, must be reconciled to God before in any sense he could become a Chris- tian. The child's mind was filled with the teaching about the fall of the race, the total depravity of man, and the intricacies of the Calvinistic doctrines of atonement. The result was that children were given ideas that they could not in any way understand, and thus they were kept from the true joys of a manly and genuine religious experience. There was also a system of repression by which the children were forever being prohibited from doing some- thing, and this hardened and discouraged them. This constant prohibition did not stop as Dr. Bushnell said "with the ten commandments, like the word of Sinai, but it kept the thunder up." His desire was that children should be trained in such a way that, like Richard Baxter, they might never remember the time when they began to be religious. To effect this training it was necessary to emphasize the or- 296 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS ganic relations of the family and to set forth the truth that the nurture of the soul is to begin with the nurture of the body, for the "child after birth is still within the matrix of the parental life and will be more or less for many years." Kindness and sweetness were as necessary in the home as food and clothing; and a rebuke was administered to many par- ents when he intimated that persons might be noted for their piety and still be very disagree- able. On the other hand love was not sufficient when it was unintelligent, for he pointed out that mere natural affection was nothing more than incompetency as an equipment for the parental office. The whole trend of " Christian Nurture" was so far away from the established methods of dealing with children that it seemed to many the manifesto of a dangerous revolution. With the suggestion of a set of playthings on the Sabbath, though the toys were to be sacred ones, representing points of religious history, Bushnell's reputation for orthodoxy was gone, and he became free game for the attacks of the country brethren. HORACE BUSHNELL 297 On top of this came his next important theo- logical book, " God in Christ," containing two ad- dresses, one delivered at the Harvard Divinity School, and another at Yale, prefaced by an essay on " Language." The whole book was free in its treatment of religious doctrine, and was open to the charge of unsoundness because of its ob- scurity and low estimate of human language as a vehicle for theological definition, as well as an apparent lapse into Unitarianism. Boldness of criticism was evident in the position that lan- guage is a mere sign and image of the thought, and not an equivalent of truth, and that the multiplication of opinions and sects was the result of false views of language. The positive Christian conception that dominated the book was the reflection of his own thought which had deepened and become intense, as he set forth Christ as the indwelling life of the soul, the new creating power of righteousness for humanity. The divinity of Christ and the atonement were the two principal themes ; and he contended that his views were a return to a true orthodoxy anterior to the New England thought which was comparatively new. This 298 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS ■was a favorite position with him which he as- serted again and again in "Vicarious Sacrifice" and elsewhere, as he expounded the views of the early fathers and such theologians as Anselm. "I seem to myself," he wrote, "to assert nothing which is not substantial ortho- doxy, — that which contains the real moment of all our orthodox formulas unabridged." This was not enough, however, for many of his fellow- ministers, who in reviews and letters and public speech disputed his right to be recognized as a member of their association. The attacks that came from the New York Evangelist and Princeton Review soon focussed in the action of the Hartford Central Association, where attempts were made to present Dr. Bushnell for trial on the charge of heresy ; and this fail- ing, a series of subsequent efforts was made by the association of " Fairfield West " in its endeavors to force the General Association of Connecticut to discipline the heretic. But Dr. Bushnell had strong friends, among them being Dr. Porter, afterward President of Yale Col- lege, who upheld his right to free discussion and a place in the association. During this HORACE BUSHNELL 299 very trying time of criticism, for the most part Dr. Bushnell kept silent, following his pub- lished plan not to be drawn into argument, knowing that there would be a religious con- troversy, and consequently asserting, " I adver- tise it beforehand, to prevent a misconstruction of my silence, that I am silenced now on the publication of my volume." It was not that Bushnell was desirous of denying the accepted belief of the churches, but when it conflicted with what he considered the rational common sense or even emotional view of the doctrine or the teaching, his nature revolted. The truth must be as real in man's nature as in a book, and the book, even if most sacred, is only an imperfect medium for the transmission of the truth to the human soul. The words were mere suggestions of something greater than the words ; or, as he expressed it, Christianity was " a gift to the imagination," as well as to the faith and the reason. The emotional and poetic part of life must be ap- pealed to, and when aroused it can enjoy the revelation which has been given. This imagi- native and poetic treatment is well illustrated 300 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS throughout all his books, but especially in the " Moral Uses of Dark Things," wherein he discovers the uses of such dark things as bad government, of plagues and pestilences, of in- sanity, of the changes of life, and of things "unsightful and disgustful." While evil is con- sidered necessary in order to understand the good, as in the case of bad government, "it is simply letting society and man be what they are to show what they are," yet there are many fanciful interpretations which can only be con- sidered true in the way of analogy or in illus- tration. There is a beautiful exhibition of this power in " Vicarious Sacrifice," where he urges that wherever there is love there must be vicarious sacrifice, and he finds the truth of the doctrine, not in any thought of a debt paid or a measured amount of suffering borne, but in the universality of the love which contains the sacrifice. " There is a Gethsemane hid in all love," he says, "and when the fit occasion comes, no matter how great and high the subject may be, its heavy groaning will be heard — even as it was in Christ " ; or again, " There is a cross in God before the wood is seen in Calvary." HORACE BUSHNELL 301 His devotion to truth was one of the main characteristics of his life, but it was a truth which mvxst have had an historical continuity. He did not desire to feel that it originated with him, but that it could be verified in the best thought of the early church fathers, — an ortho- doxy not of one century but of all the Christian centuries. Then, this truth must be made real in life, and until it was thus vitalized and embodied in the form of corporate action, he never could rest satisfied. In his political, as well as his religious thinking, the activity and perseverance of his mind were shown in the need of constant expression until the result was obtained, either the evil was rectified, or the book was sent forth on its mission. The ruggedness of his nature was softened often by a delightful play of humor. This saved him many depressing moments, and lightened up the gloom of an irritating circum- stance. Of two ministers who were colleagues, he said their relation was unscriptural because "it was forbidden to yoke an ox with an ass." When the music was criticised he was provoked and exclaimed, "It's worship! and you might 302 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS as well criticise the gait of the scapegoat that bears away the sins of the people." Indulging himself in sarcasm occasionally at the expense of a shallow preacher, he said, when told by some one that he had known him twenty years ago as a boy who did chores for his board, "That is what he is doing now." This play- fulness used to take him sometimes when he smoked in later life, and he would announce his intention to his friend by saying, "Now, come, let us sin a little." The life of Horace Bushnell reached out in so many different directions, touching many interests with enthusiasm, that a final judgment on him is difficult to pronounce. That he had genius no one will deny ; that he had applica- tion is evident ; that he had consecration is assumed ; but what he did have supremely was creative imagination. It entered the sphere of politics as well as religion, and in terms of brill- iant metaphor presented the central truth of whatever system he was dealing with so vividly and attractively that men were fascinated by its greatness. The very vagueness of definition often was an aid to the effect, as vapor softens HORACE BUSHNELL 303 the sharpness of outline and diffuses the light. His boldness forced what he had to say into the very faces of his opponents. He founded no school, nor did he collect a band of disciples, but stood out as one man who had been moved to unburden his soul to the men of his genera- tion, urging them to prize national honor, to legislate for the benefit of a growing civiliza- tion, to live as becomes men, and to have faith in their own souls, in their fellow-men, in God, to trust the future as one derives inspiration from the past, and to ennoble the whole of life by a reasonable and holy service. The aim of his life-work, as Dr. Austin Phelps expresses it, was that of discovery : " He was a looker on, and up, to the firmament of truth; and whatever he saw there he pro- claimed to the waiting multitudes below." CHAPTER IX HENRY WARD BEECHER Henry Ward Beecher did not give early the promise of his future. " He had precisely the organization which often passes for dulness in boyhood," wrote Mrs. Stowe; "he had a great deficiency in verbal memory, a deficiency marked in him through life ; he was excessively sensitive to praise and blame, extremely diffi- dent. . . . His utterance was thick and indis- tinct." But the association with his clever brothers and sisters and the rugged personality of his father, Lyman Beecher, one of the great preachers and theologians of his time, rubbed off the uncouthness of youth and developed his talents, especially in theological directions, for the daily discussions of the household clustered around free will and predestination, even when the father sawed the family wood in the cellar, 304 HENRY WARD BEECHER 30$ calling up through the floor a new argument to his son above. When Lyman Beecher was accused of heresy by Dr. Wilson, an advocate of that distillation called " Scotch-Irish Presby- terian Calvinistic fatahsm," the Beecher family spent their waking moments in discussing total depravity and Scripture inspiration. While these early surroundings gave a theological trend to Henry Ward's thoughts and sharpened his wits, they also gave him a surfeit of doc- trinal controversy, and explain in some measure the absence of dogma from his preaching and teaching. In college, phrenology seems to have claimed more of his time than theology. Associated with Fowler, the prophet of the new science, he used to deliver lectures, which at least gave him some training in public speak- ing, if it did not gain adherents to the system of character reading by cranial protuberances. His study of elocution, his athletic training, and the friendship of his fellow-students, together with general reading, and a genuine religious experience were his preparation for his career in the ministry, which soon became inevitable to an eager, thoughtful, full-blooded man, who 306 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS desired to do something in the world, and that too for his fellow-men. The first parish was at Lawrenceburg, — a little town in the wilderness of Ohio. " I was sexton of my own church at that time," he after- ward said ; " there were no lamps there, so I bought some; and I filled them and lit them. I swept the church and lighted my own fire. I did not ring the bell, because there was none to ring." Here he learned to know men inti- mately, their needs and peculiarities ; and in the sermons wrought out by hard work, he was un- consciously laying the foundation for his future strength. He had already made some progress as a journalist, serving for a time as a writer on the Cincinnati Journal. It was significant that his editorials on the pro-slavery riots were copied into various other papers, because these were among the earliest signs of his defence of the negro. Two years of service in Law- renceburg were followed by eight years in Indi- anapolis. He began here " to preach a little," ^s he described it, his reputation growing rapidly. The ministry in Indianapolis was in quality like the life-work in Brooklyn. The HENRY WARD BEECHER 307 same characteristics of thought and activity are to be seen in the earlier period as in the later one. The preaching was vital and drew the people to hear him ; he dealt with public questions as well as Scriptural ones ; he was informal and direct, homely in style often, but convincing ; vigorous in his denunciation of the sins of the day. The two literary remains of the earlier work are the " Lecture to Young Men," and the articles on agricultviral subjects which he wrote for \h& Indiana Journal, then for the Western Farmer and Gardener, and finally collected into the interesting volume, " Pleasant Talk about Fruits, Flowers, and Farming." But this was early work. When Beecher came to the newly organized Plymouth Church in 1847, he came to his throne. From this pul- pit, with scarcely any interruption, he preached his famous sermons for forty years. In his first sermon, on October 10, 1847, he out- lined what should be the character of the preaching, its wide scope, dealing with every moral question of the time, questions of national importance, slavery, war, temperance, declaring his chief purpose to make his minis- 308 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS try "a ministry of Christ." He lived up to his early promise. His pulpit was never silent when the people were listening for the voice of a prophet or a guide. They learned that absolute frankness and independence, sympathy with the oppressed and with their own sorrows, were to be found in Plymouth pulpit. So the people of America went to hear him and read his sermons, which were printed both in America and England. One of the attractions of a visit to New York was the chance of hearing Henry Ward Beecher. The Fulton ferry-boat was crowded on Sun- day mornings with a company of eager strangers, who got off the car in Brooklyn when the conductor, knowing their errand, called out " Beecher " instead of the name of the street. When they entered the church, there were generally three thousand persons already seated. The continuous popularity of the preacher for such a long period of time was a remarkable testimony to his power as a speaker, to his knowledge of men, to the force of his convictions, and the truth which he presented for their acceptance. HENRY WARD BEECHER 309 To account for his power and to see the reasons for it, one must remember that he made pubHc speaking the specialty of his life, and while he did many other things, he made them all contribute to his work as a preacher. " I am, in the providence of God, so circum- stanced in reference to public speaking, which seems to be my specialty," he said, "that I put my whole strength into that and give up everything else to it." The ordinary duties of the parish minister he put into other hands after his great influence began to grow in Plymouth pulpit, preferring even not to make calls upon the sick or afflicted. He was always in the homiletic frame of mind, that is, seeking facts and knowledge with the ulterior purpose of using them in the pulpit or on the platform. When on Saturdays he left his study to wander about the shops and factories of New York, examining jewels at Tiffany's, or watching a shoemaker drive his pegs, it was with the idea of getting vivid impressions from which he might form illustrations to make his sermons fresh and interesting. He studied men as much as books, always going to a recognized 3IO THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS authority for first-hand information, which he absorbed at once and made his own. While the immediate preparation for the Sunday ser- mons was brief, consuming a few hours after breakfast on Sunday morning and a short time in the afternoon for the evening sermon, his general preparation was continuous. Every- thing he read, every incident of the day, chance conversation, as well as serious study, all went into the sub-conscious manufactory where the sermon was in process of making. Memory for facts, not for words, and quick application of ideas, with a keen sense of what was appropriate, made it possible for him to be ready at all times to gather together his thoughts and present them with clearness, and as his mind kindled, with force and elo- quence. The fertility of his mind was such that one of his friends thought "he could fill two octavo pages with the description of a cobweb, and yet there would be much more than mere words in the description." Mr. Beecher's fine presence and sympathetic voice added to the effect of his sermons. Sometimes his manner was dramatic. After HENRY WARD BEECHER 31 1 having spoken in a conversational way he would warm up to his subject and uncon- sciously act the scene he was describing. But on the whole it was the earnestness and force of a great personality rather than the manner of the delivery that held the people. Once, when he held the chains that had bound the hands of John Brown, and hurled them upon the floor, stamping upon them, the effect was tremendous. Occasionally in reading the Scripture he would use a dramatic gesture. During troublous times, when Mr. Beecher had enemies, he was reading the account of St. Paul's shipwreck at Melita and the viper which fastened itself upon the hand of the apostle ; continuing, he read, " He shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm" accompanying the words with such a gesture that all knew he meant he would thus treat his enemies. Dr. Richard R. Storrs well analyzed Mr. Beecher's power as a preacher when at the twenty-fifth anniversary of Plymouth Church in 1872 he said: "It used to amuse me and provoke me, years ago, when men would speak as if his strength lay in some one thing ; in his 312 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS voice, perhaps, or in his gesture, or his power of illustration, or something else. . . . You know as well as I do, that his power comes from many sources. It is like a rushing, royal river, which has its birthplace in a thousand springs." When one says that it is due to a vitalized mind or immense common-sense, sym- pathy with men, mental sensibility, or animal vigor, it must be conceded that these qualities were all present in a remarkable degree; but beyond all these, there was the unanalyzed force of a character and heart that gave from out its own fulness the light and conviction which helped the men who heard him. His profound faith in righteousness was communicated to others and it abode in them. The unconven- tionality of the discourse attracted attention by its freshness and startling qualities. He would take his illustrations from every possi- ble quarter, but those that dealt with the common life of man, the affections and daily work of the people, were the most in use. If there was one quality above another that predominated in his preaching it was a vivid- ness of description that made his hearers see HENRY WARD BEECHER 313 what was in his own mind, thus making them live with him through the experiences that he related. Whenever humor was used it was not for its own sake, but it bubbled up to illustrate the truth or the fact. Of beauty there was no absence, many of his descriptions being filled with poetic appreciation of art and music and literature. Not only Mr. Beecher's character and attain- ments gave the force to his preaching and lit- erary work, but the topics he dealt with were popular. He was the exponent of the new theology, — not dogmatic theology, but a life theology. He appealed to those who had lost sympathy with the hard-and-fast discussions of dry orthodoxy; yet, while retaining the Evan- gelical fervor and belief in the essence of the older doctrines, he tried to put new life into them and make them real by new interpreta- tions and adaptations to present needs. He disclaimed the title of systematic theologian, and yet he had a system of his own, having for its cardinal doctrines the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man. When men everywhere were beginning to feel after these 314 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS truths, it was no surprise that they gladly received them when presented by the eloquence and conviction of Mr. Beecher. What is called the new theology found in him a warm advo- cate and skilful expositor. Another subject which early attracted his attention and close study was evolution. This interest was doubtless increased by his love for nature and the processes of natural law, but more especially arose from eagerness to ex- amine new theories with the hope of discover- ing truth to be used in its application to religion. He read with great care Herbert Spencer and Haeckel, studying other well-known scientific writers ; and having made up his mind that a great discovery had been made in the doctrine of evolution, he was among the first to accept and preach with boldness its essential princi- ples. While other ministers were alarmed at the supposed conflict between religion and science, he saw the harmony between the two. While others condemned the new thought, he hailed it with the enthusiasm of a new convic- tion. The sermons preached in 1885 on evo- lution attracted much attention, and were HENRY WARD BEECHER 315 afterward collected into two volumes called " Evolution and Religion," discussing the bear- ings of Evolutionary Philosophy on the doctrines of Evangehcal Christianity. " I am for liberty of knowledge," he asserted, "for liberty in philosophy, in spite of organization and prece- dents and all that is past." The discussion of evolution was carried on in the two books with much learning and clear thinking. In the chapter on "The Two Revelations," the main contention is made that God's ways are to be seen in nature as well as in the Bible, for " Science is but the decipher- ing of God's thought as revealed in the struc- ture of this world." The argument from Design was seen to be affected by the con- ception of development, but only in giving it a grander scope. Minute adaptations of means to ends which had appealed to the older writers of apologetics from the time of Paley's reason- ing about the celebrated watch might lose some of their force, but the signs of a universal progress toward the improvement of the spe- cies and the unfolding of world-movements were asserted to be a truer confirmation of 3l6 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS design than the multiplication of little special examples. " Design by wholesale is grander than design by retail." Continuing the same thought, he reasoned that "if it be evidence of design in creation that God adapted one single flower to its place and functions, is it not greater evidence if there is a system of such adaptations going on from eternity .' " So the conclusion is reached that " Evolution instead of obliterating the evidence of divine design has lifted it to a higher plane and made it more sublime than it was ever contemplated to be under the old reasonings." The differ- ence between the German and English scien- tists did not escape observation, the former being by far the most materialistic, while the latter prepared the way for a rational philoso- phy of the spiritual in nature and life. There is much discrimination in the difference dis- covered between these two streams of ten- dency. The ultimate influence on religion was no less clearly perceived in the reconstruction that would be necessary both in theology and the interpretation of Scripture, but the re- casting of older thought was willingly allowed. HENRY WARD BEECHER 317 because Mr. Beechcr believed that the new view would give religion " a character such as has never yet been known in the world at large." The light of humor occasionally flashes through the pages, having also the force of an argument : " We need not be afraid of getting rid of original sin, because we can get all the actual transgression that the world needs to take its place." These volumes on evolution, by the calm survey of the situation and the hopeful view of the outcome of the contro- versy between science and certain forms of belief, marked in their day an important stage in the relations existing between the deepest religious thought and the achievement of modern science. That they were read by the people as much as by the students is an additional reason why they may be considered as having played an important part in the reconstruction of American religious ideas. Nowhere, however, are Mr. Beecher's thoughts on preaching, its aim and power, so fully set forth, as in the remarkable series of volumes containing the lectures delivered at .Yale Col- lege in the three years beginning with 1871. 3l8 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS The Lyman Beecher Lectureship on Preaching was founded by a parishioner of Plymouth Church; and it was natural that Mr. Beecher should be appointed the first lecturer, an office which he filled with satisfaction to all con- cerned, and set the ideal of the lectureship so high that those who have succeeded him, at- tempting to attain to it, have produced some of the noblest contributions to American theologi- cal literature. The lectures are informal talks to the students rather than elaborate or studied addresses. They touch upon a great range of subjects, interesting not only to the clergy but to the general reader. They exhibit Mr. Beecher's power at its best; clear, forcible, brilliant, with the unexpectedness of great thoughts bursting out from the even current of his theme, and a sympathy with human affairs deep and abiding. There is no effort apparent in their delivery; and, as was his method of preparation, being hardly outlined the day before they were given, they caused him no effort except the final one of creation at the moment as they flowed from his well-stored mind and varied experience. He often allowed HENRY WARD BEECHER 319 himself to wander on at will, recalling past incidents in his own and his father's life, telling an anecdote to illustrate his point, or forcing a truth home by the power of an aroused im- agination. Mr. Beecher's characteristic method of saying clever things was like his advice on the subject of humor in the pulpit — if they came naturally, use them, but never spring them on the audience for the sake of making an impres- sion. On the subject of making people laugh in church, he said, " If I can make them laugh, I do not thank anybody for the next move ; I will make them cry. Did you ever see a woman carrying a pan of milk quite full, and it slops over on one side, that it did not imme- diately slop over on the other also ? " When speaking of health as necessary to public speak- ing, and urging the importance of sleep, he made his point by asserting that " If you do not sleep, first or last, your audience will, and therefore it is necessary that you should sleep for them, that they may keep awake to hear what you may have to say." Of some sermons he said they were built like the ships down in 320 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Maine : " They build them by the mile, and when they have an order they cut off so much, round up a stern and a bow. Thus some ser- mons seem to have been built by the mile. There seems to be no earthly reason why the preacher should begin in one place rather than another." When urging a certain healthful bravery in preaching, warning against a man's preaching in a low and feeble voice, each one of his sentences seeming like "a poor scared mouse running for its hole," he stated that "a congregation knows when a minister is afraid of them just as well as a horse knows that his driver is afraid of him." In preferring the use of good Saxon words instead of scholastic dic- tion, he says : " The plain language gives bell- notes which ring out suggestions to the popular heart. There are words that men have heard when boys at home, around the hearth and the table, words that are full of father and of mother, and full of common and domestic life. . . . For, after all, simple language is loaded down and stained through with the best testimonies and memories of life." He relates how one day his father, Lyman Beecher, came HENRY WARD BEECHER 32 1 home after the Sunday service and said, "It seems to me I never made a worse sermon than I did this morning." " Why, father," said I, " I never heard you preach so loud in all my life." "That's the way," he said; "I always halloa when I haven't anything to say." These are illustrations of the way in which bright things are scattered throughout the lectures. In the main they are serious dis- cussions of many vital questions. The first series dealt with the personal elements that bear important relation to preaching, such as the qualifications of the preacher, elements in oratory, rhetorical drill, health as related to preaching, with the last lecture on " Love the Central Element of the Christian Min- istry " ; the second series had more to say about the conduct of public worship, prayer meetings, and social gatherings, music in wor- ship, and methods of dealing with new fields of labor ; the third year was devoted more to doctrinal discussion as to the best ways of using Christian doctrines in their relation to the needs of individual dispositions and the wants of communities. 322 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS The author of the " History of Journalism in America " refers to Henry Ward Beecher as one of the few great editors of the United States. This judgment is confirmed by an examination into his experiences as an editor and writer for newspapers. He felt the size and importance of the audience reached through the means of journalism, and early used his pen to influence a vast unknown number of readers. His earliest efforts were as editor for five months of the Cincinnati Journal, an organ of the Presbyterian church, in which he wrote editorials against slavery; and when a band of pro-slavery rioters destroyed Birney's press, he was sworn in as a special policeman, and carried a weapon which he determined to use if occasion re- quired it. Next he wrote the articles on farming in the Western Farmer and Gardener. Soon after his arrival in Brooklyn the editors of the New York Independent enlisted his services in the cause of freedom, and though the religious press of the country was at that time silent on the subject of slavery, he wrote articles of such power that they attracted HENRY WARD BEECHER 323 general attention to the stand taken by the New York Independent. It is related that his famous article " Shall We Compromise ? " was read to the dying statesman Calhoun. " Read that again," said Calhoun ; " that fellow under- stands his subject. He will be heard from again. He has gone to the bottom." "Shall We Compromise.''" was written February 21, 1850, on the propositions of Henry Clay, and boldly stated the moral issue : " Let no man suppose that the contentions which now agi- tate the land have sprung from the rash pro- cedure of a few men — hot-heads either of the North or of the South. We are in the midst of a collision, not of men, but of prin- ciples and political institutions." It was clearly pointed out that one of the great differences between the North and the South was in the theory of labor, the North regarding labor as voluntary and honorable, while the South looked upon it as a disgraceful necessity to be confined to a subservient class, — thus marking the "vital distinguishing elements of two radically different governments, an Aris- tocracy and a Democracy," which in time must 324 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS come into conflict, because such principles will determine the family institutions, public opinion, and the very natures of the com- munities. To discuss the anti-slavery question in editorials, Mr. Beecher did not rely on his general knowledge of the subject and his stirred emotions, but he made special studies of Story on the Constitution, Kent's " Com- mentaries," and Lieber's " Civil Liberty and Self-Government," so that, when in his usual style of writing he eagerly threw off page after page just in time for the boy to take them to the printer, leaving to other hands correction and proof-reading, he spoke with authority as well as with strength. After his withdrawal from the Independent he became editor of a paper called The Church Union. The name did not suit Mr. Beecher and it was changed to The Christian Union, because he wished to have contributors who were "as free from sectarian bias as the Ser- mon on the Mount." The paper continued to meet with success and increased in influence, though at times with varying fortune, during Mr. Beecher's editorship, which terminated in HENRY WARD BEECHER 325 1 88 1. From these journalistic labors was collected a series of papers ; to which were added letters from abroad, the whole being published in book form as " Star Papers." The title was suggested by the fact that many of the articles appeared in the Independent signed by a star, and were familiarly spoken of as Star Articles. " Star Papers " contains excellent pieces of descriptive writing on a great variety of subjects. The only unity to the papers is the binding of them in one volume. Among the European letters are interesting accounts of visits to Stratford-on Avon, Warwick Castle, Oxford, the National Gallery, London, and the Louvre. In Strat- ford, besides the memories of Shakespeare, the thing that most impressed him was the service in the church where the great dramatist lies buried. It was the first time that he ever heard prayers chanted by a choir, and he wrote, " It seemed as though I heard not with my ears, but with my soul." The style of the essays, or short sketches, is easy and entertaining, giving new evidence of the versatihty of the man who had many sides to his nature. 326 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS When the writing of a novel for the Ledger was suggested to Mr. Beecher by his friend Robert Bonner, he was surprised and hesitated to accept the proposal because it seemed as much out of his line as " a request to carve a statue, or build a man-of-war." He could do many things, and had tried his hand at trades and professions, but never had he written even a short story before. Being tired out after the Civil War and seeking relaxation, he decided to make it his supreme work at Peekskill. The result was " Norwood, or Village Life in New England," which appeared in instalments in the Ledger, and then reached in book form a large number of readers. In the preface the author admits that he is unfamiliar with the machinery of a novel, plot and counterplot, but hopes to interest his readers in the incidents of New England village life as Crabbe depicted the English village life. " Norwood " has very slight elements of a novel, almost no plot, and little movement. It is diffuse and rambling, full of digressions, with many discussions not at all germane to the subject in hand except as all forms of experi- HENRY WARD BEECHER 327 ence may be included in the life of a village. The book is more like a history of a town than a novel, though the element of romance is woven throughout. To one who has the leisure to read it, for it is long, beginning with the love affair of the parents and following the children from infancy to marriage through the intervening spaces of college and professional studies, the book is entertaining and instructive. The author also introduces very striking conversa- tions on politics and religion, farm life and literature. The character sketches in " Norwood " are well drawn, giving the usual New England per- sonages, the village doctor, the minister, the young college man, the retired sea-captain, the negro servant, with many other curious people worth knowing. The book was written sponta- neously, requiring no labored research, but the pleasant pastime of recalling old memories. It is a kind of autobiography without exact dates, names and places reproducing the author's own experience in a thousand forms. The elm trees that shade the streets of Norwood are like those which he had passed beneath in many a country 328 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS visit. " The elms of New England ! " he ex- claimed. "They were as much a part of her beauty as the columns of the Parthenon were the glory of its architecture ; " and they sym- bolized for him the Puritan's inflexibility of character, " being broad at the root, firm in the trunk, and yielding at the top, yet returning again, after every impulse, into position and symmetry." The Puritan Sabbath is equally well described, when nature and the village street seem both to indicate that a solemn change has come into human affairs; and when, in spite of strictness and self-conscious conduct, the day brought with it a sense of spiritual things: "The one great poem of New England is her Sunday ! Through that she has escaped materialism. That has been the crystal dome overhead through which imagi- nation has been kept alive. New England's imagination is to be found — not in art or litera- ture — but in her inventions, her social organism, and, above all, in her religious life." The village worthies often say good things. Tommy Taft, bald down to the top of his ears, with a nose that hung on his face like an old-fashioned door HENRY WARD BEECHER 329 knocker, usually talks in a quaint, humorous way, and Pete Sawmill, the big black fellow, who is something of a hero, wonders what he has such long legs for, but puts them to good use when his master, General Cathcart, is wounded and taken prisoner at Gettysburg. Old Uncle Eb's definition of a gentleman is a credit to his penetration. "A gentleman," he said, "must see everybody without looking, and know every- body without inquiry, and say just the right thing to everybody without trying to ; and, above all, he must make everybody in his presence do the best things they know how to do." Mr. Beecher's greatest influence upon the history of his times was as an orator who not only preached on political and economic themes, but ascended the public platform in the interests of good government and purity in politics. The work that he did in this way as an anti-slavery speaker is a part of the permanent records of American life. As an orator there was no man who had greater immediate power over an audience. He wielded them from the first, and when he rose to impassioned outbursts of moral feeling he 330 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS carried them with him overwhelmingly. The qualities that made him a great preacher, given more freedom on the platform, made him a great orator. His influence over a crowd came from the correctness of his rea- soning and the amplitude of his knowledge as much as from the subtle turn of phrase, the good story, or the eloquence. Many were the exciting meetings he partici- pated in from the time in 1856 when a num- ber of prominent men, recognizing his ability, requested Plymouth Church to give him a leave of absence "to traverse the country on behalf of the cause of liberty " until after the Civil War was over. In many parts of the country he bore his testimony in such a way that it lived in the hearts of his hearers. When the emigrants were hurrying to Kansas to overcome the " Squatter Sovereignty," he declared that a rifle was more effective than a Bible in converting the border ruffians, and a Sharpe rifle was popularly called " Beecher's Bible." In the Fremont Campaign Mr. Beecher threw himself into the political struggle, mak- ing speeches throughout the state of New York HENRY WARD BEECHER 331 sometimes two or three times a week, to eight thousand people in the open air, thus becom- ing an important factor in the growth of Republican sentiment ; and during the Civil War his addresses to the soldiers going to the front, like his anniversary speeches and sermons, kept up the faith of all in the righteousness of the cause for which the war had been engaged in. When the Civil War burst upon the country, Mr. Beecher never left an opportunity unused to urge its necessity and keep before men the moral meaning of it. The sermon he preached on April 14, 1861, when Fort Sumter had been fired upon, "The Battle set in Array," using as his text, " Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward," was an exhortation to enter into the great struggle without fear. He hated war as much as any man, but he felt there were other evils as great and more terrible, as he explained, " I hold that it is ten thousand times better to have war than to have slavery " ; and when answering the objection of pecuniary cost in the prosecution of the war, he laid down the 332 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS principle that "we must not stop to measure the costs, especially the costs of going for- ward, on any basis so mean and narrow as that of pecuniary prosperity. We must put our honor and religion into this struggle." The sermon on "The National Flag" was preached to the " Brooklyn Fourteenth," a col- lection being taken up on the occasion which amounted to i^sooo to aid in equipping the regiment. " The Camp, its Dangers and Duties " was an important statement of the soldier's duties. Themes all bearing upon the conduct and purpose of the war were selected when the time seemed ripe for plain speech: "Modes and Duties of Emancipa- tion," "National Injustice and Penalty," "The Ground and Forms of Government," and "Lib- erty under Laws." By far the most important service that Henry Ward Beecher rendered his country was the series of speeches that he made in the leading cities of England in 1863, when it looked as if the British Government would recognize the Confederacy. He had gone abroad for rest, having made up his mind not to say anything HENRY WARD BEECHER 333 publicly in England on the subject of the war. He was most disheartened when he realized that members of Parliament and professional men were almost without exception against the North, and it seemed futile for him to make any efforts to enlighten them. When he first landed he refused many invitations to speak. It was only on his return from the Continent that he was led to change his mind because it was shown him that the few friends of the North needed support, and because he was indignant at the sneers and misrepresentations that everywhere were hurled at his country. The first speech was at Manchester. Arriving in that city he soon discovered that there was great opposition to the meeting, and for a time the managers thought of abandoning the attempt. The streets were placarded with inflammatory posters. One of them read : " Men of Manchester, English- men ! what reception can you give this wretch, save unmitigated disgust and contempt ? He is a friend of that inhuman monster. General But- ler. He is the friend of that so-called Gospel Preacher Cheever, who said in one of his sermons, ' Fight against the South till Aell freezes, and 334 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS then continue the battle on the ice.' " The oppo- sition naturally increased the size of the meeting. When Mr. Beecher began to speak the enemies present caused an uproar, and it was some time before he could get in even an occasional word. "The question was," he afterward said, "who could hold out longest. There were five or six storm centres, boiling and whirling at the same time. ... It was like talking to a storm at sea." He used various tricks to get a hearing ; some- times he would laugh outright at the spectacle of an old woman beating her neighbor with an umbrella, and the crowd would stop yelling to see what he was laughing at ; sometimes he would answer a question that was thrown up at him from the crowd, and sometimes he gave up addressing the crowd and made part of his speech to the reporters sitting in front of him. After an hour and a half of this broken kind of an address he finally won the right to speak by his pluck and good nature. Then he spoke for two hours more, outlining the history of slavery and showing that the Civil War was fought to decide whether human labor should be free or bound, and appealing to their self-esteem by HENRY WARD BEECHER 335 urging: "Join with us, then, Britons. From you we learnt the doctrine of what a man was worth ; from you we learnt to detest all oppres- sions ; from you we learnt that it was the noblest thing a man could do to die for a right principle." The speech in Glasgow was equally effective, the speaker's wisdom being shown in the way he appealed to the common people by emphasizing the fact that the "American question is the working mans question, all over ,the world ; the slave-master's doctrine is that capital should own labor." In Edinburgh, Liverpool, and London there were meetings of similar char- acter, but in each place the subject of the address was selected which seemed most appro- priate. The speeches were reported in full in the English papers, and especially in the London Times. They were discussed every- where ; and as they summed up Mr. Beecher's whole knowledge of the slavery question as it affected civil government, morals, and religion, the English people had poured out upon them such a torrent of facts, arguments, appeals, criticisms, and eloquence that they could no longer be in doubt of the purpose of the North. 336 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS The sentiment of the English nation was deeply influenced. To say the least, it was less likely after Mr. Beecher's speeches than before them that England would recognize the South. His words were attacked in the papers, discussed in the clubs ; and he was caricatured in Punch. Oliver Wendell Holmes called him " The Min- ister Plenipotentiary," in his clever article in the Atlantic Monthly, asserting that Mr. Beecher's series of speeches constituted " a more remark- able embassy than any envoy who has repre- sented us in Europe since Franklin pleaded the cause of the young Republic at the Court of Versailles. He kissed no royal hand, he talked with no courtly diplomatists, he was the guest of no titled legislator, he had no official exist- ence ; but through the hearts of the people he reached nobles, ministers, courtiers, the throne itself." The comprehensiveness of the English speeches is seen when they are read in a series. At Manchester a history was given of the political movements which led to a conflict between the two sections of the Union ; at Edinburgh was explained how the nation HENRY WARD BEECHER 337 grew up out of separate states with the struggle for control between the North and South, the latter rebelling when it was defeated in politics ; in the Liverpool speech it was pointed out to the inhabitants of that commercial and manu- facturing centre that their interests were injured by slavery, and that " this attempt to cover the fairest portion of the earth with a slave popula- tion that buys nothing, and a degraded white population that buys next to nothing, should array against it the sympathy of every true political economist and every thoughtful and far-seeing manufacturer, as tending to strike at the vital want of commerce, — not the want of cotton, but the want of customers." In London Mr. Beecher, while appealing to the conscience of the people and their Christianity, put before them in connected form what he had said in other places, and left in the capital of the British nation the lasting impression that the war was due to slavery and the desire of the South to found a great slave-empire, and English support meant the aiding in this undertaking. The success of the speeches in England was due in no little measure to Mr. Beecher's quick- 338 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS ness at repartee and promptness in answering questions. This faculty, which he always dis- played, won him the admiration of the people and silenced the objector ; as in New York once, when he was speaking of the number of wives of the slaves who were forced to move from place to place, and a voice called out, " There are men in New York who have twenty wives," he replied, " I am sorry for them ; I go in for their immediate emancipation." \_Great cheering.'\ When he was hissed he remarked that it was fair to give the other side a chance. Some one called out, " How about the Russians } " referring to the growing friendship between the North and the Russian Government. Mr. Beecher answered, " Now you know what we felt when you were flirting with Mr. Mason at your Lord Mayor's banquet." At another time the speaker said : " Now Great Britain has thrown her arms of love around the Southerners and turns from the Northerners. [IVo.] She don't.? [Ckeers.] I have only to say that she had been caught in very suspicious circumstances." \^Lati£^/iier.] With many other bright sallies and amusing anecdotes he soothed the audiences until they HENRY WARD BEECHER 339 were ready to listen to his more formidable arguments. After the Civil War Mr. Beecher's interest in politics continued. He spoke constantly on such subjects as " Conditions of a Restored Union," " Reconstruction of Southern States," and " National Unity." Among these orations there were a tender eulogy upon Abraham Lin- coln and an appreciative memorial of General Grant. As he grew older his powers seemed to diminish very little, and until the last he was busy with his literary work, which became more distinctly religious. The unfinished book that remained after he had laid down his pen was the valuable fragment of his " Life of Christ," — a work upon which he desired to put his best and final efforts. He also intended to write his " Autobiography," but he died on March 8, 1887, leaving scarcely any notes except those very full ones scattered through his published writings, for he referred to himself often, relating numerous experiences of his early and mature life. Dr. Holmes says, " The way a man handles his egotisms is a test of his mastery over an audience or 340 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS a class of readers." Mr. Beecher's egotisms were never used for self-glorification, but to illustrate and make real the truth he was unfolding. For almost half a century Henry Ward Beecher was one of the most conspicuous persons in American life. The product of his brain during all that time was enormous and exceedingly varied. That he moulded the opinions of men, there is no doubt; that he urged an intelligent and devoted adherence to Christianity, there can be no question ; that he entered deeply into the politics of his time is evident ; and through all his activity he was unfailing in the use of his voice and pen for what he considered the advancement of human society. CHAPTER X PHILLIPS BROOKS Dr. Holmes, once writing to Bishop Clark of Rhode Island and thanking him for his memorial sermon upon the character of Phil- lips Brooks, said, " It was a very serious office to which you felt yourself called, for you had to deal with a character which I believe is to stand as the ideal minister of the American gospel." Such words of appreciation are a just estimate of the great preacher's life. He was the ideal minister of the American gospel, for he gathered into himself the best elements of American manhood, he had the deepest faith in American institutions, he had the energy, the large vision, the persistent hope of the young nation dealing with its problems of government, education, and character. And he was peculiarly the preacher of a gospel. Many of the American clergy have written 341 342 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS books on various subjects, been influential in the affairs of state, been professors and heads of colleges, and through these various channels have affected American life, but the power of Phillips Brooks was the power of the preacher, the man who chose to reach the people through the spoken word; and throwing his whole per- sonality into his thought and its expression, he gave them the truth which he had to bring. Instead of writing books on hterary subjects, he wrote sermons which in themselves are literature. Born in Boston, December 13, 1835, he was educated in the best traditions of the city. He graduated at Harvard, and then studied for the ministry of the Episcopal church at the Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Vir- ginia. He passed a few years as a minister in Philadelphia, but returned to Boston as rector of Trinity Church in 1869, and was elected Bishop of Massachusetts in 1891. He was in every sense a Boston man, moulded by its culture, responding to its history, and giving impetus to its growth. He continued in his work and person the succession of the com- PHILLIPS BROOKS 343 manding figures in New England religious life. His ancestors had been conspicuous in New England history from John Cotton, the learned minister of Boston, to Samuel Phillips, who founded Andover Academy. So the piety and moral fibre of the Puritan were his by the right of inheritance, and the spirit of inde- pendent thought and breadth were bred by contact with the times in which he lived; these, combined with the genius and nobility of his own nature, brought back again the days of the great preachers who wielded men by the logic and force of their convictions. In college Phillips Brooks was a good scholar, a delightful companion, a loyal son of Harvard, and a student who gave great promise by his proficiency in English composition. He has told how the reading of " In Memoriam," just then published, was an event of the first importance in his student days. After graduation he made the first failure of his life. As a teacher in the Boston Latin School he was unable to control the rebellious spirits in his class ; and after the trial of a few months sent in his resignation with the words of Francis Gardner, the head-master, 344 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS ringing in his ears, "That he never knew a man who failed as a schoolmaster to succeed in any other occupation." However, after a period of discouragement, he went to Alexandria to study for the ministry. There he threw himself into the studies of the class room, and carried on an immense amount of private reading, keeping full notes and writing out his ideas in a series of note-books which have a great value now to those interested in his development, for they contain in a remarkable degree the germ of all his thinking. He made a full study of the Church Fathers in the original Greek and Latin, putting aside for future use in the note-books the strik- ing phrases, the thoughts that stimulated him, and the sentences that sprang up in his own mind as definitions or illustrations, and the sonnets that he wrote to celebrate in verse those who helped him most, a St. Jerome, or a Clement. One of his essays, written in the seminary days with the title, " The Centralizing Power of the Gospel," gives in outline many of the thoughts which were most characteristic of him in later years : " Truth centralizes not thought only, but affection and will," he wrote, PHILLIPS BROOKS 345 showing " that Christianity, if it claim to be a complete not a partial system for the redemp- tion of our life, must come with its central truth broad enough and true enough to embrace and save it all"; and the fulness of the moral life he found in Christ, " the Intellect coming up to say, ' Lord, teach me ' ; the Heart bringing its tribute of loyalty and love ; the Will with bowed head echoing the first Christian question, ' What wilt Thou have me do ? ' " From the very start, as rector of the Church of the Advent, Philadelphia, and later rector of Holy Trinity Church in the same city, Phillips Brooks was a great preacher. It was at once realized that his was a powerful nature, full of spiritual force and enthusiasm, ready to help all who might come to hear what he had to say. His fame soon spread abroad, and he leaped into national recognition when, during the Civil War, he preached his strong sermons on thanksgiving occasions or pressed home the lesson of some defeat or victory. Bred in the North, and look- ing upon slavery as the supreme curse of the land, he did not hesitate to preach against it and demand its suppression. Prominent people with- 346 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS drew from his church and the usual abuse that followed such a courageous expression of opin- ion was heaped upon him, but never for a moment did it restrain him. It was soon recog- nized throughout the country that a new ad- vocate of freedom had risen to uphold the administration in the carrying on of the war and to set before the people the moral purposes for which it was fought. He was determined to have the courage to speak out clearly. " The great vice of our people," he said, "in their relation to the politics of the land, is cowardice. It is not lack of intelligence : our people know the meaning of political conditions with won- derful sagacity. It is not low morality. ... It is cowardice." The two sermons, published in pamphlet form, that became immediately famous during the Philadelphia ministry, were " Our Mercies of Reoccupation," preached on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1863, and "The Life and Death of Abraham Lincoln," preached April 23, 1865, when the dead Presi- dent lay for a time in Philadelphia. The main thought of " Our Mercies of Reoccupation " was that at last the people PHILLIPS BROOKS 347 were beginning to appreciate the original principles of the government, and were reoc- cupying and entering into again, through the experiences of the war, the full intention of the founders of the Constitution. He gave thanks because the citizens were ready to enjoy "the full occupation of the government of their fathers, the reentrance into the prin- ciples and fundamental truths of the nation- ality which they inherited, but which, up to the beginning of this war, they had not begun worthily to occupy and use." In justi- fying his treatment of such a subject on Thanksgiving Day, the preacher asked, " Is it the part of earnest men just to come up to our churches and thank God for the cornfields and busy stores, and say nothing about the war .' " He said a great deal about the war and slavery, and especially to those who so misread their Bible as to confirm their desires to find in the sacred book arguments for the ownership of men. The statement that the Bible recognizes slavery was met by indicat- ing the fallacy in the two meanings of the word "recognition." "Men prove elaborately," 348 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS he contended, " that the fact of bondage is recognized in the Bible, which is indisputa- ble; and then they jump you over and tell you that they have proved that the right of bondage is recognized in the Bible, which is an entirely different thing, and which they have not proved at all." Referring to a ''Bishop who had upheld the Bible argument for slavery, he rejoiced that a protest had been made by clergy and laymen alike. "As name after name was added to that protest," he said, " as the assent came in so unani- mously from every direction — from the mis- sion chapels in the hills, from the cathedral churches in the city, from the seats of our schools and our seminary, and, above all, thank God, from the honored dignity of the Bishop's chair — it seemed to me as if every new assent wiped from the vesture of the church we love some stain of her compliance, and gave prom- ise of the day when she shall stand up in her perfect and unsullied excellence." The preacher made no compromises, and vehe- mently repelled the accusation that his church, as a whole, was in sympathy with slavery. PHILLIPS BROOKS 349 The sermon on " The Life and Death of Abraham Lincoln" was even more earnest in condemnation of the national sin. It was a just and glowing eulogy of Lincoln and a vindication of all that the President had stood for. In Lincoln was seen "the greatness of real goodness and the goodness of real great- ness." He was " the gentlest, kindest, most indulgent man that ever ruled a state." " If ever the face of a man writing solemn words glowed with a solemn joy," it was said, " it must have been the face of Abraham Lincoln as he bent over the page when the Emancipa- tion Proclamation of 1863 was growing into shape, and giving manhood and freedom as he wrote it to hundreds of thousands of his fellow-men. Here was a work in which his whole nature could rejoice. Here was an act that crowned the whole culture of his life." In one of those splendid generalizations for which Phillips Brooks was noted, the conflict which issued in the death of Lincoln was pictured as a struggle between two different types of American character. Until after the war there was no one American character that 3 so THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS extended throughout the land, but there were two characters in absolute opposition and deadly conflict. The death of the President was the result of the conflict of the two Ameri- can natures, the false and the true. " It was slavery and freedom that met in their two rep- resentatives," he exclaimed, "the assassin and the President. . . . Solemnly in the sight of God I charge this murder where it belongs, on slavery. By all the goodness that was in him, by all the love we had for him (and who shall tell how great it was ?), by all the sorrow that has burdened down this desolate and dreadful week, I charge his murder where it belongs, on slavery." Phillips Brooks's intense feeling of the sa- credness and righteousness of the Civil War found its most characteristic expression when he was called upon to make the prayer at the Harvard Commemoration service, July 21, 1865. This was the occasion on which Lowell read the " Commemoration Ode," and famous speeches were made as the names of the Har- vard men who died for their country were honored, but the testimony of many present PHILLIPS BROOKS 351 during the exercises was that the greatest im- mediate effect was produced by the prayer of Phillips Brooks. In his vehement and eager way he lifted up his mighty form, and poured forth, as a representative of the people, the pain and sorrow of the war, the thanksgiving for the lives of heroism, and the clear view of moral questions that had come, and the joy of victory in the vindication of God's pur- poses. In extemporaneous speech Mr. Brooks was always most moving and effective; when he joined to it the intellectual and spiritual attitude of prayer he seemed like one inspired. There was such dignity and reverence, such rapid, breathless unburdening of himself in the presence of the Almighty, that all were lifted up into the greatness of his thought, and felt their souls go out in communion with God through the fervency of his appeal. Phillips Brooks came to the men of his gen- eration distinctly as the preacher. In all his public addresses, even after-dinner speeches, which were few in number, in his lectures and books, he was moved by the thought of deliv- ering a message which had fired his own soul. 352 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS and he knew would inspire others with truth and genuine motives for action. He refused the many requests for magazine articles, con- tributing two or three only, — one upon the character of his friend. Dean Stanley, for the Atlantic Monthly, and another for the Prince- ton Review on "The Pulpit and Popular Scepticism." The pulpit was the place of his greatest power. Whether in his own church or in others, in the great English cathedrals, or addressing workingmen in Faneuil Hall or at theatre services, or at the noon-day services during Lent in St. Paul's Church, Boston, or Trinity Church, New York, when the men of Wall Street crowded to hear him, he made an overwhelming impression. He was like no other preacher that the people had heard before. With no effort at oratory in the popular sense, and no attempt at producing a sensation, but with an absolute simplicity of manner and earnestness of thought he gave his own great conception of life and eternity, so beautifully set forth with the aid of his poetic imagination and the sincerity and faith of his own soul that no one could help catch- PHILLIPS BROOKS 353 ing some of the greatness of his thought. In referring to Phillips Brooks as preeminently the preacher, the term is used in no narrow sense, but rather as a comprehensive word to include the richness and varied qualities of his nature as they found expression through his personality. His own definition of preach- ing is broad enough, as truth uttering itself through personality. The larger and more pro- found the truth and the greater the personality, so much greater must be the preacher's office. Truth to him meant not only doctrinal truth, or even Christian truth, technically so called, it meant all truth which the human mind and soul could gain in contact with nature, life, ex- perience, history, literature, religion, and God. It was universal and spiritual, ?,nd its mission was to educate and inspire men and nations so that they might Uve as God intended them to live, performing the humble task in the light of eternal purposes, and working out the destiny which was to be their redemption. His conception of the preacher's office was to unite, in a supreme effort of giving, the scholar's knowledge, the scientist's discovery, the phi- 354 J'HE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS losopher's insight, the faith of sainthood, the poet's interpretation, the theologian's doctrine, the experiences of -common life, the teachings of Jesus, to produce character, hope, and love. All that he gained from his study and expe- riences of life, his prayer, and his intercourse with men, he fused together into a mighty message, which he gave unreservedly and with the force of genius to the thoughtful people of his own age and generation. As a preacher the physical stature of the man helped his power. Some one said, " To see him in the pulpit was in itself a message." He was six feet four inches in height, with a body kingly in proportions. His head, large, with a noble brow and finely chiselled features, was an indi- cation of the breadth and largeness of all his thinking, and of the delicacy and refinement of his nature. But the eyes were what gave the nobility and expression to the face. They were large and dark, and when filled with earnestness or righteous indignation they seemed to double in size, and one felt the whole man's soul behind them. They glowed with fire or were soft with the tenderness of pleading. At times they were PHILLIPS BROOKS 355 like the eyes of a lion at bay, so fierce they were in condemnation of wrong, and brave in uphold- ing what he considered right. As the preacher proceeded in his sermon, though there were few gestures, the whole body seemed to sway with emotion and intensity, the head was thrown back, and the eyes seemed to focus in their liv- ing power the force of the whole message. The words came with rushing rapidity as thought after thought, imagery and parable, argument and exhortation, flowed as in a torrent. Every motion was rapid, as if his loins were girded for a great undertaking. The hearer was carried out of himself, his pulses beat quicker, and his mind was stimulated to grasp the meaning of the splendid array of facts, generalizations, illus- trations that were presented to him. People went away saying, " How good it is to be alive," and " How easy it seems to be heroic " ; and the impression that the preacher made was a lasting one. It was not forgotten ; and when he was heard constantly the effect of all the previous sermons seemed to live again and increase the power of the new one by a process of spiritual accumulation. But in all this rapidity of thought 3S6 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS there was no hasty preparation or vagueness of thought. There was both exactness of analysis and unity of subject; and the total impression was definite, the central theme standing out clearly from the carefully related parts. One of the important artistic effects of the preaching was the sense it gave of the accuracy with which a great force moved, rapidly, but with the swift- ness of a perfect aim. In the " Lectures on Preaching " deUvered before the Divinity School of Yale College in 1877, and published in book form, Phillips Brooks has given his most thoughtful estimate of preaching and revealed the methods and principles that guided him in his successful work. These brilliant lectures were a worthy successor to the earlier ones by Henry Ward Beecher. They became at once popular, being read by all sorts and conditions of people as well as by theological students. The sim- plicity of outline of the lectures is apparent from the topics chosen : " The Two Elements in Preaching," " The Preacher Himself," "The Preacher in his Work," "The Idea of the Sermon," " The Congregation," " The PHILLIPS BROOKS 357 Ministry for Our Age," and " The Value of the Human Soul." While all the lectures are remarkable in their insight into the preacher's work and rich with metaphor and suggestion, the most characteristic are those that deal with the elements of preaching, the preacher himself, and the kind of ministry needed for the age. The elements in preaching were truth and personality, the one made real and definite through the other. Truth, not mechani- cal, or microscopic, but large, and broad, and vital, should be brought to men through the medium of the earnest personality of the preacher who possesses that quality that kin- dles at the sight of men, "that keen joy at the meeting of truth and the human mind, and recognizes how God made them for each other. It is the power by which a man loses himself and becomes but the sympathetic atmosphere between the truth on the one side of him and the man on the other side of him." And in the treatment of themes the lecturer urged, as he so well exhibited in his own work, breadth of handling, "largeness of movement, the great utterance of great truths, the great 358 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS enforcement of great duties, as distinct from the minute, and subtle, and ingenious treatment of little topics, side issues of the soul's life, bits of anatomy, the bric-a-brac of theology." No one has urged more earnestly than Phillips Brooks the need of having a man stand behind the Word, a man wide in sympathies, deep in thought, and manly, speaking out of the ful- ness of his life. The age certainly heard Phillips Brooks, and it was, in a measure, because he carried out in his practice the principles that he laid down in his lectures. But the age also heard him because he was a great man with a large soul and a rich personality with a genius for spir- itual expression. His various volumes of ser- mons, from the first, published in 1878, to the last, printed after his death, in 1896, were as successful in their sales as many popular novels. Not since Bushnell and Beecher was there such a universally known and loved clergyman as Phillips Brooks. The volumes of sermons that became most noted were, " The Candle of the Lord and other Sermons," " Ser- mons preached in English Churches," "Twenty PHILLIPS BROOKS 359 Sermons," and "The Light of the World and other Sermons." These sermons were pub- lished during his life and received the final revision from his own hand. The other vol- umes, " Sermons for the Principal Festivals and Fasts of the Church Year " and " New Starts in Life," were collected and printed after his death. Though Mr. Brooks did not like to refer to the sermon as a work of art to be elaborately wrought out with the self-consciousness of a literary achievement, in his own case each ser- mon was as much an artistic whole as if it had been a poem. The central idea, either the subject chosen, or the brilliant metaphor of the text, was wrought into the body of the work as related to every part of it and made more distinct rather than confused by the sub- divisions and applications. As an illustration of this unity of plan and thought, "The Symmetry of Life" may be taken. The con- ception of a rounded and complete human life is likened to the mystic city, " the holy Jeru- salem," of which it was said, " the Length and the Breadth and the Height of it are equal." 36o THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS This sermon finds its natural divisions in the three dimensions of a full human life, its length, its breadth, and its height. The ser- mon called " The Wings of the Seraphim," drawn from Isaiah's glowing imagery, finds natural and artistic divisions in the theme itself. Each seraph had " six wings ; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly." The wings covering the face represented rev- erence, those covering the feet, self-efface- ment, those with which he did fly illustrated active obedience ; and these are used to pic- ture the reverent, self-sacrificing, and obedient life. Many other examples might be given as in "The Pattern in the Mount" or "Back- grounds and Foregrounds " to show the dra- matic unity of these discourses. There is a scheme, almost a deliberate plot, in each ser- mon which it is interesting to watch as it develops through to the climax. As striking as is the form of these sermons the subject-matter is what makes them great. They are filled with vitality. They deal not with abstract doctrines so much as with life. PHILLIPS BROOKS 361 They express the opinions, the judgments, and the ideals of a man who was intensely living in every part of his nature, full of enthusiasm and loving humanity. The sermons, therefore, are great interpretations of human life in its com- plexity, failures, and possibilities. Scattered throughout them are to be found epigrams, wise sayings, fascinating similes, the principles of the statesman, the love of the patriot, the ardor of the reformer, the insight of the poet, and the faith of the follower of Jesus. If one wants to get at the views of Phillips Brooks on an almost infinite variety of subjects, it is only necessary to read his sermons. The whole range of his knowledge and experience he drew upon for his sermons, not in any pedantic way, for he seldom made quotations, nor in didactic fashions, but he used his knowledge just as it happened to illustrate what he was talking about. A street scene in Florence, a sunset among the Alps, a rock-hewn temple in India, or a bit of knowledge he picked up at a Ger- man university were brought into the sermons with as much frankness as the more special knowledge derived from his theological studies. 362 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS He rarely ever preached upon topics which were called timely ; that is, they did not at once suggest contemporary events in a sensational way ; but the sermons were full of present inter- est, and the people were never left in any doubt what his views were on the questions of the hour though they were referred to indirectly rather than directly. A beautiful direct refer- ence to the occasion was when he preachdd in Westminster Abbey on the eve of the Fourth of July, 1880. At the end of the sermon he said these words which endeared him to Eng- lishmen and Americans alike : " If I dare," he said, — " generously permitted as I am to stand this evening in the venerable Abbey, so full of our history as well as yours — to claim that our festival shall have some sacredness for you as well as for us, my claim rests on the simple truth that to all true men the birthday of a nation must always be a sacred thing. For in our modern thought the nation is the making- place of men." Patriotism becomes always a noble thing as it is defined by the preacher in the application of his principle to the state, a frequent head in his sermons. " Two men both PHILLIPS BROOKS * 363 love their country : one loves her because of the advantage that he gets from her, the help that she gives to his peculiar interests. The other loves her for herself, for her embodiment of the ideas which he believes are truest and divinest and most human. One uses the country, the other asks the country to use him." A special characteristic of these sermons is the analysis of human life with the highest spiritual interpretation put upon every phase of it. The knowledge of the motives of human action is surprising, and the details of ambition and desire are most clearly seen. No duty is put before one without an ardent appeal in the very statement of it. Human character is scrutinized and examined as Browning analyzes. Phillips Brooks has written the inner biography of all conditions of men, with an earnestness and sympathy, a delicacy and refinement of touch that nothing can surpass, with forbear- ance and infinite faith in their possibilities. The young college man and the young busi- ness man, with the strength of youth and the attractive future of success before them, are favorite subjects in the sermons, as also the 364 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS professional man, the reformer, the scholar, and the statesman. Where will one find a more manly picture of what a normal young life should be than in the sermon called "The Choice Young Man," who, according to the definition, "is the true young man. He is the human creature in whom the best material of the world, which is manhood, exists in its best condition, which is youth." The ser- mon on "Gamaliel" delivered at the Temple Church, London, in 1883, contains a beautiful description of the life of a teacher in relation to a pupil who becomes famous. Such a teacher is one of those men who give other men the chance to make history rather than make it themselves. They themselves are almost of necessity relegated to obscurity. The very splendor of the career of their pupils, of which they are the creating cause, makes it impossible for the world to see them ; "as the flash of fire from the gun's mouth and the rush of the burning shell on its tre- mendous way makes it impossible to see the gun itself in whose deep heart the power was conceived and born." PHILLIPS BROOKS 365 Of the poetic use of the imagination in the sermons, there are many examples, both in the structure of the writings themselves and in the details. The mind of Phillips Brooks was of the poet's delicate make. Noble poetry thrilled him, and through the sweep of his imagination he seemed to behold truth as a reality. The vision and the ideal became facts to him through the penetrative and interpre- tative insight of the imagination. Occasionally he wrote verse. Little of it has ever been printed. The best known of his lines are in the " Christmas Carol," which he wrote for the children of his Sunday-school, and were then incorporated in " The Hymnal " of the Episcopal church : — " O little town of Bethlehem ! How still we see thee lie ; Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by ; Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting Light ; The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee to-night.'' When Mr. Brooks returned from his last trip abroad in 1892, he wrote a sonnet which has 366 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS since been printed as a slight prologue to the volume "New Starts in Life." It is called "The Waiting City," and contains the image of the perfect city with the ideal life for each soul waiting for the entrance of the rightful owner : — " A city throned upon the height behold, Wherein no foot of man as yet has trod, The City of Man's Life fulfilled in God, Bathed all in light, with open gates of gold ; Perfect the City is in tower and street ; And there a palace for each mortal waits. Complete and perfect, at whose outer gates An Angel stands its occupant to greet." The sermons are full of imagery, as in "The Sea of Glass mingled with Fire," "The Giant with the Wounded Heel," "The Fire and the Calf," "The Curse of Meroz," and "The Mys- tery of Light." The sea and the forests are given a dim kind of personality which expresses itself in the language of parable. The moun- tain rivulet and the great tides of the ocean have a message for men. The noble building or the beautiful jewel sends abroad an uplift- ing influence and makes an appeal to the soul. It was this feeling that made him bring PHILLIPS BROOKS 367 home from India gorgeous robes, because he loved them for their color, and necklaces of native stones, because their brilliancy fasci- nated him. As he pictured transcendent scenes of human thought and imagination, it was most natural for him to use these colors and jewels as pigments to heighten the effect. His love for art is well illustrated by the intensity of his feeling when he saw for the first time at Dresden the "Madonna di San Sisto." "There is no use," he writes, "trying to tell what a man feels who has been waiting to enjoy something for fifteen years, and, when it comes, finds it something unspeakably beyond what he had dreamed." All this love for beauty in art, nature, and the soul's life permeates the sermons and makes them rich and brilliant. Whatever one may decide to be the power of Phillips Brooks as a preacher, it must include the total impression of the man's work as that of a great personality, doing his duty, as he conceives it, in uplifting human life by the presentation of truth. One cannot omit his interpretations of history, as 368 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS the Divine influence is seen in the growth and decay of civilization, or his emphasis on life as a gift of God with the continuity of God's influence throughout the individual's experience coming through the crisis and loves and consecrations of each man's life as it enters " The Beautiful Gate of the Temple," which is childhood, and runs its course to "The Certain End," which is death, the name for a new beginning in a higher sphere of life. It is impossible to consider a preacher apart from his philosophy or, if you please, his theology. In the theology of the man is to be seen the underlying currents of his thought, and those controlling conceptions which color and temper his intellectual and spiritual life. It has sometimes been said that Phillips Brooks was not a theologian. In the scholastic and pedantic sense this may be true, though few men were more familiar with the history of the church and the doctrinal con- troversies. He knew them at first hand, read- ing the contemporary books of the special discussions in the original tongues. But above this he was a theologian by the use of PHILLIPS BROOKS 369 his own powers of reasoning as applied to nature, history, man's life, and God. He arrived at truth often by a splendid intuition. Knowing the facts of man's life, he inter- preted them, after analysis and induction in the light of God, and stated his conclusions in simple form. He nowhere propounded and defended a system as the older theolo- gians did, but every sermon and public ad- dress had in it the essential ideas of his theology. He may not be called a system- atic theologian, but he must be recognized as a creative theologian, giving new thoughts and conceptions concerning God's relations to man. He was influenced, to a greater or less degree, by Coleridge, Robertson, Maurice, and Kings- ley, in England, and by Schleiermacher and the German poets, feeling the same impulse of the mystical and philosophical thought which wrought in Carlyle and Ruskin. Of the same general nature as the sermons were the Bohlen Lectures delivered in Philadel- phia in 1879 and published under the title " The Influence of Jesus." The lectures are four in number, and deal with the subject of the influ- 2B 370 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS ence of Jesus on the moral, social, emotional, and intellectual life of man. In their completeness and minute study of the person and work of Jesus they constitute an interpretative Life of Christ. They do not retell the story of the outer life of Jesus, the incidents and experiences of his career, but they examine his thought and methods of teaching, the faith that lay behind the outward act, his conception of man's spiritual nature, his relationship to individuals and social forces, and his idea of truth as an intellectual attainment. The lectures on the influence of Jesus on the social and intellectual life of man are striking, as is also the one dealing with the influence of Christ on the emotional life. In this last-named lecture there occurs the interesting discussion whether Jesus had anything in his nature of what we call the sense of artistic beauty. While acknowl- edging the impetus given to the growth of art by the church, which must have come from the moral harmony of the person of the founder of the church, the lecturer is compelled to say that the great impression of the life of Jesus must always be "of the subordinate importance of those things in which only the aesthetic nature PHILLIPS BROOKS 371 finds its pleasure. There is no condemnation of them in that wise, deep life. But the fact always must remain that the wisest, deepest life that ever lived left them on one side, was satis- fied without them." Of the social life of Jesus the key to it is discovered in the desire to foster the consciousness of sonship by intercourse with all who are fellow-sons of the same Father. The social gospel appears in the scenes of the nativity, where there is a father, a mother, and a child ; and Mr. Brooks adds : " No religion which began like that could ever lose its char- acter. The first unit of human life, the soul, is there in the new-born personality of the child- hood. But the second unit of human life, the family, is just as truly there in the familiar rela- tion of husband and wife and the sacred, eternal mystery of motherhood." Of the patriotism of Jesus there is a noble account which is a defini- tion of the truest love of country. "There is something," he said, "in the quality of his patriotism which is pecuHar, which separates it from the patriotism of the Athenian or the Roman. What is that quality .' It is the con- stant predominance of the sonship to God over 372 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS the sonship to David in his consciousness, mak- ing him always eager for the land of David, because of the interests of God which it en- shrined." The favorite word of the intellectual life of Jesus is truth, but truth with a moral element in it. It is not simply search for facts, but a spiritual appreciation of the deepest facts, the greatest men being those in whom you cannot separate their mental and moral lives. In the comparison between Socrates and Jesus it is shown that " Socrates argues, Jesus reveals." When the last conversation of Socrates, as re- lated in the Phsedo, is put beside the last inter- view of Jesus with his disciples the difference between the two is made manifest. Socrates has stoicism which enables him to joke with his friends, but to Jesus it is a supreme experience of love and a setting forth of love as an element in truth. Mr. Brooks contended for the sym- metry of truth, comprehensive and harmonious in all its parts. "Truth, when it is won," he asserts, " is the possession of the whole nature. By the action of the whole nature only can it be gained." " The Influence of Jesus " is one of the few PHILLIPS BROOKS 373 attempts of Phillips Brooks to write a book on a chosen subject, sustained throughout the whole of it. His other books, with the excep- tion of "The Lectures on Preaching," are col- lections of separate sermons or orations. In the volume under consideration we have there- fore an example of his powers in consecutive thought, and in drawing with freedom upon his knowledge of the New Testament, history, and philosophy. It contains the essence of his thought, expressed with the characteristic virility of his style. It was natural that Mr. Brooks, with his great reputation as a preacher, should be asked to lend the weight of his words to many public occasions, like anniversaries, dedi- cations, meetings in behalf of charities, and conferences of associations. His presence at such times always gave a new interest to the assemblage; and it was not until he had fin- ished speaking that those present felt that the final word had been said. He dominated every such meeting, for he not only expressed its meaning, but put upon it the most spiritual interpretation. While others might instruct, 374 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS and argue, and even amuse, he immediately lifted the whole occasion upon a higher plane, and connected the particular subject or event with the movement of the world-forces making for righteousness. He once said, " Never fear to bring the sublimest motive to the smallest duty, and the most infinite comfort to the smallest trouble." This was his own method. He dealt with the simplest subject in the pro- phetic mood, which possessed him at once when he brought his whole nature to consider the subject assigned to him. His occasional addresses, therefore, are among his best work, and rightfully take their place by the side of the great American orations. Some of these addresses are collected in a volume, called " Essays and Addresses," pub- lished in 1894, after his death. This book indi- cates the variety of his gifts, the exactness of his scholarship, his knowledge of history and literature, and his keen analysis of the charac- ters of many of the world's greatest men. "The Purposes of Scholarship," delivered be- fore the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Brown's University, in 1869, is a superb description of PHILLIPS BROOKS 375 the ideal uses of scholarship under the inspira- tion of which the scholar performs his duty to the world as prophet, philosopher, ruler, and saint. " Milton as an Educator," prepared for the Massachusetts Teachers' Association, in 1874, presents the great poet in a new light, and adds to the message of his verse the great principles of his prose writings. It is shown that this "typical Englishman was a school- master, and one of the most thoughtful and suggestive reasoners on education that the Eng- lish race ever produced," whose thoughts on ideal education were marked by their natural- ness, practicalness, and nobleness. Though the experience of Mr. Brooks as a teacher was far from pleasant, he always had the most pro- found interest in the subject of education. Schools and colleges were a delight to him, especially the Boston Latin School and Harvard University. Outside of his own church there was no place that held so deep a place in his affections as Harvard. He was one of the trustees, preacher to the University, and ap- pointed to the Plummer Professorship of Morals, which he declined. There was no preacher 376 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS whom the students loved as they did Phillips Brooks. They were proud of him, and claimed him as their own. When he conducted morn- ing prayer in the chapel or saw them privately in Wadsworth House, they felt that religion must be true if such a man believed in it ; and his manly and straightforward ideas appealed to them as no theological reasoning would have done. The personality of the great man swayed by great thoughts was an object lesson in vital religion which inspired them. The Baccalaureate sermon by Phillips Brooks was always an event of the first importance. His conception of the Harvard spirit, the college being to him, as he expressed it, " a living per- sonality," was that of a wholesome and manly courageousness. The same feelings are shown in the oration delivered at the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Boston Latin School in 1885. The finest historical sense is revealed in drawing the pictures of the great school- masters during this whole period, from the shadowy Philemon Pormort to Francis Gard- ner, " the most patient mortal and the most im- patient." "A great school is a great person," PHILLIPS BROOKS 377 he said, " only it has what we men vainly desire, the privilege of growing mature without any of the weakness of growing old." The two distinctly literary addresses are " Biography " and " Literature and Life." The first shows a great range of reading and a delicate perception of the true note in many illustrious lives ; and the second a genuine ap- preciation of literature as the expression of life. This last thought, however, runs through both the addresses : " Biography is, in its very name, the literature of life . . . and since the noblest life on the earth is always human life, the literature which deals with human life must always be the noblest literature ; " and again : " Life comes before literature as the material always comes before the work. To own and recognize this priority of life is the first need of literature. Literature which does not utter a life already existent, more funda- mental than itself, is shallow and unreal." The same dehghtful literary quality appears in the address at the celebration by the Evan- gelical Alliance of the four hundredth anni- versary of the birth of Martin Luther. This 378 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS was delivered in New York City in 1883. It shows more than an accurate knowledge of the history of Luther and the Reformation; it enters into the spirit of the man and the movement, and is full of splendid generaliza- tions that seem to embody the total signifi- cance of the whole epoch. In the personality of Luther, "the moralist and the mystic," is found the secret of his power. " Some men are events," the speaker said ; " it is not what they say or what they do, but what they are, that moves the world. Luther declared great truths ; he did great deeds ; and yet there is a certain sense in which his words and deeds are valuable only as they show him, as they made manifest a son of God living a strong, brave, clear-sighted human life." It is in this speech that the striking illustration occurs about Luther and Cromwell as the two men " on whom, more than on any others, the great gates seem to turn and open which let the race through from the old world into the new." The love that Phillips Brooks had for the sterner men of history, those uncompromis- ing men who faced opposition and carried their PHILLIPS BROOKS 379 point at the cost of a revolution, is nowhere better illustrated than in his speech " On the Landing of the Pilgrims " at the dinner of the New England Society in Brooklyn in 1892. Even here he could not shake himself free from the homiletical spirit. As a greeting to the New England men he quotes from St. James the phrase, "to the Twelve Tribes which are scattered abroad," and he finds the text of his speech in Genesis : " ' Out of the Garden of Eden there came forth a river' and from thence it was parted and divided into four heads like a Puritan sermon." In his treatment, the four rivers soon became the streams of religious liberty, popular govern- ment, universal education, and the trusteeship of the world, which he considered the gifts of Puritanism. "There is always showing itself out of the depths of Puritanism," he said, " the great public spirit which meddles with the things of all the earth and which will show its force when that force is called for. It stands like a rusty gun in a corner of the room ; but let no one ever fool with Puritanism, thinking it is not loaded, for by and by it will go off." 38o THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Few men enjoyed so fully the adventures and irresponsible wanderings into strange places as he did. After his first extended journey, in 1865, which included a visit to the Holy Land, he went abroad every few years for rest and observation. A trip abroad was to him not only the "nicest, largest, and pleasantest life in the world," it gave him an opportunity to see men in various stages of development, to learn their customs and moods, to come personally in contact with history, to refresh his mind with new beauties and ideas, to meet men who were doing important work in the world, and to give him a grasp of life, both genuine and universal. Any one who enjoys his sermons must see how much they gained in picturesqueness and brilliancy from the experiences of foreign travel. Many of his most charming friendships came from his English and continental visits. Dean Stanley, Canon Farrar, and Tennyson were seen in their own homes, and he was a welcome guest at Westminster and Farringford. Tennyson used to read to him his poems, and enjoyed his large and healthy view of things. "The PHILLIPS BROOKS 38 1 more my father saw of him," says Hallam Tennyson, "the more he reverenced his cheer- ful Christianity, his hard work in the cause of truth, and his common-sense criticism of men and public affairs. Not less high was the regard by the Bishop." The intense pleasure of Mr. Brooks in foreign travel is revealed in his letters to his family, which have been preserved in that most delightful volume the "Letters of Travel." It contains the* full and descriptive letters, which he wrote with characteristic regularity, of his visits to many lands. He simply recorded his impressions as he went from place to place, with a comment here and a bit of local color there. When one reads them, it is like being his travelling com- panion. They are unconventional and frank. The quality that one finds in them is that of a perfectly serious man who gives vent to the lighter sides of his nature, and revels with boyish delight in old ruins, ancient cities, curious habits, and harmless adventures. Lowell, once walking with a friend, saw a building with the sign upon it, " Home for 382 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS Incurable Children," and remarked, "They'll take me there some day." The same fresh- ness of youth with its unexpectedness and curiosity were displayed by Phillips Brooks in his trips abroad. The letters show how much he had of playfulness and humor. "When the little children in Venice want to take a bath," he wrote to one of his nieces, "they just go down to the front steps of the house and jump off and swim in the street." When sending home money for a Christmas present, he wrote to the same little girl, " You must ask yourself what you want, but without letting yourself know about it, and get it, too, and put it in your stocking, and be very much surprised when you find it there." The letters have, however, excellent bits of description, as when he writes about a night at the House of Commons. " It was one of the great nights of the Reform Bill," he said, "the best men on both sides spoke : Gladstone, calm, cool, clear, and courteous; Disraeli, jerky, spiteful, personal, very telling; Bright, honest, solid, indignant with the trickery and meanness of the opposition ; Mill, who holds people by PHILLIPS BROOKS 383 sheer power of thought, as I' have hardly ever seen any man do." Of peoples and cities there are good character sketches. Edinburgh was "the queen of cities, the most romantic, picturesque, un-American, old-world town that ever was." The Germans were "frank, kind, sociable, and hearty. They give you an idea of a people with ever so much yet to do in the world, capable of much fresh thought and action," while "Austria really seems to be no nation at all, made up, as it were, of a heap of people and languages which have no asso- ciation with each other." The Norwegians were "a most thrifty, decent, poverty-stricken people, perfectly honest, and not at all hand- some." One cannot omit the account of the Mohammedan Lent as it is observed by the men who "fast all the daytime and carry on all night. Their worst privation is from tobacco. It is terrible to go through the bazaars and see the poor old fellows looking so melancholy and cross, holding their pipes all ready filled, awaiting the sunset to light up." This privation of smoking must have seemed a great one to Mr. Brooks, for once, 384 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS when visiting Windsor Castle, he was com- pelled, because there was no smoking room, to sit under the open chimney in the high and wide fireplace and enjoy his cigar, let- ting the smoke ascend without contaminating the air breathed by royalty. The letters, as a whole, are like the man, most human, and filled with the exuberance of a nature that hated artificiality and cant, but loved the whole- some pleasures which increased the strenuous- ness and impetus of manly action. The life of Phillips Brooks in its varied aspect was that of a stalwart American citizen who won the affection and appreciation of his generation by the earnestness of his life as a tolerant and inspiring leader in all things that make for the best interests of a nation. He was a preacher, but he ,was also a marked per- sonality, who impressed himself upon the time, and will ever be remembered as a representa- tive American to whom men will gladly refer, when they try to point out the possibilities of American manhood. When he died the city of Boston went into mourning, and the nation honored him as few men have been remem- PHILLIPS BROOKS 385 bered. The strong young Harvard men who acted as pall-bearers, and bore him aloft upon their shoulders to the altar of Trinity Church, which is his monument, were simply represen- tatives of the vast numbers of men whose lives were truer and nobler because he lived. As an example of the influence of the American clergy in the nineteenth century, no more fit- ting man could be selected. INDEX Abbott, Jacob, 48, 76 ; the Rollo books of, on education, 77; historical books of, 78, 79, 80. Abbott, J. S. C, 48; books of, 72, 73 ; his aim in writing, 73 ; on slavery, 75. Abolitionists, clergy among, 32, 216 ; their opinion of Webster, 251 ; Bushnell on the, 277. "A Bumble Bee's Thoughts on the Plan and Purposes of the Universe," Parker's, 243. Adams, Henry, 9. Adams, John, 16, 70, 196. Adams, J. Q., 192, 214, 244. Adams, Samuel, 68. Addison, Rev. W. D., 24. "Additional Speeches," Parker's, ZS7- " A Discourse of Matters Pertain- ing to Religion," Parker's, 236, 237- "A Dissertation on the Bible," Dwighl's, 159. "A Fable for Critics," Lowell's, 229. "A Face Illumined," Roe's, 112. " A Family Tablet," A. Holmes's, 65. "Airs of Palestine," Pierpont's, 85. 24S- Alabama, 255. Albany, 259. Alcott, 241. Alexander, Archibald, 119; as theologian, 137; writings of, 140. Alexandria, 256, 342, 344. Allen, Thomas, 19. Allston, Washington, 107, 192. Alsop, Richard, 161. American Antiquarian Society, 64. • American Colonization Society, I39. American hymnology, the growth of, 97 ; writers of, 97-102. Andover Academy, 343. Andover Theological Seminary, 185, 293- Andrews, James O., 31. " An Essay on the Stage," Dwight's, 182. " Annals of America," A. Holmes's, 61. Anselm, 298. Antioch College, 289. " Antony Brade," 92. Appleton, Nathaniel, 62. Arbor Day, 104. Arminianism, 129. Arnold, Matthew, 109. Asbury, 114. Atlantic Monthly, 336, 352. Augusta, Me., 103. Austria, 383. Bacon, Leonard, 100. Baird, Robert, 119. Baldwin, Thomas, loi. 387 388 INDEX Bale, 245. Ballou, Hosea, 44; hymns of, loi : writings of, 141 ; as a Unitarian, 142; humor of, 143. Baltimore, 128, 198, 255. Baltimore Herald, 118. Bancroft, George, 121, 262. Baptists, hymns of, loi; writers among, 113 ; Professor Dimon on, 117 ; theology of, 117 ; mis- sionary society of, 118. Barlow, Joel, i6i. Barnes, Albert, 119. " Barriers Burned Away," Roe's, no. Bartol, Cyrus, 293. Bass, Edward, 16. Baur, 234, 245. Baxter, Joseph, 26. Beecher, Henry Ward, visits England, 36; novels of, 102; home of, 127 ; boyhood of, 304 ; early days, 305 ; at Lawrence- burg, 306; early journalistic work of, 306; called to Plym- outh Church, 307 ; preaches to crowds, 30B; studies of men and things, 309; presence and manner of, 310; Dr. Storrs's estimate of, 311; theology of, 313; on evolution, 315-317; lectures at Yale, 317; humor of, 319; as a journalist, 322; an editor, 324; writes "Star Papers," 325 ; writes " Nor- wood," 326; on slavery, 329; as a politician, 330; during Civil War, 331 ; his speeches in England, 333-339; after the Civil War, 339; estimate of, 340 ; lectures of, 356 ; fame of, 358. Beecher, Lyman, on duelling, 26 ; on temperance, 27, 126; influ- ence on Henry Ward, 304; accused of heresy, 305 ; on loud preaching, 320. Beethoven Musical Society, 271. Belknap, Jeremy, 48; histories of. 54. 55i 56 ; writes " The For- resters," 56, 57 ; diary of, during the Revolution, 59; writes " Life of Isaac Watts," 60; on General Lee, 60. Bellows, Dr., 107. Bennington, 19. Berkeley, Bishop, 49, 196. " Biography," Brooks's, 377, Birney, J. G., 216, 219, 322. Bladensburg, 24. Blair, James, 6. Bohlen Lectures, 369. Bonner, Robert, 326. Boston, 129, 130 198 ; Ministerial Association of, 236 ; Parker in, 24s, 246 ; fugitive slaves in, 252, 254; capitalists of, 254, 255; and Alexandria, 256; John Brown in, 257 ; Kansas Com- mittee of, 258 ; Phillips Brooks in, 342. Boston Gazette, 64. Boston Latin School, 343, 375. Boston Port Act, 59. Boston University, n6. Brainard, David, 40. Brainard, John, 100. Brattle, William, 62. Breckenridge, John, iig, 124, Bridgeport, 285. Bright, John, 382. Brook Farm, 241, 245. Brooklyn, 308, 322. Brooklyn Fourteenth Regiment, 332. Brooks, Phillips, a representative preacher, 132; Holmes's esti- mate of, 241; elected bishop INDEX 389 342 ; birth of, 342 ; early life of, 342 ; in college, 343 ; teacher in Latin School, 343; early writ- ings, 344; on slavery, 345; at Harvard Commemoration, 350; extemporaneous speeches of, 351 ; as a preacher, 353-356 ; his " Lectures on Preaching," 356 ; sermons of, 359 ; preaches in Westminster Abbey, 362 ; poems of, 365 ; delivers the Bohlen lectures, 369; theology of, 369; speaks on various occasions, 372; his love for Harvard, 375 ; Baccalaureate sermons of, 376; literary ad- dresses of, 377; on Martin Luther, 378; addresses the New England Society, 379: his love of foreign travel, 380; Tennyson on, 380; his "Let- ters of Travel," 381 ; visits House of Commons, 382; es- timate of, 384; at Windsor Castle, 384 ; death of, 384. Brown, John, raid of, 230, 249; in Boston, 257, 258 ; execution of, 258 ; Parker on, 258 ; chains of, 311. Brown, J. N., loi. Brown University, 7, 117; Way- land, president of, 144 ; oration of Phillips Brooks at, 374. Browning, 363. Brownson, Augustus, 125. Brownson's Quarterly Review, 125- Buckminster, Joseph, 22. Bull Run, 380. Bunker Hill, 164, 189, 284. " Burden of Dumah," Dwight's, 181. Burgess, George, loi, 135. Burns, Anthony, 255. Burr, Aaron, 25, 26. Bushnell, Horace, 32, 125; de- fended by Porter, 127 ; frag- ment of his biography, 268; early days of, 270; influence of, 270; in college, 271; news- paper work of, 272; travels abroad, 273 ; writes to the Pope, 273 ; sermons of, 275 ; on slavery, 276 ; his Fast Day ser- mon, 277; on Bull Run, 280; on parochial schools, 2S1 ; secures a park in Hartford, 2S3; speech before the New England Society, 286; on Womans* Suffrage, 288 ; reli- gious writings of, 290-293; speaks at Yale, Andover, and Harvard, 293 ; writes " Chris- tian Nurture," 294; writes " God in Christ," 297 ; heresy of, 298 ; his " Moral Use of Dark Things," 300 ; humor of, 301 ; estimate of, 302 ; fame of, ass- Butler, General, 330. Byles, Mather, 2, 100. Cabot, J. E., 243. Csesarea, 109. " Caleb Williams," Godwin's, 197. Calhoun, John C, 323. California, 129, 270, 272, 281, Canada, 254. Carlyle, 245, 273, 369. Carol, John, 123. Cartwright, Peter, 115. Channing, Henry, 194. Channing, William Ellery, on War of 1812, 22 ; on temper- ance, 28 ; on the abolitionists, 32 ; at the ordination of Jared Sparks, 128; a conservative, 129; literary work of, 191; 39° INDEX Renan on, 191 ; Martineau on, 192; birth of, 193; tutor in Virginia, 193 ; early life of, 193 ; classmates of, 194; in New London, 194; his moral purity, 195 ; books that he read, 196 ; in Richmond, 196; enters the ministry, 197 ; in Federal Street Church, 198; appearance of, 199; as a preacher, 199; the- ology of, 200 ; answers Calvin- ism, 201 ; in the Unitarian con- troversy, 202; on associations, 203 : characteristics of, 204- 206; writings of, 206; on Mil- ton, Napoleon, and F6nelon, a36; on poetry, 207; on " Na- tional Literature," 210; on pol- itics, 213; a Federalist, 214; his idea of the Union, 215 ; on slavery, 217; on emancipa- tion, 218 ; on division of the Union, 221 ; on the duty of the free States, 222; on social re- form, 222; on war, 224; on education, 227 ; death of, 227. Channing, William H., 130, 241, 244, 243. Chapin, E. H., loi. Chautauqua, 116. Cheever, Gospel Preacher, 333. Christian Examiner^ 130, 206. " Christian Nurture," Bushnell's, 294-295. Church of England, 92, 131. Cincinnati Journal, 306, 322. Civil War, 36, no, 245, 259, 278, 330. 331. 339. 345. 350- Clark, Bishop, 341. Clarke, J. F., 130. Clay, Henry, 26; letter to, 216; Channing to, 220; Bushnell refers to, 278, 323. Cleaveland, Aaron, 30. Cobbe, Frances Power, 259. Coke, 114. Coleridge, 369. Colgate University, 117. College of California, 282. Columbia University, 7, 44. Columbian Magazine, 56, Concord, 245. Congregational Church, clergy of, 44; hymn-writers of, 100; hymns of, loi; writers of, 113; theology of, 125; and Unita- rianism, 128. Connecticut, 270; Bushnell on, 283-285 ; virtues of, 285. Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, 185. Continental Congress, 16. Cooke, Samuel, 13. Cornwall-on-the-Hudson, 110. Cornwallis, General, 160. Cotton, John, 343. Cowper, 164. Coxe, A. C, 85, loi, 136. Crabbe, 326. Craft, Ellen, 253. Craft, William, 252, 253. Cromwell, Oliver, 378. Croswell, William, 85 ; poetry of, 89-92; hymns of, 99; as a poet, 132. Cuba, 272. Dartmouth College, 7. "Darwinism," Hodges's, 148. Davies, Samuel, 5, 100, 119. Denham, Sir John, 171. Denominational literature, 113, 137- De Tocqueville, 54. De Wette, 234, 245. Dewey, Orville, 129. Dickinson, 119. Dickinson College, 116. INDEX 391 Disraeli, 382. Dixwell, 49, 51, Doane, G. W., 8$, 99, loi. Dollinger, Dr., 113. " Domestic Slavery," Wayland's, 144. Dresden, 367. Drew Theological Seminary, 116. Duch6, Rev. M., 16. Duelling, 23, 24. Duffield, George, 99. " Duty of the Free States," Chan- ning's, 222. Dwi}>ht, Timothy, schools of, 5 ; at Yale, 7, 52, 176 ; songs of, 20 ; on the War of 1S12, 22; on duelling, 25 ; a poet, 85 ; hymns of, 100, 175 ; birth of, 157 ; edu- cation of, 157 ; at college, 158 ; early writings of, 159 ; a chap- lain, 159; poems of, 160; Alsop on, 161 ; his " The Conquest of Canaan," 162; in the legisla- ture, 165 ; in Greenfield, 165 ; his poem to Colonel Humphrey, 166 ; writes " The Triumph of Infidelity," 167; criticism of, 168 ; writes " Greenfield Hill," 170; on slavery, 173; describes the country minister, 174; minor poems of, 175; his method of writing, 177 ; the- ology of, 178-180; on George Washington, 180; on Jeffer- son, 181; offers a Thanks- giving, 181 ; writes on the stage, 182; his position in New Eng- land, 184; writes "Travels," 185 ; Southey's opinion of, 185 ; note books of, 186 ; death of, 190 ; estimate of, igo. Earl of Shaftsbury, 223. Eaton, Rev. Mr., 2. Eaton, Samuel, 19. Edinburgh, 335, 337, 383. Edwards, Jonathan, 39, 40, 125, 138, 139. 157. 179. 200. Eliot, William, 34. Ellsworth, Oliver, 189. "Elsie Venner," Holmes's, 66. Embury, Phillip, 114. Emerson, Joseph, 194. Emerson, R. W., ancestors of, 4; on the abolitionists, 33; on Parker, 230; resigns his paiish, 240 ; his triendship for Parker, 241 ; leaves the ministry, 244 ; writings of, 244; at Concord, 24S- Emmons, Nathaniel, 126. Episcopal Church, 15; hymn- writers of, loo-ioi ; literature of, 131; theology of, 132; prayer-book of, 136; Phillips Brooks enters, 342; hymnal of- 365- Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, 148. Erskine, John, 139, 149. "Essays and Addresses," Brooks's, 374. Evangelical Alliance, 377. " Evolution and Religion," Beech- er's, 315. Ewald, 24s. Fairfax, General, 263. Faneuil Hall, 250, 255. Farrar, Canon, 380. Farringford, 380. " Feast of the Sacred Heart," Ryan's, 96. Federalists, 11, 14, 215. Federal Street Society, 227. Ffinelon, 206, 209. Ferguson, 196. Fillmore, Millard, 253, 262. 392 INDEX Fiske, Wilbur, 115. Florence, 230, 259, 266, 361. Fort Sumter, 331. Fowler, 305. Franklin, Benjamin, 48, 49,71, 336. Franklin, Mass., 125. Fremont Campaig?i, 330. Fremont Park, Philadelphia, 120. French, Rev. Mr., ^. French Revolution, 181, 201. Frothingham, O. B., 82. Fugitive Slave Bill, 32, 250, Fuller, Margaret, 241. Fuller, Richard, 117, Gage, General, 59. Gallaudet, Th., 100. Gardiner, J. S. J., 23. Gardner, Francis, 343, 376, Garfield, President, 151. Garrettson, 114, 146. General Association of Connecti- cut, 298. Georgetown, 123. Germans, poets of, 265 ; Parker's knowledge of, 233 ; description of, 383. Germany, 121 ; philosophy of, 233; thought of, 234; Parker in, 245. Gettysburg, 329. Gladstone, 382. Glasgow, 335. " God in Christ," Bushnell's, 297. Goethe, 234. Goffe, 49, SI. Goldsmith, Oliver, 171. Grant, General, 339. Greenfield, Conn., 6, 165, 167, 177, 178. "Greenfield Hill," Dwight's, 85, 170. I7S- Griswold, A. V., loi. Griswold, R. W.. 85. Haeckel, 314. Halle, 148. Hallock, Moses, S- Hamilton, Alexander, 16, 25, 26, ISS- Hamilton, Sir William, 121. Harper's Ferry, 249. Harper's Magazine, 74. Harris, S. S., 249. Hart, Levi, 30. Hartford, 270, 272, 282, 285, 293- Hartford Convention, 22, 214. Hartford Central Association , 298. Harvard University, 6, 44; Uni- tarianism in, 129 ; Channing in, 194: Parker in, 232; Divinity School of, 293 ; Bushnell at, 297 ; Phillips Brooks at, 342 ; Com- memoration Service at, 350 ; Phillips Brooks's love for, 375 ; young men of, at Phillips Brooks's funeral, 385. Hastings, Thomas, 100. Hawkes, F. L., 134. Hawthorne, Nathaniel, ks. Heber, Bishop, 83. Hedge, F. H., loi, 130, 241. Hegel, 148. Heidelberg, 148. Heine, 265. Hemenway, Moses, 30. Henry, Patrick, 5. Herbert, George, 89. Highland Falls, N.Y., no. " His Sombre Rival," Roe's, 112. " Historical Estimate of Connec- ticut," Bushnell's, 283. " History of the Civil War," Abbott's, 75- " History of New England," Pal- frey's, 81. Hobart College, 133. Hobart, J. H., 132. INDEX 393 Hodge, Charles, 119, 137, 146-148. Hollis Street Society, 242. Holmes, Abiel, home of, 5 ; ser- mons of, 48, 61 ; histories of, 63, 64; founds societies, 64; preaches on the forefathers of New England, 65; on Wash- ington, 65; poetry of, 66, 125- Holmes, O. W., home of, 4; childhood of, 60 ; on Beecher, 336, 339; on Phillips Brooks, 341. Hooker, Thomas, 62. Hopkins, J. H., 35, 134. Hopkins, Lemuel, 161. Hopkins, Mark, 7, 125; a theo- logian, 137; writings of, 151- IS3- Hopkins, Samuel, 125, 137; as a theologian, 137; doctrines of, 138 ; on slavery, 139 ; influ- ences Channing, 193; Chan- ning's opinion of, 200. Hopkinsianism, 126, 179. Hughes, Archbishop, 36, 123. Hume, David, 167, 168, 179. Humphrey, Colonel, 165. Hunter, William, loi. Hutchinson, Governor, 50. Ide, G. B., loi. India, 361, 367. Indiana Journal, 307. Indianapolis, 306. Intuitional School of Philosophy, 238. Italy, 231, 260, 273. Jefferson, Thomas, 20, 21, 24. Johnson, Samuel, 4. Jouffroy, 245. Journal of Commerce, 'zj'z. Judd, Sylvester, 102, 103-106. Judson, Adoniram, loi, 118. " Julian," Ware's, 108. Kansas, 257, 330. Kansas-Nebraska Bill, 32. Kansas War, 249, 257, 258. Kant, 234. Kenrick, F. P., 123, 134. Kent, 324. King, Thomas Star, 34, 129. King's Chapel, Boston, 97. Kingsley, Charles, 102, 369. Kneeland, Abner, loi, 143. Knickerbocker Magazine, 106. Know-nothing movement, 124. Lafayette, 72. Lamartine, 73. Lane Theological Seminary, 126. Law, Governor, 49. Lawrenceburg, 306. " Lectures on Moral Education," Abbott's, 77. "Lectures on Preaching," Beecher's, 318-321. "Lectures on Preaching," Brooks's, 356. " Lectures on Washington All- ston," Ware's, 107. Lee, General Charles, 60. Leiber, 324. Leighton, 45. Leland, John, 99. " Letters firom Palmyra," Ware's, 108. " Letters of Travel," Brooks's, 381. " Life of Christ," Beecher's, 339. " Life of Ezra Stiles," by A. Holmes, 62. " Life of Isaac Watts," Belknap's, 60. Lincoln, Abraham, 35, 339, 346, 349- 394 INDEX Litchfield, Conn., 270. " Litt-rature and Life," Brooks's, 377. Liverpool, 130, 335, 337. Locke, 4, 196, 209. "Log College," Alexander's, 140. London, 273, 335. London Titnes, 335. Longfellow, H. W., loi. Longfellow, Samuel, loi. Louisiana, 255, Louisville, 124. Lowell, Dr., 4. Lowell, ]. R., his Harvard ad- dress, i; home of, 4; on Pal- frey, 81; on Parlcer, 229; his boyishness, 381. Lowell Lectures, 133. Lowell, R. T. S., 85; poetry of, 92; during Civil War, 94; novels of, 102; a poet, 132. Luther, Martin, 229, 293, 377. Lutherans, 113. Lyman, Phinehas, 189. Madison, Bishop, 21. Maine, 135. 320. Manchester, 333, 336. Mann, Horace, 227. " Margaret," Judd's, 103, 104-106. Marshall, Chief Justice, 16. Martineau, 192, 240, 245, 253. Mason, Mr., 338. Massachusetts Historical Society, 64. Massachusetts Sabbath School, 294. Massachusetts Teachers' Associ- ation, 375. Massachusetts Temperance So- ciety, 28. Mather, Cotton, 26, 39, 125. Maurice, F. D., 149, 369. Mayhew, 13, 17, 68. McCosh, James, 7, 137, 153-156. Mcllvane, Bishop, 36, 37, Meade, William, 35, 133, Melodeon, 246. Mercersburg, 131. Methodist Cliurch, on slavery, 30; division in, 31; abolition- ists among, 32; Lincoln on, 36 ; preachers of, 43 ; hymns of, loi; writers of, 113; theol- ogy of, 114-117. Mexican War, 221. Mi^xico, 220. Michigan, 136. Middiebury College, 282. Mill.J.S., 15s. 382. "Milton as an Educator," Brooks's, 375, Milton, John, 206, 208. Minnesota, 272. Missouri Compromise, 11, 278. Moody, Rev. Joseph, 2. " Moral Science," Alexander's 140. " Moral Uses of Dark Things," Bushnell's, 300. More, Archbishop, 70. Muhlenburg, A. W., 99, loi, 135. Mulford, Elisha, 137, 148, 149, 150. 151- Murray, John, 43, 141. Murray, Nicholas, 124. Music Hall, Boston, 246, 258, 263. " Nahant," gi. Napolfon, 21, 206-209. " National Literature," Chan- ning's, 210. " Near to Nature's Heart," Roe's. 112. Nelson, David, 119. Newburyport, 16. New England Society, 274, 286. INDEX 395 New England Theology, 138. New Haven, 178, 272. New London, 194. Newport, 29, 139, 193, 207. Newton Theological Institution, 117. New York, 272, 286, 308, 309, 330, 338, 378. New York Evangelist, 298. New York Independent, 322. Niagara Falls, 189, 207. Northampton, 6, 157, 160, 177. North Church, in Hartford, 272. " Northern Iron," 278. Norwegians, 383. " Norwood," Beecher's, 326-329. Nott, Eliphalet, President of Union College, 7 ; on duelling, 25 ; on temperance, 27. Oberlin, 288. " Ode on the Glory of Columbia," Dwight's, 160. Ohio, 306. " On the Landing of the Klgrims," Brooks's, 379. Oregon, 273. Otey, Bishop, 35. Otis, James, 17. " Our Mercies of Reoccupation," Brooks's," 346-348. Oxford, 325. Paine, Thomas, 21, 142, 179, 281. Paley, 45, 141. Palfrey, J. G., 48, 80. Palmer, Ray, 99, 100. Park Street Church, Boston, 31. Parker, Samuel, 16. Parker, Theodore, an abolitionist, 32; an extremist, 129; Lowell on, 229; prayed for, 230; esti- mate of, 231 ; birth of, 232; his love for books, 232 ; his knowl- edge of German, 233 ; his idea of the Bible, 234 ; mental atti- tude of, 23s ; in West Roxbury, 235; remains a minister, 235; refused exchange of pulpits, 236; lectures in Boston, 236; at the ordination of Mr. Shack- ford, 236 ; religious writings of, 237; on the Holy Communion, 239: literary work of, 240; friends of, 241 ; writes for The Dial, 242; defends Pierpont, 243 ; journey abroad of, 245 ; as a preacher, 246, 247 ; preaches in Boston, 246; his choice of topics, 248 ; poem by, 249 ; on slavery, 249; his journal, 249; on Webster, 250; on Zachary Taylor, 251 ; on Scriptural ar- gument for slavery, 252; mar- ries the Crafts, 253; diary of, 254; in Faneuil Hall, 255; during the Kansas War, 257; writes to Francis Jackson, 258 ; illness of, 258; death of, 259; last words of, 259 ; as a literary man, 261 ; a writer of letters, 262; private journal of, 263; poems of, 265, 266 ; his letter to George Ripley, 267. Parsons, General, 159. Peace Society, 224. Peck, J. M., 118. Peekskill, 326. Perry, W. S., 137. Peters, Samuel, 284. Phelps, Austin, 303. Philadelphia, 134, 342, 343, 346, 349. 35°- Phillips, Samuel, 343. Phillips, Wendell, 147, 255. " Philo : an Evangeliad," Judd's, 103. Pierpont, John, 85 ; his estimate 396 INDEX of Channing, 85; poems of, 86-88; on intemperance, 342; Unitarianistn of, 244; a chap- lain, 245. Pilate, log. Plymouth Church, organized, 307; pulpit of, 309; twenty- fifth anniversary of, 311 ; a parishioner of, 318, 330. " Poems, Patriotic, Religious, and Miscellaneous," Ryan's, 94. " Poems, Sacred and Secular," Croswell's, 90. " Politics under the Law of God," Bushnell's, 277. Pormort, Philemon, 376. Porter, Noah, 7, 125 ; writings of, 127; defends Bushnell, 127, 298. Portsmouth, N.H., as. Potter, Alonzo, 133-134. Prentice, G. D., 124. Presbyterians, 10; clergy of, 27; on slavery, 30 ; on fugitive slave law, 32 ; hymn-writers of, 100- loi ; writers among, 113 ; theol- ogy of, 118 ; likeness to Congre- gationalists, 126; influence of, 140 ; newspaper of, 322. Prescott, W. H., 241. Priestley, Dr., 71, 179. Princeton, 7, 44, 100, 120, 153. Princeton Review, 146, 155, 298, 352- Princeton Theological Seminary, 140, 146. " Probus," Ware's, 108. Provoost, Dr., 70. Punch, 153, 336. Putnam, General, 159, 187, 284. Quakers, 10 ; on slavery, 29 ; lack of hymns of, 100 ; inner light of, 114, 28r. Quarterly Review, 185. Queen's College, Belfast, 153. Quincy, Josiah, 2. Randolph, John, 133, 273. " Reform against Nature," Bush- nell's, 288. Reid, 120, 196, "Remarks on Associations," Channing's, 203. Renan, 191. "Reverses Needed," Bushnell's, 280. Rhode Island, 341. " Richard Edney, 103. Richards, George, loi. Richardson, Professor, 45. Richmond, Va., 196. Ripley, George, defends Roe, no; a friend of Parker, 241 ; leaves the ministry, 244 ; Parker's let- ter to, 267. Robbins, Chandler, loi. Robertson, 369. Robinson, Edward, 119. Roe, E. P., novels of, 102; home of, no; writings of, 109-112. Roman Catholic Church, writers of, 113; literature of, 122; in America, 123; Brownson in, 125. Rome, 258. Rothe, 148. Rousseau, 21, 197. Ruskin, 369. Russell, Lord John, 273, Russell, Rev. Mr., 51. Russia, 338. Rutgers College, 7. Rutland, iS. Ryan, J. J., 85, 94, 95, 96. " Saint Luke," 91. San Francisco, 129. Sanitary Commission, 36. INDEX 397 Sargent, J. T., 236. Schaff, Phillip, 100, 119, 121. Schleiermacher, 234, 238, 369. Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, 44. • Scotland, 153. Scott, General, 34. Sears, E. H., 99, loi. Seeker, Archbishop, 69, 70. Seminole War, 214, 224. "Sermons for the New Life," Bushnell's, 291. Seward, Secretary, 36, 124, 262. Shackford, C. C, 230, 236, Shadrach, the fugitive slave, 254. Sliakespeare, 207, 325. "Shall We Compromise ? " Beech- er's, 323. Sharp, Granville, 139. Shedd, W. G. T., 119, 121. Shepard, 12. Sherman, Judge, igo. Sigourney, Mrs., 90. Sims, Thomas, 254. " Slavery," Channing's, 216. Smith, H. B., 119, 120. Smith, S. F., 99. Smith, William, 17, 132. " Society for the Propagation of the Gospel," S7> 68. South Boston, 230. South Carolina, 254. Spalding, M. J., 124. Sparks, Jared, 19S. Spencer, Herbert, 155, 314. Sprague, W. B., 119. Stanley, Dean, 352, 380. St Anthony, 183. " Star Papers," Beecher's, 325. " State of the Country," Hodges's, 146. Stedman, Mr., 98. Sterling, John, 273. Stevens, Abel, 116. Stiles, Ezra, 7, 48 ; Latin orations of, 49 ; his " History of the Three Judges," 49 ; on the Rev- olution, 52: writings of, 53; influences Channing, 193. Stillman, Samuel, 29. St. Johnland, 135. St. Mark's School, Southborough, 92. St. Mary's, Baltimore, 123. Stockton, T. H., loi. Stone, Samuel, 62. Storrs, R. R., 311. Story, Judge, 192, 194, 324. Stowe, H. B., 127, 304. St. Patrick's Cathedral, 124. St. Paul's Church, Boston, 352. Stratford-on-Avon, 325. Stuart, Moses, 33. St. Vitus, 183. Suffolk St Chapel, 236. Summers, T. O., loi. Sumner, Charles, 150. Swing, David, 119. Switzerland, 121, 207. Syracuse University, 116. Taylor, N. W., 176. Taylor, Zachary, 250. Temple Church, London, 364, Tennent, 119. Tennyson, Alfred, 380. Tennyson, Hallam, 381. Texas, 214, 216. Thackeray, 133. " The Age of Homespun," Bush- nell's, 283. The Analytical Review, 164. " The Anarchiad," 161. " The Annals of America," by A. Holmes, 62. "The Annexation of Texas," Channing's, 220. "The Battle Set in Array," Beecher's, 331. 398 INDEX " The Centralizing Power of the Gospel," Brooks's, 344. The Christian Union, 324. The Church Union, 324. "The Conquered Banner," Ryan's, 95. "The Conquest of Canaan," Dwight's, 85, 162, 163, 164. " The Delphian Children," Low- ell's, 93. The Dial, 241, 242, 244. " The Elements of Intellectual Philosophy," Wayland's, 145. "The Elements of Moral Sci- ence," Wayland's, 145. "The Elements of Political Economy," Wayland's, 145. " The Evening Hymn," Parker's, 265. " The Evidences of Christianity," Mark Hopkins's, 152. " The Foresters," Belknap's, 56. " The Founders Great in their Un- consciousness," Bushnell's, 286. " The History of Cambridge," A. Holmes's, 62. " The History of Napoleon," Ab- bott's, 75. The Independent, 325. "The Influence of Jesus," Brooks's, 369-373. "The Last Irish Grievance," Thackeray, 154. The Ledger, 326. "The Life and Death of Abra- ham Lincoln," Brooks's, 346, 349-350. The Louvre, 325. The Massachusetts Quarterly Review, 243, 244. "The Moral Argument against Calvinism," Channing's, 201. "The Mother at Home," Ab- bott's, 72. " The Nation," Mulford's, 149. "The National Flag," Beecher's, 332- The National Gallery, London, 325- " The New Crime against Hu- manity," Parker's, 256. "The New Priest of Conception Bay," Lowell's, 92. " The Painter's Probation," Low- ell's, 93. " The Purposes of Scholarship," Brooks's, 374. " The Relief of Lucknow," Low- ell's, 93. "The Republic of God," Mul- ford's, 149. " The Sword of Lee," Ryan's, 95. " The Transient and Permanent in Christianity," Parker's, 236. The Tribune, 245. "The Triumph of Infidelity," Dwight's, 167. "The Waiting City," Brooks's, 366. Thiers, 273. Tholuck, 24s. Thomson, W. P., 119. Thurston, Father, 193. Ticonderoga, 19, 284. Tiffany, 309. Tillotson, 45. Titian, 107. Transcendentalism, loi, 103, 241. " Travels in New England," Dwight's, 183. Trappist monks, 124. Tremont House, Boston, 241. Trinity Church, Boston, 22, 342, 385. Trinity Church, New York, 352. Trumbull, John, 161. Tiibingen School, 234. Tyler, M. C, 178. INDEX 399 Union College, 27, 92, 133, Union Tlieological Seminary, 100, 120, 121. Unitarians, 44 ; hymns of, loi ; defended by Judd, 103 ; writers of, 113; attacked by Lyman Beecher, 126 ; in American letters, 128; controversies of, 227 : Parker and, 234 ; clergy of, 236; development among, 236; literature of, 244; Bush- nell and, 292. Universalists, 43; hymns of, loi, 102 ; Ballou's influence on, 141 ; church of, 144. University of Pennsylvania, 132, 134- University of Rochester, 117. Vassar College, 117. Venice, 264. Venus de Medici, 264. Venus of Milo, 264. Versailles, 336. " Vicarious Sacrifice," Bushnell's, 298, 300. Vigilance Committee, 253, 254. " Vindication of Slavery," Hop- kins's, 134. Virginia, 255, 256, 258. Voltaire, 21, 168. Wadsworth House, 376. " War," Channing's, 224. Ward, Nathaniel, 40. Ware, Jr., Henry, loi. Ware, William, novels of, 102; on Allston, 107 ; writings of, 106-109. War of 1812, 14, 181, 214, Warren, 164, 187. Warwick Castle, 325. Washburn, E. A., loi. Washington, George, 16; Paine to, 22, 71 ; friendship for Bishop Mead, 133; friend of Dwight, 159; Dwight on, 180. Waterloo, 181. Watts, Dr., 175. Wayland, Francis, 7 ; President of Brown, 117; a theologian, 137 ; wriiings of, 144-146. Webster, Daniel, at school, 5 ; to the Senate, 34; love for the Union, 215 ; on Fugitive Slave Bill, 250. Webster, Ezekiel, 5. Weed, Thurlow, 124. Weekly Mercury, 64. Weld, Rev. Abijah, 5. Wentworth, Governor, 54. Wesleyan University, 115, 116. Western Farmer and Gardener, 307, 322. Westminster Abbey, 362, 380. West Roxbury, 235, 241, 245. West, Samuel, 19. Whalley, 49, 51. "What Can She Do?" Roe's, III. White Plains, 19. White, William, 48 ; chaplain of Congress, 17; writes "Me- moirs," 67; a bishop, 69, 70; an organizer, 132. Whittier, J. G., 41 ; his poem on Mulford, 150; opinion of Dr. Hopkins, 139. Wigglesworth, Michael, 40. William and Mary College, 6, 221. Williams College, no, 151. Wilson, Dr., 305. Winchester, E., 141. Windsor Castle, 384. Witherspoon, John, 119, 120. Woman's suffrage, 287. Woolman, John, 41. Wordsworth, 207. 400 INDEX Yale College, 6 ; students in, 21 ; sermons on duelling at, 25; Stiles at, 48; Franklin visits, 49; Stiles, president of, 52; Porter, presidentof, 127; Dwight at, 165, 175 ; Federalist opinion in, 181 ; Bushnell's influence at, 270 ; Bushnell's oration at, 293, 297; Beecher lectures at, 317; Phillips Brooks lectures at, 356. ' Zenobia," Ware's, loS. NATIONAL STUDIES IN AMERI- CAN LETTERS Old Cambridge BY THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON Cloth. 12mo. Price $1.25 "... Some charmingly reminiscent pages, having ror their sub- ject the three authors most widely associated with Old Cambridge, — Holmes, Longfellow, and Lowell ; and their pleasant gossip makes up the major part of the volume, which is altogether a most enjoya- ble and valuable one." — Philadelphia Evening Telegraph, " It is just the sort of book that one would expect from the author, graceful in form, abounding in the genuine atmosphere of the old university town, full of pleasant personal anecdotes and reminis- cences of the Cambridge of forty or fifty years ago. Many great figures pass across the stage, with nearly all of whom Colonel Hig- ginson was personally acquainted ; and tiiis intimacy gives the book a charming flavor." — Brooklyn Life. " The book contains material to be had nowhere else, for it is a commentary on the side history of a great epoch in American letters, written by one who had a place in it." — San Francisco Argonaut. " What he has to tell will be interesting to every person who honors New England and sets store by her literature. The book is steeped in the Attic dew of which the Cambridge cicadas were fond ; it has a smack of ambrosia, — American ambrosia, — and its leaves rustle with the unmistakable Parnassian suggestion — a Puritan Parnassus to be sure. . . . The Cambridge he dwells upon is the Cambridge of the Boston circle of poets, philosophers, politicians, reformers, scholars, statesmen, preachers, and divine cranks. He sketches everything and everybody freely, swiftly, and lightly." — Independent. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 66 FIFTH AVENGE, NEW YORK Brook Farm ITS MEMBERS, SCHOLARS, AND VISIJORS Srj LINDSAY SWIFT Cloth. 16mo. Price $1.25 CONTENTS The Transcendental Club — Brook Farm — The School and Its Scholars — The Members — The Visitors — The Closing Period — Bibliography — Index "Mr. Swift . . . deals with the experimenters rather than with the experiments . . . and with the influence of the life at Brook Farm upon the individuality of its mem- bers." — The Mail and Express. " Mr. Lindsay Swift takes up and describes very amply the most romantic, interesting, and far-reaching movement in the history of American literature — the story of Brook Farm." — ■ Times Saturday Review. " The book has a value apart from its delineation of Brook Farm. ... It ought to be widely and carefully read, especially where . . socialistic notions are gaining many adherents, for it will aid the young enthusiast to de- fine what may be and what cannot be for a very long century at least." — The Outlook. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK