Robert Boyle.

Robert Boyle.An eminent philosopher, and a truly good man, was the son of Richard, earl of Cork, and was born at Lismore, in Ireland, in the year 1627. At Eton School, where he was[pg 413]educated, he soon discovered a force of understanding which promised great things, and a disposition to improve it to the utmost. During his education, and before he was ten years old, he was much afflicted with an ague, which considerably depressed his spirits; and, to divert his attention, he was persuaded to read Amadis de Gaul, and other romantic books. But this kind of reading, he says in his memoirs, produced such restlessness in him, that he was obliged to apply himself to mathematical studies, in order to fix and settle the volatility of his fancy. He died in the sixty-fifth year of his age.He was a man of great learning, and his stock of knowledge was immense. The celebrated Dr. Boerhaave has passed the following eulogium upon him:—“Boyle was the ornament of his age and country. Which of his writings shall I commend? All of them. To him we owe the secrets of fire, air, water, animals, vegetables, fossils; so that from his works may be deduced the whole system of natural knowledge.”He was treated with particular kindness and respect by Charles II., as well as by the two great ministers Southampton and Clarendon. By the latter he was solicited to enter into orders; for his distinguished learning and unblemished reputation induced Lord Clarendon to think that so very respectable a personage would do great honor to the clergy. Boyle considered the proposal with due attention. He reflected that, in his present situation of life, whatever he wrote with respect to religion, would have greater weight, as coming from a layman; for he well knew that the irreligious fortified themselves against all that the clergy could offer, by supposing and saying that it was their trade, and that they were paid for it. He considered, likewise, that, in point of fortune and character, he needed no accessions; and, indeed, his desire for these was always very limited. But Bishop Burnet, to whom Boyle had communicated memorandums concerning his life, tells us that what had the greatest weight in determining his judgment, was,“the not feeling within himself any motion or tendency of mind which he could safely esteem a call from the Holy[pg 414]Spirit, and so not venturing to take holy orders, lest he should be found to have lied unto it.”Bishop Burnet, who was Boyle's particular friend, and who, during an acquaintance of twenty-nine years, had spent many happy hours in conversation with him, gives a full account of his genuine piety and virtue, and of his zeal for the Christian religion.“This zeal,”he says,“was unmixed with narrow notions, or a bigoted heat in favor of a particular sect; it was that spirit which is the ornament of a true Christian.”Burnet mentions, as a proof of this, his noble foundation for lectures in defence of the gospel, against infidels of all sorts; the effects of which have been very conspicuous, in the many volumes of excellent discourses, which have been published in consequence of that laudable and pious design.The great object of his philosophical pursuits was to promote the cause of religion, and to discountenance atheism and infidelity. His intimate friend Bishop Burnet makes the following observations on this point:—“It appeared to those who conversed with him on his inquiries into nature, that his main design (on which as he had his own eye constantly fixed, so he took care to put others often in mind of it) was to raise in himself and others more exalted sentiments of the greatness and glory, the wisdom and goodness, of God. This design was so deeply impressed on his mind, that he concludes the article of his will, which relates to the Royal Society, in these words:—‘I wish them a happy success in their attempts to discover the true nature of the works of God; and I pray that they, and all searchers into physical truths, may cordially refer their attainments to the glory of the great Author of nature, and to the comfort of mankind.’”On another occasion, the same person speaks of him thus—“He had the most profound veneration for the great God of heaven and earth that I ever observed in any man. The very name of God was never mentioned by him without a pause and observable stop in his discourse.”So brightly did the example of this great and good man shine, through his whole course, that Bishop Burnet, on reviewing it, in a[pg 415]moment of pious exultation thus expressed himself:—“I might challenge the whole tribe of libertines to come and view the usefulness, as well as the excellence, of the Christian religion, in a life that was entirely dedicated to it.”John Locke.A very celebrated philosopher, and one of the greatest men that England ever produced, born in the year 1632. He was well educated; and, applying himself with vigor to his studies, his mind became enlarged, and stored with much useful knowledge. He went abroad as secretary to the English ambassador at several of the German courts, and afterwards had the offer of being made envoy at the court of the emperor, or of any other that he chose; but he declined the proposal, on account of the infirm state of his health. He was a commissioner of trade and plantations, in which station he very honorably distinguished himself. Notwithstanding his public employments, he found leisure to write much for the benefit of mankind. His“Essay on Human Understanding,”his“Discourses on Government,”and his“Letters on Toleration,”are justly held in the highest esteem.This enlightened man and profound reasoner was most firmly attached to the Christian religion. His zeal to promote it appeared, first, in his middle age, by publishing a discourse to demonstrate the reasonableness of believing Jesus to be the promised Messiah; and, afterwards, in the latter part of his life, by a Commentary on several of the Epistles of the apostle Paul. The sacred Scriptures are every where mentioned by him with the greatest reverence; and he exhorts Christians“to betake themselves in earnest to the study of the way to salvation, in those holy writings, wherein God has revealed it from heaven, and proposed it to the world; seeking our religion where we are sure it is in truth to be found, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”In a letter written the year before his death, to one who asked this question,“What is the shortest and surest way[pg 416]for a young man to attain the true knowledge of the Christian religion?”he says,“Let him study the holy Scriptures, especially the New Testament: therein are contained the words of eternal life. It has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter.”This advice was conformable to his own practice.“For fourteen or fifteen years, he applied himself in an especial manner to the study of the Scriptures, and employed the last years of his life hardly in any thing else. He was never weary of admiring the great views of that sacred book, and the just relation of all its parts: he every day made discoveries in it that gave him fresh cause of admiration.”The consolation which he derived from divine revelation is forcibly expressed in these words:—“I gratefully receive and rejoice in the light of revelation, which has set me at rest in many things, the manner whereof my poor reason can by no means make out to me.”After he had diligently employed a great part of his life in a variety of occupations, he chose a pleasing retirement for the remainder of his days. This leisure appears to have been productive of solid improvement, by enabling him to look calmly over the scenes of past life; to form a proper estimate of its enjoyments, and to dedicate himself more fully to the cause of piety and virtue.About two months before his death, in 1704, he wrote a letter to his friend Anthony Collins, and left this direction upon it:—“To be delivered to him after my decease.”It concludes with the following remarkable words:—“May you live long and happy, in the enjoyment of health, freedom, content, and all those blessings which Providence has bestowed on you, and to which your virtue entitles you. You loved me living, and will preserve my memory when I am dead. All the use to be made of it is, that this life is a scene of vanity, which soon passes away, and affords no solid satisfaction, but in the consciousness of doing well, and in the hopes of another life. This is what I can say upon experience; and what you will find to be true, when you come to make up the account. Adieu!”[pg 417]Joseph Addison.A celebrated English writer, born at Milston, in Wiltshire, in the year 1672. About the age of fifteen, he was entered at Queen's College, Oxford, where, by his fine parts and great application, he made a surprising proficiency in classical learning. Before he left the university, he was warmly solicited to enter into orders; and he once resolved to do so; but his great modesty, and an uncommonly delicate sense of the importance of the sacred function, made him afterwards alter his resolution. He was highly respected by many of the greatest and the most learned of his contemporaries. He travelled into Italy, where he made many useful observations, and prepared materials for some of his literary works. On his return to England, he was chosen one of the lords commissioners for trade. In 1709, he was appointed secretary to the lord lieutenant of Ireland, and, in 1717, was advanced to the high office of secretary of state. He died in 1729.His writings have been of great use to the world, and his“Evidences of the Christian Religion”not the least so. Dr. Johnson, in delineating his character as a writer, gives the following amiable picture of him:—“He employed wit on the side of virtue and religion. He not only made the proper use of wit himself, but taught it to others; and, from his time, it has been generally subservient to the cause of reason and truth. He has dissipated the prejudice that had long connected cheerfulness with vice, and easiness of manners with laxity of principles. He has restored virtue to its dignity, and taught innocence not to be ashamed. This is an elevation of literary character above all Greek, above all Roman fame. As a teacher of wisdom, he may be confidently followed. His religion has nothing in it enthusiastic or superstitious; he appears neither weakly credulous nor wantonly skeptical; his morality is neither dangerously lax nor impracticably rigid. All the enchantment of fancy, and all the cogency of argument, are employed to recommend to the reader his real interest—the care of pleasing the Author of his being.”[pg 418]Of his integrity in discharging the duties of his office, there is a striking proof recorded. When he was secretary in Ireland, he had materially promoted the interest of an individual, who offered him, in return, a bank note of three hundred pounds, and a diamond ring of the same value. These he strenuously refused to accept, and wrote to the person as follows:—“And now, sir, believe me, when I assure you I never did, nor ever will, on any pretence whatsoever, take more than the stated and customary fees of my office. I might keep the contrary practice concealed from the world, were I capable of it, but I could not from myself; and I hope I shall always fear the reproaches of my own heart more than those of all mankind.”A mind conscious of its own uprightness, and humbly trusting in the goodness of God, has the best ground to look forward with complacency towards another life. The following lines of Addison are sweetly expressive of the peace and pleasure which he enjoyed in contemplating his future existence:—“The prospect of a future state is the secret comfort and refreshment of my soul. It is that which makes nature look cheerful about me; it doubles all my pleasures, and supports me under all my afflictions. I can look at disappointments and misfortunes, pain and sickness, death itself, with indifference, so long as I keep in view the pleasures of eternity, and the state of being in which there will be no fears nor apprehensions, pains nor sorrows.”Isaac Watts.A learned and eminent dissenting minister, born at Southampton, in the year 1674, of parents who were distinguished by their piety and virtue. He died in 1748. He possessed an uncommon genius, of which he gave early proofs. He received a very liberal education, which was rendered highly beneficial to him by his own unwearied efforts to improve himself. After the most serious deliberation, he determined to devote his life to the ministry, of the importance of which[pg 419]office he had a deep and awful sense. He labored very diligently to promote the instruction and happiness of the people under his care, to whom, by his Christian conduct and amiable disposition, he greatly endeared himself.Soon after he had undertaken the pastoral office, his health sustained a severe shock by a painful and dangerous illness, from which he recovered very slowly. But, in the year 1712, he was afflicted with a violent fever, that entirely broke his constitution, and left such weakness upon his nerves, as continued with him, in some measure, to his dying day. For four years he was wholly prevented from discharging the public offices of his station. Though this long interval of sickness was, no doubt, very trying to his active mind, yet it proved ultimately a blessing to him; for it drew upon him the particular notice of Sir Thomas Abney, a very pious and worthy man, who, from motives of friendship, invited him into his family, in which he continued to the end of his life, and, for the long space of thirty-six years, was treated with uniform kindness, attention, and respect.This excellent man was, by his natural temper, quick of resentment; but, by his established and habitual practice, he was gentle, modest, and inoffensive. His tenderness appeared in his attention to children and to the poor. To the poor, while he lived in the family of his friend, he allowed the third part of his annual revenue; and for children, he condescended to lay aside the scholar, the philosopher, and the wit, to write little poems of devotion, and systems of instruction, adapted to their wants and capacities, from the dawn of reason, through its gradations of advance in the morning of life. Few men have left behind them such purity of character, or such monuments of laborious piety. He has provided instruction for all ages, from those who are lisping their first lessons, to the enlightened readers of Malebranche and Locke. His“Improvement of the Mind”is a work in the highest degree useful and pleasing. Whatever he took in hand was, by his incessant solicitude for souls, converted to theology. As piety predominated in his mind, it is diffused[pg 420]over his works. Under his direction, it may be truly said that philosophy is subservient to evangelical instruction: it is difficult to read a page without learning, or at least wishing to be better.The virtue of this good man eminently appeared in the happy state of his mind under great pains and weakness of body, and in the improvement which he derived from them. Of those seasons of affliction, he says, with a truly elevated mind and thankful heart,“I am not afraid to let the world know that, amidst the sinkings of life and nature, Christianity and the gospel were my support. Amidst all the violence of my distemper, and the tiresome months of it, I thank God I never lost sight of reason or religion, though sometimes I had much difficulty to preserve the machine of animal nature in such order as regularly to exercise either the man or the Christian.”The sweet peace of conscience he enjoyed under these trying circumstances, and the rational and Christian foundation of his hope and trust in the divine goodness, are beautifully and justly expressed by him, in the following lines:—“Yet, gracious God, amid these storms of nature,Thine eyes behold a sweet and sacred calmReign through the realms of conscience; all withinLies peaceful, all composed. 'Tis wondrous graceKeeps off thy terrors from this humble bosom;Though stained with sins and follies, yet sereneIn penitential peace and cheerful hope,Sprinkled and guarded with atoning blood,Thy vital smiles, amidst this desolation,Like heavenly sunbeams hid behind the clouds,Break out in happy moments, with bright radianceCleaving the gloom; the fair, celestial light,Softens and gilds the horrors of the storm,And richest cordials to the heart conveys.”Philip Doddridge.Born in London, in the year 1702. His parents, who were persons of great worth, brought him up in an early[pg 421]knowledge of religion; but he had the misfortune to lose them before he was fourteen years old. This circumstance excited in his mind very serious reflections, which, however, were not wholly of a gloomy nature; for he expressed a devout, and even a cheerful trust in the protection of the God of mercies, the universal Parent of mankind.He diligently improved his time, and was anxious to be daily advancing in knowledge, piety, virtue, and usefulness. He possessed strong powers of mind, and, by unwearied application, acquired a large fund of sound and elegant learning. His publications, which are chiefly on religious subjects, have been eminently useful to the world. By his literary acquisitions, his amiable disposition, and his desire to imbue the young mind with knowledge and virtue, he was qualified, in a peculiar manner, to become the instructor of youth; and for many years he superintended a very respectable academy. As the pastor of a congregation, he manifested a sincere and zealous regard for the happiness of the people under his care, by whom he was greatly honored and beloved.He possessed many virtues; but the prime and leading feature of his soul was devotion. He was very solicitous to preserve and cultivate an habitual sense of the Supreme Being, to maintain and increase the ardor of religion in his heart, and to prepare himself, by devout exercises, for the important labors of his station. Nor was it to his secret retirements that his piety was limited; it was manifested in every part of the day, and appeared in his usual intercourse with men. In the little vacancies of time which occur to the busiest of mankind, he was frequently lifting up his soul to God. When he lectured on philosophy, history, anatomy, or other subjects not immediately theological, he would endeavor to graft some religious instructions upon them, that he might raise the minds of his pupils to devotion, as well as to knowledge; and, in his visits to his people, the Christian friend and minister were united.The piety of Dr. Doddridge was accompanied with the[pg 422]warmest benevolence to his fellow-creatures. No one could more strongly feel that the love of God was to be united with love to man. Nor was this a principle that rested in kind wishes and pathetic feelings for the happiness of others, but it was manifested in the most active exertions for their welfare. No scheme of doing good was ever suggested to him into which he did not enter with ardor. But the generosity of his mind was most displayed when any plans of propagating religion, and of spreading the gospel among those who were strangers to it, were proposed. In every thing of this kind he was always ready to take the lead, and was ardent in endeavoring to inspire his friends with the same spirit.He was of a weak and delicate bodily constitution; and a severe cold which he caught about the forty-eighth year of his age, brought on a consumption of the lungs. The nearer he approached to his dissolution, the more plainly was observed his continual improvement in a spiritual and heavenly temper. Indeed, he seemed to have risen above the world, and to be daily breathing after immortality. This disposition of his mind was ardently expressed in several of his letters, and is manifest from his will, which was made at this time, and is prefaced in the following language:—“Whereas it is customary, on these occasions, to begin with commending the soul into the hands of God, through Christ, I do it; not in mere form, but with sincerity and joy; esteeming it my greatest happiness, that I am taught and encouraged to do it, by that glorious gospel, which, having most assuredly believed, I have spent my life in preaching to others; and which I esteem an infinitely greater treasure than all my little worldly store, or possessions ten thousand times greater than mine.”A short time before his death, he had been induced to try the mild air of the south; but change of climate did not produce the desired effect, and Dr. Doddridge continued gradually to weaken, till death put a period to his afflictions. In his last hours, he preserved the same calmness, vigor, and joy of mind, which he had felt and expressed through the[pg 423]whole of his illness. The only pain he had in the thought of dying, was the fear of that grief and distress which his wife would suffer from his removal. To his children, his congregation, and his friends in general, he desired to be remembered in the most affectionate manner; nor did he, in the effusions of his pious benevolence, forget the family where he lodged, or his own servant. Many devout sentiments and aspirations were uttered by him; but the heart of his wife was too much affected with his approaching change to be able to recollect them distinctly. Though he died in a foreign land, and, in a certain sense, among strangers, his decease was embalmed with many tears. His age was 49 years.John Murray.A distinguished preacher of Universalism in the United States, born in Alton, county of Hampshire, England, on the 10th of December, 1741.When he had attained his eleventh year, the family removed to Ireland, in the vicinity of Cork. While here, he was converted to Methodism, and gained the attention of John Wesley, by whom he was appointed a class-leader. He was very earnest and devout in his religious exercises, and was regarded by his brethren as a valuable accession to their church. About this time his father died, and he shortly after left Ireland for England. He took up his residence in London, and was gradually led into gay society. The secret monitor, however, frequently reproached him, and finally brought him back again to the services of the sanctuary, and quickened the flame of religious devotion. At this time his prejudices against Universalism were very strong; his soul“kindled with indignation”against them. But, shortly after his marriage to a very amiable young lady of London, he was induced to visit Mr. Relly's chapel, the preacher of universal salvation; and, notwithstanding he had been so filled with wrath against Mr. Relly, that, as he subsequently said, he thought it would have been doing both God and man service[pg 424]to kill him, yet he was moved to tenderness by his preaching and subsequently became an attendant on his ministry. Rich were the consolations enjoyed by him and his amiable wife in their new faith. But great sorrows awaited him; she sickened and died; and the death-scene is described by himself, in his autobiography, with thrilling effect. He would gladly have accompanied her to the spirit-world. He was now alone; he felt himself a solitary being; he had no taste for the joys of life; his mind dwelt only on death and eternity; he was unfitted for society; and in this state of mind, Providence seems to have directed his thoughts to America. He resolved to embark; and, in the month of September, 1770, he landed upon the shores of New Jersey. Here he became at once acquainted with a philanthropic landholder, by the name of Thomas Potter, who, in the belief that God would send him a preacher, had erected a meeting-house, and who insisted that Murray was the man whom God had sent. In this house Murray commenced his labors as a preacher; and from this time, he is to be contemplated as the public advocate of Universalism, on the system of Relly. He soon visited the city of New York, and various other cities and towns in the Middle States, preaching the gospel whithersoever he went. His first visit to Boston was made in October, 1773, and his second in September, 1774. It was during this second visit that he was stoned in the pulpit of Rev. Mr. Croswell, in School Street. About this time he visited Gloucester, Massachusetts, which was afterwards his residence for many years. In 1775, he was appointed by General Washington chaplain to the Rhode Island troops, in the army then lying around Boston. He soon, however, returned to his charge in Gloucester, where he remained, making frequent visits to different parts of the United States, until October, 1793, when he was ordained pastor of the First Universalist Society in Boston, which had purchased the house of worship formerly occupied by the society of Dr. Samuel Mather. His labors were not confined to this society, however; in one respect he was a minister at large;[pg 425]he continued his itinerant habits, more or less, until October, 1809, when he was stricken with the palsy. He lived nearly six years after this affliction, and expired on the third day of September, 1815. He was buried in the Granary burying-ground, where his remains were suffered to lie unhonored until 1837, when they were removed to Mount Auburn, and a monument was erected to his memory. The monument is a beautiful fluted column, surmounted by an urn. It is encircled by a belt, or tablet, on which two inscriptions are placed; on one side—“JOHN MURRAY, Preacher of the Gospel; born in Alton, England, December 10, 1741; died in Boston, September 3, 1815; reëntombed beneath this stone, June 8, 1837.”On the opposite side—“Erected at the recommendation of the United States General Convention of Universalists.”Elhanan Winchester.A distinguished advocate of Universalism, born in Brookline, Massachusetts, September 30, 1751. In his nineteenth year, he was converted, under the preaching of the Baptists; and it was by his labors that the present Baptist society in Newton was originally gathered. In the autumn of 1774, he made a journey to the Southern States. Early in 1778, he first saw Siegvolk's“Everlasting Gospel,”a work which originally appeared in Holland, but which had been translated and published by the Mennonites of Pennsylvania. It made a very deep impression upon his mind. In 1779, he came back to New England, his convictions of the truth of Universalism increasing upon him daily. He set out on his return to South Carolina in the autumn of 1780, and arrived at Philadelphia on the 7th of October. Here he intended to remain but a few days; but God evidently had a great work for him to do in this place. Even his enemies acknowledged[pg 426]that his“manner of preaching was popular, his address very fascinating, and his appearance dignified and commanding.”The Baptist church in that city invited him to tarry and preach to them, and he at length consented. About this time he read“Stonehouse on Universal Restitution,”which served to confirm him greatly in his belief of that doctrine. Notwithstanding his great popularity, a discontent began to show itself in certain members of the church. He foresaw that a storm was rising, and he determined to prepare for it; not (to use his words)“by denying what I had said, but by more fully examining, and determining for myself, whether the sentiment was according to Scripture, or not. If I found it was not, I was determined to retract; but if it was, to hold it fast, let the consequences be what they might.”Such was his truly Christian resolution. He avowed his belief in the final happiness of all men.A majority of the church were in his favor; but, being a man of remarkably peaceful disposition, he did not urge them to press their claims to the meeting-house; but they retired to the hall of the university, where they held their meetings for about four years, until they purchased a place for themselves. During the rest of his life, he is to be viewed as the public advocate of universal restitution. There were several eminent men who adhered to him, and among others, Dr. Redman, and the celebrated Dr. Benjamin Rush, who remained his correspondent when he was in Europe. Added to all his other troubles, his domestic afflictions were very great. At the age of thirty-two, he had buried four wives. The fifth was a desperate fury, who gave him great trouble as long as he lived. After preaching about six years in Philadelphia, he was seized with an irresistible impulse to visit England. No persuasions could divert him from the purpose; and in September, 1787, he arrived, almost penniless, and a total stranger, in the great metropolis of the British empire. He preached in different parts of London, and, by his fervid eloquence and earnest defence of the restoration, he soon gathered a congregation, who took for him the[pg 427]chapel in Parliament Court, in which he held his meetings until his departure for America. He spent six years and a half in this country, laboring assiduously to bring men to the knowledge of the truth; and a deep and wide impression was made by his labors. In consequence of the ill treatment he experienced from his wife, he was obliged to leave her; and he quitted England privately, and came home, filling the friends whom he had left behind with amazement, being ignorant at first what had befallen him. He arrived in Boston in July, 1794. Various were the speculations in this country in regard to his return. But he commenced at once his labors as a preacher, travelling in several of the states,—visited his former friends in Philadelphia, where he was joined by his wife, who had come home to America, and whom he freely forgave. It became evident, about this time, that his health was greatly impaired; and an increasing asthma foretold a fatal termination. He came to Hartford, Connecticut, in October, 1796, and raised a congregation, to which he preached until he could preach no more. In April, 1797, he delivered a sermon, under a strong presentiment that it was his last, from St. Paul's farewell address to the elders of the Ephesian church. He never entered the desk again. He contemplated his death with serenity and joy. On the morning of his decease, he commenced singing the hymn with several of his friends,—“Farewell, my friends in Christ below,”but his voice soon faltered, and the torpor of death fell on him. His friends became disconcerted, and ceased to sing; but he revived a little, and encouraged them to go on, joining in the first line of each verse, until his voice was actually“lost in death.”This was on the 18th of April, 1797, in the 47th year of his age. His funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Strong, of Hartford, who bore a frank testimony to Mr. Winchester's excellent character, and his final constancy in the doctrine he had preached.The following is the inscription on the stone erected to his memory:—[pg 428]“The General Convention of the Universal Churches, in Memory of their dear departed Brother, theRev. Elhanan Winchester, erected this Monumental Stone.He died April 18th, 1797, aged 46 years.Twas thine to preach, with animated zeal,The glories of the resurrection morn,When sin, death, hell, the power of Christ shall feel,And light, life, immortality, be born.”Saint Genevieve.Born at Nanterre, about five miles from Paris, in the year 423, about the time of Pharamond, the first king of France. St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre, observing in her, when yet very young, a particular disposition to sanctity, advised her to take a vow of perpetual virginity, which she accordingly did in the presence of the bishop of Paris. After the death of her parents, she went to Paris. The city was about to be deserted, when Attila, with his Huns, broke into France; but Genevieve assured the inhabitants of complete security, if they would seek it by fervent prayers. Attila took his course from Champaigne to Orleans, returned thence into Champaigne, without touching Paris, and was defeated in 451. By this event, Genevieve's reputation was established. In a time of famine, she went along the River Seine, from city to city, and soon returned with twelve large vessels loaded with grain, which she distributed gratuitously among the sufferers. This increased her authority, and she was highly honored by Merovæus and Chilperic. Nothing, however, contributed more to her reputation for sanctity, than the circumstance, that, from her fifteenth to her fiftieth year, she ate nothing but barley-bread, except that she took some beans every two or three weeks, and, after her fiftieth year, some fish and milk. In 460, she built a church over the graves of St. Dionysius Rusticus and Eleutherius, near the village of Chasteville, where Dagobert afterwards founded the abbey of St. Denys. She died in 499 or 501, and her[pg 429]body was placed in the subterraneous chapel which St. Denys had consecrated to the apostles Paul and Peter. Clovis, by her request, built a church over it, which was afterwards called by her name, as was also the abbey that was founded there. Another church, consecrated to this saint, was built adjoining to the church of Notre Dame. Her relics are preserved in the former. The church celebrates the third of January, the day on which she died, in honor of her.Gilbert Burnet.Bishop of Salisbury, was born at Edinburgh, in the year 1643. He was carefully educated by his father; and, having a strong constitution and a prodigious memory, he applied himself closely to study, and acquired a great portion of learning and knowledge, which he seemed to have ready for all occasions. He travelled through France, Italy, and Holland, where he formed connections with many of the greatest persons of his time, by whom he was much respected for his talents and virtues. At Amsterdam, he became acquainted with the leading men of the different persuasions tolerated in the United Provinces—Calvinists, Arminians, Lutherans, Anabaptists, Brownists, Roman Catholics, and Unitarians; amongst each of which, he used frequently to declare, he met with men of such unfeigned piety and virtue, that he became strongly fixed in a principle of universal charity, and an invincible abhorrence of all severities on account of religious opinions.The following sentiments, which he solemnly uttered towards the conclusion of his days, are very expressive of the nature and power of true religion, and of its influence upon his own mind:—“I recommend,”he observes,“to all sorts of men, in the most serious manner, the study and practice of religion, as that which is the most important of all things, and which is both the light of the world, and the salt of the earth.“Nothing so opens our faculties, and composes and directs[pg 430]the whole man, as an inward sense of God; of his authority over us; of the laws he has set us; of his eye ever upon us; of his hearing our prayers, assisting our endeavors, watching over our concerns; of his being to judge, and reward or punish, us in another state, according to what we have done in this. Nothing will give us such a detestation of sin, and such a sense of the goodness of God, and of our obligations to holiness, as a right understanding and firm belief of the Christian religion.“By living according to the rules of religion, a man becomes the wisest, the best, and the happiest creature that he is capable of being. Honest industry, the employing of time well, a constant sobriety, an undefiled purity and chastity, with continued serenity, are the best preservatives, too, of life and health; so that, take a man as an individual, religion is his guard, his perfection, his beauty, and his glory. This will make him a light in the world, shining brightly, and enlightening many round about him.“Thus religion, if truly received and sincerely adhered to, would prove the greatest of all blessings to a nation. But by religion I understand something more than receiving particular doctrines, though ever so true, or professing them, and engaging to support them, even with zeal and eagerness. What signify the best doctrines, if men do not live suitably to them; if they have not a due influence upon their thoughts and their lives? Men of bad lives, with sound opinions, are self-condemned, and lie under a highly-aggravated guilt.“By religion I do not mean an outward compliance with forms and customs, in going to church, to prayers, to sermons, and to sacraments, with an external show of devotion; or, which is more, with some inward forced good thoughts, in which many satisfy themselves, while these have no visible effect on their lives, nor any inward force to control and rectify their appetites, passions, and secret designs. These customary performances, how good and useful soever when understood and rightly directed, are of little value when men rest on them, and think, because they do them, they have[pg 431]acquitted themselves of their duty, though they still continue proud, covetous, full of deceit, envy, and malice. Even secret prayers, the most effectual means, are designed for a higher end; which is, to possess our minds with such a constant and present sense of divine truths, as may make these live in us, and govern us, and draw down such assistance, as to exalt and sanctify our natures.“So that, by religion, I mean such a sense of divine truth as enters into a man, and becomes the spring of a new nature within him; reforming his thoughts and designs; purifying his heart; sanctifying and governing his whole deportment, his words as well as his actions; convincing him that it is not enough not to be scandalously vicious, or to be innocent in his conversation, but that he must be entirely, uniformly, and constantly, pure and virtuous, animated with zeal to be still better and better, more eminently good and exemplary.“This is true religion, which is the perfection of human nature, and the joy and delight of every one that feels it active and strong within him. It is true, this is not arrived at all at once, and it will have an unhappy alloy, hanging long even about a good man; but, as those ill mixtures are the perpetual grief of his soul, so that it is his chief care to watch over and to mortify them, he will be in a continual progress, still gaining ground upon himself; and as he attains to a degree of purity, he will find a noble flame of life and joy growing up in him. Of this I write with a greater concern and emotion, because I have felt it to be the true, and, indeed, the only joy which runs through a man's heart and life. It is this which has been, for many years, my greatest support. I rejoice daily in it. I feel from it the earnest of that supreme joy which I want and long for; and I am sure there is nothing else which can afford any true and complete happiness.”This eminent scholar, Christian, and divine, departed this life on the seventeenth of March, 1714.

An eminent philosopher, and a truly good man, was the son of Richard, earl of Cork, and was born at Lismore, in Ireland, in the year 1627. At Eton School, where he was[pg 413]educated, he soon discovered a force of understanding which promised great things, and a disposition to improve it to the utmost. During his education, and before he was ten years old, he was much afflicted with an ague, which considerably depressed his spirits; and, to divert his attention, he was persuaded to read Amadis de Gaul, and other romantic books. But this kind of reading, he says in his memoirs, produced such restlessness in him, that he was obliged to apply himself to mathematical studies, in order to fix and settle the volatility of his fancy. He died in the sixty-fifth year of his age.

He was a man of great learning, and his stock of knowledge was immense. The celebrated Dr. Boerhaave has passed the following eulogium upon him:—“Boyle was the ornament of his age and country. Which of his writings shall I commend? All of them. To him we owe the secrets of fire, air, water, animals, vegetables, fossils; so that from his works may be deduced the whole system of natural knowledge.”

He was treated with particular kindness and respect by Charles II., as well as by the two great ministers Southampton and Clarendon. By the latter he was solicited to enter into orders; for his distinguished learning and unblemished reputation induced Lord Clarendon to think that so very respectable a personage would do great honor to the clergy. Boyle considered the proposal with due attention. He reflected that, in his present situation of life, whatever he wrote with respect to religion, would have greater weight, as coming from a layman; for he well knew that the irreligious fortified themselves against all that the clergy could offer, by supposing and saying that it was their trade, and that they were paid for it. He considered, likewise, that, in point of fortune and character, he needed no accessions; and, indeed, his desire for these was always very limited. But Bishop Burnet, to whom Boyle had communicated memorandums concerning his life, tells us that what had the greatest weight in determining his judgment, was,“the not feeling within himself any motion or tendency of mind which he could safely esteem a call from the Holy[pg 414]Spirit, and so not venturing to take holy orders, lest he should be found to have lied unto it.”

Bishop Burnet, who was Boyle's particular friend, and who, during an acquaintance of twenty-nine years, had spent many happy hours in conversation with him, gives a full account of his genuine piety and virtue, and of his zeal for the Christian religion.“This zeal,”he says,“was unmixed with narrow notions, or a bigoted heat in favor of a particular sect; it was that spirit which is the ornament of a true Christian.”Burnet mentions, as a proof of this, his noble foundation for lectures in defence of the gospel, against infidels of all sorts; the effects of which have been very conspicuous, in the many volumes of excellent discourses, which have been published in consequence of that laudable and pious design.

The great object of his philosophical pursuits was to promote the cause of religion, and to discountenance atheism and infidelity. His intimate friend Bishop Burnet makes the following observations on this point:—“It appeared to those who conversed with him on his inquiries into nature, that his main design (on which as he had his own eye constantly fixed, so he took care to put others often in mind of it) was to raise in himself and others more exalted sentiments of the greatness and glory, the wisdom and goodness, of God. This design was so deeply impressed on his mind, that he concludes the article of his will, which relates to the Royal Society, in these words:—‘I wish them a happy success in their attempts to discover the true nature of the works of God; and I pray that they, and all searchers into physical truths, may cordially refer their attainments to the glory of the great Author of nature, and to the comfort of mankind.’”

On another occasion, the same person speaks of him thus—“He had the most profound veneration for the great God of heaven and earth that I ever observed in any man. The very name of God was never mentioned by him without a pause and observable stop in his discourse.”So brightly did the example of this great and good man shine, through his whole course, that Bishop Burnet, on reviewing it, in a[pg 415]moment of pious exultation thus expressed himself:—“I might challenge the whole tribe of libertines to come and view the usefulness, as well as the excellence, of the Christian religion, in a life that was entirely dedicated to it.”

John Locke.A very celebrated philosopher, and one of the greatest men that England ever produced, born in the year 1632. He was well educated; and, applying himself with vigor to his studies, his mind became enlarged, and stored with much useful knowledge. He went abroad as secretary to the English ambassador at several of the German courts, and afterwards had the offer of being made envoy at the court of the emperor, or of any other that he chose; but he declined the proposal, on account of the infirm state of his health. He was a commissioner of trade and plantations, in which station he very honorably distinguished himself. Notwithstanding his public employments, he found leisure to write much for the benefit of mankind. His“Essay on Human Understanding,”his“Discourses on Government,”and his“Letters on Toleration,”are justly held in the highest esteem.This enlightened man and profound reasoner was most firmly attached to the Christian religion. His zeal to promote it appeared, first, in his middle age, by publishing a discourse to demonstrate the reasonableness of believing Jesus to be the promised Messiah; and, afterwards, in the latter part of his life, by a Commentary on several of the Epistles of the apostle Paul. The sacred Scriptures are every where mentioned by him with the greatest reverence; and he exhorts Christians“to betake themselves in earnest to the study of the way to salvation, in those holy writings, wherein God has revealed it from heaven, and proposed it to the world; seeking our religion where we are sure it is in truth to be found, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”In a letter written the year before his death, to one who asked this question,“What is the shortest and surest way[pg 416]for a young man to attain the true knowledge of the Christian religion?”he says,“Let him study the holy Scriptures, especially the New Testament: therein are contained the words of eternal life. It has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter.”This advice was conformable to his own practice.“For fourteen or fifteen years, he applied himself in an especial manner to the study of the Scriptures, and employed the last years of his life hardly in any thing else. He was never weary of admiring the great views of that sacred book, and the just relation of all its parts: he every day made discoveries in it that gave him fresh cause of admiration.”The consolation which he derived from divine revelation is forcibly expressed in these words:—“I gratefully receive and rejoice in the light of revelation, which has set me at rest in many things, the manner whereof my poor reason can by no means make out to me.”After he had diligently employed a great part of his life in a variety of occupations, he chose a pleasing retirement for the remainder of his days. This leisure appears to have been productive of solid improvement, by enabling him to look calmly over the scenes of past life; to form a proper estimate of its enjoyments, and to dedicate himself more fully to the cause of piety and virtue.About two months before his death, in 1704, he wrote a letter to his friend Anthony Collins, and left this direction upon it:—“To be delivered to him after my decease.”It concludes with the following remarkable words:—“May you live long and happy, in the enjoyment of health, freedom, content, and all those blessings which Providence has bestowed on you, and to which your virtue entitles you. You loved me living, and will preserve my memory when I am dead. All the use to be made of it is, that this life is a scene of vanity, which soon passes away, and affords no solid satisfaction, but in the consciousness of doing well, and in the hopes of another life. This is what I can say upon experience; and what you will find to be true, when you come to make up the account. Adieu!”

A very celebrated philosopher, and one of the greatest men that England ever produced, born in the year 1632. He was well educated; and, applying himself with vigor to his studies, his mind became enlarged, and stored with much useful knowledge. He went abroad as secretary to the English ambassador at several of the German courts, and afterwards had the offer of being made envoy at the court of the emperor, or of any other that he chose; but he declined the proposal, on account of the infirm state of his health. He was a commissioner of trade and plantations, in which station he very honorably distinguished himself. Notwithstanding his public employments, he found leisure to write much for the benefit of mankind. His“Essay on Human Understanding,”his“Discourses on Government,”and his“Letters on Toleration,”are justly held in the highest esteem.

This enlightened man and profound reasoner was most firmly attached to the Christian religion. His zeal to promote it appeared, first, in his middle age, by publishing a discourse to demonstrate the reasonableness of believing Jesus to be the promised Messiah; and, afterwards, in the latter part of his life, by a Commentary on several of the Epistles of the apostle Paul. The sacred Scriptures are every where mentioned by him with the greatest reverence; and he exhorts Christians“to betake themselves in earnest to the study of the way to salvation, in those holy writings, wherein God has revealed it from heaven, and proposed it to the world; seeking our religion where we are sure it is in truth to be found, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”

In a letter written the year before his death, to one who asked this question,“What is the shortest and surest way[pg 416]for a young man to attain the true knowledge of the Christian religion?”he says,“Let him study the holy Scriptures, especially the New Testament: therein are contained the words of eternal life. It has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter.”This advice was conformable to his own practice.“For fourteen or fifteen years, he applied himself in an especial manner to the study of the Scriptures, and employed the last years of his life hardly in any thing else. He was never weary of admiring the great views of that sacred book, and the just relation of all its parts: he every day made discoveries in it that gave him fresh cause of admiration.”

The consolation which he derived from divine revelation is forcibly expressed in these words:—“I gratefully receive and rejoice in the light of revelation, which has set me at rest in many things, the manner whereof my poor reason can by no means make out to me.”

After he had diligently employed a great part of his life in a variety of occupations, he chose a pleasing retirement for the remainder of his days. This leisure appears to have been productive of solid improvement, by enabling him to look calmly over the scenes of past life; to form a proper estimate of its enjoyments, and to dedicate himself more fully to the cause of piety and virtue.

About two months before his death, in 1704, he wrote a letter to his friend Anthony Collins, and left this direction upon it:—“To be delivered to him after my decease.”It concludes with the following remarkable words:—

“May you live long and happy, in the enjoyment of health, freedom, content, and all those blessings which Providence has bestowed on you, and to which your virtue entitles you. You loved me living, and will preserve my memory when I am dead. All the use to be made of it is, that this life is a scene of vanity, which soon passes away, and affords no solid satisfaction, but in the consciousness of doing well, and in the hopes of another life. This is what I can say upon experience; and what you will find to be true, when you come to make up the account. Adieu!”

Joseph Addison.A celebrated English writer, born at Milston, in Wiltshire, in the year 1672. About the age of fifteen, he was entered at Queen's College, Oxford, where, by his fine parts and great application, he made a surprising proficiency in classical learning. Before he left the university, he was warmly solicited to enter into orders; and he once resolved to do so; but his great modesty, and an uncommonly delicate sense of the importance of the sacred function, made him afterwards alter his resolution. He was highly respected by many of the greatest and the most learned of his contemporaries. He travelled into Italy, where he made many useful observations, and prepared materials for some of his literary works. On his return to England, he was chosen one of the lords commissioners for trade. In 1709, he was appointed secretary to the lord lieutenant of Ireland, and, in 1717, was advanced to the high office of secretary of state. He died in 1729.His writings have been of great use to the world, and his“Evidences of the Christian Religion”not the least so. Dr. Johnson, in delineating his character as a writer, gives the following amiable picture of him:—“He employed wit on the side of virtue and religion. He not only made the proper use of wit himself, but taught it to others; and, from his time, it has been generally subservient to the cause of reason and truth. He has dissipated the prejudice that had long connected cheerfulness with vice, and easiness of manners with laxity of principles. He has restored virtue to its dignity, and taught innocence not to be ashamed. This is an elevation of literary character above all Greek, above all Roman fame. As a teacher of wisdom, he may be confidently followed. His religion has nothing in it enthusiastic or superstitious; he appears neither weakly credulous nor wantonly skeptical; his morality is neither dangerously lax nor impracticably rigid. All the enchantment of fancy, and all the cogency of argument, are employed to recommend to the reader his real interest—the care of pleasing the Author of his being.”[pg 418]Of his integrity in discharging the duties of his office, there is a striking proof recorded. When he was secretary in Ireland, he had materially promoted the interest of an individual, who offered him, in return, a bank note of three hundred pounds, and a diamond ring of the same value. These he strenuously refused to accept, and wrote to the person as follows:—“And now, sir, believe me, when I assure you I never did, nor ever will, on any pretence whatsoever, take more than the stated and customary fees of my office. I might keep the contrary practice concealed from the world, were I capable of it, but I could not from myself; and I hope I shall always fear the reproaches of my own heart more than those of all mankind.”A mind conscious of its own uprightness, and humbly trusting in the goodness of God, has the best ground to look forward with complacency towards another life. The following lines of Addison are sweetly expressive of the peace and pleasure which he enjoyed in contemplating his future existence:—“The prospect of a future state is the secret comfort and refreshment of my soul. It is that which makes nature look cheerful about me; it doubles all my pleasures, and supports me under all my afflictions. I can look at disappointments and misfortunes, pain and sickness, death itself, with indifference, so long as I keep in view the pleasures of eternity, and the state of being in which there will be no fears nor apprehensions, pains nor sorrows.”

A celebrated English writer, born at Milston, in Wiltshire, in the year 1672. About the age of fifteen, he was entered at Queen's College, Oxford, where, by his fine parts and great application, he made a surprising proficiency in classical learning. Before he left the university, he was warmly solicited to enter into orders; and he once resolved to do so; but his great modesty, and an uncommonly delicate sense of the importance of the sacred function, made him afterwards alter his resolution. He was highly respected by many of the greatest and the most learned of his contemporaries. He travelled into Italy, where he made many useful observations, and prepared materials for some of his literary works. On his return to England, he was chosen one of the lords commissioners for trade. In 1709, he was appointed secretary to the lord lieutenant of Ireland, and, in 1717, was advanced to the high office of secretary of state. He died in 1729.

His writings have been of great use to the world, and his“Evidences of the Christian Religion”not the least so. Dr. Johnson, in delineating his character as a writer, gives the following amiable picture of him:—“He employed wit on the side of virtue and religion. He not only made the proper use of wit himself, but taught it to others; and, from his time, it has been generally subservient to the cause of reason and truth. He has dissipated the prejudice that had long connected cheerfulness with vice, and easiness of manners with laxity of principles. He has restored virtue to its dignity, and taught innocence not to be ashamed. This is an elevation of literary character above all Greek, above all Roman fame. As a teacher of wisdom, he may be confidently followed. His religion has nothing in it enthusiastic or superstitious; he appears neither weakly credulous nor wantonly skeptical; his morality is neither dangerously lax nor impracticably rigid. All the enchantment of fancy, and all the cogency of argument, are employed to recommend to the reader his real interest—the care of pleasing the Author of his being.”

Of his integrity in discharging the duties of his office, there is a striking proof recorded. When he was secretary in Ireland, he had materially promoted the interest of an individual, who offered him, in return, a bank note of three hundred pounds, and a diamond ring of the same value. These he strenuously refused to accept, and wrote to the person as follows:—“And now, sir, believe me, when I assure you I never did, nor ever will, on any pretence whatsoever, take more than the stated and customary fees of my office. I might keep the contrary practice concealed from the world, were I capable of it, but I could not from myself; and I hope I shall always fear the reproaches of my own heart more than those of all mankind.”

A mind conscious of its own uprightness, and humbly trusting in the goodness of God, has the best ground to look forward with complacency towards another life. The following lines of Addison are sweetly expressive of the peace and pleasure which he enjoyed in contemplating his future existence:—“The prospect of a future state is the secret comfort and refreshment of my soul. It is that which makes nature look cheerful about me; it doubles all my pleasures, and supports me under all my afflictions. I can look at disappointments and misfortunes, pain and sickness, death itself, with indifference, so long as I keep in view the pleasures of eternity, and the state of being in which there will be no fears nor apprehensions, pains nor sorrows.”

Isaac Watts.A learned and eminent dissenting minister, born at Southampton, in the year 1674, of parents who were distinguished by their piety and virtue. He died in 1748. He possessed an uncommon genius, of which he gave early proofs. He received a very liberal education, which was rendered highly beneficial to him by his own unwearied efforts to improve himself. After the most serious deliberation, he determined to devote his life to the ministry, of the importance of which[pg 419]office he had a deep and awful sense. He labored very diligently to promote the instruction and happiness of the people under his care, to whom, by his Christian conduct and amiable disposition, he greatly endeared himself.Soon after he had undertaken the pastoral office, his health sustained a severe shock by a painful and dangerous illness, from which he recovered very slowly. But, in the year 1712, he was afflicted with a violent fever, that entirely broke his constitution, and left such weakness upon his nerves, as continued with him, in some measure, to his dying day. For four years he was wholly prevented from discharging the public offices of his station. Though this long interval of sickness was, no doubt, very trying to his active mind, yet it proved ultimately a blessing to him; for it drew upon him the particular notice of Sir Thomas Abney, a very pious and worthy man, who, from motives of friendship, invited him into his family, in which he continued to the end of his life, and, for the long space of thirty-six years, was treated with uniform kindness, attention, and respect.This excellent man was, by his natural temper, quick of resentment; but, by his established and habitual practice, he was gentle, modest, and inoffensive. His tenderness appeared in his attention to children and to the poor. To the poor, while he lived in the family of his friend, he allowed the third part of his annual revenue; and for children, he condescended to lay aside the scholar, the philosopher, and the wit, to write little poems of devotion, and systems of instruction, adapted to their wants and capacities, from the dawn of reason, through its gradations of advance in the morning of life. Few men have left behind them such purity of character, or such monuments of laborious piety. He has provided instruction for all ages, from those who are lisping their first lessons, to the enlightened readers of Malebranche and Locke. His“Improvement of the Mind”is a work in the highest degree useful and pleasing. Whatever he took in hand was, by his incessant solicitude for souls, converted to theology. As piety predominated in his mind, it is diffused[pg 420]over his works. Under his direction, it may be truly said that philosophy is subservient to evangelical instruction: it is difficult to read a page without learning, or at least wishing to be better.The virtue of this good man eminently appeared in the happy state of his mind under great pains and weakness of body, and in the improvement which he derived from them. Of those seasons of affliction, he says, with a truly elevated mind and thankful heart,“I am not afraid to let the world know that, amidst the sinkings of life and nature, Christianity and the gospel were my support. Amidst all the violence of my distemper, and the tiresome months of it, I thank God I never lost sight of reason or religion, though sometimes I had much difficulty to preserve the machine of animal nature in such order as regularly to exercise either the man or the Christian.”The sweet peace of conscience he enjoyed under these trying circumstances, and the rational and Christian foundation of his hope and trust in the divine goodness, are beautifully and justly expressed by him, in the following lines:—“Yet, gracious God, amid these storms of nature,Thine eyes behold a sweet and sacred calmReign through the realms of conscience; all withinLies peaceful, all composed. 'Tis wondrous graceKeeps off thy terrors from this humble bosom;Though stained with sins and follies, yet sereneIn penitential peace and cheerful hope,Sprinkled and guarded with atoning blood,Thy vital smiles, amidst this desolation,Like heavenly sunbeams hid behind the clouds,Break out in happy moments, with bright radianceCleaving the gloom; the fair, celestial light,Softens and gilds the horrors of the storm,And richest cordials to the heart conveys.”

A learned and eminent dissenting minister, born at Southampton, in the year 1674, of parents who were distinguished by their piety and virtue. He died in 1748. He possessed an uncommon genius, of which he gave early proofs. He received a very liberal education, which was rendered highly beneficial to him by his own unwearied efforts to improve himself. After the most serious deliberation, he determined to devote his life to the ministry, of the importance of which[pg 419]office he had a deep and awful sense. He labored very diligently to promote the instruction and happiness of the people under his care, to whom, by his Christian conduct and amiable disposition, he greatly endeared himself.

Soon after he had undertaken the pastoral office, his health sustained a severe shock by a painful and dangerous illness, from which he recovered very slowly. But, in the year 1712, he was afflicted with a violent fever, that entirely broke his constitution, and left such weakness upon his nerves, as continued with him, in some measure, to his dying day. For four years he was wholly prevented from discharging the public offices of his station. Though this long interval of sickness was, no doubt, very trying to his active mind, yet it proved ultimately a blessing to him; for it drew upon him the particular notice of Sir Thomas Abney, a very pious and worthy man, who, from motives of friendship, invited him into his family, in which he continued to the end of his life, and, for the long space of thirty-six years, was treated with uniform kindness, attention, and respect.

This excellent man was, by his natural temper, quick of resentment; but, by his established and habitual practice, he was gentle, modest, and inoffensive. His tenderness appeared in his attention to children and to the poor. To the poor, while he lived in the family of his friend, he allowed the third part of his annual revenue; and for children, he condescended to lay aside the scholar, the philosopher, and the wit, to write little poems of devotion, and systems of instruction, adapted to their wants and capacities, from the dawn of reason, through its gradations of advance in the morning of life. Few men have left behind them such purity of character, or such monuments of laborious piety. He has provided instruction for all ages, from those who are lisping their first lessons, to the enlightened readers of Malebranche and Locke. His“Improvement of the Mind”is a work in the highest degree useful and pleasing. Whatever he took in hand was, by his incessant solicitude for souls, converted to theology. As piety predominated in his mind, it is diffused[pg 420]over his works. Under his direction, it may be truly said that philosophy is subservient to evangelical instruction: it is difficult to read a page without learning, or at least wishing to be better.

The virtue of this good man eminently appeared in the happy state of his mind under great pains and weakness of body, and in the improvement which he derived from them. Of those seasons of affliction, he says, with a truly elevated mind and thankful heart,“I am not afraid to let the world know that, amidst the sinkings of life and nature, Christianity and the gospel were my support. Amidst all the violence of my distemper, and the tiresome months of it, I thank God I never lost sight of reason or religion, though sometimes I had much difficulty to preserve the machine of animal nature in such order as regularly to exercise either the man or the Christian.”

The sweet peace of conscience he enjoyed under these trying circumstances, and the rational and Christian foundation of his hope and trust in the divine goodness, are beautifully and justly expressed by him, in the following lines:—

“Yet, gracious God, amid these storms of nature,Thine eyes behold a sweet and sacred calmReign through the realms of conscience; all withinLies peaceful, all composed. 'Tis wondrous graceKeeps off thy terrors from this humble bosom;Though stained with sins and follies, yet sereneIn penitential peace and cheerful hope,Sprinkled and guarded with atoning blood,Thy vital smiles, amidst this desolation,Like heavenly sunbeams hid behind the clouds,Break out in happy moments, with bright radianceCleaving the gloom; the fair, celestial light,Softens and gilds the horrors of the storm,And richest cordials to the heart conveys.”

“Yet, gracious God, amid these storms of nature,

Thine eyes behold a sweet and sacred calm

Reign through the realms of conscience; all within

Lies peaceful, all composed. 'Tis wondrous grace

Keeps off thy terrors from this humble bosom;

Though stained with sins and follies, yet serene

In penitential peace and cheerful hope,

Sprinkled and guarded with atoning blood,

Thy vital smiles, amidst this desolation,

Like heavenly sunbeams hid behind the clouds,

Break out in happy moments, with bright radiance

Cleaving the gloom; the fair, celestial light,

Softens and gilds the horrors of the storm,

And richest cordials to the heart conveys.”

Philip Doddridge.Born in London, in the year 1702. His parents, who were persons of great worth, brought him up in an early[pg 421]knowledge of religion; but he had the misfortune to lose them before he was fourteen years old. This circumstance excited in his mind very serious reflections, which, however, were not wholly of a gloomy nature; for he expressed a devout, and even a cheerful trust in the protection of the God of mercies, the universal Parent of mankind.He diligently improved his time, and was anxious to be daily advancing in knowledge, piety, virtue, and usefulness. He possessed strong powers of mind, and, by unwearied application, acquired a large fund of sound and elegant learning. His publications, which are chiefly on religious subjects, have been eminently useful to the world. By his literary acquisitions, his amiable disposition, and his desire to imbue the young mind with knowledge and virtue, he was qualified, in a peculiar manner, to become the instructor of youth; and for many years he superintended a very respectable academy. As the pastor of a congregation, he manifested a sincere and zealous regard for the happiness of the people under his care, by whom he was greatly honored and beloved.He possessed many virtues; but the prime and leading feature of his soul was devotion. He was very solicitous to preserve and cultivate an habitual sense of the Supreme Being, to maintain and increase the ardor of religion in his heart, and to prepare himself, by devout exercises, for the important labors of his station. Nor was it to his secret retirements that his piety was limited; it was manifested in every part of the day, and appeared in his usual intercourse with men. In the little vacancies of time which occur to the busiest of mankind, he was frequently lifting up his soul to God. When he lectured on philosophy, history, anatomy, or other subjects not immediately theological, he would endeavor to graft some religious instructions upon them, that he might raise the minds of his pupils to devotion, as well as to knowledge; and, in his visits to his people, the Christian friend and minister were united.The piety of Dr. Doddridge was accompanied with the[pg 422]warmest benevolence to his fellow-creatures. No one could more strongly feel that the love of God was to be united with love to man. Nor was this a principle that rested in kind wishes and pathetic feelings for the happiness of others, but it was manifested in the most active exertions for their welfare. No scheme of doing good was ever suggested to him into which he did not enter with ardor. But the generosity of his mind was most displayed when any plans of propagating religion, and of spreading the gospel among those who were strangers to it, were proposed. In every thing of this kind he was always ready to take the lead, and was ardent in endeavoring to inspire his friends with the same spirit.He was of a weak and delicate bodily constitution; and a severe cold which he caught about the forty-eighth year of his age, brought on a consumption of the lungs. The nearer he approached to his dissolution, the more plainly was observed his continual improvement in a spiritual and heavenly temper. Indeed, he seemed to have risen above the world, and to be daily breathing after immortality. This disposition of his mind was ardently expressed in several of his letters, and is manifest from his will, which was made at this time, and is prefaced in the following language:—“Whereas it is customary, on these occasions, to begin with commending the soul into the hands of God, through Christ, I do it; not in mere form, but with sincerity and joy; esteeming it my greatest happiness, that I am taught and encouraged to do it, by that glorious gospel, which, having most assuredly believed, I have spent my life in preaching to others; and which I esteem an infinitely greater treasure than all my little worldly store, or possessions ten thousand times greater than mine.”A short time before his death, he had been induced to try the mild air of the south; but change of climate did not produce the desired effect, and Dr. Doddridge continued gradually to weaken, till death put a period to his afflictions. In his last hours, he preserved the same calmness, vigor, and joy of mind, which he had felt and expressed through the[pg 423]whole of his illness. The only pain he had in the thought of dying, was the fear of that grief and distress which his wife would suffer from his removal. To his children, his congregation, and his friends in general, he desired to be remembered in the most affectionate manner; nor did he, in the effusions of his pious benevolence, forget the family where he lodged, or his own servant. Many devout sentiments and aspirations were uttered by him; but the heart of his wife was too much affected with his approaching change to be able to recollect them distinctly. Though he died in a foreign land, and, in a certain sense, among strangers, his decease was embalmed with many tears. His age was 49 years.

Born in London, in the year 1702. His parents, who were persons of great worth, brought him up in an early[pg 421]knowledge of religion; but he had the misfortune to lose them before he was fourteen years old. This circumstance excited in his mind very serious reflections, which, however, were not wholly of a gloomy nature; for he expressed a devout, and even a cheerful trust in the protection of the God of mercies, the universal Parent of mankind.

He diligently improved his time, and was anxious to be daily advancing in knowledge, piety, virtue, and usefulness. He possessed strong powers of mind, and, by unwearied application, acquired a large fund of sound and elegant learning. His publications, which are chiefly on religious subjects, have been eminently useful to the world. By his literary acquisitions, his amiable disposition, and his desire to imbue the young mind with knowledge and virtue, he was qualified, in a peculiar manner, to become the instructor of youth; and for many years he superintended a very respectable academy. As the pastor of a congregation, he manifested a sincere and zealous regard for the happiness of the people under his care, by whom he was greatly honored and beloved.

He possessed many virtues; but the prime and leading feature of his soul was devotion. He was very solicitous to preserve and cultivate an habitual sense of the Supreme Being, to maintain and increase the ardor of religion in his heart, and to prepare himself, by devout exercises, for the important labors of his station. Nor was it to his secret retirements that his piety was limited; it was manifested in every part of the day, and appeared in his usual intercourse with men. In the little vacancies of time which occur to the busiest of mankind, he was frequently lifting up his soul to God. When he lectured on philosophy, history, anatomy, or other subjects not immediately theological, he would endeavor to graft some religious instructions upon them, that he might raise the minds of his pupils to devotion, as well as to knowledge; and, in his visits to his people, the Christian friend and minister were united.

The piety of Dr. Doddridge was accompanied with the[pg 422]warmest benevolence to his fellow-creatures. No one could more strongly feel that the love of God was to be united with love to man. Nor was this a principle that rested in kind wishes and pathetic feelings for the happiness of others, but it was manifested in the most active exertions for their welfare. No scheme of doing good was ever suggested to him into which he did not enter with ardor. But the generosity of his mind was most displayed when any plans of propagating religion, and of spreading the gospel among those who were strangers to it, were proposed. In every thing of this kind he was always ready to take the lead, and was ardent in endeavoring to inspire his friends with the same spirit.

He was of a weak and delicate bodily constitution; and a severe cold which he caught about the forty-eighth year of his age, brought on a consumption of the lungs. The nearer he approached to his dissolution, the more plainly was observed his continual improvement in a spiritual and heavenly temper. Indeed, he seemed to have risen above the world, and to be daily breathing after immortality. This disposition of his mind was ardently expressed in several of his letters, and is manifest from his will, which was made at this time, and is prefaced in the following language:—“Whereas it is customary, on these occasions, to begin with commending the soul into the hands of God, through Christ, I do it; not in mere form, but with sincerity and joy; esteeming it my greatest happiness, that I am taught and encouraged to do it, by that glorious gospel, which, having most assuredly believed, I have spent my life in preaching to others; and which I esteem an infinitely greater treasure than all my little worldly store, or possessions ten thousand times greater than mine.”

A short time before his death, he had been induced to try the mild air of the south; but change of climate did not produce the desired effect, and Dr. Doddridge continued gradually to weaken, till death put a period to his afflictions. In his last hours, he preserved the same calmness, vigor, and joy of mind, which he had felt and expressed through the[pg 423]whole of his illness. The only pain he had in the thought of dying, was the fear of that grief and distress which his wife would suffer from his removal. To his children, his congregation, and his friends in general, he desired to be remembered in the most affectionate manner; nor did he, in the effusions of his pious benevolence, forget the family where he lodged, or his own servant. Many devout sentiments and aspirations were uttered by him; but the heart of his wife was too much affected with his approaching change to be able to recollect them distinctly. Though he died in a foreign land, and, in a certain sense, among strangers, his decease was embalmed with many tears. His age was 49 years.

John Murray.A distinguished preacher of Universalism in the United States, born in Alton, county of Hampshire, England, on the 10th of December, 1741.When he had attained his eleventh year, the family removed to Ireland, in the vicinity of Cork. While here, he was converted to Methodism, and gained the attention of John Wesley, by whom he was appointed a class-leader. He was very earnest and devout in his religious exercises, and was regarded by his brethren as a valuable accession to their church. About this time his father died, and he shortly after left Ireland for England. He took up his residence in London, and was gradually led into gay society. The secret monitor, however, frequently reproached him, and finally brought him back again to the services of the sanctuary, and quickened the flame of religious devotion. At this time his prejudices against Universalism were very strong; his soul“kindled with indignation”against them. But, shortly after his marriage to a very amiable young lady of London, he was induced to visit Mr. Relly's chapel, the preacher of universal salvation; and, notwithstanding he had been so filled with wrath against Mr. Relly, that, as he subsequently said, he thought it would have been doing both God and man service[pg 424]to kill him, yet he was moved to tenderness by his preaching and subsequently became an attendant on his ministry. Rich were the consolations enjoyed by him and his amiable wife in their new faith. But great sorrows awaited him; she sickened and died; and the death-scene is described by himself, in his autobiography, with thrilling effect. He would gladly have accompanied her to the spirit-world. He was now alone; he felt himself a solitary being; he had no taste for the joys of life; his mind dwelt only on death and eternity; he was unfitted for society; and in this state of mind, Providence seems to have directed his thoughts to America. He resolved to embark; and, in the month of September, 1770, he landed upon the shores of New Jersey. Here he became at once acquainted with a philanthropic landholder, by the name of Thomas Potter, who, in the belief that God would send him a preacher, had erected a meeting-house, and who insisted that Murray was the man whom God had sent. In this house Murray commenced his labors as a preacher; and from this time, he is to be contemplated as the public advocate of Universalism, on the system of Relly. He soon visited the city of New York, and various other cities and towns in the Middle States, preaching the gospel whithersoever he went. His first visit to Boston was made in October, 1773, and his second in September, 1774. It was during this second visit that he was stoned in the pulpit of Rev. Mr. Croswell, in School Street. About this time he visited Gloucester, Massachusetts, which was afterwards his residence for many years. In 1775, he was appointed by General Washington chaplain to the Rhode Island troops, in the army then lying around Boston. He soon, however, returned to his charge in Gloucester, where he remained, making frequent visits to different parts of the United States, until October, 1793, when he was ordained pastor of the First Universalist Society in Boston, which had purchased the house of worship formerly occupied by the society of Dr. Samuel Mather. His labors were not confined to this society, however; in one respect he was a minister at large;[pg 425]he continued his itinerant habits, more or less, until October, 1809, when he was stricken with the palsy. He lived nearly six years after this affliction, and expired on the third day of September, 1815. He was buried in the Granary burying-ground, where his remains were suffered to lie unhonored until 1837, when they were removed to Mount Auburn, and a monument was erected to his memory. The monument is a beautiful fluted column, surmounted by an urn. It is encircled by a belt, or tablet, on which two inscriptions are placed; on one side—“JOHN MURRAY, Preacher of the Gospel; born in Alton, England, December 10, 1741; died in Boston, September 3, 1815; reëntombed beneath this stone, June 8, 1837.”On the opposite side—“Erected at the recommendation of the United States General Convention of Universalists.”

A distinguished preacher of Universalism in the United States, born in Alton, county of Hampshire, England, on the 10th of December, 1741.

When he had attained his eleventh year, the family removed to Ireland, in the vicinity of Cork. While here, he was converted to Methodism, and gained the attention of John Wesley, by whom he was appointed a class-leader. He was very earnest and devout in his religious exercises, and was regarded by his brethren as a valuable accession to their church. About this time his father died, and he shortly after left Ireland for England. He took up his residence in London, and was gradually led into gay society. The secret monitor, however, frequently reproached him, and finally brought him back again to the services of the sanctuary, and quickened the flame of religious devotion. At this time his prejudices against Universalism were very strong; his soul“kindled with indignation”against them. But, shortly after his marriage to a very amiable young lady of London, he was induced to visit Mr. Relly's chapel, the preacher of universal salvation; and, notwithstanding he had been so filled with wrath against Mr. Relly, that, as he subsequently said, he thought it would have been doing both God and man service[pg 424]to kill him, yet he was moved to tenderness by his preaching and subsequently became an attendant on his ministry. Rich were the consolations enjoyed by him and his amiable wife in their new faith. But great sorrows awaited him; she sickened and died; and the death-scene is described by himself, in his autobiography, with thrilling effect. He would gladly have accompanied her to the spirit-world. He was now alone; he felt himself a solitary being; he had no taste for the joys of life; his mind dwelt only on death and eternity; he was unfitted for society; and in this state of mind, Providence seems to have directed his thoughts to America. He resolved to embark; and, in the month of September, 1770, he landed upon the shores of New Jersey. Here he became at once acquainted with a philanthropic landholder, by the name of Thomas Potter, who, in the belief that God would send him a preacher, had erected a meeting-house, and who insisted that Murray was the man whom God had sent. In this house Murray commenced his labors as a preacher; and from this time, he is to be contemplated as the public advocate of Universalism, on the system of Relly. He soon visited the city of New York, and various other cities and towns in the Middle States, preaching the gospel whithersoever he went. His first visit to Boston was made in October, 1773, and his second in September, 1774. It was during this second visit that he was stoned in the pulpit of Rev. Mr. Croswell, in School Street. About this time he visited Gloucester, Massachusetts, which was afterwards his residence for many years. In 1775, he was appointed by General Washington chaplain to the Rhode Island troops, in the army then lying around Boston. He soon, however, returned to his charge in Gloucester, where he remained, making frequent visits to different parts of the United States, until October, 1793, when he was ordained pastor of the First Universalist Society in Boston, which had purchased the house of worship formerly occupied by the society of Dr. Samuel Mather. His labors were not confined to this society, however; in one respect he was a minister at large;[pg 425]he continued his itinerant habits, more or less, until October, 1809, when he was stricken with the palsy. He lived nearly six years after this affliction, and expired on the third day of September, 1815. He was buried in the Granary burying-ground, where his remains were suffered to lie unhonored until 1837, when they were removed to Mount Auburn, and a monument was erected to his memory. The monument is a beautiful fluted column, surmounted by an urn. It is encircled by a belt, or tablet, on which two inscriptions are placed; on one side—

“JOHN MURRAY, Preacher of the Gospel; born in Alton, England, December 10, 1741; died in Boston, September 3, 1815; reëntombed beneath this stone, June 8, 1837.”

On the opposite side—

“Erected at the recommendation of the United States General Convention of Universalists.”

Elhanan Winchester.A distinguished advocate of Universalism, born in Brookline, Massachusetts, September 30, 1751. In his nineteenth year, he was converted, under the preaching of the Baptists; and it was by his labors that the present Baptist society in Newton was originally gathered. In the autumn of 1774, he made a journey to the Southern States. Early in 1778, he first saw Siegvolk's“Everlasting Gospel,”a work which originally appeared in Holland, but which had been translated and published by the Mennonites of Pennsylvania. It made a very deep impression upon his mind. In 1779, he came back to New England, his convictions of the truth of Universalism increasing upon him daily. He set out on his return to South Carolina in the autumn of 1780, and arrived at Philadelphia on the 7th of October. Here he intended to remain but a few days; but God evidently had a great work for him to do in this place. Even his enemies acknowledged[pg 426]that his“manner of preaching was popular, his address very fascinating, and his appearance dignified and commanding.”The Baptist church in that city invited him to tarry and preach to them, and he at length consented. About this time he read“Stonehouse on Universal Restitution,”which served to confirm him greatly in his belief of that doctrine. Notwithstanding his great popularity, a discontent began to show itself in certain members of the church. He foresaw that a storm was rising, and he determined to prepare for it; not (to use his words)“by denying what I had said, but by more fully examining, and determining for myself, whether the sentiment was according to Scripture, or not. If I found it was not, I was determined to retract; but if it was, to hold it fast, let the consequences be what they might.”Such was his truly Christian resolution. He avowed his belief in the final happiness of all men.A majority of the church were in his favor; but, being a man of remarkably peaceful disposition, he did not urge them to press their claims to the meeting-house; but they retired to the hall of the university, where they held their meetings for about four years, until they purchased a place for themselves. During the rest of his life, he is to be viewed as the public advocate of universal restitution. There were several eminent men who adhered to him, and among others, Dr. Redman, and the celebrated Dr. Benjamin Rush, who remained his correspondent when he was in Europe. Added to all his other troubles, his domestic afflictions were very great. At the age of thirty-two, he had buried four wives. The fifth was a desperate fury, who gave him great trouble as long as he lived. After preaching about six years in Philadelphia, he was seized with an irresistible impulse to visit England. No persuasions could divert him from the purpose; and in September, 1787, he arrived, almost penniless, and a total stranger, in the great metropolis of the British empire. He preached in different parts of London, and, by his fervid eloquence and earnest defence of the restoration, he soon gathered a congregation, who took for him the[pg 427]chapel in Parliament Court, in which he held his meetings until his departure for America. He spent six years and a half in this country, laboring assiduously to bring men to the knowledge of the truth; and a deep and wide impression was made by his labors. In consequence of the ill treatment he experienced from his wife, he was obliged to leave her; and he quitted England privately, and came home, filling the friends whom he had left behind with amazement, being ignorant at first what had befallen him. He arrived in Boston in July, 1794. Various were the speculations in this country in regard to his return. But he commenced at once his labors as a preacher, travelling in several of the states,—visited his former friends in Philadelphia, where he was joined by his wife, who had come home to America, and whom he freely forgave. It became evident, about this time, that his health was greatly impaired; and an increasing asthma foretold a fatal termination. He came to Hartford, Connecticut, in October, 1796, and raised a congregation, to which he preached until he could preach no more. In April, 1797, he delivered a sermon, under a strong presentiment that it was his last, from St. Paul's farewell address to the elders of the Ephesian church. He never entered the desk again. He contemplated his death with serenity and joy. On the morning of his decease, he commenced singing the hymn with several of his friends,—“Farewell, my friends in Christ below,”but his voice soon faltered, and the torpor of death fell on him. His friends became disconcerted, and ceased to sing; but he revived a little, and encouraged them to go on, joining in the first line of each verse, until his voice was actually“lost in death.”This was on the 18th of April, 1797, in the 47th year of his age. His funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Strong, of Hartford, who bore a frank testimony to Mr. Winchester's excellent character, and his final constancy in the doctrine he had preached.The following is the inscription on the stone erected to his memory:—[pg 428]“The General Convention of the Universal Churches, in Memory of their dear departed Brother, theRev. Elhanan Winchester, erected this Monumental Stone.He died April 18th, 1797, aged 46 years.Twas thine to preach, with animated zeal,The glories of the resurrection morn,When sin, death, hell, the power of Christ shall feel,And light, life, immortality, be born.”

A distinguished advocate of Universalism, born in Brookline, Massachusetts, September 30, 1751. In his nineteenth year, he was converted, under the preaching of the Baptists; and it was by his labors that the present Baptist society in Newton was originally gathered. In the autumn of 1774, he made a journey to the Southern States. Early in 1778, he first saw Siegvolk's“Everlasting Gospel,”a work which originally appeared in Holland, but which had been translated and published by the Mennonites of Pennsylvania. It made a very deep impression upon his mind. In 1779, he came back to New England, his convictions of the truth of Universalism increasing upon him daily. He set out on his return to South Carolina in the autumn of 1780, and arrived at Philadelphia on the 7th of October. Here he intended to remain but a few days; but God evidently had a great work for him to do in this place. Even his enemies acknowledged[pg 426]that his“manner of preaching was popular, his address very fascinating, and his appearance dignified and commanding.”The Baptist church in that city invited him to tarry and preach to them, and he at length consented. About this time he read“Stonehouse on Universal Restitution,”which served to confirm him greatly in his belief of that doctrine. Notwithstanding his great popularity, a discontent began to show itself in certain members of the church. He foresaw that a storm was rising, and he determined to prepare for it; not (to use his words)“by denying what I had said, but by more fully examining, and determining for myself, whether the sentiment was according to Scripture, or not. If I found it was not, I was determined to retract; but if it was, to hold it fast, let the consequences be what they might.”Such was his truly Christian resolution. He avowed his belief in the final happiness of all men.

A majority of the church were in his favor; but, being a man of remarkably peaceful disposition, he did not urge them to press their claims to the meeting-house; but they retired to the hall of the university, where they held their meetings for about four years, until they purchased a place for themselves. During the rest of his life, he is to be viewed as the public advocate of universal restitution. There were several eminent men who adhered to him, and among others, Dr. Redman, and the celebrated Dr. Benjamin Rush, who remained his correspondent when he was in Europe. Added to all his other troubles, his domestic afflictions were very great. At the age of thirty-two, he had buried four wives. The fifth was a desperate fury, who gave him great trouble as long as he lived. After preaching about six years in Philadelphia, he was seized with an irresistible impulse to visit England. No persuasions could divert him from the purpose; and in September, 1787, he arrived, almost penniless, and a total stranger, in the great metropolis of the British empire. He preached in different parts of London, and, by his fervid eloquence and earnest defence of the restoration, he soon gathered a congregation, who took for him the[pg 427]chapel in Parliament Court, in which he held his meetings until his departure for America. He spent six years and a half in this country, laboring assiduously to bring men to the knowledge of the truth; and a deep and wide impression was made by his labors. In consequence of the ill treatment he experienced from his wife, he was obliged to leave her; and he quitted England privately, and came home, filling the friends whom he had left behind with amazement, being ignorant at first what had befallen him. He arrived in Boston in July, 1794. Various were the speculations in this country in regard to his return. But he commenced at once his labors as a preacher, travelling in several of the states,—visited his former friends in Philadelphia, where he was joined by his wife, who had come home to America, and whom he freely forgave. It became evident, about this time, that his health was greatly impaired; and an increasing asthma foretold a fatal termination. He came to Hartford, Connecticut, in October, 1796, and raised a congregation, to which he preached until he could preach no more. In April, 1797, he delivered a sermon, under a strong presentiment that it was his last, from St. Paul's farewell address to the elders of the Ephesian church. He never entered the desk again. He contemplated his death with serenity and joy. On the morning of his decease, he commenced singing the hymn with several of his friends,—“Farewell, my friends in Christ below,”but his voice soon faltered, and the torpor of death fell on him. His friends became disconcerted, and ceased to sing; but he revived a little, and encouraged them to go on, joining in the first line of each verse, until his voice was actually“lost in death.”This was on the 18th of April, 1797, in the 47th year of his age. His funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Strong, of Hartford, who bore a frank testimony to Mr. Winchester's excellent character, and his final constancy in the doctrine he had preached.

The following is the inscription on the stone erected to his memory:—

“The General Convention of the Universal Churches, in Memory of their dear departed Brother, theRev. Elhanan Winchester, erected this Monumental Stone.He died April 18th, 1797, aged 46 years.Twas thine to preach, with animated zeal,The glories of the resurrection morn,When sin, death, hell, the power of Christ shall feel,And light, life, immortality, be born.”

“The General Convention of the Universal Churches, in Memory of their dear departed Brother, theRev. Elhanan Winchester, erected this Monumental Stone.

He died April 18th, 1797, aged 46 years.

Twas thine to preach, with animated zeal,The glories of the resurrection morn,When sin, death, hell, the power of Christ shall feel,And light, life, immortality, be born.”

Twas thine to preach, with animated zeal,

The glories of the resurrection morn,

When sin, death, hell, the power of Christ shall feel,

And light, life, immortality, be born.”

Saint Genevieve.Born at Nanterre, about five miles from Paris, in the year 423, about the time of Pharamond, the first king of France. St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre, observing in her, when yet very young, a particular disposition to sanctity, advised her to take a vow of perpetual virginity, which she accordingly did in the presence of the bishop of Paris. After the death of her parents, she went to Paris. The city was about to be deserted, when Attila, with his Huns, broke into France; but Genevieve assured the inhabitants of complete security, if they would seek it by fervent prayers. Attila took his course from Champaigne to Orleans, returned thence into Champaigne, without touching Paris, and was defeated in 451. By this event, Genevieve's reputation was established. In a time of famine, she went along the River Seine, from city to city, and soon returned with twelve large vessels loaded with grain, which she distributed gratuitously among the sufferers. This increased her authority, and she was highly honored by Merovæus and Chilperic. Nothing, however, contributed more to her reputation for sanctity, than the circumstance, that, from her fifteenth to her fiftieth year, she ate nothing but barley-bread, except that she took some beans every two or three weeks, and, after her fiftieth year, some fish and milk. In 460, she built a church over the graves of St. Dionysius Rusticus and Eleutherius, near the village of Chasteville, where Dagobert afterwards founded the abbey of St. Denys. She died in 499 or 501, and her[pg 429]body was placed in the subterraneous chapel which St. Denys had consecrated to the apostles Paul and Peter. Clovis, by her request, built a church over it, which was afterwards called by her name, as was also the abbey that was founded there. Another church, consecrated to this saint, was built adjoining to the church of Notre Dame. Her relics are preserved in the former. The church celebrates the third of January, the day on which she died, in honor of her.

Born at Nanterre, about five miles from Paris, in the year 423, about the time of Pharamond, the first king of France. St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre, observing in her, when yet very young, a particular disposition to sanctity, advised her to take a vow of perpetual virginity, which she accordingly did in the presence of the bishop of Paris. After the death of her parents, she went to Paris. The city was about to be deserted, when Attila, with his Huns, broke into France; but Genevieve assured the inhabitants of complete security, if they would seek it by fervent prayers. Attila took his course from Champaigne to Orleans, returned thence into Champaigne, without touching Paris, and was defeated in 451. By this event, Genevieve's reputation was established. In a time of famine, she went along the River Seine, from city to city, and soon returned with twelve large vessels loaded with grain, which she distributed gratuitously among the sufferers. This increased her authority, and she was highly honored by Merovæus and Chilperic. Nothing, however, contributed more to her reputation for sanctity, than the circumstance, that, from her fifteenth to her fiftieth year, she ate nothing but barley-bread, except that she took some beans every two or three weeks, and, after her fiftieth year, some fish and milk. In 460, she built a church over the graves of St. Dionysius Rusticus and Eleutherius, near the village of Chasteville, where Dagobert afterwards founded the abbey of St. Denys. She died in 499 or 501, and her[pg 429]body was placed in the subterraneous chapel which St. Denys had consecrated to the apostles Paul and Peter. Clovis, by her request, built a church over it, which was afterwards called by her name, as was also the abbey that was founded there. Another church, consecrated to this saint, was built adjoining to the church of Notre Dame. Her relics are preserved in the former. The church celebrates the third of January, the day on which she died, in honor of her.

Gilbert Burnet.Bishop of Salisbury, was born at Edinburgh, in the year 1643. He was carefully educated by his father; and, having a strong constitution and a prodigious memory, he applied himself closely to study, and acquired a great portion of learning and knowledge, which he seemed to have ready for all occasions. He travelled through France, Italy, and Holland, where he formed connections with many of the greatest persons of his time, by whom he was much respected for his talents and virtues. At Amsterdam, he became acquainted with the leading men of the different persuasions tolerated in the United Provinces—Calvinists, Arminians, Lutherans, Anabaptists, Brownists, Roman Catholics, and Unitarians; amongst each of which, he used frequently to declare, he met with men of such unfeigned piety and virtue, that he became strongly fixed in a principle of universal charity, and an invincible abhorrence of all severities on account of religious opinions.The following sentiments, which he solemnly uttered towards the conclusion of his days, are very expressive of the nature and power of true religion, and of its influence upon his own mind:—“I recommend,”he observes,“to all sorts of men, in the most serious manner, the study and practice of religion, as that which is the most important of all things, and which is both the light of the world, and the salt of the earth.“Nothing so opens our faculties, and composes and directs[pg 430]the whole man, as an inward sense of God; of his authority over us; of the laws he has set us; of his eye ever upon us; of his hearing our prayers, assisting our endeavors, watching over our concerns; of his being to judge, and reward or punish, us in another state, according to what we have done in this. Nothing will give us such a detestation of sin, and such a sense of the goodness of God, and of our obligations to holiness, as a right understanding and firm belief of the Christian religion.“By living according to the rules of religion, a man becomes the wisest, the best, and the happiest creature that he is capable of being. Honest industry, the employing of time well, a constant sobriety, an undefiled purity and chastity, with continued serenity, are the best preservatives, too, of life and health; so that, take a man as an individual, religion is his guard, his perfection, his beauty, and his glory. This will make him a light in the world, shining brightly, and enlightening many round about him.“Thus religion, if truly received and sincerely adhered to, would prove the greatest of all blessings to a nation. But by religion I understand something more than receiving particular doctrines, though ever so true, or professing them, and engaging to support them, even with zeal and eagerness. What signify the best doctrines, if men do not live suitably to them; if they have not a due influence upon their thoughts and their lives? Men of bad lives, with sound opinions, are self-condemned, and lie under a highly-aggravated guilt.“By religion I do not mean an outward compliance with forms and customs, in going to church, to prayers, to sermons, and to sacraments, with an external show of devotion; or, which is more, with some inward forced good thoughts, in which many satisfy themselves, while these have no visible effect on their lives, nor any inward force to control and rectify their appetites, passions, and secret designs. These customary performances, how good and useful soever when understood and rightly directed, are of little value when men rest on them, and think, because they do them, they have[pg 431]acquitted themselves of their duty, though they still continue proud, covetous, full of deceit, envy, and malice. Even secret prayers, the most effectual means, are designed for a higher end; which is, to possess our minds with such a constant and present sense of divine truths, as may make these live in us, and govern us, and draw down such assistance, as to exalt and sanctify our natures.“So that, by religion, I mean such a sense of divine truth as enters into a man, and becomes the spring of a new nature within him; reforming his thoughts and designs; purifying his heart; sanctifying and governing his whole deportment, his words as well as his actions; convincing him that it is not enough not to be scandalously vicious, or to be innocent in his conversation, but that he must be entirely, uniformly, and constantly, pure and virtuous, animated with zeal to be still better and better, more eminently good and exemplary.“This is true religion, which is the perfection of human nature, and the joy and delight of every one that feels it active and strong within him. It is true, this is not arrived at all at once, and it will have an unhappy alloy, hanging long even about a good man; but, as those ill mixtures are the perpetual grief of his soul, so that it is his chief care to watch over and to mortify them, he will be in a continual progress, still gaining ground upon himself; and as he attains to a degree of purity, he will find a noble flame of life and joy growing up in him. Of this I write with a greater concern and emotion, because I have felt it to be the true, and, indeed, the only joy which runs through a man's heart and life. It is this which has been, for many years, my greatest support. I rejoice daily in it. I feel from it the earnest of that supreme joy which I want and long for; and I am sure there is nothing else which can afford any true and complete happiness.”This eminent scholar, Christian, and divine, departed this life on the seventeenth of March, 1714.

Bishop of Salisbury, was born at Edinburgh, in the year 1643. He was carefully educated by his father; and, having a strong constitution and a prodigious memory, he applied himself closely to study, and acquired a great portion of learning and knowledge, which he seemed to have ready for all occasions. He travelled through France, Italy, and Holland, where he formed connections with many of the greatest persons of his time, by whom he was much respected for his talents and virtues. At Amsterdam, he became acquainted with the leading men of the different persuasions tolerated in the United Provinces—Calvinists, Arminians, Lutherans, Anabaptists, Brownists, Roman Catholics, and Unitarians; amongst each of which, he used frequently to declare, he met with men of such unfeigned piety and virtue, that he became strongly fixed in a principle of universal charity, and an invincible abhorrence of all severities on account of religious opinions.

The following sentiments, which he solemnly uttered towards the conclusion of his days, are very expressive of the nature and power of true religion, and of its influence upon his own mind:—

“I recommend,”he observes,“to all sorts of men, in the most serious manner, the study and practice of religion, as that which is the most important of all things, and which is both the light of the world, and the salt of the earth.

“Nothing so opens our faculties, and composes and directs[pg 430]the whole man, as an inward sense of God; of his authority over us; of the laws he has set us; of his eye ever upon us; of his hearing our prayers, assisting our endeavors, watching over our concerns; of his being to judge, and reward or punish, us in another state, according to what we have done in this. Nothing will give us such a detestation of sin, and such a sense of the goodness of God, and of our obligations to holiness, as a right understanding and firm belief of the Christian religion.

“By living according to the rules of religion, a man becomes the wisest, the best, and the happiest creature that he is capable of being. Honest industry, the employing of time well, a constant sobriety, an undefiled purity and chastity, with continued serenity, are the best preservatives, too, of life and health; so that, take a man as an individual, religion is his guard, his perfection, his beauty, and his glory. This will make him a light in the world, shining brightly, and enlightening many round about him.

“Thus religion, if truly received and sincerely adhered to, would prove the greatest of all blessings to a nation. But by religion I understand something more than receiving particular doctrines, though ever so true, or professing them, and engaging to support them, even with zeal and eagerness. What signify the best doctrines, if men do not live suitably to them; if they have not a due influence upon their thoughts and their lives? Men of bad lives, with sound opinions, are self-condemned, and lie under a highly-aggravated guilt.

“By religion I do not mean an outward compliance with forms and customs, in going to church, to prayers, to sermons, and to sacraments, with an external show of devotion; or, which is more, with some inward forced good thoughts, in which many satisfy themselves, while these have no visible effect on their lives, nor any inward force to control and rectify their appetites, passions, and secret designs. These customary performances, how good and useful soever when understood and rightly directed, are of little value when men rest on them, and think, because they do them, they have[pg 431]acquitted themselves of their duty, though they still continue proud, covetous, full of deceit, envy, and malice. Even secret prayers, the most effectual means, are designed for a higher end; which is, to possess our minds with such a constant and present sense of divine truths, as may make these live in us, and govern us, and draw down such assistance, as to exalt and sanctify our natures.

“So that, by religion, I mean such a sense of divine truth as enters into a man, and becomes the spring of a new nature within him; reforming his thoughts and designs; purifying his heart; sanctifying and governing his whole deportment, his words as well as his actions; convincing him that it is not enough not to be scandalously vicious, or to be innocent in his conversation, but that he must be entirely, uniformly, and constantly, pure and virtuous, animated with zeal to be still better and better, more eminently good and exemplary.

“This is true religion, which is the perfection of human nature, and the joy and delight of every one that feels it active and strong within him. It is true, this is not arrived at all at once, and it will have an unhappy alloy, hanging long even about a good man; but, as those ill mixtures are the perpetual grief of his soul, so that it is his chief care to watch over and to mortify them, he will be in a continual progress, still gaining ground upon himself; and as he attains to a degree of purity, he will find a noble flame of life and joy growing up in him. Of this I write with a greater concern and emotion, because I have felt it to be the true, and, indeed, the only joy which runs through a man's heart and life. It is this which has been, for many years, my greatest support. I rejoice daily in it. I feel from it the earnest of that supreme joy which I want and long for; and I am sure there is nothing else which can afford any true and complete happiness.”

This eminent scholar, Christian, and divine, departed this life on the seventeenth of March, 1714.

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