fice it embraced at least one fourth; in various instances one third; and in one, upwards of one half of the students. Perhaps no object of contemplation afforded him higher pleasure, towards the close of life, than the number of his pupils who had become, or were intending to become, preachers; especially when he remembered how frequently the labours of the former had been crowned with success. In the performance of the other exercises of public worship, he greatly excelled. His manner of reading the Scriptures, and sacred poetry, was peculiarly happy and impressive. In the appropriateness, variety, fluency, copiousness, fervency, and elevation of prayer, as it regarded subjects, sentiment, and language, he was nearly without a rival. Entirely free from form, from tiresome repetition, and from lukewarmness, and under the influence of the deepest abasement and prostration of soul, his heart appeared to be melted, and "his lips to be touched as with a live coal from off the altar," when he was engaged in this sublime and delightful duty. : But his usefulness as a minister was not confined to his labours in the pulpit. He was emphatically the friend, the counsellor, and the guide of his younger brethren in the sacred profession. In the language of one of his pupils," He was, indeed, a father to NewEngland-her moral legislator. His life is an era in her history. To the churches of his persuasion in that country, he was a guardian, a friend, a counsellor. In the hour of trial, they found support in his firmness, assistance in his wisdom, and encouragement in his prayers. As a peacemaker, he was eminently blessed; for his advice was asked, and given in the spirit of Christian humility and justice." Great numbers of the clergy had, first or last, been his pupils he had been their friend and adviser, as well as their instructer; and they felt the most implicit confidence in his disposition, and his capacity, to assist them in their embarrassments and difficulties. For this purpose they resorted to him with perfect freedom, and were received with the utmost kindness and respect. He entered at once into their interests and feelings; and the services which he rendered them were numerous and important. Having the advantage of long observation and experience, an extensive acquaintance with the state of the country, and the character, wants, and condition, of its inhabitants; and being the centre of application for the supply of instructers, both literary and religious, for a wide extent of country; he was able to adapt his opinions to the exigencies of the various cases in which he was consulted; and to furnish those who sought it with employment and support. Few imagine how many parishes in New-England, New-York, and elsewhere, have, through his agency, been furnished with clergymen. In short, his character, as a preacher, may be summed up in the language of the writer last alluded to: "While he shunned not to declare the whole counsel of God,' he strengthened his arguments by illustrations from the history of nations, and the biography of individuals. His application of Scripture doctrines and texts to the ever-varying aspect of human life; his insight into the groundwork of character, and the motives to action; his admirable sketches, as it were, with the very pencil, and in the very colouring of the inspired writers, distinguished him from the mere commentator on texts, and the sentimental moralist. Of his eloquence, as with most other great orators, few can judge correctly, but those who have heard him. They will never forget him, either in this world or To simplicity in manner and matter, he added dignity; to ease, he added energy; to fervour, he added humility. Preaching too often seems, with ministers, the work of a day or an hour; but with him it was the work of Eternity. He preached as a sinner and dying man himself; he preached as in the presence of God, and of the spirits of just men made perfect; he preached as though he saw his crown of glory ever before him; as though he heard the Saviour saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." "His sermons were not adorned with as many decorations of taste and ornaments of imagination as those of some other distinguished pulpit orators. But in the primary qualities of real eloquence, his sermons were eminently rich: in powerful appeals to the heart, in vivid pictures of vice and virtue, sketched from the life; in awful denunciation; in solemn remonstrance; in fervent intercession." It remains only to view President Dwight, as a man, in the various walks of private life, exhibiting the virtues which peculiarly adorn that interesting station. And perhaps, no part of the task which has been undertaken in this account, has been more difficult of execution." It is rare," says Professor Silliman, who had been long and intimately acquainted with him in private as well as in public life," that a man so great and splendid in the public eye, is in private life so desirable: for to his particular friends, his society was delightful, and the only effect of long and intimate acquaintance with him was, to exact towards him every sentiment of respect, admiration, and affection." "In the domestic and social circle," says another of his pupils," Dr. Dwight will ever be remembered with the tenderest affection, and the most sincere regret." "In private society," says a third," Dr. Dwight possessed uncommon powers to please and to instruct. With an inexhaustible stock of knowledge on almost every subject, and an ease of communication to which a parallel can hardly be found, he easily accommodated his remarks to the character and means of improvement of those with whom he conversed; and seldom failed to excite the highest respect and admiration. From the weakness of his eyes, and his consequent inability to employ himself much in reading, except by the assistance of others, he was led to devote more of his time to the society of his friends, than, perhaps, in other circumstances, he would have judged expedient. He ever considered the diversified conversation of a social circle, as affording the most rational, and, at the same time, the most entertaining of all amusements." "A disappointment (says a fourth) is often felt, on our introduction to men who have attained eminence for talents and piety. By habits of seclusion and abstraction, they have, perhaps, lost the ability to mingle with interest in the concerns of the passing day. It was not so with President Dwight. In his manners he was, in the highest degree, dignified, affable, and polite. Like Johnson, he shone in no place with more distinguished splendour, than in the circle of the friends he loved; when the glow of animation lighted up his countenance, and a perpetual stream of knowledge and wisdom flowed from his lips. As his had been a life of observation and reflection, rather than of secluded study, his acquisitions were all practical; they were all at hand, ready to enrich and adorn his conversation. In theology and ethics, in natural philosophy and geography, in history and statistics, in poetry and philology, in husbandry and domestic economy, his treasures were equally inexhaustible. Interesting narration, vivid description, and sallies of humour; anecdotes of the just, the good, the generous, the brave, the eccentric; these all were blended in fine proportions to form the bright and varied tissue of his discourse. Alive to all the sympathies of friendship, faithful to its claims, and sedulous in performing its duties, he was beloved by many from early life, with whom he entered on the stage, and whom, as Shakspeare says, he "grappled to his soul with hooks of steel." It is no small proof of his amiableness, that all who gained the most intimate access to him, whether associates, or pupils, or amanuenses, admired, revered, and loved him most." These various testimonies, written by so many different persons, all having the best means of judging, while they evince his excellence in private life, also show how impossible it must be, in a sketch like the present, to give an adequate view of the character of a man so greatly distinguished in every public station which he was called to occupy; so justly admired in the circle of his friends; and so tenderly beloved in the bosom of his own family. The purity of his sentiments and language was equally remarkable and exemplary. In conversation, he not only observed the strictest delicacy himself, in his remarks, and allusions, and anecdotes; but, by an influence at once silent and perceptible, induced every one else to do the same. The same is true of his writings. It is believed, that in the whole of his voluminous works there cannot be found a single sentence which is not consistent with the most refined purity. Nor, after an intimate acquaintance of more than forty years, is the instance recollected in which he has been heard to utter an expression, or thought, which would have excited the apprehensions of innocence, or wounded the ear of female sensibility. He was, from infancy, distinguished for the most conscientious regard to truth. This was obvious in every day's conversation. He never allowed himself to exaggerate, nor in any degree to misrepresent. In no situation, whether surprised by strong temptation, or urged by the most pressing necessity, would he sanction the slightest deviation from absolute verity. Equally sincere was he in his professions. The kindness and services which he rendered, always exceeded the expectations which he had intentionally raised. He had too much self-respect to keep any man in the dark as to his opinions or principles. He entertained none which he was not willing to communicate to the world, and his declarations concerning them were mathematically true. No less was he remarkable for the most scrupulous regard to decorum. His manners were those of the polished gentlemancharacterized by ease, grace, and dignity. There was no distance, no reserve, no visible consciousness of superior intellect. His politeness was not a mere exterior. It was the great law of kindness, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," exemplified in his daily intercourse with those around him. It was, thus, universal-appearing in his countenance, his conversation, and his conduct, exhibited equally towards persons of every condition, and delicately regarding the characters, the circumstances, the feelings, and the prejudices of those who were present. All men were easy and happy in his company. Amidst all his avocations and labours, he was ever ready to attend to the calls of hospitality, of civility, and of friendship; calls which were multiplied upon him to an unprecedented degree, but which were never suffered to pass by unheeded. The courteousness of his manners was exemplified in his intercourse with the poor and the humble, as well as with those in more elevated stations, by his treating them at all times with kindness, listening to their wants, and, as far as lay in his power administering to their necessities. His charities were unceasing, and, in proportion to his resources, rarely surpassed. The beggar at the door never went empty away. Those who suffered in silence, he continually sought out, and sent them unsolicited relief. Those whom the providence of God had suddenly impoverished, never applied to him for help in vain. To religious charities, to the education of young men of piety, to the distribution of Bibles, to the support of missions, to the assistance of destitute churches, he loved peculiarly to contri bute. The only privilege of the affluent which he coveted, was the good which they might do with their wealth, and the pleasure which they might enjoy in doing it. No man ever loved his friends with more sincerity or constancy, or with warmer affection. His house, his hand, and his heart, were always open to welcome them. He never deserted them in distress, or because they were the objects of reproach and calum ny. Instead of this, he chose rather to withdraw from those who attacked them, however numerous, or wealthy, or powerful. To their failings he was kind-never, by even a remote allusion, giv ing others reason to suppose that he observed them. Their excellencies he loved to acknowledge. The characteristics, in his view, which ought especially to govern in the choice of intimate friends, were not talents, nor learning, nor wealth, nor influence, nor polish, nor fashion: they were sincere affection, tried personal worth, and refinement of the mind. In this respect few have been more happy. In his intercourse with his friends and with others, all his purposes were kind, and generous, and honourable. He would not condescend to wear disguise, nor to associate with those before whom it was necessary. Personal independence, and decision of character, were inwrought in the very texture of his mind. He was afraid of no man. The history of his life presented no vulnerable points, and he knew that reproach and slander could not do him injury. While he received intelligence and advice from every quarter, and would change his purpose if a sufficient reason was given; yet, without such a reason, no influence nor entreaties, no flattery nor threats, could induce him to change it. His purpose was his duty. Motives of a higher nature than any which present objects can afford, led him to embrace it, and no other motives could prompt him to relinquish it. For this, he was ready at all times, if it became necessary, to sacrifice the objects which are usually most valued: the friendship of any friend; the civilities and courtesy of the rich, the fashionable, and the powerful; and the applause of the many. The formation of his opinions on religious subjects, he appeared ever to consider as a transaction exclusively between God and himself. Aiming to leave other things wholly out of view, he resorted to the Bible as the perfect standard of faith, and as absolutely obligatory on the conscience; believing that his own mind was darkened by many errors, and needed the illumination of the Spirit of light. Various opinions, ardently embraced when a youth, he afterwards relinquished, from a conviction that they were unfounded. His sentiments, on all important religious subjects, will be found in these volumes. What he believed to be true, he would preach, in all the extent in which he received it, leaving the consequences with God. His views of Christian catholicism, and of the importance of truth, will be found in several of the following sermons. His feelings, and conversation, and conduct, towards those who differed from him, were evangelically liberal. Virtue he described as "voluntary obedience to truth," and vice, as "voluntary obedience to error." He held the Scriptures to be a plain intelligible revelation of the will of God; and every man who has them, to be equally responsible for his faith as for his practice. No considerations would induce him to be civil to error, as such; or to narrow the distinction between error and truth. While he treated those whom he believed to embrace errors (even fundamental ones) with kindness; on all proper occasions, he exposed their errors without hesitation and without fear. The value of their applause and their |