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Reprint and digital file September 1, 2001.

Willison Editor's note: Daniel Dana, A.M.,( Yale, 1782 ) D.D. (Yale, 1788) carried the torch for solid Reformation theology when many turned away in New England during his lifetime. (See His 1810 Deity of Christ sermon posted here for one of the strongest defenses for Trinitarian Theology available. )

Page numbers in the original appear in brackets as shown: [ 2 ]

The following begins the original text:

At a Meeting of the Trustees of Phillips Academy, April 19, 1841,

Voted, That this Board entertain a profound respect for the memory of the late WILLIAM BARTLET, Esq., the most generous and long continued benefactor of the Theological Seminary in Phillips Academy, and are deeply penetrated with gratitude for his liberality to the Institution both heretofore, and at his death; that they affectionately sympathize with the family and friends of the deceased in the bereavement which they, in common with the friends of learning and religion throughout the community, have been called to sustain in the death of this venerated man.

Voted, That the thanks of this Board be presented to the REV. DANIEL DANA, D. D. for his very acceptable sermon delivered this day, on occasion of the death of the venerable and munificent benefactor of this Institution, WILLIAM BARTLET, Esq., and that ec be requested to furnish a copy for the press.

WE assemble, this day, to pay a tribute of respect to a venerable Founder, and munificent Benefactor of this sacred Seminary. The tribute which is prompted by our feelings, is sanctioned by our judgment. human kindness, in all its varied forms, claims our gratitude. Distinguished liberality, especially when consecrated to tile noblest objects, merits not only an affectionate, but an everlasting remembrance.

Still, human beneficence, the purest, the kindest, the most enlarged, is but an emanation from the eternal, exhaustless Source of good. Let not the streams detain us from the fountain. Let us not idolize the instrument, and neglect the Sovereign, Almighty Agent. We come not hither, to-day, to scatter flowers over the tomb of a frail mortal; nor merely to sigh over a friend for ever gone. We come to bring our grateful homage to that God who made him all that he was, and selected him as the honored instrument of his rich and exuberant mercy.

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This duty, so obvious in itself, is very impressively recommended in the inspired passage we have recited. The distinguished monarch of Israel, being just about to resign his earthly, for a heavenly crown, and having summoned a great assembly of his people and their chiefs, declares to them the preparations he had made for the erection of the Temple. His own offerings in the cause, though made on a scale of more than princely munificence, are announced for the simple purpose of exciting a correspondent liberality on their part. The appeal is completely successful. Willing and abundant contributions are offered by all classes in the assembly. The heart of the pious monarch is full to overflowing. And it pours itself out in the sublimest strains of gratitude and praise. "Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel, our Father, for ever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth, is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all: and in thy hand is power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now, therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I"—adds this humble man— "and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee."

That portion of this sublime ascription which

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is selected as our theme, furnishes such lessons as these: that riches, in common with all other blessings, are the gift of God—that when viewed aright, they are regarded by their possessor as a trust— and that their best use and enjoyment are found in giving them back to the Heavenly Benefactor.

The first of these suggestions commands, of course, the assent of all. It admits neither disbelief nor doubt. And well were it, could it not be classed with those truths which have been so long remembered, they're forgot." If He who made the world, governs the world; if his providence is not only general, but particular; it inevitably follows, that all we possess and enjoy, is the gift of his bounty. Fate, fortune, accident, contingence, have nothing to do with us, and we have nothing to do with them. They are words without meaning. Rather they conceal so many falsehoods. If, likewise, we have no shadow of claim to the goodness of God; if, as sinners we have merited his frowns; if, daily and hourly, we forfeit every good, of every kind; then the blessings which crown our lives, are emphatically so many gifts. They bear the stamp of mercy; of unmerited, forfeited favor. Every breath of air we inhale, every drop of water that slakes our thirst, is a gift of unmerited goodness. How then should that goodness be acknowledged and adored, when mercies unnumbered throng around our path, and our cup overflows with blessings which thousands want; when every region of earth yields us its treasures, and every wind of heaven wafts some addition to our stores.

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We do not overlook the fact that Providence, in conferring wealth, operates not by miracles, but by means. The man who would be rich, must be awake, active, indefatigable and persevering. He must be neither appalled by difficulties, nor retarded by obstacles, nor vexed by disappointments, nor disheartened even by reverses. His plans must originate in sound reflection, his calculations must take counsel from experience, his ardor must be chastened by prudence, and what has been acquuired by diligence, must be retained by frugality and good management. At first view, perhaps, it may appear that those who pursue riches in this style, will scarcely fail of success. Yet should this be admitted as the general rule, how multiplied, how endless, almost, are the exceptions. How many who enter on life, and on business, with the fairest prospects, as well as the most sanguine expectations, are arrested in the very commencement of their career. How many, when half way up the hill of ample and splendid acquisition, have been suddenly toppled down. And the merchant, just ready to retire with the accumulated wealth of a long life, how often has he seen his vast property, like one of his vessels wrecked in the very port, vanishing in a night, or an hour. It is remarkable that in the pursuit of wealth, the high-wrought eagerness and ardor which, in most other pursuits, ensure success, are found among the most frequent precursors of disappointment, and the most efficient causes of defeat.

In every view, then, it appears that riches are the gift of God. Without his agency and blessing,

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what is human power? What is human skill? What are human calculations, and human efforts? They are nothing; absolutely nothing. The wise and sovereign Disposer confers the blessings of his Providence on whom he pleases, and by what instrumentalities he pleases; and often in modes which deride all human probabilities and conjectures. One thing is certain. He does not proportion his providential blessings to the moral characters of men. Far otherwise. Often his beloved children pine in penury and distress. Often the wicked ride in triumph on the high places of the earth. "All the Turkish empire," says Luther, "great as it is, is but a crumb which the Master of the family throws to his dogs." Facts of this kind—and they abound in the history of individuals, and of nations—are among the mysteries of Providence which another day will explain. In the mean time, they inculcate on us a lesson of inestimable value; that we should not greatly covet those blessings which a wise and good God often withholds from his dearest children, while he bestows them unsparingly on those of an opposite character.

Still it is true, as we have remarked, that riches, when viewed aright, are regarded by their possessor, as a trust.

If we were the authors of our own existence; if these mortal bodies, and these immortal spirits were the products of our own creative power; if all the elements of nature were under our control; if the portion of earthly good which is in our hands, were the result of our own unaided exertions; if it

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came at our call, and would tarry at our bidding; then, indeed, we might dream of independence. Then we might each of us write on our possessions those delightful words, MY OWN. But this is the language of ignorance and pride. In the vocabulary of reason and of truth, it has no place. He who made us, claims us, and most righteously, as his property. He who redeemed us by the blood of his Son, prefers a still more endearing claim to all that we are, and all that we have. He who, through life, has poured numberless blessings around us, has demands, equally numberless, on our entire service and self-consecration. Our souls, our bodies, our time, our talents, our influence, our wealth, our all, are his property, and not our own. They are his property; and as such, to be devoted to his pleasure, to be used for his purposes, and to be accounted for at his bar. All this, the good man sees and feels. It is with him, not a fine-spun speculation, but a great reality, and a living principle of action. If Providence has committed to him a single talent only, he does not use it as his own; and he dreads the thought of its concealment, or perversion. If much is committed to his care, he feels the burden of obligation proportionably enhanced, and his anxiety to be faithful, proportionably deepened. And there are times when he is less attracted by the prospect of increased acquisitions, than appalled by the thought of incurring new and more solemn responsibilities.

It is familiar with us to think and speak of the poor, as objects of compassion. But judging by the

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light of reason and truth, we may find much more imperious motives for compassionating the rich. For while riches rarely bring an increase of enjoyment, they never fail to bring an increase of responsibility. The burden may be little felt now; but it will be felt one day, in all its weight. Riches prepare for their possessor an awful account before the bar of God. How shall that account be rendered up with joy, and not with grief? And how shall the children of opulence be relieved, in the present world, of a burden which is calculated to overwhelm and crush a thoughtful mind? In a word, how shall that connection between wealth and happiness, which is ordinarily a mere fancy, a fiction, become a sober reality? The answer to these momentous questions, we have already anticipated, for we have remarked that

The best use and enjoyment of riches are found in giving them back to the Infinite Benefactor.

This is no more than to treat things as they really are. It is merely to carry into act the plainest principles of eternal equity and truth. If the rich man is no more nor less than a steward to the King of kings, then he must not only prepare to render an account of his Sovereign’s property at last, but while it is in his hands, he must take care that no part of it be perverted, no part embezzled, no part wasted. In a word, he must b daily rendering it back in such a way as that his Sovereign’s demands may be met, his designs executed, and the widest extension given to his benevolence and beneficence. Wo to the rich man who lives for himself, who toils

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and watches for himself, who amasses for himself, and who expends for himself. Wo to the rich man who renders stagnant the thousand streams which Heaven has designed should water the soil of indigence, and send verdure and fertility into many a barren region.

Nor is such selfishness more fatally at war with duty, than with real enjoyment. The slave of avarice knows not what it is to live. His coffers may be full; but there is an awful vacuum in his heart. He may carry about with him a face of pleasure; but often, corroding cares and harrowing disquietudes lurk beneath. With others, he may be the object of envy; but in himself, he is wretched. While to the benevolent man, the purest sources of delight continually arise. If blest with riches, he knows their proper use. He sincerely aims to devote them to the very purposes for which they were intrusted. He esteems it his highest honor to be the humble almoner of the King of kings; the faithful conveyancer of divine bounty on earth. For his largest distributions, he claims no merit. The very disposition to impart, he regards as among the kindest, richest gifts of Heaven. Loaded with benefits, and melted with gratitude, he is habitually prompted to exclaim,

All that I am, and all I have,

Shall be for ever thine.

Whate’er my duty bids me give,

My cheerful hands resign.

If it be asked, What are the channels through which the divine bounty should flow back to its

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source? or, what are the modes in which the rich should make a consecration of their substance to the Supreme Benefactor ?—the answer is at hand; though on so fruitful a topic, the specification of particulars must be of course imperfect.

It is obvious to remark, that in the appropriation of wealth, the opulent owe their first attention to their own families. To neglect these claims, is to incur the express malediction of Heaven. Yet in cases of large accumulation, the rich should beware lest in the attempt to provide amply for the wants of their children, they bequeath them temptation, calamity and ruin. If the very anticipation of inherited wealth has been incalculably injurious to thousands, other thousands have been ruined by its possession. Poor relations, too, have their claims on the opulent. If their names more frequently occupied a place in testamentary provisions, little would be lost, and much would be gained. Here let it be remarked, that might the rich more frequently become their own executors; might their having distributions more frequently take the place of their testamentary arrangements, much good might be accomplished, and much evil precluded.

After all the just claims of families and relations are satisfied, the rich may still find ample fields for their benevolence to range in. Our Redeemer has on earth a large family of the poor and the suffering, whose distresses he has engaged to relieve. What a delight to the pious heart, to feel a portion of his sympathy, to fulfil, instrumentally, his promises; yes, to give joy to the Saviour’s benevolent

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heart, by pouring consolation into the bosoms of his suffering friends. It has been justly said, that charity is the truest epicurism, as it enables the giver to eat with many mouths at once. But there is a delight superior even to this. If it is such a privilege to satisfy the animal appetite, what is it to provide for the cravings of the mind; to spread an intellectual banquet for thousands of the present, and thousands more of the coming age? Such is the sublime part which has been acted by the munificent patrons of Education. Illustrious men! whose names shed a glory on their country, and a glory on their species.

There are numberless paths which lie open to the benevolent investment of wealth. If the opulent of our age groan under a burden of useless and ever accumulating treasure, the fault must be all their own. The means of relief are at hand; and they are most unusually multiplied. Plans and associations for the promotion of human piety and happiness, and for the removal or mitigation of the various forms of vice and crime and suffering, every where abound. If some of the projects which solicit patronage are useless, or visionary, or impracticable, there remains still a large portion whose value and importance are unquestionable, and whose accomplishment may be secured. The translation and universal diffusion of the Scriptures—the extension of the preached gospel in our own and other lands—the gratuitous education of pious youth for the ministry—the dispersion of religious tracts—the elevation of the character and condition of our sea-

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men—the improvement of prisons, and their unhappy tenants—the introduction of the blind, the deaf, the dumb, the insane, to a new world; to the delights of reason, of knowledge, and religion—these are objects dear to every benevolent heart. And they declare to the rich how they may become rich indeed; benefactors to their country, and their species; to the present age, and to posterity.

Still other objects present themselves to view. If the endowment and support of academies and colleges, and other seminaries, of useful human science, constitute a legitimate and noble employment of wealth, still superior importance is attached to the endowment and support of seminaries of divine science. Institutions of this kind are but of recent origin in our country. Although from its earliest settlement, the conviction has been general, that the church demands an able, well-furnished, and learned, as well as a pious ministry, the means of furnishing such a ministry have been generally overlooked. Nor was it perceived, that to effect this object, seminaries are required, of a peculiar character; seminaries furnished with permanent endowments, extensive libraries, and able professors. More recently, the value and importance of such seminaries have been generally acknowledged and felt. And they have sprung into existence among almost every denomination of Christians throughout our land. In the view of every reflecting mind, these institutions are of primary interest. They are remembered with intense solicitude, in the prayers of Christians. The opulent and the liberal, who have

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given them existence or support, have made a noble consecration of their substance. They are to be revered and honored as the selected instruments of some of Heaven’s choicest bounties to the church, and to the world.

Such are the views, and such the emotions with which we enter this sacred temple to-day. The righteous Sovereign of the world has removed from this Seminary, a distinguished Founder; a most liberal, unwearied, affectionate Patron and Benefactor. In obedience to the providence of God, and to the profound sensibility of our own minds, we come to record the benevolence of our deceased Friend, and to pay a last tender tribute to his memory.

MR. BARTLET was born, lived and died in Newburyport.* He was the son of parents esteemed for their moral worth, and respected for their piety.

By nature he was liberally gifted. There was a singular analogy between his mental and corporeal structure. His firm, athletic, commanding frame had a counterpart in a mind of unusual comprehension and energy. He possessed a quick perception, an accurate discrimination, a solid and correct judgment, united with great ardor, decision and perseverance. His advantages for education were simply those of a common school. But the ardor and activity of his mind supplied a multitude of defects. There is no extravagance in believing that, with a finished education, he would have shone as a scholar; perhaps as a metaphysician, perhaps as a philosopher,

*He was born Jan. 31, 1748. He died Feb. 8, 1841, aged 93.

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a statesman, or an orator. But Providence had designed him for a different course; and in furnishing him with a large portion of practical common sense, gave him that which, though "no science," has been justly characterized as "fairly worth the seven."

The years of his minority were spent with his father, and employed in his humble and laborious occupation. There can be little doubt, however, that he early conceived the design of becoming rich. As this design was pursued not only with his characteristic ardor, hut with unvarying diligence, economy, sound judgment and perseverance, it was crowned with signal success. Having early associated with his laborious employment, the plan of selling a few articles in frequent demand, he found himself, when just beyond the age of freedom, the possessor of a small share in a vessel employed in trade. Here is found the germ of his future wealth. Such was the humble origin of his immense estate.

For many years, his gains were gradual and inconsiderable. The revolutionary war, the alarms and commotions which preceded it, the fluctuations and embarrassments by which it was followed, were all unfavorable to the interests of commerce. But no sooner had our federal government risen into existence, and commenced its operations, than a new and brighter scene was disclosed. The re— sources of our country were called forth, the hopes of our citizens revived, industry was quickened, enterprise stimulated and rewarded. Commerce, awaking from its torpor, and surmounting its former

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barriers, explored new fields, and reaped abundant harvests. Mr. Bartlet, now in the prime and vigor of life, was not slow in availing himself of these auspicious circumstances. His efforts were invigorated, his plans extended, and each successful experiment became the precursor of others still. He supplied the want of a regular commercial education by deep reflection, critical observation, and careful inquiry. He mingled courage with caution, and care in acquiring, with equal care in preserving. He conciliated a general confidence, both at home and abroad, by his strict and acknowledged integrity, punctuality, and accuracy.

He was remarkable for a habitual calmness and self-possession. Rarely has the merchant been found, so little elated as he, by success, or so little depressed by those disappointments and reverses incident to the most prosperous career.

His mercantile life continued materially beyond half a century. When advanced years seemed to combine with accumulated gains, in inviting him to retirement, still he did not retire. He probably thought, as did many of his friends, that the sudden rupture of habits of business so deeply radicated, might prove injurious to his spirits, and his health. Although, therefore, his business in latter years was much contracted, it was scarcely abandoned, but with life.

He was a most sedulous improver of time. And as he considered diligence and economy as cardinal virtues, he had little tolerance for idleness and improvidence in others. Indeed, he was in the habit

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of tracing to these sources, most of the poverty and suffering which he witnessed around him. There might be truth in the general maxim; and probably there was error in its too indiscriminate application. Perhaps it was owing to this error, as much as to anything, that his private liberality bore little proportion to his public munificence.

In his transactions with those whom he employed, and with others, he was punctiliously and rigidly just. By some, no doubt, he was viewed as incurring the censure couched in the poet’s suggestion, —that "right, too rigid, hardens into wrong." But such was the deeply ingrained habit of his mind— a habit which was derived from the earlier days, and which, in our own day, often meets with a severity which is not bestowed on much more palpable and pernicious errors. Nor will it be denied that his rigid accuracy in transacting business—in doing justice, and exacting justice—if it conduced little to his popularity, served a much better purpose; as it tended to correct those loose and inaccurate habits which have been so extensively and deeply injurious in our community.

In discharging some of the most important duties resulting from the family relation, Mr. Bartlet was careful and exemplary. He was an affectionate husband, and a kind father. He was assiduous to instruct his children in those great principles of religion which he had himself embraced; and he wished for them nothing so much, as that they might be early wise, virtuous and pious. To the latest period of life, he paid, as opportunity offered,

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a similar attention to his grand -children. Some of them who became, for a time, inmates of his family, were much encouraged and aided by him in studying and committing to memory the holy Scriptures.

Mr. Bartlet was a cordial friend to the peace, the order, and the improvement of his native town. Tenacious of what was good in ancient institutions, and ancient habits, he resisted no change which commended itself as salutary. The increasing neglect and violation of the sabbath, he viewed with deep regret, and set his face against it. Whatever tended to the moral melioration of the place, he sedulously encouraged. He regarded with deep interest the rising youth, and was anxious that they should enjoy the best advantages of mental instruction, and moral discipline. If the extensive introduction of manufactures shall prove a blessing to his native town, by furnishing employment and subsistence to large numbers, to him much of the praise will be due; as to his patronage and aid, more than to that of any other, the enterprise itself is indebted.

It is due to the memory of Mr. Bartlet to state, that earlier than most others, be perceived, lamented and resisted, the progress and ravages of intemperance. Long before the commencement of those operations for its suppression, which have since been so vigorous and extensive, he opposed to this destructive evil, the influence of his personal example, in the entire disuse of ardent spirits; while he resolutely refused the indulgence to those numbers whom he had in his employ.

If we take a view of our deceased friend in a more

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public sphere, we shall find him exhibiting some of the best attributes of the PATRIOT. In the darkest periods of the revolutionary war, he clung to the interests of his country, indignant at her wrongs, sensible to her sufferings, confident of her ultimate success, and contributing to the sublime cause his own energetic and persevering efforts.

When the scene of blood was closed; when our national government was organized; and when, too soon afterward, the community was divided into parties, Mr. Bartlet was found under the banners of WASHINGTON. His confidence in that great and good man, and in the wisdom of his measures, was almost unlimited, he could not, indeed, become the blind devotee of a party. Few men more accurately scrutinized, or more impartially judged the characters of public men, and public measures. He honestly and firmly believed that the plan of policy adopted by Washington, was, under God, the salvation and glory of his country. And no man gave to that system a more decided, vigorous or persevering support. For himself, he neither sought nor desired public life. His habits were domestic; his temper was unambitious. In a few instances only, he yielded to the wishes of his fellow-citizens, and took some share in the public counsels. In aiding to clothe others with office, he insisted much on the importance, not only of political integrity, but of moral purity, as essential to secure a faithful and uniform pursuit of the public good.

We are now to contemplate Mr. Bartlet as a PUBLIC BENEFACTOR—an active promoter of pious and

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benevolent designs; a munificent patron of the cause of science, human and divine. Considering his great wealth, these objects preferred strong claims upon his regard; nor were those claims evaded. Here it may be remarked, that while he was alive to whatever affected the temporal interests of his town, his country, and his species, he was peculiarly attracted by those projects of benevolence which contemplate man as an immortal being. The great scheme of Foreign Missions—aiming to spread the gospel through the world—numbered him among its earliest and most efficient friends. Nor was he inattentive to the equally imperious duty of furnishing the means of heavenly grace to the destitute of our own country. He promoted the translation of the sacred Scriptures, and their universal diffusion, in this and other lands. The plan of educating pious young men for the ministry, with a view to increase the number and the qualifications of gospel ministers, he highly appreciated, and powerfully patronized. A similar patronage and aid he afforded to the dissemination of tracts, and the improvement of prisons. To the Temperance Reformation he gave his warm support, and devoted his early and liberal contributions. Several of the Societies we have indicated, not only received his efficient aid, but enrolled his name in their lists of officers.

To the cause of useful learning, he was a warm and active friend. He seemed to delight in furnishing to others those enlarged means of education which he had wanted himself. His subscriptions to the support of seminaries of literature of various

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descriptions, both within and without the state, were numerous and liberal. Indeed, there were few plans aiming at the promotion of learning, of religion, of good morals, of humanity, and promising extensive good, which he did not actively countenance. When his character, and his distributions had become generally known, applications for his bounty were multiplied, and his house was thronged with petitioners from various and distant portions of the land. Many requests must, of course, have been refused; for scarcely would the largest fortune have sufficed to meet them all. Yet no applicant was treated with arrogance; each had a patient hearing; nor was refusal ever aggravated by unkindness.

But that liberality which was diffused into so wide a sphere, was peculiarly and powerfully concentrated on this favored spot. This sacred Institution, which owes so much to the generosity of many an honored Founder and Benefactor, is under special and immeasurable obligations to the munificence of that friend whom, on this occasion, we remember and mourn.

It is a singular and memorable fact, that when, about thirty-four years since, several opulent and large-hearted individuals were meditating the establishment of a Theological Seminary in this place, an assemblage of the same description, in a distant part of the County, were, without any mutual knowledge or communication, engaged in a design entirely similar. When the respective parties became acquainted with each other’s intentions, a most interesting question arose. Would the cause of God

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and the interest of the churches be best promoted by a separate, or a united organization? Each plan had its advantages, and each its difficulties. Among the last, may be mentioned some shades of difference in theological views. The question received a long and ample discussion. In the issue, difficulties vanished, minor differences were merged, the spirit of union, and of mutual concession prevailed, and, as the result, this Theological Institution rose into existence, amply endowed, and powerfully sustained. The Founders at Andover,* having been first in maturing and arranging their plan, it was agreed that the other party should unite with them under the appellation of Associate Founders. Messrs. Brown and Norris † made each a donation of ten thousand dollars ; Mr. Bartlet the same ; adding at the time, another ten thousand ; and soon after, increasing his subscription by a similar additional sum.

These contributions, so liberal and ample, were but a mere introduction to subsequent displays of his liberality. To this liberality we owe the elegant and commodious Chapel in which we are now convened. To this we owe a spacious and convenient Hall for the residence of students. To this we owe no small part of our select and invaluable Library. But I will not attempt to detail the

* The original Founders, at Andover, were SAMUEL ABBOT, Esq., madam PHEBE PHILLIPS, Relict of Lieut. Governor Samuel Phillips, and her son, the Hon. JOHN PHILLIPS, Jun.

† MOSES BROWN, Esq. belonged to Newburyport; the Hon. JOHN NORRIS, to Salem.

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various forms which the munificence of this distinguished friend has taken. Every such attempt would be abortive. Let it be sufficient to say, that his bounty has amply supplied every want, has richly furnished every accommodation, and interposed with appropriate aid, in every exigency. Having, from early time, adopted the Seminary as the child of his affections, he has followed it, in every subsequent stage, with spontaneous and unintermitted kindness; crowning all former favors by a very liberal provision in his last Testament.

Justice to his memory requires me to add, that in the midst of his disbursements to his favorite Seminary, and to other great and benevolent objects, he appeared simple, unassuming, and unostentatious. He often spoke of himself as the mere steward of a merciful Providence, and of his obligation to devote his large possessions, not to his own pleasure, or aggrandizement, but to the service of God. It cannot, I think, be rationally suspected, that he harbored the thought of purchasing, by his bounties, either a seat in heaven, or a splendid character on earth. He uniformly disclaimed every idea of merit in the sight of his Maker. And of the good opinion of mankind, he seemed independent and regardless, even to a fault.

The same justice prompts me to state, that in his religious opinions, he was remarkably correct, decided and inflexible. He exhibited a reverence for the sabbath, and strenuously resisted its prevailing and public violation. He was a punctual worshipper in the house of God, to the remotest period of

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his protracted life. He honored good men, and reverenced Christian ministers, especially those distinguished for their piety. His erection of a costly and splendid Cenotaph, in the church where he attended worship—in honor of Whitefield, would seem to indicate a cordial affection for that eminently devoted man.

On his religious character, as a whole, I offer no verdict. Nor is it needful. The momentous question has been already decided at a bar perfectly enlightened and impartial. While he was subject to human observation, there were obscurities in his course, which his pious friends would gladly have seen removed. They perceived with pain that some religious duties of which he could not but perceive the importance and obligation, were unperformed to the last.

Such, if I mistake not, were some of the leading traits in the character of this extraordinary man. Having attempted a simple and undisguised statement; having exhibited the lights of the picture, and cast a momentary glance at its shades, I may say, perhaps, without impropriety, to my respected audience:

It is my duty, and my gratification, to offer, in behalf of these Boards of Trustees and Visitors, of these Professors and Students, and (may I not add?) of all

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the Alumni of the Seminary—to THE FAMILY OF THE DECEASED—his children, and his grand-children—the sincerest, tenderest sympathy, in their recent bereavement of a father and friend. May that Father who never dies; may that Friend who never forsakes, be their Refuge, and their Comforter. May the best wishes of that heart which will beat no more; may the kindest prayers which have issued from those lips which death has sealed, descend in blessings on their heads. May the counsels of wisdom which they have so often heard from him who henceforth will address them only from the grave, find a lodgment in their inmost hearts. May they follow their lamented friend in all that was excellent. May they live for God on earth, and enjoy his eternal smiles in heaven.

GENTLEMEN, TRUSTEES AND VISITORS,

The providence of God which calls us to mourning, summons us likewise to gratitude. The life of our departed friend was not more signally protracted, than was his kindness to this beloved Seminary. His death, too, is full of solemn admonition. Let it awaken us to spend our little moment of remaining life in ardent devotion to our great Master’s cause.

The most distinguished Founder of this sacred Institution, and the only one who remained, is gone. Should we not feel ourselves, on this solemn day, surrounded (so to speak) by the whole array of its deceased Founders and Benefactors? And should we not hear them addressing us in the spirit, and almost in the very words, of the lamented HARRISON?

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"We wish the true principles of the Institution to be understood; and we wish them to be carried out. This is all we ask."

What these principles are, is perfectly manifest. We have but to glance at the Constitution and Associate Statutes of the Seminary, to be convinced that it was the prime and absorbing object of its Founders, to render it an instrument of maintaining and propagating THE TRUTH. And that there might be no mistake in so vital a point, they have given a very explicit and intelligible delineation of the doctrines to be taught. These doctrines are substantially the same with the doctrines of the Reformation; the same which are found in the Harmony of Confessions of the Protestant European churches, and the same which our pious puritan fathers brought with them to this Western world. In a variety of forms, the Trustees and Visitors are charged to take effectual care that these doctrines be maintained inviolate, and that the various forms of error which oppose them, be discountenanced and resisted.

These, unquestionably, were the views, designs, and expectations of the Founders at large; and emphatically of the friend lately deceased. Speaking with me on this very subject, not six months before his death, Mr. Bartlet said, with marked decision and solemnity, "I consider the doctrines of the Assembly’s Catechism as lying at the very foundation of the Institution."

Such, my honored Brethren, is the sacred trust devolved on us. Nor can I doubt that it is our united determination to be faithful in so great a cause.

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It is admitted that the spirit of the times is against us. Inflexible adherence to religious truth, however important, is by many stigmatized as bigotry. Cases have occurred in which the explicitly declared intentions of deceased donors have been evaded and frustrated, without incurring the general frown of the community. But these are moral anomalies which time, the friend of truth, will correct. They are maladies which cannot exist for a moment in a purified atmosphere. The public verdict has not yet distinctly sanctioned the trampling on the tombs of the deceased benefactors of religion and learning; and we trust it never will; for whenever this shall occur, the benefactors of religion and learning will be few.

For ourselves, having received the Constitution and Statutes of our Founders; and having solemnly engaged to make them our guides; the question as to giving them their full and legitimate effect, is not at all a question of bigotry or liberality. Nor is it properly a question of orthodoxy or heresy. It is a question of moral integrity or delinquency. Let this thought be ever present to our minds. It will be a powerful stimulus to the faithful and efficient discharge of our duty. It will be a broad and impenetrable shield of defence against all the opposition and obloquy which may meet us in that path.

Should the ample funds entrusted to our care, suffer through our mismanagement, or be-wasted by our neglect, our guilt would not be small. But we have committed to us a fund infinitely richer than these. What are thousands, what are even millions of gold and silver, compared with the pure, ever-

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lasting, soul-saving truths of God’s word? This is the precious deposit with which we are honored; and it is the just expectation of heaven and earth that we be faithful. Let us guard it with sleepless vigilance. Let us cherish a sacred ambition that it receive no detriment in our hands. Let us transmit it, a fair and unimpaired inheritance to the coming generations.

The occasion of this day awakens in your hearts the strongest and tenderest sensibilities. The venerable man whom we commemorate and honor, was regarded by you, not only as a munificent Patron, but an affectionate friend. Your comfort and happiness, your usefulness and honor, were ever near his heart. You can never forget him; nor can you ever think of him, but with strong emotions. While bending, to-day, over his ashes, and heaving the sigh to his memory, you will feel, I am persuaded, a new impulse, and new obligations, to be governed by his views and wishes, and to effetuate, so far as in your power, his wise and benevolent plans.

That he aimed to furnish to this beloved Seminary, the best and richest means of mental cultivation and enlargement; that he wished it to send forth young men with minds truly liberalized and accomplished—affluent in intellectual stores—saturated with knowledge human and divine—this is known to all. But there was another object still nearer his heart. He wished the Seminary to, be a defender of the pure faith; a pillar and ground of

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evangelical truth; a barrier against the incursions of false doctrine, and false religion. He wished it to furnish to the church and the world, young men who should never be ashamed of the simple gospel; who should determine to know nothing save Jesus Christ, and him crucjfied. Sooner than see it preparing and sending forth learned champions of heresy—skilful undertniners of gospel truth—accomplished propagators of error—he would have poured his wealth into the ocean whence it came.

How important, my Brethren, that this Institution, the first of its species in point of time, and the richest in resources—an Institution commenced in prayers and tears, and solemnly consecrated to Christ and his truth—an Institution whose influence has already reached to the farthest ends of the earth, and will be felt to the latest period of time—how important that it be preserved in its purity. This, I trust, is the first and dearest wish of your hearts. In pursuing this glorious object faithfully, ardently, perseveringly, you will have with you the prayers and blessings of myriads of warm-hearted Christians. You will have the present smiles of your heavenly Master and Judge; and hereafter, a crown of glory at his hand.

[ Bold italics added for emphasis, Willison ed. ]

For, be it remembered, error of every kind, whatever plausible forms, whatever boastful attitudes it may assume, is real ignorance. Beside these evils, there is the additional evil of scores and hundreds of volumes of Scriptural exegesis and criticism, and those volumes not destitute of learned pretensions, in which truth and error, fact and falsehood, good sense and absurdity, Christianity, infidelity and paganism, are so strangely intermingled, that the attempt to separate them is often totally abortive, or very scantily rewarded, if it succeed.—In a word, there is manifestly prevailing in the general mind, a disgust at what is ancient and fixed, with a restless craving for novelty and change. By thousands, especially of the young, religious theories are embraced, which are glittering and plausible, but which have no depth, nor solidity, and which insensibly undermine the foundations of all truth, and all piety.

It is our earnest wish and prayer, my dear Brethren, that neither these obstacles, nor any other, may deter you from the most determined arid courageous

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pursuit of your great object—that of pouring into the minds of these youth, the pure light of heavenly truth; that of warming their hearts with the flame of heavenly love; of securing them against every noxious influence, and of forming them into holy, humble, faithful, energetic ministers of the Lord Jesus. Here, the very attempt, though arduous, is delightful. You may hope for success. And that success will be most precious—a rich reward for all your toils. How delightful, how glorious, if this cherished Seminary, the hope of the churches, may stand erect amidst surrounding declension—a column in a scene of ruins—and bear its decisive, unwavering testimony to the pure doctrines of God’s everlasting gospel.

MY YOUNG FRIENDS, THE STUDENTS OF THIS SEMINARY,

Your father, so -honored, so beloved, is no more. He who bore so great a part in founding and endowing this Institution; he whose interest in its welfare, and its pupils, was unabated to the close of life; he Whom every returning anniversary brought to this spot; and whom—the very last autumn— the infirmities of nearly ninety-three years could not detain—is gone from us for ever. That countenance, so benignant, so absorbed, is changed. That eye which kindled into joy at your attainments, and your prospects, is quenched in death. That heart which labored with unutterable solicitudes for your comfort and usefulness, has ceased its throbbings.

But his memory will be ever present. The evidences of his paternal love throng around you.

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They meet you in this Chapel, in the Library, in the Lecture rooms, in your Athenaeum, in your studies, in your closets.

If to such a friend, you owe a tender and lasting gratitude, what do you owe to that BEING who raised him up, who breathed such kindness into his heart, and furnished him with means so ample, for its gratification.

To God, then, the Infinite Benefactor, the overflowing Fountain of good, let your purest, warmest gratitude ascend. To his glory, to the gospel of his Son, devote your souls and bodies, your faculties and acquisitions, every hour and moment of your future lives. Of all the beings on whom the sun looks down, there are found none from whom such a tribute is more imperiously due. Should you, going forth from these academic bowers, desert the standard of the cross; should you preach another gospel; would it not be ingratitude to Heaven and earth? Would it not be a species of sacrilege? Must you not be reproached by your own consciences; by the recollected instructions of this spot; by the very manes of your deceased Benefactor?

But it is our privilege to hope better things. It is our delight to expect better things. We believe that in these days of general scepticism, of deplorable vacillation, collision and defection in the very heart of the church, the question dearest to your minds is, What is truth? What are the doctrines which you will determine to preach, and which you will cease to preach, only when you cease to live? On this question, so vitally interesting to yourselves,

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to the church, to the world, will you, my young friends, accept a few very brief hints?

Are there, then, certain definite, intelligible doctrines which, though overlooked or denied by thousands, are clearly perceived to stand prominent on the pages of the Bible, by two great and opposite classes; I mean, the warm friends of Revelation, and its decided opposers—the former viewing them with pure delight; the latter, with disgust and aversion ?—If so, there is something more than presumptive evidence, that these are the real doctrines of God’s word, and not the fictions of a deluded mind.

Again; are there specific doctrines which exalt God, and lay man in the dust—which kill the vices of the mind, and above all, its pride—its pride— which, rooting up the noxious weeds of the heart, fill the chasm with fragrant flowers, and delicious fruits ?—doctrines which not only reconcile man to God, but assimilate him to God? Surely, these doctrines bear the stamp of heaven.

Once more; are there truths which have been maintained by the church of God in every age, and in every age constituted the hope, the food, the joy of the pious—truths which they have held fast in life, and grasped with tenfold tenacity in death— truths for which martyrs have embraced the stake, and which have changed the bed of torture to a bed of down? Are not these the very truths which Christ has given to his ministers, and which they are bound to give to a dying world?

Go forth, my beloved young friends, and preach these same doctrines in all their purity, and in all

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their power. Preach them fearlessly, and to the ends Preach them undiluted by human mixtures—undistorted by philosophic subtleties—undepraved by the wisdom or the folly, the learning or the ignorance of man. In doing this, you shall secure the blessings of thousands on earth; and the approving smile of your Judge shall be your everlasting reward.

In conclusion—let me, in this solemn moment, address to this whole assembly the monitions of Inspiration. "The time is short. It remaineth that those who weep, be as though they wept not; and those who rejoice as though they rejoiced not; and those who buy, as though they possessed not; and those who use this world, as not abusing it; for the fashion of this world passeth away."

"Charge those who are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good; that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."

"Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom; neither let the mighty man glory in his might; let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord who exercise loving kindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth."

[ Willison ed. Note: Jonathan Edwards, when as a young man meditated on this very verse ( I Tim. 1:17 ), underwent an experience of the Divine presence, as described in his Personal Narrative. (pg 1) We have included Edwards' account here:

"The first instance that I remember of that sort of inward, sweet delight in God and divine things that I have lived much in since, was on reading those words, I Tim. 1:17. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever, Amen.

As I read the words, there came into my soul, and was as it were diffused through it, a sense of the glory of the Divine Being; a new sense, quite different from any thing I ever experienced before Never any words of scripture seemed to me as these words did. I thought with myself how excellent a Being that was, and how happy I should be, if I might enjoy that God, and be rapt up to him in heaven, and be as it were swallowed up in him for ever! I kept saying and as it were singing over these words of scripture to myself and wait to pray to God that I might enjoy him, and prayed in a manner quite different from what I used to do; with a new sort of affection. "

It should be noted, that many of the leading people in Dana's day, had similar experiences, which a perusal of Willison Center Biographies makes abundantly evident, and these experiences, combined with a strong comprehension of the Bible as the rule for understanding their import, gave clear direction to the recipient as to the use of their lives for good, in this world and for the next! It is this spirit, that breathes through Dr.Dana's words.

May we follow their example. ]