Ministerial Training in Eighteenth-Century New England 9780231886567

Table of contents :
Preface
Table of Contents
I. Puritan Theories of Clerical Education
II. Ministerial Training in Early New England
III. Eighteenth-Century Developments
IV. Collegiate Education
V. Graduate Study of Divinity at the Colleges
VI. The Schools of the Prophets
VII. Educational Procedure in the Schools of the Prophets
VIII. The Coming of the Theological Seminary
Bibliography
Index

Citation preview

STUDIES IN HISTORY, ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC LAW Edited by the F A C U L T Y OF P O L I T I C A L S C I E N C E OF COLUMBIA

UNIVERSITY

N U M B E R 428

MINISTERIAL TRAINING IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY

NEW ENGLAND BY

MARY LATIMER GAMBRELL

M I N I S T E R I A L T R A I N I N G IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY

NEW ENGLAND

BY

MARY LATIMER GAMBRELL, Ph. D.

NEW COLUMBIA

YORK

UNIVERSITY

PRESS

LONDON : P . S . K I N G & SON, L T D .

1937

COPYRIGHT,

1937

BV COLUMBIA

UNIVERSITY

PRESS

PR Γ Ν* TED IN" T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S OF

AMEBICA

PREFACE T o a people so influenced by the philosophy of a single section as Americans have been by that of eighteenth-century N e w England, the history of that section's modes of thought holds abiding interest. It is a commonplace to observe that in the thinking of New England religion was a dominant factor, itself in turn dominated by the clergy. Whatever affected the intellectual and philosophical background of the clerical office, therefore, has significance for succeeding generations. This study is designed to describe a period of transition in one of the most fundamental factors in the determination of ministerial character, that of formal preparation for the pulpit. Extending in time from the Great A w a k e n i n g ( 1 7 4 0 ) to the founding of Andover Theological Seminary (1808), this period was in many ways a critical one f o r the ecclesiastical order, swayed as it was on the one hand by forces of doctrinal reaction, and on the other by eighteenth-century heterodoxy and rationalism. By 1808, however, discord between the factions of strictly Trinitarian Congregationalists was for the time being somewhat muted, and the combined forces of orthodoxy, though still fearful of the growing strength of religious liberalism and skepticism, felt reassured by the prospect of their establishment at Andover. Meanwhile, clerical education had been influenced not only by internal doctrinal disputes and efforts to combat rationalism, but also by changing secular ideas regarding the functions of colleges and universities. Such changes and adaptations as were made were not spectacular, but like most social developments, gradual and, at times, imperceptible. T h o u g h no effort has been made to comprehend here the whole subject of higher education, it has seemed advisable for purposes of evaluation to compare the various aspects of practice in N e w England with that of English Dissenters and of the Church of Scotland. Throughout the period under discussion, N e w England Congregationalists exerted powerful influence upon other American 5

6

PREFACE

evangelical sects, especially the Presbyterian, through such institutions as the College of New Jersey. Indirectly through these colleges and seminaries, as well as through their own pioneering clergy, Congregationalist ideas of orthodoxy and clerical training followed the lengthening fingers of settlement as Americans, from the mid-century onward, went on to the conquest of a continent. In direct proportion, therefore, as the tenets of the founding fathers were preserved in New England, through the careful supervision of ministerial education, they flourished anew in every part of the frontier planted under the New England aegis. It is not the purpose of this study to trace the extent of this influence, or to examine the truth of the assertion that the religious ferment of eighteenth-century New England has resulted in the fundamentalism prevailing today in parts of the South and Middle West. Certainly it is true that though New England itself was subsequently, by reason of its location, more subject than many sections to a variety of intellectual currents and hence to greater changes in modes of thought, its eighteenth-century theology has left a definite impress on twentieth-century America. This study was begun in the seminar of Professor Dixon Ryan F o x of Columbia University, and to his encouragement and advice the writer is deeply indebted. After his departure to become president of Union College, Professor Evarts B. Greene graciously consented to act as adviser in the organization and completion of the task. For his generous and constant assistance through criticism and stimulating suggestions the writer offers sincere thanks. Professor John A. Krout kindly read the completed manuscript. To all this help the study owes much, but for any error of fact or interpretation that may remain the writer alone is responsible. Grateful acknowledgment is made for the friendly and efficient cooperation of the staffs of various libraries, especially those of Yale University, Union Theological Seminary, Harvard College, and the State of Connecticut.

TABLE OF CONTENTS »AG·

CHAPTER

I

Puritan Theories of Clerical Education

9

CHAPTER

II

Ministerial Training in Early New England CHAPTER

21

III

Eighteenth-Century Developments CHAPTER

29 IV

Collegiate Education

56 CHAPTER

V

Graduate Study of Divinity at the Colleges CHAPTER

84

VI

The Schools of the Prophets

101 CHAPTER

VII

Educational Procedure in the Schools of the Prophets . . . . . . . . CHAPTER

128

VIII

T h e C o m i n g of the Theological Seminary

142

BIBLIOGRAPHY

148

INDEX .

161

7

CHAPTER I PURITAN THEORIES OF CLERICAL EDUCATION AMERICAN

colonial culture in all its aspects w a s to a greater

or less degree a manifestation of that of earlier and contemp o r a r y Britain, as scholars have ably and amply demonstrated. In an especial sense this w a s true of clerical education in N e w E n g l a n d where matters of religion played so important a part in motives f o r settlement. Since these religious considerations were in the nature of protests, however, it naturally followed that developments would reflect not only the English

back-

g r o u n d of experience, but also the efforts made to remedy causes of dissatisfaction. Consequently, one finds the Puritan in N e w E n g l a n d establishing a system of ministerial training modeled fundamentally upon that to which he had been accustomed in England, and to the general theory of which he had never objected, but embodying also certain r e f o r m s in practice which he considered essential. Reforms

in clerical education

demanded by the

English

Puritan were not necessarily original with h i m ; in fact they were f o r the most part corollaries to the R e f o r m a t i o n precept o f complete reliance upon Scripture f o r guidance in the quest f o r salvation. In both R e f o r m a t i o n and Puritan opinion the minister's primary function w a s that of expounding revealed t r u t h ; instead of

the traditional ritual, the sermon,

which

should be an interpretation and application of Scripture, should become the core of the service. 1 Calvin besought all w h o held a cure of souls, at least on the Sabbath and on feast days, to feed the people committed to them, according to their ability, with saving words, by teaching them those things which all must know in order to salvation, and announcing to them with brevity and plainness of speech the vices to be shunned and the virtues to be 1 Walter Travers, A

Full

and Plaine

Declaration

of

Ecclesiastical

Dis-

cipline . . . translated by T h o m a s C a r t w r i g h t (Geneva, 1580), pp. 89-90, 101.

9

IO

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

followed in order to escape eternal punishment and gain celestial glory.2 Puritan theories of the ministerial function therefore were closely allied with their theology. Every man was his own priest, and the church service should be so framed as to stimulate intelligent communion between the soul and its maker. 3 Salvation would not be secured through the performance of rites and ceremonies; but election might be fulfilled through the édification attendant upon good preaching.* Ministers therefore should be carefully trained for this important duty ; besides being well-versed in Scripture as studied in original languages, they should be masters of the art of public speaking, and skilled in both logic and rhetoric. In England, however, the first period of separation from the Church of Rome was principally occupied with concomitant political and economic adjustments, and relatively little with fine points of Scriptural teaching or with setting new standards of training for the ministry. In the beginning, moreover, the Church of England could not, if it would, have established an entirely new ministry; of necessity it had to take over that 2 John Calvin, Tracts . . . translated from the original Latin and French by Henry Beveridge (3 vols., Edinburgh, 1851). HI, 83. 3 The tendency to emphasize individual interpretation of divine will led in its most extreme forms to the development of sects which centered less instead of more attention upon an educated clergy. In the opinion of these groups any one who was "gifted of divine grace " and could read an English translation of the Bible was as effective a teacher as the most profound scholar. Some Baptists fell into this category, but the most complete renunciation of the necessity for ministerial training occurs in the teaching of George Fox, father of the Quaker movement: That to teach men Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and the seven arts, which were all but the teachings, of the natural man, was not the way to make them ministers of Christ. According to Fox a real ministry was made, as in apostolic times, by Christ himself, through the gift of tongues and knowledge. George Fox, The Works of George Fox (8 vols., Philadelphia and New York, 1831), I, 362. 4 William Perkins, The Works London, 1608-1631), II, 645-646.

of . . . William

Perkins . . .

(3 vols.,

PURITA Ν

II

THEORIES

already at hand, both educated and uneducated. F o r similar reasons the English church continued under the medieval tradition that while ideally a clergyman should receive university education, in practice he frequently did not. The universities were still considered institutions existing primarily for the education of the clergy, and most churchmen of high rank held university degrees. F o r the rank and file, however, questions of royal expedience, maintenance, and lay appointment, obtruded themselves to the discouragement of a high average of learning; the emphasis of Elizabethan ecclesiastical regulation was upon outward conformity rather than upon professional qualifications; frequently the support provided was inadequate to attract a well educated incumbent; and in many cases liberty of lay patrons to fill benefices made it impossible for the church to enforce high standards. Recognition of the consequent unfortunate ignorance among many of the clergy is probably responsible in part for ecclesiastical regulations requiring special license for ministers allowed to preach, and restricting others to reading homilies or merely to reading the service. 5 Such practices, resulting in a numerous non-preaching clergy, gave credence, however, to the Puritans' vociferous complaints against " dumb dogs " in the ministry." It is not true, however, that seventeenth-century English ecclesiastical practice passed on to Puritans emigrating to New England a tradition which disregarded the value of learning. Though many parishes were served solely by those who could only blunder through the service or perhaps read a homily, 1 these apparently were by no means so numerous as has frequently been assumed. In 1603 the bishops reported that nearly half the clergymen held university degrees, and that many of those who did not had spent some time at one of the universi5 There were political reasons also for these regulations. 6 Similar complaints, of course, were made in the Middle Ages. 7 Samuel Rawson Gardiner, History (2 vols., London, 1863), I, 147.

of England

from ... 1603 ...

1616

12

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

ties, and hence varied in educational acquirements.' A t that time legislation aimed at an even more uniform practice had already passed through several successive stages. Injunctions had been issued by both E d w a r d V I and Elizabeth requiring all clergymen who did not hold advanced degrees to engage systematically in a study of at least the N e w Testament in both Latin and English.® During the same period clergymen themselves had made an effort to improve their condition through the use of clerical meetings for Biblical study and conference. These reforms, however, did not satisfy the Puritans who constantly voiced, and sought in devious ways to force into acceptance, the opinion that all ministers uneducated and unable to preach be displaced, or that additional ministers who were able to preach be placed in their parishes. Such pleas were incorporated in the famous Millenary Petition, with which Puritans greeted the accession of James I, and also in arguments which their advocates presented to his majesty at the Hampton Court Conference (1603). 1 0 T h e specific demands made in these petitions met with rebuff, however, and Puritans were by no means satisfied with such stipulations regarding educational requirements and preaching as the authorities set forth in the Canons of 1604. 11 They continued through parliamentary measures the attempt to work their will, but the Canons of 1604 served to put their ministry on the defensive 8 Roland G. Usher, The Reconstruction of the English N e w Y o r k and London, 1910), I, 206-208.

Church . . . ( 2 vols.,

9 Edward Cardwell, Documentary Annals of the Reformed Church of England... ( 2 vols., O x f o r d , 1844), I, 13, 218, 4 0 3 ; II, 21 ; Walter H . Frere [Vol. II, assisted by W . M. K e n n e d y ] , Visitation Articles and Injunctions of the Period of the Reformation ( 3 vols., N e w York, 1910). 10 W i l l i a m Barlowe, The Summe and Substance of at Hampton Court... 1603 (London, 1604), pp. 23-56.

the Conference

...

11 T h e Canons of 1604 based admission to holy orders upon a university degree or an ability to present in Latin a Scripturally supported defense of the Thirty-nine Articles, and set u p definite rules requiring regular and frequent preaching. Constitutions and Canons Ecclesiastical 1604, with an introduction and notes by H . A . W i l s o n (London, 1923).

PURITAN

THEORIES

Iß

through the requirement that all the clergy must either conform or be ejected. F r o m this time forward to the Puritan Revolt, therefore, ecclesiastical controversy tended to center around political questions rather than ministerial training. Educational ideals, however, were by no means forgotten and throughout the seventeenth century they continued to be heard, largely from the lips and pens of Puritan divines. Meanwhile, the predecessors of that eighteenth-century Puritan group with which this study is primarily concerned migrated to New England ; a fact which did not mean that they were the less influenced by the steady stream of Puritan outpourings, but rather that in a new land untrammeled by a previously established religion they would be more free to practice what was being preached. Perhaps the most complete statement of the seventeenth century Puritan ideal regarding the ministerial office is found in The Reformed Pastor ( 1 6 5 5 ) by Richard Baxter, himself regarded as one of the noblest fruits of Puritanism. In this treatise, which constituted a manual of advice to clergymen, Baxter paid homage to the Puritan ideal which placed high value upon the spirituality of its ministry, but lest this come to be considered all-sufficient he pled for a stronger insistence on rigorous training, pointing out that grace alone does not " make wise teachers of natural drones or weak-headed lads." " He emphasized the traditional Puritan purpose of preaching, in his derogation both of that dull rattling of dry bones which permitted " a number of dead and drowsy sinners " to sit through a sermon without a chance of being awakened, 13 and of that seventeenth-century form of pulpit facetiousness known as " witty " preaching, when before the minister sat transgressors who must be " Changed or Damned ". 1 4 In an age as cognizant of the pulpit as the present generation is of the 12 Richard Baxter, The Reformed 13 Ibid., p. 34. 14 Ibid., p. 55.

Pastor

( L o n d o n , 1766), p. 240.

14

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

public platform and the press, there doubtless were many who, as Baxter said, attended the services expecting " to have their ears pleased ", but with that expectation he would have no concern ; the minister's primary function should be the effective saving of souls. T o perform it well he should first receive a thorough preparatory education, for in this way only would he be able to hold the respect of his flock and teach them the way of truth. Although according to English university tradition an academic degree preceded the study of theology," Baxter urged that the latter should be the foundation and accompaniment of all other studies. H e considered it a mistake that students set themselves to study Metaphysics and Mathematics before Theology; since no one who has not the vitals of Theology is capable of going beyond a fool in Philosophy; . . . Instead of reading Philosophy like divines, they read divinity like philosophers . . . [which] pesters the church with unsanctified teachers.1® Baxter advised the young divine after completing his formal education, to settle at first if possible in the home of some old and experienced country pastor who needed assistance. There you may learn as well as teach, and learn, by his practice, what you must practice : and by preaching a few years to a small ignorant people . . . you will be better prepared for more publick places . . . than you are ever likely to be by continuing among scholars in the university, or by serving as chaplains in great men's houses.17 Much of Baxter's opinion and advice was prophetic of eighteenth century American Congregational belief and practice, especially in regard to evangelical preaching, undergraduate study of theology, and the acquisition of practical experience through living and studying with an experienced parish 15 Infra, pp. 18-19. 16 Baxter, o/·. cit., p. 253. 17 Ibid., p. 252.

PURITAN

THEORIES

I5

clergyman. 1 '

A measure of this kinship of ideas, and of Baxter's popularity in New England is the fact that his book was not only frequently found in eighteenth-century Congregational libraries, but continued to be made accessible through American publications as late as 1827.1* Baxter himself, however, was privately educated and hence without any university experience. A detailed statement of what the seventeenth-century university-trained Puritan considered essential in preparatory studies may be found in John Edwards' The Preacher ( 1705-1709), though Edwards belongs to a period subsequent to the era of Puritan controversy, and was himself a member of the Church of England. He did, however, belong to the Calvinistic minority of that church and his advice to clergymen may be presumed to reflect a Puritan view of the clerical office. Certainly it constituted standard reading for preparing divines in New England. 20 Edwards, who had the distinction of holding the degrees of A.B., M.A., B.D., and D.D., from Cambridge University, set a high standard of academic and professional education as suitable to prepare a man for the pulpit. Besides those subjects which were the usual fare of Cambridge undergraduates, 21 he recommended such advanced studies as Hebrew, Biblical criticism, Jewish learning, the Fathers, councils, canons, ecclesiastical history, law, and a wide acquaintance with literature, including " even the Heathen " authors. For this extensive learning there was but one purpose, a purpose common to all Calviniste: to enable the minister to interpret Scripture correctly. 22 The preacher must be a 18 Infra, pp. "0-76, chapters vi, vii. 19 Excerpts appeared in the American Quarterly Register (Boston, 1827), I, 25. It w a s included also in the Young Minister's Companion (Boston, 1813). 20 Copies of this work were in both Y a l e and H a r v a r d libraries in the eighteenth century. 21 Infra,

pp. 17-18.

22 John Edwards, The Prcacher

( 3 parts, London, 1705-1709), I, 211-275.

l6

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

Linguist, a Grammarian, a Critick, an Orator, a Philosopher, an Historian, a Casuist, a Disputant, and whatever Speaks Skill and Knowledge in any Learned Science . . . He is to speak to all Subjects, and therefore must be made up of all Knowledge and learning. For as all Arts serve one another, so they serve Divinity too, and are someways requisite in a Preacher.1® Expression of interest in ministerial education was not wholly confined to Puritans, as Bishop Gilbert Burnet's widely read Discourse of the Pastoral Care (1692) bears witness/ 1 Burnet, however, was a Low-Churchman, and hence sympathetic at least to Nonconformist opinion. Whatever the reason, more conservative churchmen like Bishops Lancelot Andrews and Jeremy Taylor seem to have said little or nothing of the necessity of academic education. Andrews is said to have devoted particular attention to raising the standard of life and learning among his subordinates,'·" but no indication of his specific ideas on that subject has been found. Taylor wrote a discourse on " The Minister : Duty in Life and Doctrine " and one on " Rules and Advices to the Clergy " of his dioceses, but they contain nothing regarding the value of general learning. Rather do they bear out the traditional contrast between Puritan and Anglican opinion, by stressing, besides a knowledge of Scripture, the proper performance of the more sacramental church functions.26 In this connection, however, the fact should be emphasized that, though practice too frequently fell short of ideal, the desirability of a university degree for clergymen was recognized by Anglicans as well as Puritans. Moreover, in the prevailing quality of university education appeared ground for protest freely 23 Ibid., I, 268-269. 24 Burnet advised, for the average preacher, a course of education somewhat less comprehensive than that outlined by Ed-wards. 25 Robert L. Ottley, Lancelot Andrewcs (Boston and New York, 1894), p. 112. 26 Jeremy Taylor, The Whole Works of the Right Reverend Jeremy Taylor... (3 vols., London, 1844), II, 111-129; III, 709-715.

PURITAN

THEORIES

I7

entered into by both parties: degrees were too often shams, procurable through various dispensations, notably that excusing the student from required residence at the university. W h e n William Laud became Chancellor of O x f o r d in 1629, one of his first concerns was to point out the need for checking prevailing laxities. 27 Puritans also complained of the laxity of the universities in both learning and morals. They apparently did not, however, strive to effect a new system of education: their plea was for enforcement of existing standards. F o r discovering what studies Puritans had in mind in urging the necessity of learning for the ministry, one may well consider the program offered by Cambridge University, which was their favorite educational institution, and which like most universities of that day was designed primarily to supply a learned clergy. 28 In the Cambridge colleges there was no fixed curriculum; each student was at the mercy of his tutor who was privileged to assign such studies as he wished for the four years' residence. There was much uniformity in the course of studies, however, since a strong medieval tradition still prevailed, tending to confine the principal subjects to adaptations of the trivium (logic, rhetoric, and g r a m m a r ) , and the three philosophies (natural, moral, and mental). T h e study and practice of logic and rhetoric had lost none of their medieval authority, but ran like a thread through the entire four years ; techniques having been mastered, these were the courses which, through disputations, displayed the student's acquirements in other subjects. Grammar meant the study of Latin and Greek; as he progressed the student would be expected to become proficient in reading the former at sight, but a more scanty knowl27 William Laud, The Works of . . . William Laud . . . O x f o r d , 1847-1860), V, i, 13, 19, 24-25.

(7 vols, in 9,

28 Such a consideration, moreover, will prove instructive f o r later purposes of this study inasmuch as a m a j o r i t y of the founders of H a r v a r d College were Cambridge graduates and doubtless used their alma mater as a model f o r the new foundation.

l8

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

edge of the latter would be accepted." It is not likely that at first graduation his linguistic acquirements were such as to make him able, without further training, to attain a scholarly knowledge of even the New Testament and early church foundations of his religion, to say nothing of its more ancient origins. Philosophical studies occupying most of the last two years were still anchored to scholastic authorities. As for divinity, according to a program made out by a mid-century master of Emmanuel College, a Puritan stronghold, it was to be studied from a compendium, and that for only one quarter of the senior year, a practice to which, as already pointed out, Richard Baxter vigorously objected. Such a course, which brought the Cambridge student to his bachelor's degree, while perhaps designed primarily as a foundation for clerical education, by no means fully prepared a clergyman for his office. Strictly professional preparation began with study for the M.A. degree, which was rarely taken save by those who planned to enter holy orders ; 8 0 hence, its requirements were of a professional character. To qualify for this degree the candidate studied Hebrew, probably continued the study of Greek, and read theology; he might, or not, as he chose, remain in residence for the required three years between the first and second degrees. Few except those who held fellowships did remain : others studied privately, and at the end of three years returned to meet the formalities for the degree. Since authority for setting up examination requirements seems to have been left to the individual colleges, it is difficult to determine just what was customarily studied in the few subjects named. Mullinger concludes that those who remained in residence gave their time for the most part " to the all absorbing controversial theology of the day and to the composition of ι. " : 29 Samuel Eliot Morison, The Founding Massachusetts, 1935), pp. 60-65. 30 Ibid., p. 76.

of Harvard

College

(Cambridge,

PURITAN

THEORIES

I9

' Commonplaces ' to be delivered in the college chapel." The more zealous scholars may have added to this narrow program a little study of ethics, physics, and metaphysics ; but even these additions were studied from medieval sources and from a medieval point of view. Theology was almost the sole study of those who sought distinction, and it unfortunately no longer maintained its medieval character as queen of the sciences, but had sunk for the most part into narrow and intolerant controversy.32 So far was practice removed from the theory of the well educated John Edwards. 31

The tendency toward giving preeminence to didactic divinity rather than to a scholarly study of theology is well illustrated in the experience of the noted Puritan, John Preston. As a student at Queen's College studying divinity in pursuit of truth for its own sake, Preston devoted himself to reading " in the first and oldest editions that could be got " such medieval theologians as Scotus, Occam, and Aquinas." After deciding to become a minister he began the study of modern writers, particularly Calvin; but when he became catechist of the college and so was responsible for guiding students in their study of divinity he resolved to induct them through what he believed a more fruitful plan. First they should be introduced to a " system " or " body of divinity ",** for it was not his opinion that others should do as he had done, that is to p[er]use the shoolemen first and then come to the modern writers ; but first reade Summes and Systems in Divinity, so as to 31 John Bass Mullinger, The University of Cambridge (3 vols., Cambridge, 1873-1911), II, 414. Such a "commonplace" was a systematic argument in support of a given doctrine. 32 Ibid., II, 415. 33 Thomas Ball, The Life of the Renowned Harcourt, ed. (London, 1885), p. 19.

Doctor

Preston,

E. W.

34 A " body of divinity " was an analysis and summary of Scripture organized under " heads " in support of particular doctrines. This form of textbook was particularly valued by Calviniste.

20

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

settle their judgments, and then to reade Fathers and Schoiemen, or what they had a mynde to.*® In such manner were students first thoroughly grounded in doctrine, and then permitted to pursue learning if they would. So was truth suborbinated to party in old England, and a pattern set long to be followed in New England where maintenance of purity of doctrine was regarded as the first essential in clerical education. A ministerial training so subservient to partisan purposes was limited not only in its foundations of general theological knowledge, but by comparison with contemporary Jesuit education 56 appears deficient in such invaluable supports to clerical education as ecclesiastical history, moral theology or casuistry, and pulpit and pastoral practice. Moreover, though Hebrew and Greek were practically the only subjects studied, other than theology, they were in fact much neglected.®7 Didactic theology not only had crowded out a scholarly pursuit of linguistics but had made it largely unnecessary, since digesting a system of divinity did not require that the student familiarize himself with Jewish antiquities or the Fathers of the early church. Such was the practice to which the Puritan emigrating to America was accustomed ; regarding both formal requirements for entrance into the ministry and the plan of education pursued in qualifying for those requirements, it was a heritage from the Church of England. Adaptations he might make in a new land would necessarily be upon the basis of that inheritance. He was accustomed also, however, to the constant criticism delivered by his own party against certain Church of England practices ; the abuses against which Puritans had long protested he would now have opportunity to correct. 35 Ball, of. cit., p. 40. 30 Charles A. Briggs, The History of the Study of Theology New Y o r k , 1916), II, 135-140 ; Robert Schwickerath, Jesuit (St. Louis, 1904), pp. 1 1 4 - 1 1 5 . 37 Mullinger, op. cit., II, 416-420; Laud, op. cit., V, i, 19.

( 2 vols., Education

CHAPTER II MINISTERIAL TRAINING IN EARLY NEW ENGLAND ONE of the first concerns of the Puritan in America was to see that his educational heritage did not suffer in transit; and that admission to the clerical office was made to conform more fully to the ideals of his ecclesiastical fellows in Britain. It was with this in mind that he founded Harvard College in 1636, and Y a l e in 1701, the institutions modeled on the plan of Cambridge from which he chiefly supplied his pulpit. F o r a little more than a century N e w England Congregationalists continued to follow quite closely English ideas of clerical education; but in 1735 and 1740 there occurred that series of revivals of religion known as the " Great A w a k e n i n g " which, with the controversies that followed, led to new demands upon preparation f o r the ministry. It is with developments which came in answer to these demands, and as accompaniments, or reactions, to the " A g e of Enlightenment " that this study is concerned. Its limits in time are f r o m " T h e Great Awakening " to the founding of the first theological seminaries early in the nineteenth century; it undertakes to describe a period of transition from old ways to new. Before this task can profitably be undertaken, however, it is worth while to see what if any modifications one hundred years in the wilderness had made in the theory and practice inherited from seventeenth-century England. W h a t had been the result of a century's experience in adapting ideals and practices to a new environment, and in protecting their purity from conflicting views? H a d the N e w England progeny of English Puritans made the much sought reforms, or had the limitations of a frontier society not only prevented reform but led to regression? That in practice they had succeeded nobly as regards the educational minimum of a college degree is attested by the fact that, of 250 ministers known to have been ordained 21

22

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

to Congregational churches in America between 1640 and 1740, only 25 are not definitely known to have held such a degree.1 Whenever possible the prospective clergyman added some further study of divinity, pursued during continued residence at his alma mater, or more commonly, after the manner of impecunious graduates of Cambridge, in the solitude of his father's home or his own school-teaching abode. In the latter cases, if he was fortunate, he had the guidance of the parish clergyman; if not he struggled alone. That the years in the wilderness had not dimmed the ideal any more than they had affected fundamental practice is apparent from two interesting tracts issued in the first quarter of the eighteenth century and addressed to young students for the ministry. The first was by Samuel Willard, vice-president of Harvard from 1701 to 1707. Willard was American born and educated, so that he may be presumed to represent a truly American view. His Brief Directions to a Young Scholar Designing the Ministry for the Study of Divinity was published, posthumously, in Boston, in 1 7 3 5 ; but, inasmuch as he was vice-president of Harvard for six years prior to his death in 1707, it seems probable that it was written during that period. In this tract, which was obviously intended as a guide to post-collegiate study, Willard, of course, ranked knowledge of the Bible and controversial skill as first in importance. He commended a diligent reading of Scripture, whereby in a quasischolastic manner the student was to acquaint himself with its three meanings: " Grammatical ", " Logical ", and " Theological ". For the first two, skill in the following arts was considered necessary : grammar, in the original languages ; rhetoric, " since God hath spoken to us after our manner, and hath therefore made use of the vulgar Tropes and Figures " ; 2 and logic. For acquiring the theological meaning Willard, like John 1 Checked from William Buell Sprague, Annals of the American (g vols., New York, 1857-69) I, II. 2 Willard, op. cil., p. 2.

Pulpit

EARLY

NEW

ENGLAND

PRACTICE

23

Preston of Cambridge, would have the student first become master of " the most approved Systems and Common-Places " for in this way only would he be able to organize Scripture under proper doctrinal headings. Polemical divinity should then be studied for an understanding of doctrines opposed to " truth and, as a further safeguard against being taken unawares, a collection should be made " of the most noted Errors and Heresies both Ancient and Modern, that have pestered the Church of Christ ".' In order that the future clergyman might be qualified to deal with men's consciences, some attention should be given to moral theology, which, as observed, English students had neglected.4 In all these studies reading should be extensive and critical, though in the interests of doctrinal safety it should be carefully guided by experienced elders. Some time should be allowed for the study of natural philosophy, and of history, particularly ecclesiastical history. Finally, as a practical exercise, the student should, under ministerial guidance, occasionally organize a " Common-Place " in divinity. Indication that the Puritan in New England had departed scarcely if at all from the tenets of his English forbears in regard to ministerial preparation is to be found in the fact that Willard's advice is almost identical with that given by the celebrated English Puritan William Perkins to sixteenth-century students of divinity at Cambridge.5 There is the same analytical and doctrinal method of studying the Bible, the same emphasis upon wide but cautious reading, and the same preparation for controversy. Surprisingly enough Willard differs from his Puritan predecessor in neglecting the " art of prophecying." Apparently, truth unadorned by art was all that Harvard's chief executive would desire, or at least expect, of students who entered the ministry. 3 Ibid., p. 5·

A Supra,

pp. 18-20.

5 Perkins,

Works...,

I I , 645-651.

24

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

T h e other of the two significant American plans of clerical education appearing in this period is that of Cotton Mather, also American born and educated. H i s Manductio ad Ministerium, published in 1726, as a much more detailed analysis than that by Willard in current use at the time, was intended as a guide to the student while still in college. Republished in translation in 1781 and 1789 8 as Dr. Cotton Mather's Student and Preacher,T it remained popular throughout the period covered by this study. A m o n g the subjects considered necessary for an accomplished preacher Mather included principally those constituting the customary college course.* H i s comments merit consideration, however, reflecting as they usually do prevailing Congregationalist opinion concerning the ministerial uses of the various fields of knowledge. T h e first of these fields is language. 9 Clergymen should be able to speak as well as to write Latin, and should know enough Greek to read, not only the New Testament, but also the Fathers. A s to Hebrew, apparently as unpopular in New as in Old England, the author w a s " importunate since it seemed to have fallen into such disrepute that even an educated man was afraid to confess knowing it " lest it should bring him under the suspicion of being an odd starved, lank sort of a thing, who had lived only on Hebrew roots all his days ". A knowledge of Syriac also was desirable ; and it was admitted that a speaking knowledge of French 1 0 improved one's use of English, though the study of modern languages was not recommended unless found to be professionally useful. 6 Charles Evans, American Bibliography, No. 2772. 7 Cotton Mather, Dr. Cotton Ryland, ed. (London, 1789).

Mather's

Student

and Preacher,

John

8 Infra, pp. 70-72. 9 Mather, op. cit., pp. 96-103. 10 T h o u g h admitted to the college curriculum as an elective subject, French was not generally considered necessary to clerical education.

EARLY

NEW

ENGLAND

PRACTICE

25

11

As " sciences " Mather included rhetoric, which he felt could be sufficiently mastered from reading Scripture and a few good writers; logic, and metaphysics, which, contrary to prevailing practice, he scorned ; and ethics, which he approved only if it were Christian ethics using the Bible as a text. 11 Natural philosophy,14 if undertaken with proper religious contemplation and the purpose of increasing the effectiveness of his ministry, would be valuable to the divine; however, Aristotle, the medieval source of all philosophical knowledge, should be abandoned as a " muddy-headed pagan ", and in his stead the prospective clergyman should become thoroughly acquainted with the principles of Sir Isaac Newton. Perhaps as a safeguard against such new thought, by some considered dangerous, Mather recommended also the reading of books on " religious philosophy ", especially the Christian Philosopher.1* Next to philosophy, " mathematics " 1 5 was cited as an excellent study for those preparing for the ministry. Arithmetic and geometry would develop reasoning power ; a knowledge of astronomy would prevent " Stultiloquium in ecclesia " ; geography, beginning with the location of " Paradise " and Palestine, and continuing through the known world, would widen the minister's horizon and give opportunity for learning of religion in various parts of the world. Music, also, or at least a knowledge of singing, might be of service. Some acquaintance with poetry and style was regarded as desirable, and classical writers were recommended, provided their heathen philosophy could be forestalled.1® Even a very little practice in writing poetry was approved as serving to effect a polished style and to afford 11 Mather, op. cit., pp. 103-110. 12 Infra,

p. 76.

13 Mather, op. cit., pp. 120-127. 14 Presumably Mather's own work of that title, which was one of the early attempts to reconcile religion and the new science. 15 Mather, op. cit., pp. 128-134. Mathematics included arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, geography, and music. 10 Mather, op. cit., pp. 110-120.

26

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TRAINING

recreation. A knowledge of history, also, was considered a useful accomplishment, while church history was absolutely essential, and should be accompanied by some biography, " especially of them who have done worthily in Israel In regard to the study of Scripture Mather seems to have stepped out of the bounds of early Puritan tradition, for, although various modern commentaries were recommended as useful, the student was enjoined to remember that " all the commentators in the world are poor things to interpret the Bible, in comparison with an illiterate Christian ", who approaches it with a sanctified soul. 18 A s to the study of divinity 1 9 itself, Mather was aware of the scorn with which many regarded the use of " Systems " ; but he, like John Preston, and Samuel Willard, advised thorough knowledge of at least a few. A m o n g these were two, already quite old, but to remain popular in N e w England throughout the greater part of the eighteenth century ; Wollebius' (1536-1626) Manductio ad Theologiam and Ames' ( 1 5 7 5 - 1 6 3 3 ) Medulla Theologiae. Both of these theologians were staunch Calvinists, long admired by their N e w England brethren, 20 and both were professors of theology in Calvinist strongholds : Wollebius, Swiss born and educated, at the University of B a s l e ; 2 1 and Ames, English born and educated, at the Dutch University of Franeker. The latter was peculiarly the spiritual father of New England Congregationalists. A n English Puritan, persecuted until he fled to Holland, where he became the chief protagonist of Calvinist versus Arminian doctrine, he was furthermore a supporter of Congregational polity. It is said that his influence on early Harvard probably exceeded that of any other scholar, and that had he lived he would un17 Ibid., pp. 134-1S2. 18 Ibid., pp. 163-168. 19 Ibid., pp. 168-175· 20 Infra, 71, 73. 75· 21 Joseph François Michaud, Biographie supplement, Paris, 1811-1855), LI, 171.

Universelle

(52

vols.,

and

EARLY

NEW

ENGLAND

PRACTICE

27

doubtedly have been offered its presidency. His family emigrated to N e w England in 1637, and the General Court of Massachusetts granted £40 to " Mrs. Ames, widow of Doctor Ames, of famos memory." " Besides learning thoroughly certain systems of divinity, Mather felt that the student should of course become well acquainted with the theological writings of such great doctors of his own faith as Calvin, John Edwards, and others. Polemical divinity also should receive some attention, especially as regarded the controversies with Roman Catholics, Arians, Arminians, Anti-Paedobaptists, and Quakers. Unlike Willard, however, Mather did not advise a careful study of polemics until " the Providence of God call you to wars." Perhaps because of the continued inroads of the Church of England into New England, the study of ecclesiastical polity was revived. In both polity and the controversies, it should be said, the readings suggested presented only the Congregational view, and did not, for example, include Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity. American emphasis on casuistical theology is found again in the injunction that " it is of the last importance that you should be a good Casuist " ; and the popularity of William Ames is once more attested in the inclusion of his Cases of Conscience among the recommended texts. Some knowledge of the Fathers was deemed advisable, especially Theodoret, Chrysostom, and Augustine; but for the most part, the Fathers should be read only when curiosity in regard to their teachings arose from the study of ecclesiastical history. The omission of any reference to the " art of preaching ", noted in Willard's Directions, did not recur in Mather, who observed, " you are now coming to feed the flocks on the high Mountains of Israel." F o r guidance in this undertaking, however, the study of one text was con22 Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in Neuι England, N. B. Shurtleff, ed. (5 vols, in 6, Boston, 1853-54), I, 208; Morison, Founding of Harvard, pp. 142-143, 154, 330.

28

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

sidered entirely adequate, and Edwards' The Preacher was one of the two suggested.2* Comparison of the ideals expressed by both Willard and Mather with those of Richard Baxter and John Edwards indicates that American Congregationalists not only had been faithful, for the most part, to their inherited Puritan tradition of a liberally educated ministry, but for a century had kept a fair pace with their ecclesiastical kinsmen in England. Courses similar to those outlined here remained in vogue, it will appear, somewhat modified though not very greatly improved, for nearly a hundred years or until the founding of the theological seminaries. Adaptations in both ideal and practice made during that time will be considered in the following chapters. 23 Supra, pp. 15-16.

CHAPTER III EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY DEVELOPMENTS T H E W I N D S OF D O C T R I N E

IF for a century after arrival in New England Congregationalists maintained with but slight impairment the standards of clerical education brought with them, it was not without at the same time waging constant war with dissent in both doctrine and polity; from the beginning, heresy hunting had proceeded in the new world even as in the old. Other sects had demanded and in time had gained at least a degree of tolerance ; but within its own ranks, Congregationalism had so f a r contrived to keep free of disrupting controversy. Now, however, there were heard the first rumblings of a theological storm that f o r a time bade fair to destroy the existing order, and for three quarters of a century continued to shake it to its foundations. That storm, known as the " Great Awakening " 1 was destined not only to bring traditional doctrines into question but also, by fanning the flame of controversy, to emphasize the need for and insistence upon more adequate training for those who must man the pulpits. T o grasp the full import of this development it is necessary to scan certain changes which the hundred years had brought in Congregational practice. Among these was the widely accepted practice of the half-way covenant, whereby those who, 1 George N. Boardman, A History of New England Theology (New York, 1899), pp. 15-45; F- H. Foster, A Genetic History of the New England Theology (Chicago, 1907), pp. 1-269; M. Louise Greene, The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut (Boston and New York, 1905), pp. 220-233 ; Jacob C. Meyer, Church and State in Massachusetts from 1740 to 1S33 (Cleveland, 1930), p. 1 - 1 3 3 ; H. L . Osgood, The American Colonies in the Eighteenth Century (4 vols., New York, 1924), I I I , 407-449; Joseph Tracy, The Great Awakening — A History of the Revival of Religion in the Time of Edwards and White field (Boston, 1842) ; Williston Walker, A History of the Congregational Churches in the United States (New York, 1894). 29

30

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

though themselves baptized in infancy, had never been converted and admitted to full communion in the church might present their children for baptism. The result of this was that by the eighteenth century many, who otherwise might have sought to conform to original standards, were taking this opportunity for easy admission to the general benefits of church membership. Churches came to be filled with persons who had not experienced religious conversion, and the zeal of the founders began to burn low in their descendants of the fourth and fifth generations. Having been admitted to advantages of church membership without the experience of conversion, many, while in no sense denying the Calvinist doctrine of election, came to feel illogically but naturally that one might by a pious life place himself in the way of making it easier to receive the regeneration of Providence. From this it was but a step to the acceptance of the idea that in conforming to certain principles in the conduct of life one had done his full duty and further responsibility rested with the Deity. The varying degrees of inclination toward this belief came to be popularly termed " Arminianism ", 2 in reference to the Calvinist-Arminian controversy of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These differences within their own ranks and difficulties with other sects were disturbing enough to orthodox Congregationalists ; but a much more serious menace loomed with the appearance of the literature and teachings of deists and Arians. While the new heresies produced no immediate schisms, they added to the already growing fear, and earnest but unsuccessful efforts were made to secure through religious revival a return to the faith and practice of the fathers. Even an earthquake, and epidemics of such death-dealing diseases as smallpox and diph2 A statement of the general religious decay and the dangers of Arminian principles may be found in John White, New England s Lamentations (Boston, 1734). As to whether or not disparate views really should have been termed "Arminian " consult F. A. Christie—" The Beginnings of Arminianism in New England," Papers of the American Society of Church History, and series (New York, 1912), III, 153-172.

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY

DEVELOPMENTS

3I

theria were received with gratitude, as evidence of divine displeasure, and with the hope that they might lead to pious reflection. E f f o r t s and hopes alike, however, seemed in vain and " error " continued to flourish.8 One of the communities in which the practices of the halfway covenant and admission to the communion sacrament of those without religious "experience" were most widely accepted was that of Northampton, Massachusetts, where for years Solomon Stoddard was pastor. In 1 7 2 7 there came into the town as his colleague, his grandson, the young Jonathan Edwards, who was destined to stimulate there the revival for which the faithful long had hoped. Being of a mystical and poetic temperament, endowed with a strong logical mind and a vivid imagination, and trained in Calvinist theology, Edwards was admirably adapted to create a powerful impression upon his fellow New Englanders. His tendency was to stress the omniscience of God and the inability of man in all save minor spheres of action. He preached that the will of God was absolute, arbitrary, and eternal. Necessary corollaries were the Calvinist doctrines of predestination and election, more sharply stated than ever before. Salvation was procurable only through genuine conversion and Christian experience, and not through even the most upright manner of life or strictest conformity to accepted modes. Thus did Edwards completely deny the position of both " Arminians " and rationalists, and through the application of his powerful logic and imagination to Calvinist teachings strike terror to the hearts of many of his hearers. The horrors of hell and endless torment which the great mass of humanity were to suffer, unless saved by act of grace, were held up to their inspection. Naturally the more susceptible were driven to frenzy. Though not at first carried by any special missionary effort this revival movement, before it abated, spread to other parts 3 Thomas Prince, An Account of the Revival of Religion in Boston in the Years 1740-1-2-3 (Boston, 1823), pp. 4-6.

32

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

of western Massachusetts, and to Connecticut; and in 1740, returned with renewed vigor under the stimulating preaching of George Whitefield, then on his second visit to America. The intellectual quality of his sermons was not high but their themes were similar to those of Edwards, and their emotional appeal was strong, especially to the masses of common people. Other revivalists followed, and so vigorous became the urge to spread the revival that many New England pastors deserted their congregations and went on evangelizing tours, preaching from parish to parish, often many times a day. The number of converts made by these methods throughout New England was amazing ; various estimates have placed it at from ten to fifty thousand, out of a population of 300,000.* It is not to be supposed, however, that such excitement could long continue, or that opinion concerning its value would remain undivided. B y 1743, the intensity of enthusiasm had died down, but the rifts it had caused among Congregationalists remained to plague New England for years to come. In the course of the revival, extravagances had occurred ; faced with the dreadful penalties of divine law as portrayed by itinerant preachers, men and women were unable to maintain self-control and a meeting often became a bedlam. By some, these impulsive reactions were regarded as manifestation of the Spirit; by others, their spiritual values were doubted and their occurrence deprecated. In this, as in all radical movements, there was a " lunatic fringe " whose activities did much to bring the whole into opprobrium. Even Jonathan Edwards felt that some evangelists gave too much recognition to " impulses " and in some instances were too caustic in their condemnation of others as " unconverted ", 5 Criticism on the part of conservatives, however, was due not wholly to distaste for excessive zeal, but partly also to fear 4 Greene, op. cit., p. 270. 5 Jonathan Edwards, The Works of President Edwards ed., 8 vols., Worcester, 1808-1809), III, 292.

(ist American

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY

DEVELOPMENTS

33

for the security of the old Congregational order. W h e n itinerants who might or might not be educated appeared in the parishes, confusion followed, regular pastors frequently were temporarily or permanently abandoned by parts of their congregations, and rival churches were established, with inevitable subsequent animosities. Ministers formerly respected as leaders found themselves discredited and faced with professional ruin. Efforts to combat the disorders through church or state authorities, however, were largely ineffectual.® In Connecticut the situation was only aggravated. There " Separatist " or "Strict Congregational" churches were set up, composed chiefly of poor and ignorant persons, deeply moved by the revival, who rejected the Saybrook Platform of church polity and the need for an educated clergy. Some of them even went so far as to establish at N e w London a school, called " The Shepherd's Tent ", for training exhorters, teachers and ministers. It was taught by a suspended minister from N e w Haven, and housed in the upper story of his residence. 7 H o w many were trained there is not known but the number cannot have been large, for an act was soon passed forbidding any institution of learning not having the sanction of law. T h e same act made further provision for safeguarding the pulpit from ignorance by declaring that no one save a graduate of Harvard, Yale, or some foreign Protestant university should enjoy the benefit of existing laws regarding the settlement and support of ministers. Cleavage opened by such discord continued to widen until New England was divided into two parties : " N e w Lights " supporting the revivals and " Old Lights " opposing them. Out of these divisions grew other doctrinal controversies. Though 6 O s g o o d , op. cit., I I I , 432-447; B e n j a m i n T r u m b u l l , A Complete of Connecticut

from

...

i6jg

History

to 1764 ( 2 v o l s . , N e w H a v e n , 1 8 1 8 ) , I I , 162-165 ;

G r e e n e , op. cit., pp. 233-272 ; T r a c y , op. cit., pp. 286-302 et seq. ; W a l k e r , op. cit., pp. 2 6 1 - 2 6 4 ; M e y e r , op. cit., 7 F . M . C a u l k i n s , History

of New

( N e w L o n d o n , 1852), p. 453.

p p . 20-31. London,

Connecticut

from

...

1612 to 1852

34

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

the teachings of Jonathan Edwards, Whitefield, and their successors were largely reactionary in the sense that they were a return to the original Calvinist beliefs of the emigrant English Puritans, they introduced such a renewed emphasis on experimental religion that they came to be called the " New Divinity " . This nomenclature does not mean that the " New Lights " of the revival period constituted the entire following of the " New Divinity " , or that they all became affiliated with that group. Although it is true that the staunchest defenders of the revival were also adherents of the new theology, many who had strongly supported revivalism remained in the theological groups known as " Old Calviniste " or " Moderate " Calviniste. The group that had reacted most strongly against the difficult teachings of the founders, eventually, after the turn of the century, became the Unitarian denomination, but in the eighteenth century is frequently classified as " Liberal ". These terms as used in the period under consideration here, however, are quite vague. A zealous advocate of the " New Divinity " was likely to call anyone disagreeing with him, depending somewhat on the nature of the disagreement, anything from an " Arminian " to an " infidel " . Likewise, an opponent of the " New Divinity " might classify himself as " Liberal " or " Moderate " . The " New Divinity " school was easier to identify, since its adherents proudly proclaimed it. The conflicts that were to continue throughout the eighteenth century and into the nineteenth were among these three factions. The strongest of the three, originally, was that of the Moderates, the rank and file of Congregationalists who, while adhering to the theology of Calvin, tended in practice to a somewhat less philosophical and consistent interpretation than either the founders or their brethren of the New Divinity. Socially this was the most prominent as well as the largest group. It had more men of learning and refinement, more of the power that comes with personal dignity and position, and more of the aristocratic influences that centered around Boston, than

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY

DEVELOPMENTS

35

8

either of the others. The fact that in the beginning it made up the bulk and core of New England Congregationalism meant, of course, that as the other groups widened their influence its own was proportionately diminished. Of the three groups, that which grew most rapidly was the New Divinity, whose chief stronghold was in Connecticut and western Massachusetts. In social station the average follower of the New Divinity probably occupied a lower or less privileged place than many of his contemporaries, though the leaders of the group included many of the most celebrated New England clergy ; Jonathan Edwards is commonly recognized as the founder and the name " Edwardean " is frequently used in designating the whole theological development. Along with him should be classed two of his theological students and intimate friends, Joseph Bellamy and Samuel Hopkins. These also were theological instructors, and their students and successors in the teaching of theology were the leaders who carried the movement through the close of the century. By that time the group had enlarged its following from a small minority to the largest Congregational group in Connecticut and western Massachusetts, and was gaining ground in eastern Massachusetts. In the meantime, as Edwardeans continued to absorb followers from the moderates on one side, liberalism was working more quietly, and perhaps unconsciously, from the other, gaining its adherents chiefly in eastern Massachusetts where transAtlantic influences were strongest. These influences, as will presently appear, derived from the conflicting currents of eighteenth-century European thought, and throughout the closing years of the century were finding increasingly strong response in America. Attention has already been called to the infiltration of what some colonial Congregationalists called " Arminianism ", in itself doubtless merely a reflection of the 8 Leonard Bacon, " Commemorative Discourse," A Memorial of the Semicentennial Celebration of the Founding of the Theological Seminary at Andover (Andover, 1850), p. 84.

36

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

swing away f r o m Calvinism that had occurred in the seventeenth-century English church. N e w England liberalism, however, was probably more directly colored by such English Dissenters as Isaac W a t t s and Philip Doddridge, w h o had ceased to defend fine points of doctrine and perchance even to accept them. A m o n g controversial issues in the realm of E n g lish theological thought, that which constituted the greatest threat in American Congregational ranks and which a f t e r the turn of the century caused the first positive rift was the ancient one of the nature of the Godhead, whether it be one or three in one. T h e attack on the doctrine of the Trinity through the A r i a n views of Latitudinarian Anglican divines like Samuel Clarke, and of Dissenters like Thomas Emlyn and William Whiston had its reverberations in America. Such opinions, however, did not immediately gain wide acceptance even in eastern Massachusetts, and it was not until nearer the end of the century that Unitarianism came to constitute a real menace to the old Congregational order. " Old Calvinists " , between two fires, labored to hold the last outpost of what they deemed the faith of the founding fathers, against those on either side whom they considered innovators ; nevertheless as the struggle grew more heated it threatened to precipitate three denominations from the one loosely organized group of Congregationalists. That this did not occur was due, largely, to the fact that, in 1805, liberals so far gained control of Harvard College as to place Henry Ware, of widely known liberal views, in the Hollis Professorship of Divinity. This success caused such alarm among the other two groups that, three years later, they combined in the establishment of Andover Theological Seminary, where their clergy could be trained without danger of contamination from the Unitarian inclinations of Harvard. 9 T h u s the controversy that began among Congregationalists following the Great Awakening had ended, between two of the parties at least, with the establish9 Infra, chapter viii.

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY

DEVELOPMENTS

37

ment of the first American Congregationalist institution whose sole purpose would be training for the ministry. This eventuality it will appear was the culmination of a gradual change of practice in ministerial education and an increasing emphasis upon its importance, both influenced by controversial issues growing out of the mid-century revivals. Besides controversies between partisan groups within their ranks, Congregational educational procedures were also constantly influenced by danger of contamination from external " heresies concomitant with eighteenth-century thought, which it became the sacred duty of all parties to combat. Like Arian beliefs, these unorthodox sentiments flourished and had their principal development in England ; but fear of their taking firm hold in New England exercised, as will appear, a profound influence upon pulpit preparation there. It therefore seems appropriate to consider briefly significant English theological controversies in the eighteenth century and to point out some of the protagonists, 10 especially those whose writings were closely followed in America. Although Christian thought had long recognized two distinct spheres of theology: truths that could be ascertained through natural principles, and revealed truth which could be apprehended only by faith, eighteenth century regard for natural law and human reason tended to arouse skepticism both as to the necessity and the credibility of supernatural revelation. It was a quite commonly accepted conclusion that human reason alone might attain to the truth that there is a supreme deity who created the world and exercises over it a moral control; but the Christian tradition included, also, acceptance of " revealed " religion which transcended this, and was proved 10 Materials for this discussion were taken principally from Leslie Stephen, History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century (2 vols., New York, 1876) ; Dictionary of National Biography (New York and London, 18851921), and John Martin Creed, John Sandwich Boys-Smith, Religious Thought in the Eighteenth Century Illustrated from Writers of the Period (Cambridge, 1934)·

38

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

by the evidence of miracles, Hebraic prophecies, and apostolic witnesses. To the " Age of Reason ", however, it was an easy transition to find reasonable conclusion, natural religion, or deism, sufficient in itself, or to attempt to bring revealed religion within its sphere. Open antagonism between the two principles was forecast in John Toland's Christianity not Mysterious ( 1 6 9 6 ) ; and from the beginning of the eighteenth century the issue was clearly joined. It is not within the scope of this study to analyze the various shadings of theological opinion which marked the stages of controversy but merely to point out major issues and to cite the principal controversialists, for it was their published treatises upon which New England Congregationalists relied for expositions and summaries of theory, and which constituted a principal part of the reading done by their better trained clergymen in preparation for the pulpit. 11 Among the celebrated defenders of the reasonableness of revelation were John Locke, and two Latitudinarian 1 2 divines, John Tillotson ( 1 6 3 0 - 1 6 9 4 ) , Archbishop of Canterbury, and Samuel Clarke ( 1 6 7 5 - 1 7 2 9 ) , who has already been noted as in " error " on the subject of the Trinity. The latter's treatise in particular, A Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God . . ., was throughout the eighteenth century and into the nineteenth to occupy a position of prominence on the reading lists of New England's preparing clergymen. Another treatise of the same period which was even more widely studied by Congregationalist students was the less orthodox Religion of Nature Delineated . . . by William Wollaston ( 1 6 5 9 - 1 7 2 4 ) ; it was studied, however, not as theology but as a college text in moral philosophy. 13 Wollaston, while not denying the validity 11 It will be apparent in subsequent chapters that in their contest with the forces of reason Congregationalists were compelled to use as allies many whose theology in its finer points was far from harmonious with Calvinism. 12 A movement within the Anglican church having for its object the broadening of principles in order to make possible the admission of Nonconformists.

13 Infra, p. 77-

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY

DEVELOPMENTS

39

of revelation, and though resting his argument ultimately upon the Christian doctrine of future rewards and punishments, based his analogy between truth and morality chiefly upon rational principles. 14 It remained, however, for Matthew Tindal, Fellow of all Souls College, O x f o r d , to write what came to be considered the most complete statement of deistic belief : Christianity as Old as the Creation ( 1 7 3 0 ) . His views were supported by Thomas Chubb, and answered on behalf of orthodoxy by the distinguished Non-Juror William L a w in The Case of Reason, or Natural Religion Fully Stated ( 1 7 3 1 ) , and by the Dissenter, John Leland, in his View of the Deistical Writers (1754-56). Generally accepted as the most able and inclusive statement of the orthodox position in regard to deism, however, was that made by Bishop Joseph Butler in The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, to the Constitution and Course of Nature ( 1 7 3 6 ) . This treatise set forth, in the course of arguments against deistic contentions, a comprehensive defense of theistic belief, citing conscience as evidence of the moral government of God, and obedience to divine command as the principal obligation upon mankind. Natural and revealed religion Butler identified as one, using traditional arguments from prophecies and miracles. 15 A l l these works deal with the general conflict between reason and revelation. It has been pointed out, however, that the defenders of orthodoxy commonly relied on the evidence of miracles and the fulfillment of Hebraic prophecies as proofs of divine authority for revelation. This brought out answers rejecting such evidence, and resulted in a controversy within a controversy, forecast in 1693 by Charles Blount's attack upon the validity of revelation, and by Charles Leslie's reply to him in A Short and Easie Method with the Deists (1698). Ortho14 [William Wollaston], The Religion of Nature Delineated London, 1750).

(8th ed.,

15 Joseph Butler, The Analogy of Religion Natural and Revealed . . . (London, 1740).

40

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

doxy had accepted the challenge of offering proof for belief by citing evidences ; naturally their opponents next dared them to subject the evidences to scrutiny. The challenge was issued to Christian apologists by Anthony Collins in The Literal Scheme of Prophecy Considered ( 1 7 2 7 ) , and by Thomas Woolston in Six Discourses on the Miracles of our S ατή our ( 1 7 2 7 - 1 7 2 9 ) ; David Hume carried rationalist argument still further, declaring that no testimony which violated natural law could prove a miracle. 1 " T o such attacks, answer was made by Bishop Thomas Sherlock, in Six Discourses on Prophecy ( 1 7 2 5 ) and The Tryal of the Witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus ( 1 7 2 9 ) ; by Bishop Thomas Newton's Dissertations on the Prophecies; and in the writings of two laymen, Gilbert West's Observations on the Resurrection ( 1 7 4 7 ) and Lord Lyttleton's Conversion of Saint Paul ( 1 7 4 7 ) . George Campbell, Scottish theologian and philosopher answered Hume. T w o other Christian apologists writing later in the century were : Soame Jenyns, View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion ( 1 7 7 6 ) , and H u g h Farmer, Dissertation upon Miracles ( 1 7 7 1 ) . W h a t w a s commonly considered, however, the most comprehensive answer to all rationalists and skeptics came from William Paley ( 1 7 4 3 1805) in The Evidences of Christianity ( 1 7 9 4 ) and Natural Theology, or Evidence of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity Collected from the Appearances of Nature (1802). 1 7 Here is the most complete statement of the use of external evidence to support theistic belief and to make Christianity plausible in terms of human reason. 18 Meanwhile, complete reliance upon reason and evidence, such as even some defenders of the faith had shown, w a s 16 David Hume, Essays and Treatises London, 1758), pp. 346-347.

on Several

Subjects

(new ed.,

17 These works as well as his Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy were among important required texts at both Harvard and Yale almost from the time oí publication. 18 William Paley, " The Evidences of Christianity," The Works of Paley (5 vols., New York, 1824), vol. I.

William

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY

DEVELOPMENTS

4I

leading many toward an anti-Trinitarian belief similar to that observed earlier in the century. In Unitarianism, this development also had its reflection in America, introduced partly through the writings of Richard Price, better known as a political philosopher, and Joseph Priestley whose chief claim to fame rests upon his scientific investigations. A far more dangerous result, however, of orthodoxy's having rested its claim so largely on the evidence rather than on the spiritual excellence of the Christian religion was indicated ift 1776 by Gibbon's use of historical inquiry to challenge such proof, and by Thomas Paine's popular revival of the smoldering fires of deism through his Age of Reason (1793-95)· These two " Infidels " caused consternation among Christians on both sides of the Atlantic, and drew responses, among others, from Bishop Richard Watson, a copy of whose Apology for the Bible, in answer to Paine, was presented to each student at Harvard in Ι794. 1β Watson's defense in each case, however, was conducted along traditional lines and marks no important departure in Christian apologetics.20 In America, at least, the task of finding methods for saving the faith from " infidelity " remained for the revivalists of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. T H E IDEALS S E T BY L E A D I N G C L E R G Y M E N TOGETHER S O M E A C C O U N T OF THEIR

WITH

REALIZATION

Despite dissension within Congregational ranks, and perhaps partly because of the danger of rationalistic influences from abroad, late eighteenth-century views as to the type and standard of education necessary to a clergyman remained, in broad 19 William H . Channing, A Memoir of William Ellery Channing ( 3 vols., Boston, 1848), I, 61. H a r v a r d authorities in 1791 forbade students to read Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. H e r b e r t M. Moráis, Deism in Eighteenth Century America ( N e w York, 1934), p. 161. 20 Richard Watson, Two Apologies, Letters to Edward Gibbon, Esq. The Thomas Paine (London, 1816) ; Shelby ism to Christianity ... (London, 1933),

One for Christianity in a Series of Other for the Bible in Answer to Thomas McCloy, Gibbon's Antagonpp. 96-104.

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outline, the same in all parties—" Liberal ", " Moderate " and " New Divinity ". Party zeal, it will appear, in some instances served to facilitate the realization of standards and to effect a shift in emphasis, but the main objective remained unchanged: a clergy whose duty should be to teach the people the truth. To be trustworthy under that responsibility the minister should himself know and be able to communicate divine law, the one great source of which was the Scripture. In that opinion all were agreed, though differences arose in regard to what other knowledge was necessary for such proficiency. Theory here varied from acceptance of a scant acquaintance with the simplest translations of the Bible and a short system of divinity, to demand for high scholarship, including skill in the languages of inspiration and related tongues, interpretations of ancient and modern Biblical scholars, scientific and historical knowledge, and a polished and impressive pulpit manner. One simple plea recurring with great frequency is the need of hard study to make a well trained preacher—greater in modern times than in the days of miracles. True to English Puritan tradition, and unlike uneducated sectarians of either Old or New England, Congregational theory emphasized learning : The fishermen of Galilee received miraculous assistances, to qualify them . . . Without the aid of books, or studious application to learning, they were enabled to speak with tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance . . . The age of miracles has ceased. The means for acquiring useful knowledge . . . must now be regularly and diligently used. Alas ! It is because these means are neglected, or despised, that Ignorance and Fanaticism become audacious, and make havoc of the churches of Christ.21 Benjamin Trumbull cited the learning of Moses, Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha; the three years instruction of the apostles, and the Pentecostal gift, as Biblical examples requiring emulation. He called the education of Paul, Timothy, and Apollos 21 Abiel Holmes, A Sermon Preached .. .at the Ordination Otis Lane ... (Cambridge, 1801), p. 297.

of the

Reverend

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43

to witness divine interest in learning and wisdom as o f importance for the ministry. " Evident it is indeed," he added, " that the cry which some have raised against a learned ministry, is not a cry from heaven, but from another quarter." " Warnings uttered by Trumbull and Holmes as to the dangers of ignorance and fanaticism doubtless referred to the challenge presented to the old Congregational order by the growing strength o f such popular religious groups as Baptists, Methodists, and Universalists. These churches, after the manner o f the " Separates " , from whom they derived a large part of their following, frequently decried the need of ministerial learning, and the practice of " preaching out of the head " . Their more extreme adherents declared that a preacher who had the spirit of God needed no learning at all. The vigor with which they pressed their claims, and the rapidity with which they increased their numbers constituted a real menace to the New England tradition of a learned clergy, which its defenders were not slow to recognize. Regarding the standard of knowledge desirable in a candidate there were statements both general and detailed. Thomas Clap, afterward president of Yale, urged the necessity for study and reflection, so that the preacher " may neither poyson them with E r r o r , nor stuff them with Impertinences " , 2 3 H e held that adequate preparation for such service required prolonged and diligent study. Jonathan Edwards emphasized the value of learning and preaching skill, but entered his most enthu22 Benjamin Trumbull, A Sermon, Delivered at the Ordination of the Rev. Lemuel Tyler (New Haven, 1793), pp. 8-9. For other such comments and the conditions which probably prompted them see: Robert Breck, A Sermon, Preached at the Ordination of the Rev. Mr. David Parsons... (Springfield, Massachusetts, 1783) ; Thomas Clap, The Greatness and Difficulty of the Work of the Ministry... (Boston, 1732) ; James Dana, A Sermon Preached ...at the Ordination of Rev. Daniel Huntington (Litchfield, 1799); Silas Leroy Blake, The Separates... of New England (Boston, 1902) ; Sylvanus M. Duvall, The Methodist Episcopal Church and Education... (New York, 1928) ; Trumbull, History of Connecticut..., II, 126-142, 458-460. 23 Clap, op. cit., p. 9.

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siastic plea f o r the mastery of doctrine. 24 Greater detail was given in two later discourses on the qualifications of a Christian minister, each delivered by a clergyman who was a well-known theological instructor 25 and, incidentally, a leader in the N e w Divinity. Charles Backus recommended, besides knowledge of Scripture in the original languages, an intimate acquaintance with the manners and customs of those places which were the immediate scenes of inspiration or were connected with Biblical history. It was his opinion also that the study of history would be useful f o r the understanding of peoples, and f o r strengthening faith in the truth and divinity of the Scriptures. A knowledge of the branches of science which serve " to trace the footsteps " of God in nature was he felt " suited to raise exalted thoughts of the great Creator, and furnish helps f o r illustrating moral truth " . A sound understanding of various human capacities and relationships, which may be roughly classified as metaphysics and moral philosophy, was held necessary to correct reasoning on moral questions and to making effective emotional appeals. 26 A n explanatory statement that man could not " be addressed as pure intelligence " , obviously referred to an elementary knowledge of psychology, and is interesting as revealing less reliance f o r successful preaching upon mastery of logic and the legalistic system of Calvin and more upon study of emotional reactions. Of course " N e w L i g h t s " in particular had used psychology by intuition, and their followers probably learned it by example. Benjamin Trumbull discoursed even more specifically on qualifications f o r the ministry, marking what seems to have been the ultimate goal in the minds of those who cherished high ideals f o r the education of their clergy. H i s discourse, preached in 1 7 9 3 , near the close of the period covered by this 24 Jonathan Edwards, " The True Excellency of Works, VIII, 362-363.

a Gospel

Minister,"

and Duties of the Christian

Pastor...

25 Infra, chapters vi, vii. 26 Charles Backus, Qualifications (Boston, 1795), PP· 10-13.

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45

study, states so comprehensively the ideal plan of education, as well as the justification f o r it, that it seems worth while to quote somewhat extensively f r o m its pages. Success in the clerical office, according to Trumbull, depended on both natural genius and its careful nurture. Especially, should it be enriched with the knowledge of theology. The christian bishop is to preach the unsearchable riches of CHRIST, and to declare unto men all the counsel of GOD. H e must therefore be an Appollos, mighty in the Scriptures, in which these riches and this counsel are revealed. He should have a familiar acquaintance with the whole system of christian doctrines and duties ; . . . He should, at least, have some tolerable acquaintance with casuistical and controversial divinity, that he may assist the doubting and perplexed, and manfully defend the true scripture system of doctrines. For these purposes the knowledge of logick, history, and of all the arts of reasoning and persuasion, are also necessary. Indeed the gospel minister, as far as may be, should enrich and enlarge his mind with all knowledge, which can contribute to his usefulness and dignity in the church. In the study of the holy scriptures the good minister will become wiser than his teachers, and know more than the ancients. He may study the providence of GOD in the revolutions of empires, and of the church; and learn her state, from the days of Adam to his own day. He may possess himself of her history in all ages, and in all parts of the world. Though divinity and the studies more immediately subservient to this office, will employ his chief attention, yet he may study the great volume of nature. With the philosopher, he may explore her laws, range her immense fields, and contemplate the wisdom, power and majesty of HIM, whom his soul loveth. With the astronomer, he may ascend the regions of the heavens, travel among stars and suns, learn the greatness of HIM, who meted out the heavens with a span and hangeth the earth upon nothing. Here he may learn the littleness of man, the glory and condescension of GOD. His profession naturally connects him with books and men

46

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of science, and leads him to cultivate an acquaintance with the learned of all past and modern ages. . . . 17 In a similar discourse, Trumbull pointed out that, in addition to all these qualifications making for a sound divine, a minister ought also to be a good preacher ; he should avoid mere " declamation and noise " and give attention to a natural and persuasive pulpit style.28 An interesting observation on Trumbull's statement is its similarity to those made in America earlier in the century, to the Cambridge University practice, to the ideals of the Puritans, and indeed to the medieval system. There is place for the time-honored subjects of logic, and the arts of reasoning and persuasion ; there is the traditional New England insistence upon the knowledge of Scripture, doctrine, casuistry, and controversial divinity. The study of history receives some recognition, though it is chiefly ecclesiastical history, the advantage of acquaintance with modern science is noted, and the " art of preaching " is considered worthy of particular mention. T o the views of leading Congregational clergymen regarding suitable educational requirements for their order, perspective may be given by noting the opinion of one of their best informed and most thoughtful American lay contemporaries. Benjamin Franklin recommended that : All intended for Divinity should be taught the Latin and Greek

;...

With the History of Men, Times and Nations, should be read at proper Hours or Days, some of the best Histories of Nature, which would not only be delightful to Youth and furnish them with matter for their Letters, . . . but afterwards of great Use to them, whether they are Merchants, Handicrafts, or Divines: enabling . . . the last to adorn his Discourses by beautiful 27 Benjamin Trumbull, Sermon

at Ordination

28 Benjamin Trumbull, A Sermon Delivered Thomas Holt... (Worcester, 1790), p. 13.

of Lemuel

Tyler,

at the Ordination

pp. 7-11. of the

Rev.

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY

DEVELOPMENTS

Comparisons, and strengthen them by new Proofs of Providence. M

47

Divine

Inasmuch as Franklin himself was of unorthodox religious views, a peculiar interest attaches to these remarks which were made ( 1 7 4 9 ) in connection with Presbyterian plans to establish a system of collegiate education at the Academy of Philadelphia. Perhaps an even more enlightening evaluation of Congregational belief and practice in regard to clerical education might be made against the background of contemporary Britain, f o r only in this larger setting does any phase of early American social history attain its full meaning. Present purposes, f o r obvious reasons, will be best served by consideration of only t w o British ecclesiastical g r o u p s : the established Church of Scotland, whose staunch Calvinism made it the most closely related in doctrine to American Congregationalism; and those English Dissenters whose independent church organization was most similar to the N e w England polity. Each of these groups had more or less fixed ideas as to the character and extent of education necessary to fit a man to preach, and each supported, and in a measure controlled, institutions one of whose chief duties was to make possible the realization of those ideas. It seems profitable, therefore, to compare the standards set by their leaders with those set by Americans; and, subsequently, when A m e r i c a n educational institutions have been studied, to appraise them also in terms of their British contemporaries. In making comparisons, however, it should be understood at the outset that evidence seems insufficient to prove that eighteenth-century British ideas and practices in clerical education directly affected those in America. There was, to be sure, regular trans-Atlantic correspondence between leaders, an eager exchange of opinion on a wide range of theological questions, and constant attention to each other's publications, which must 29 Benjamin Franklin, " Proposals Relating to Education," The Writings of Benjamin Franklin, Albert H . Smyth, ed. (10 vols., New York, 1905-

1907), II. 394-395·

48

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

have kept Americans thoroughly informed of British opinion; but proof of imitation has not been found. Nevertheless, it seems safe to assume that developments in New England must have been at least indirectly affected by the constant intercourse of such Scottish divines as John Erskine ( 1 7 2 1 ?-I8C>3) and John McLaurin ( 1 6 9 5 - 1 7 5 4 ) , with influential New England clergymen like Solomon Williams, Fellow of Yale from 1749 to 1769, Jonathan Edwards, and Joseph Bellamy. 30 A n even more steady flow of correspondence developed between President Ezra Stiles of Yale, and British clergymen and educators including : John Erskine ; George Campbell, theological controversialist and principal and professor of divinity at Marischal College, Aberdeen ; other theologians in Scottish universities; Nathaniel Lardner, wellknown Nonconformist author and divine; and Richard Price. 31 In these, as in other instances which might be cited, the correspondents on either side were significant in the molding of contemporary thought ; hence information that the New Englanders received must have been authentic, and opinions which they formed were probably reflected in New England procedures. In so f a r as they attempted educational conformity it was doubtless with Scottish and Dissenting institutions. Among the Scottish theologians with whose published sentiments concerning the qualifications and training essential to the ministry Congregationalists were familiar, John Erskine unquestionably ranks first. In addition to character, orthodoxy, and fair native ability, the ministerial office, he held, required thorough education. Unusual skills were necessary to explain obscure passages of Scripture, to solve intricate cases of conscience, and to defend the truth against gainsayers; education 30 Supra,

p. 135; infra,

pp. 105-113.

31 Ezra Stiles, Letters and Papers of Ezra Stiles, President of Yale College, 1778-1795, Isabel M. Calder, ed. ( N e w Haven, 1933), pp. 105-106; Literary Diary of Ezra Stiles, F. B. Dexter, ed. (3 vols., N e w York, 1901) ; Manuscript Letters, Yale University Library.

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY

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49

therefore should consist of ability to read Scripture in the original languages, some acquaintance with natural and moral philosophy, history, the best Greek and Roman authors, and the arts of logic, rhetoric, and criticism. Without these, the minister could hardly fail to be despised, could not understand the difficult passages of Sacred Writ, or be able to give satisfying answers to the reasoning of infidels . . . to detect their sophistry, beat them out of their strongholds, and so, if he convince not their conscience, at least to stop their mouths. . . . And, indeed, if the hedge of a learned ministry were once removed from these lands, as I am afraid some wis-h it to be, what could we expect, but that ignorance and infidelity, error and heresy, superstition and enthusiasm, should quickly overspread them? Specifically professional training should include mastery of a system of divinity, not merely acquaintance with a few modern sermon writers, or books on the deistic controversy. 32 Similar views were expressed by David Fordyce, professor of philosophy at Aberdeen University, and by his brother James Fordyce, both of whom emphasized Biblical studies in original languages, systematic divinity including casuistry, natural and revealed religion, moral philosophy, and history. David Fordyce pointed out also that if the business of divines were really to instruct rather than to tyrannize over mankind they would need to study human nature, for the time had come when men would not believe what they could not understand, nor accept authority not sufficiently proved. His brother evinced, perhaps, a higher regard for the stimulating and illustrative values of general learning; for works of the imagination which would develop oratorical talents; for examples of fine writing designed to improve the taste of the future divine ; for masters on the subject of eloquence ; and for practice in composition and oratory. 33 32John Erskine, " T h e Qualifications Necessary for Teachers of Christianity," Discourses Preached on Several Occasions (Edinburgh, 1798), pp. 22-30. 33 David Fordyce, Dialogues Concerning Education (3rd ed., 2 vols., London, 1757), II, 292-321.; Theodortis: A Dialogue Concerning the Art

50

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Theories of these leaders of the Church of Scotland on the subject of adequate education for the ministry are obviously quite similar to those of leading American Congregationalists, both in studies to be pursued and in the reasons given for them. A general comparison of American and Scottish views suggests, however, that while in the fundamentals of Biblical learning, language, arts and sciences, knowledge of man, moral theology, skill in controversy, and pulpit eloquence, they were substantially agreed, Scotsmen seemed to value more highly the ornaments of " polite " learning. Similarity in great degree is to be expected, for both were heirs to the medieval university system, and to Calvinism. T o the student of American history, however, interest hinges primarily on the observation that, despite his residence of more than a century and a half in a new land, separated from the homeland by weeks of difficult ocean travel, the N e w Englander's ideal had fallen little short of that of the British group to which he was most nearly related in theological doctrine. A loosely affiliated group of American churches, with steadily weakening support by the civil government, with increasing encroachments of other religious groups, and with the economic and social privations of a frontier society, at least actively aspired to a standard set by a state church in an old and established social order. A s compared with those of English Dissenters American Congregationalist standards of clerical education deserved an even more favorable rating. The fact that Dissenters, excluded from the privileges of O x f o r d and Cambridge, were faced with the practical necessity of providing ministerial training from their own comparatively scanty resources was necessarily reflected in their opinion on its essential content. Moreover, many Dissenters, like Isaac W a t t s and Philip Doddridge, no longer found it desirable or expedient to press fine points of of Preaching to which is added A Sermon on the Eloquence, and an Essay on the Action of the Pulpit, by the Rev. Mr. James Fordvce (3rd cd., London, I7SS)·

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY

DEVELOPMENTS

5I

doctrine—a circumstance perhaps reflected in the fact that study o f the controversies was no longer insisted upon. Isaac W a t t s in advising young clergymen made only general and somewhat casual reference to the desirability of " general studies " , assuming, in fact, that a review of school subjects would be sufficient. There was a special admonition that, though important, these should not be allowed to interfere with " particular studies " which were necessary to writing sermons. 34 Philip Doddridge, head of one of the most celebrated Dissenting academies, 35 gave much the same advice. 38 T h e pamphlet by John Mason, partly educated in the same academy as Doddridge, and himself an instructor o f students preparing for the ministry, presented a more detailed scheme of clerical education. Ministerial students were here specifically warned against devoting much attention to subjects not directly concerned with their intended profession. The divine was advised not to affect the civilian, " dive into politics " , or into abstruse mathematics, for these subjects would not make him a better preacher. H i s studies should include composition, as learned from classical writers in the original languages; Hebrew and Greek Scriptures should be regularly studied, some system of divinity thoroughly mastered, and due attention given to pulpit eloquence. Lighter subjects might include history, chronology, politics, " news," travel and geography. In contrast to New England opinion, study of religious controversies, except the most important ones which were with deists and papists, was deprecated—a circumstance not necessarily to the discredit of the education o f Dissenters, though a general knowledge of religious controversies did depend upon greater knowledge of theology than that usually acquired from learning a system of divinity. Entirely absent were the subjects of modern science, 34 Isaac Watts, "Rules for the Preachers' Conduct, Young Companion (Boston, 1813), p. 648 et seq. 35 Infra,

Minister's

pp. 82-83.

36 Philip Doddridge, Lectures on Preaching and the Several the Ministerial Office (ist separate edition, Boston, 1808).

Branches

of

52

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

metaphysics, moral philosophy, and moral theology, all so highly regarded by N e w E n g l a n d spokesmen. 37 T h a t in practice N e w Englanders in the eighteenth century, as in the seventeenth, continued to realize their ideals at least to the extent of a college education f o r all clergymen appears both f r o m statistics and f r o m current comment. A survey of more than 800 ministers ordained between 1740 and 1810 reveals fewer than 20 w h o were not definitely known to have a college degree. 38 In 1767 Charles Chauncy of Boston observed that there were then in N e w E n g l a n d not fewer than 550 active pastors, some Presbyterian but mostly Congregational, all " having been first educated and graduated at one or the other of our colleges ", 3 e Apparently, however, there was some doubt in eighteenth-century minds as to whether in quality of education the high standards of the founders had been allowed to lapse. E z r a Stiles doubted that his clerical contemporaries on the whole were as distinguished scholars as their forebears, though he believed there were some w h o equalled the Cottons, Retrospect Hookers, and Nortons. 4 0 Samuel Miller in his Brief of the Eighteenth Century ( 1 8 0 3 ) was even less optimistic; he was of the opinion that in classical and theological scholarship that century suffered by comparison with the seventeenth.* 1 A safeguard which eighteenth-century Congregationalists had erected against entry o f the unqualified into the pulpit was 37 John Mason, Student and Pastor ( E x e t e r , 1794), pp. Π-35, 49-73. 3S Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit, I, II ; William Allen, An American Biographical and Historical Dictionary (2nd ed., Boston, 1832) ; John Eliot, A Biographical Dictionary... (2nd ed., Boston, 1809) ; Franklin B. Dexter, Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College with Annals of the College History (6 vols., New York, 1885-1912), I. 39 Charles Chauncy, A Letter to a Friend, Containing Remarks on Certain Passages in a Sermon Preached by the Right Reverend Father in God, John Lord, Bishop of Landaff ... In Which the Highest Reproach is Undeservedly Cast Upon the American Colonies (Boston, 1767), p. 8, note. 40 Ezra Stiles, Ms. Letter to Rev. John Barnard, August 11, 1766 (Yale University L i b r a r y ) . 41 Samuel Miller, Brief New York, 1803), II, 333·

Retrospect

of the Eighteenth

Century (2 vols.,

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY

DEVELOPMENTS

53

a new mode of licensure requiring that before any candidate be allowed to preach on trials he should be formally examined and approved by a ministerial association or council. 42 T h e form of the examination might vary f r o m time to time, according to the ideas of the examiners, for, in Congregational organization, it could have only the force of custom ; usually, it seems to have followed the lines of a plan adopted by a Massachusetts association in 1785 : that for the future, when any gentleman shall offer himself to this body, in order for recommendation as a candidate for the Gospel Ministry, the person thus offering himself shall first read a sermon ; after which, secondly, there shall be a particular and systematic examination of his knowledge in Divinity, and acquaintance with experimental religion; and thirdly, his design in preaching the Gospel." This examination presupposed a general education, as evidenced in a testimonial issued by the same association, stating that before examining a candidate it had " received authentic testimonials . . . of his having honorably completed, a course of academic education ".** Since the Congregationalists had no plan for enforcing uniformity, exceptions to the general custom occurred, but so rarely as to be negligible. A s might be expected in a time of so much doctrinal controversy, the examination was frequently more a test of doctrine than of general educational attainments. W h e n Nathanael Emmons was examined before the association gathered in the home of his theological instructor, John Smalley, several aged ministers opposed Smalley's N e w Divinity sentiments and were " inclined to suppose that the pupil's teeth would be set on edge 42 Leonard Bacon, Commemorative Discourse, p. 73 ; Sprague, op. cit., I, x i x - x x ; Mortimer Blake, A Centurial History of the Metido» Association . . . (Boston, 1853), pp. 73-75 ; Williston W a l k e r , The Creeds and Platforms of Congregationalism (New York, 1893). 43 Blake, op. cit., pp. 74-75. 44 Ibid., p. 75.

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TRAINING

because the teacher had eaten sour grapes " . E m m o n s reports, " ' I had a v e r y long and critical examination upon certain disputed points ' ", 4 5 In comparison w i t h the mode o f licensure in the C h u r c h of Scotland, A m e r i c a n Congregationalist regulation and practice were not very strict. T h i s difference may in part be explained by the difference between

Presbyterian and

Congregational

polities, the f o r m e r h a v i n g a thoroughly organized government, while in the latter each church w a s independent. In 1782 the Scottish C h u r c h made a specific rule that b e f o r e being admitted to a D i v i n i t y Hall, 4 6 the student must have g o n e through a full course in philosophy at a college, or present to the professor of divinity a diploma o f M a s t e r of Arts. 4 7 F u r t h e r m o r e , before being licensed to preach, he must have attended D i v i n i t y Hall f o r a period of f o u r years f r o m the time o f his enrollment. I f circumstances did not permit him to attend regularly, he must have studied divinity f o r six years, and have delivered the usual number of sermons. In any case, he should have passed his twenty-first birthday b e f o r e being admitted to trials. 48 T h a t the difference between the educational

requirements

of

the

Scottish and N e w E n g l a n d churches w a s not in fact so great as the regulations r e g a r d i n g the time spent in preparation would indicate will appear, h o w e v e r , a f t e r the educational practices of both groups have been examined. T h e y o u n g A m e r i c a n candidate h a v i n g been licensed, went forth to trials, to preach as a probationer, to find a vacant 45 E d w a r d s A . P a r k , Memoir of Nathanael Emmons... ( B o s t o n , 1861), p. 41. J u s t twenty years later, however, E m m o n s w a s upbraiding his fellowclergymen f o r allowing practice in this r e g a r d to become l a x . Ibid., p. 368. 46 T h e post-collegiate, p r o f e s s i o n a l department of divinity in any Scottish university. 47 T h e degree f o r the f o u r year arts course at the Scottish universities w a s M a s t e r of A r t s , which w a s on about the same academic level as that of Bachelor of A r t s at O x f o r d and C a m b r i d g e . Morison, Founding of Harvard College, p. 131. 48 The Principal Acts of the General Assembly ... 1783 ( E d i n b u r g h , 1782). p. 29.

of the Church

of

Scotland

EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY

DEVELOPMENTS

55

congregation where esteem between himself and its members might be mutual. Ordination made a Congregational minister, and, having once accepted a settlement, it was customary for him to remain for life. As he preached for brief periods o f time in different churches, the quality o f his sermons, it may be assumed, was one of the factors determining his acceptability. It would seem, therefore, that inasmuch as, beyond the minimum of a college education, there was difference in attainments of candidates, the better trained would gravitate to the more educated communities; but such a generalization cannot be made. The educational standing of the eighteenth-century clergyman could not always be measured by the social station of the parish he served; some o f the best educated, and most widely celebrated at home and abroad, were settled in small rural or frontier villages. Jonathan Edwards was pastor in the remote town o f Northampton, and when driven out, became for six years missionary to the Indians in the wilderness o f Stockbridge. F r o m Stockbridge, he was called to the presidency of the College of New Jersey. Timothy Dwight was serving as pastor of Greenfield Hill, Connecticut, when he was called to the presidency of Yale College. These and similar cases suggest that it was not always the high educational standards of cultivated communities that sustained the demand for an educated clergy. Whatever may have been the cause, however, the fact remains, that the most influential members of their own profession constantly set a high ideal for the education of Congregational clergymen, and the churches through their modes of licensure went far toward realizing it. I f there was often an overemphasis on doctrinal questions, it was never intended that formal education, consisting o f a college course and some postgraduate professional study, should be neglected. T o portray the experience of the prospective divine in fitting himself to meet these standards is the purpose of the following chapters.

CHAPTER IV COLLEGIATE EDUCATION T o provide their prospective clergymen with the advantages of collegiate education had been one of the primary motives of New England Congregationalists in the founding of Harvard in 1636, and of Yale in 1701. Throughout the eighteenth century, these two institutions remained under Congregational control and supplied the academic advantages for most of their ministers; hence, for purposes of this study, discussion of collegiate phases of ministerial education will be based mainly upon conditions and practices in these colleges. A t this point, however, attention should be called to another college, founded later in the century, from whose halls came appreciable numbers and significant individuals to the Congregational pulpit. This was Dartmouth College, established in 1769, at Hanover, New Hampshire, for the purpose of training missionaries to be sent to the Indians, and ministers for congregations likely to be formed in that new country. 1 Inasmuch as it was a N e w England institution established under the authority of Eleazar Wheelock (Yale, 1 7 3 3 ) , a leader of " New Lights ", it came to be a favorite with that group, 2 and by the end of the century was of considerable importance in the education of their clergy. In ideals and practices, however, it followed so closely in the path of Harvard and Yale that there will be no necessity for discussing it as a particular factor in the development of eighteenth-century Congregational education. One college outside New England should be mentioned as of some significance in New England education. T h e College of New Jersey, also founded on the Harvard-Yale tradition and first presided over by a succession of Y a l e graduates, sup1 Baxter P e r r y Smith, The History of Dartmouth College, Appendix, " T h e Charter of D a r t m o u t h C o l l e g e " (Boston, 1878), pp. 457-464. 2 Leon B u r r Richardson, History of Dartmouth College (2 vols., Hanover, 1932), I, 119, 239, 240.

56

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57

plied some distinguished Congregational divines, including Dr. Samuel Spring of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and the younger Jonathan Edwards. This institution, like Dartmouth, was at the time of its founding ( 1 7 4 6 ) much favored by the New England " New Lights " who at that time were out of favor at Yale and Harvard. Ezra Stiles, however, in a study of 555 Congregational ministers active in New England in 1774, could discover only eight Nassau graduates. The others were chiefly from Harvard and Yale." T H E COLLEGE AS GUARDIAN OF ORTHODOXY

Insurance of doctrinal orthodoxy was one of the first considerations in the academic education of an eighteenth-century Congregational clergyman. Unless the colleges took precautions against the philosophical reactions to a constantly expanding scientific knowledge, there was slight hope that the pulpits which they supplied would long remain impervious to heterodoxy. Lest the " poison of error " creep in, eternal vigilance must be maintained over the tenets of both faculty and students ; fortunately for the status quo, demand for academic freedom existed feebly if at all, though, as will appear, colleges, then as always, despite official surveillance, tended to be hotbeds for new ideas. That the forces of conservatism would not be altogether successful at Harvard began to be apparent early in the century. Indeed the feeling that that institution had already forsaken some of the fundamentals of the faith was largely responsible for the founding of Yale in 1 7 0 1 . It is not surprising therefore to observe that Yale, situated in Connecticut where Puritan doctrine remained dominant, continued through 3 Stiles' figures were taken from a pocket almanac of 1774. In this he found that in Massachusetts there were 317 Congregational ministers, of whom 62 were educated at Yale, the rest chiefly at Harvard. In Connecticut there were 158 in all: 19 from Harvard, 8 from Nassau, and 131 from Yale. In New Hampshire there were 71, probably six from Yale, the others from Harvard ; and in Rhode Island there were nine, of whom three were from Yale. Stiles, Literary Diary, II, 415-416.

MINISTERIAL

58

TRAINING

the century to enforce Calvinistic uniformity, while H a r v a r d , surrounded by the constantly g r o w i n g liberalism of eastern Massachusetts, came more and more to disregard fine points of theology. W h e n H a r v a r d finally became Unitarian in 1805, Y a l e was experiencing a series of revivals destined to hold it f a i t h f u l to tradition for another generation. In retrospect, however, Harvard's greatly feared liberalism seems f o r most of the eighteenth century to have been of a very mild character. W h e n E d w a r d W i g g l e s w o r t h was chosen the first Hollis Professor of Divinity in 1722 he was required to give assent to A m e s ' Medulla Theologiae, the Westminster Confession, and the doctrinal articles of the Church of E n g land, especially those dealing with the Trinity, predestination, efficacious grace and infant baptism. Moreover, texts f r o m which he taught theology were subject to approval by the Corporation, 4 whose conservatism is sufficiently proved by the fact that A m e s and Wollebius remained required studies until the last quarter of the century. T h e Overseers, even more conservative than the Corporation, refused in 1737 to approve the appointment of E d w a r d Holyoke as president until his Calvinism had been vouched for by John Barnard, a fellow clergyman. T h e words in which Barnard attested Holyoke's orthodoxy are significant, however, as revealing the disposition of cosmopolitan eastern Massachusetts, and incidentally of H a r v a r d , toward bigotry and intolerance : " I think Mr. Holyoke as orthodox a Calvinist as any man ; though I look upon him as too much of a gentleman and of too catholic a temper to cram his principles down another man's throat." 6 A t Yale, as noted, requirements regarding doctrinal assent were more specific and remained in effect longer than at H a r vard. There in 1722 an oath quite similar to that required of 4 Benjamin Pierce, A History of Harvard University ... front 1636 to ... American Revolution (Cambridge, 1833), Appendix X X , p. 128. 5 J o s i a h Quincy, The History of Harvard College

1840), II, 7.

(2 vols., Cambridge,

COLLEGIATE

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59

Wigglesworth at Harvard was enacted as a requirement of all future rectors and tutors.® Moreover, in 1 7 5 3 , instead of relaxing doctrinal exactions, as Harvard had done for superior officers, Yale made them more stringent : every officer must give assent to the Westminster Confession, renounce all contrary beliefs, and submit to a detailed doctrinal examination; in addition to these tests the professor of divinity must draw up in his own words his own confession of faith, renouncing " all such errors as, shall, in any considerable measure, prevail at the time of his introduction ", 7 In accord with these rigid requirements Naphtali Daggett, first incumbent of the divinity professorship, not only assented to the Westminster Confession, the Catechism, The Saybrook Platform, the Apostles' Creed, the Xicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed and the ninth 8 of the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England, but also renounced all the errors and heresies commonly known as " Arianism, Socinianism, Arminianism, Pelagianism, Antinomianism, and Enthusiasm Surely no taint of heresy could penetrate such a professorial defense ! Similar faculty test laws were periodically re-enacted until 1823, though from the presidential accession of Ezra Stiles ( 1 7 7 8 ) in a modified form. Student opinions and religious activities were quite as carefully watched as those of the faculty. When three candidates for the masters' degree at Harvard in 1738 determined to defend the negative of such time-honored doctrines as that of the Trinity they were required by the Overseers to alter with pen and ink the printed theses to the affirmative. 10 At both colleges all students were required to attend daily morning and evening prayers, besides services on the Sabbath. Harvard 6 Dexter, Biographical

Sketches...

7 Thomas Clap, The Annals 1766), pp. 62-64.

Annals,

or History

I, 272.

of Yale College ...

( N e w Haven,

8 On original sin. 9 Yale College — A Sketch of Its History (2 vols., N e w York, 1879), I, 83-84. 10 Quincy, op. cit., II, 23-25.

. . . W i l l i a m L. Kingsley, ed

6o

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

laws of 1790 still required that during the remainder of the Sabbath each student should apply himself to the duties of religion, not visiting, or walking on the common or in the streets and fields of Cambridge. 1 1 Yale laws extended beyond activity and into opinion; there any student who denied the divine authority of Scripture or expressed any " heresy " tending to subvert the Christian religion, and refused to retract was to be expelled. 12 Both colleges endeavored to protect their students from the whirling eddies of religious thought which surrounded and, in two instances at least, threatened to engulf them. T h e first of these was the Great Awakening whose waves of excitement were not long in reaching the college campus. It was during this period that at Yale the renowned Samuel Hopkins was converted. Soon, however, both Harvard and Yale authorities became alarmed at such bitter invective as Whitefield's charge that " their Light is now become Darkness . . . Darkness that may be felt, and is complained of by the most godly Ministers ". 13 Harvard students were advised not to take the emotional excitement too seriously, 14 while Harvard authorities condemned Whitefield and refuted his charge that their students were prone to read such " b a d " (Latitudinarian) books as Tillotson and Clarke instead of evangelical authors. 15 Harvard was, as already indicated, somewhat tolerant, but not indeed of intolerance ; the acrimonious " N e w Lights " were distinctly personae non gratae in what Benjamin Colman had been pleased to call " the free and catholick A i r we breathe in our Cambridge ".ie 11 The Laws of Harvard College (Boston, 1790), pp. 7-8, 53-54. 12 The Laws of Yale College in Connecticut... ( N e w Haven, 1774, 1787, 1795)· 13 George W h i t e f i e l d , . . . The Seventh Journal (London, 1741), pp. 29, 55. 14 Samuel E. Morison, Three Centuries of Harvard (Cambridge, 1936), p p . 86-87.

15 Quincy, op. cit., II, 50. 16 Ebenezer Turell, The Life and Character of the Reverend Colman (Boston, 1749), Ρ- " 7 -

Benjamin

COLLEGIATE

EDUCATION

6l

Y a l e , even more tenacious of accepted tradition than Harvard, forbade itinerating Eleazar Wheelock to preach on the campus, or the students to go outside to hear h i m . " T w o students were dismissed for attending a " Separate " meeting while visiting their own families, 18 and it was proposed even to withhold degrees from a group of seniors who had dared to circulate a subscription for the reprinting of Locke's essay on toleration. 19 Controversies arising in and around the colleges as a result of the Great Awakening, however, marked some definite turning points in their doctrinal development and in their training for the ministry. Yale at this time, in the interests of orthodoxy, established a professorship of divinity, besides enacting a more stringent oath requirement. 20 Indeed, under the presidency of Timothy Dwight late in the century, as the harsher tenets of the New Divinity were somewhat softened Y a l e became its principal support. On the other hand, Harvard thereafter stood even more aloof f r o m doctrinal disputes, emphasizing literary rather than theological purposes. 21 Jeremy Belknap subsequently remarked the unvaried mediocrity of principles, temper, & conduct as from above 60 years experience has been found the surest preservative of reputation & usefulness in that city [Cambridge] set on a hill.22 Harvard had indeed become more representative of the liberals about Boston than of the moderate Calvinists who still 17 Richardson, History 18 D e x t e r , Biographical

of Dartmouth, Sketches...

I, 22. Annals,

I, 771.

19 Trumbull, Complete History of Connecticut, II, 183. It may be added here that in 1753 Y a l e did not even a l l o w student members of the Episcopal church to substitute their own preaching service for that of the college. Two Centuries of Christian Activity at Yale, J. B. Reynolds, ed. ( N e w York and London, 1901), p. 311. 20 Supra, pp. 58-59 ; infra, pp. 72-73. 21 Quincy, op. cit., II, 52. 22 Jeremy Belknap, Belknap Papers (Massachusetts Historical Collections, ser. 5, II, III, ser. 6, I V ) , iii, 243·

Society,

62

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

dominated other sections of New England. Moderate Calvinist ministers were still being educated there, and no open recognition was given to liberal views; but inasmuch as they were held by prominent clergymen, like Chauncy and Mayhew, who were alumni and members of the Board of Overseers, substance was given to reports that the institution was falling away from its original purposes. Ministerial candidates who had received their academic training there sometimes found themselves at a disadvantage because of the reputation of their alma mater. Josiah Willard found that his orthodoxy was distrusted by some, not so much because of any unsoundness or lack in his sermons, " as from a dread of the contagious taint prevalent in Harvard College, corrupting as they had been made to believe, the immaculate body of sound Calvinism." " Conservative Yale and liberal Harvard were both disturbed, however, by the wave of " infidelity " , which during the last quarter of the century reached alarming proportions. 24 Naturally it found its way into the colleges. A t Harvard this was probably not so difficult, due to the prevailing theological laxity o f the faculty; President Willard showed " Arminian " tendencies and communicated constantly with leading English Unitarians, 2 5 while most o f his associates in the faculty held mild views, and one was even called a " Socinian " , 2 e Yale presented greater difficulty, for President Timothy Dwight was extremely orthodox, though the same could not be said of the tutors." 7 Among college students an even more radical spirit appeared. At Harvard, just before the coming of David Tappan to that office, the theological professorship was vacant for a time, 23 Sidney Willard, Memories

of Youth and Manhood

(2 vols., Cambridge,

1855), ι. 51· 24 Supra,

p. 41.

25 Moráis, Deism in Eighteenth

Century

America,

p. 86.

26 J . H. Allen, A Historical Sketch of the Unitarian the Reformation (New York, 1894), pp. 181, 187. 27 Moráis, op. cit., pp. 160-161.

Movement

Since

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63

desecrated. 24

skepticism prevailed, and the Sabbath was Such conditions not even an unorthodox faculty could condone, and serious efforts were made to stem the flood of unbelief and sacrilege. The authorities resorted to prayers, to preaching and exhortation, as well as to publication and distribution of books and pamphlets. Every student was presented with a copy of Watson's Apology for the Bible,2" in answer to Paine's Age of Reason which, as the work of a " dangerous insurgent," undergraduates were warned to avoid reading. 30 Students, however, were so enthralled with the new philosophy that argument and persuasion seem to have been of little avail so far as restoring Calvinistic orthodoxy was concerned. Joseph Emerson, a senior in 1798, feared that " undefiled r e l i g i o n " was growing more and more unfashionable; he observed that students Rather than harbor a thought that the doctrines preached by Calvin and his followers can be possible . . . even abandon themselves to all the horrors of atheism.111 Orthodoxy fared better at Y a l e under the powerful ministrations of President Timothy Dwight, though when he took office conditions were regarded as deplorable. European rationalistic philosophers were popular and students considered it smart to be called by the name of some " infidel." Traditional religious teachings were openly questioned, and membership in the college church dwindled. 32 Students apparently had been 28 William H. Channing, Memoir of William Ellery Channing . . , , [ , 60-62. " Sketches of the Life and Character of Rev. David Tappan, D.D.," The Panoplist (16 vols., Boston, 1806-1820), I, 137-138. James Walker, " Memoir of the Honorable Daniel Appleton White," Massachusetts Historical Society, Proceedings, ist series, VI, 266-268. 29 Sufra, p. 41 · 30 Moráis, op. cit., p. 161. 31 Ralph Emerson, The Life of Reverend Joseph Emerson (Boston, 1834), ΡΡ- 38-39· 32Ebenezer Baldwin, Annals of Yale College... (New Haven, 1831), p. 146; Lyman Beecher, Autobiography, Correspondence, etc., of Lyman Beecher (2 vols., New York, 1864-1865), I, 43; Timothy Dwight, Theology

64

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

officially denied free debate on the popular questions of natural versus revealed religion, but Dwight's mode of attack was to allow them to discuss such topics, and when they had shot their bolts to convince them of error. H i s efforts were rewarded ; infidelity is said to have " skulked and hid its head " and its advocates to have lost their popularity. A great revival of religion did not, however, follow immediately. When Jeremiah E v a r t s entered Y a l e in 1798, three years a f t e r Dwight's accession, there were very few devout students. Some solitary conversions occurred afterward, but the college church was constituted of the faculty and about fifteen or twenty students until in the years 1 8 0 2 - 1 8 0 5 came the great revival. 3 3 T h e tide at last turned; Benjamin Silliman could write in 1 8 0 3 , " Y a l e College is a little temple: prayer and praise seem to be the delight of the greater part of the students, while those who are still unfeeling are awed into respectful silence." 34 President Dwight had indeed restored Y a l e to the conservative tradition, a comforting thought to most Congregationalists, who, though sympathetic to the idealism of a new age, still clung to the fundamental tenets of a Calvinistic theology, and felt the need of an institution to which they could safely intrust the education of their sons and of future clergymen. T h i s need was acute, f o r Harvard, in the meantime, was controlled by the Unitarian minority of eastern Massachusetts, and came to be regarded as suitable only to prepare f o r Unitarian pulpits and pews. It was recognized f r o m that time forward, by both moderate Calvinists and N e w Divinity men, that Y a l e , Explained and Defended... with a Memoir of the Life of the Author (12th ed., 4 vols., New York, 1863), I, 51; P r o f e s s o r [Chauncy Α.] Goodrich, " Narrative of Revivals of Religion in Yale College," American Quarterly Register (1838), X, 289-310; Two Centuries of Christian Activity at Yale, pp. 37-/0. 33 E. C. Tracy, Memoir of the Life of Jeremiah Evarts . . . (Boston, 1845), p. 19· 34 George P. Fisher, Life of Benjamin Silliman (2 vols., Philadelphia, 1866), I, 83.

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65

Dartmouth, or Williams, not Harvard, was the place in which to educate a Congregational ministry according to traditional principles of orthodoxy. T H E COLLEGE PRESIDENT

In any study of the part the colleges played in molding the characters and developing the minds of those who once served New England as moral preceptors and spiritual guides, it is profitable to consider the college president. A t a time when the college faculty was made up of one or two professors delivering lectures in their special subjects, and less than a half dozen tutors hearing the recitations of the several classes, the president was not the remote and inaccessible figure that the modern age has made of him. H e was with a few exceptions, as at Harvard from the death of Holyoke to the accession of Willard, a vital personal factor in college life. In some instances a professor like John Winthrop, professor of natural philosophy at Harvard, might outrank him in learning and public notice, but it seems safe to say that so far as the making of a clergyman was concerned the president was always of first importance. Such continuity of plan and purpose as existed in the college was largely embodied in him as a permanent officer. When professorships were established, their incumbents also held permanent appointments; but the instructors with whom students had closest contact, the tutors, rarely remained longer than two or three years. T h e President, on the other hand, with certain exceptions prior to and including the Revolutionary period, held office for about two decades. 35 During that time 35 Harvard presidents : Yale presidents : Edward Holyoke, 1737-1769 Thomas Clap, 1740-1766 Samuel Locke, 1769-1773 Naphtali Daggett, 1766-1777 Samuel Langdon, 1774-1780 Erra Stiles, 1778-1795 Joseph Willard, 1781-1804 Timothy Dwight, 1795-1817 Samuel Webber, 1804-1810 Biographical details f o r this summary were taken from the following: William Allen, An American Biographical and Historical Dictionary; Franklin B. Dexter, Biographical Sketches... and Annals ; Dictionary of

66

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TRAINING

he stamped the institution with a definite impress of his character. At Yale, at least, one might almost say he was the college. Traditionally he stood to the student in the relationship of both parent and schoolmaster. It was through his office that the abashed freshman gained entrance and admission to college halls, as it was from his Hps that the departing senior received the institution's final benediction. What manner of man was he? Without exception the president was himself a clergyman, and with two exceptions came directly to the presidency from an active pastorate. In the general character of his preparation he was representative of his clerical brothers; except for Thomas Clap, Yale president who had graduated at Harvard, each was a graduate of the institution over which he presided. In the training received after graduation and before entering a pastorate, there was more variety ; though with two exceptions 84 the future president spent some time at least beyond his first graduation in continued study at his alma mater, either as resident graduate or as tutor. His presidential rank, however, must have depended fully as much on personality and how he had improved his time while serving a parish, most often a rural one, as upon his preparatory acquirements, for an even wider disparity appears here than the difference in early preparation would suggest. In this connection it may be said at the outset, that the presidents of Yale during this period were apparently more influential in their generation than those of Harvard. Whether this eventuality was the result of a longer continuance of Congregational dominance in Connecticut, or of the fact that in New Haven the prestige of the college American Biography (20 vols., New York, 1928-1936) ; John Eliot, Biographical Dictionary; Abiel Holmes, The Life of Esra Stiles (Boston, 1798) ; Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States, John Howard Brown, ed. (7 vols., Boston, 1900-1903) ; Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit, I, II; George P. Schmidt, The Old Time College President (New York, 1930). 36 Samuel Locke and Samuel Langdon of Harvard made professional preparation either alone or under private instruction.

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president was less likely to be encroached upon by English political and ecclesiastical interests, or whether it was because Y a l e happened to choose a succession o f men of greater vigor, seems impossible at this distance to determine. In intellectual ability and qualities o f leadership it appears that the m a j o r i t y o f the presidents o f either institution may be rated as above the average among their clerical contemporaries, but E z r a Stiles and T i m o t h y Dwight, post-Revolutionary presidents of Y a l e , were outstanding. T h i s was especially true o f Stiles, who in true Baconian style took all knowledge for his province, and in his official career offers excellent illustration o f the value o f presidential learning and initiative in a college where professorships were few and frequently vacant. In reading the biography written by his son-in-law, Abiel Holmes, one finds him taking great pains in the study of astronomy, requesting copies or descriptions o f maps he had heard were in existence, making

chemical

experiments,

studying customs

and

religions o f the North American Indians, making experiments with

a

Fahrenheit

thermometer

presented

to him by

Dr.

Franklin, commencing experiments for raising silkworms and studying the culture and manufacture o f silk. It is observed also that he is writing to the P r e f e c t o f the University o f Copenhagen to know the contents o f recently received Eastern manuscripts, requesting the author o f a history of Hindustan for information regarding Oriental languages, and seeking and securing correspondence with learned men in many lands. Stiles is said to have had a thorough knowledge o f Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, to have made some progress in the knowledge o f the Samaritan, Chaldee, Syriac, Coptic and Persian languages, and to have been able to read F r e n c h with facility. All these studies, needless to say, were pursued in addition to his principal interests which were theological. 3 7 T h e advantage o f this varied 37 Holmes, op. cit., pp. 353-360 and passim ; [James Luce] Kingsley, " A Sketch of the History of Yale College in Connecticut," American Quarterly Register, vol. V I I I (Boston, 1836), pp. 37-40.

68

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education to him as president of Y a l e appears in the different professorships he w a s called upon to fill; in 1780, besides his presidential duties and teaching the senior class, he was

filling

the chairs of divinity and natural philosophy.3® President D w i g h t ' s scholarly attainments seem to have been o f less comprehensive scope than Stiles', and to have centered more particularly upon didactic divinity, of which he w a s professor through most of his presidential term. H o w e v e r , one cannot read his Travels Theology

Explained

in New England

and Defended,

and New York, or his

and remain in doubt as to

the wide range of his interests or his acquaintance with current developments. Moreover, one of the outstanding features of his presidential career w a s his effective teaching o f all the subjects studied by the senior class. O f this college m e m o r y a student recalled : There is one spot to which they [alumni] can never turn their thoughts, without the recollection of his full orb'd excellence. . . . This is the Recitation Room of the Senior Class. I am persuaded that I shall ever account it one of the highest privileges of my life, that my youthful allotment was to listen to the instructions of that memorable chamber . ΐβ T h a t no more in the w a y of learning w a s expected of the college president than of the minister in the parish is amply attested by the discussions and suggestions that attended each choice of a new president. T h e office w a s regarded, not as a profession in itself, but merely as an off-shoot of the clerical ; hence, in seeking a new incumbent, the authorities simply cast about for some clergyman whose success in the pulpit had brought him to public notice, and whose congregation would consent to give him up. T h e fact that the clergyman-president, w h o w a s the policy maker f o r the college, w a s of strictly N e w 38 Stiles, Literary

Diary, II, 484.

39 G a r d i n e r S p r i n g , An Oration ... in Dzvijkt ( N e w Y o r k , 1817), p. 25.

Commemoration

of...

Timothy

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69

England education and experience might lead one to expect that the academic training which his institution supplied to future divines and others would become narrow and provincial. T h e surprise is that it did not become more so than in fact it did. 40 T h i s New England born and educated clergyman, entrusted with the academic education of the next generation of pulpit occupants and their lay contemporaries, was often a powerful personal factor in the student's development. As might be supposed, different presidential personalities brought different student reactions, sometimes of filial affection and sometimes o f awe, but it was usually recognized that the president was the keystone of the institution. Often, it was his reputation that drew the student to college halls. The youthful S. G. Goodrich, in anticipation of going to Yale, visited New Haven, which he had imagined as a sort of Jerusalem, " a holy place containing Yale College o f which Dr. Dwight was president." 4 1 On Sunday he went to the college chapel and heard Dr. Dwight preach. " H e was then at the zenith of his fame—a popular poet, an elegant divine, a learned author, and crowning all, president of the college." 42 A kindred feeling was experienced by a freshman entering Harvard, where he first saw President Willard. T h e occasion was commencement, when the president was in the midst o f imposing ceremonies, surrounded by the governor and other dignitaries, all looking up to him as the great man o f the day, " while his majestic person and bearing in his robes of office, with his academic cap and huge white wig, marked him as such to all beholders." 43 The strongest personal influence exerted by any president was probably that o f Timothy Dwight. His power as a classroom lecturer has been noted, and while there can be no doubt 40 Infra,

pp. 70-79.

41 Samuel G. Goodrich, Recollections York, 1856), I, 338-339. 42 Ibid., p. 347. 43 Sprague, Annals of the American

of

a Lifetime...

Pulpit, II, 28.

(2 vols., New

/O

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

as to his tutorial and administrative contributions to raising standards of scholarship at Yale, his most significant achievement seems to have been through his service as college pastor. Due to his success in combating rationalism and in stimulating religious fervor, Yale experienced during his presidency five revivals. 44 His valedictory sermons alone, preached each year to the departing senior class, form an interesting collection of parental benedictions and practical advice. 45 Perhaps many could have said with Lyman Beecher : Oh, how I loved him ! I loved him as my own soul, and he loved me as a son. . . . He was universally revered and loved.48 Such a man was the college president, whose memory and influence were to follow the young Congregational divine from college halls into the pulpit. Such was the man of whose majesty he had heard before going to college, upon whom his freshman eyes had looked in awe, whose fatherly advice had guided his youthful steps, whose powerful teaching had led him in paths of knowledge, whose daily prayers and frequent sermons had tried to keep him firm in the faith of his fathers, and who finally, with the grandeur befitting his office, had handed him his diploma. Contact and acquaintance with men of such dignity of bearing and generosity of temper undoubtedly made permanent impress upon all the students, and for those who entered a pastorate, the memory of presidential example must often have furnished a pattern for pastoral conduct. COLLEGE STUDIES

That the New England plan of collegiate education was largely modeled upon that of the English University of Cambridge follows naturally f r o m the fact that Harvard founders were mostly Cambridge men. Moreover, it is clearly indicated 44 Gardiner Spring, op. cit., p. 30. 45 Timothy Dwight, Sermons 46 Beecher, Autobiography,

( 2 vols., New Haven, 1828), I, 289-552.

I, 44.

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47

in the first program of studies. The principal subjects were the same, though in Harvard the proportions were somewhat different; there the arts and philosophies were less comprehensively taught, " polite learning," designed to educate a gentleman, though not neglected was not emphasized, while the study of the learned languages was expanded to include not only Latin, Greek and Hebrew, but also Chaldee and Syriac.*8 This extension of study in Oriental languages, as well as the fact that they were made required subjects for undergraduates, was probably in part a response to Puritan zeal for Old Testament scholarship. Very little change in the early curriculum seems to have been made prior to the period with which this study is principally concerned, though there are indications that the first hundred years had seen the scope of Harvard's curriculum narrowed in some respects from the original scheme.·49 Whether this was because more of her sons were entering the pulpit than any other profession or business, or because of the natural limitations of a frontier society seems impossible to determine. Certainly later specifications in regard to the study of language indicate that Greek had become more restricted to the technical uses of the clergy, that Oriental languages other than Hebrew had been discontinued, and that Hebrew itself had suffered a decline.50 Other subjects contributing directly toward the professional education of a clergyman maintained their customary prominence. On Saturday all classes studied divinity : freshmen, the Greek catechism ; sophomores and juniors Wollebius' Divinity; and seniors, Ames' MedullaIn addition to this 47 Morison, The Founding of Harvard College, Appendix D, pp. 435-436. 48 Ibid., pp. 137, 435. Samuel E. Morison, Harvard teenth Century (Cambridge, 1936), p. 165.

College in the Seven-

49 For details of Harvard's curriculum in 1723, see Morison, College in the Seventeenth Century, pp. 146-147.

Harvard

50 It was at this time that Cotton Mather lamented the neglect of Hebrew and the odium attached to those who studied it. 51 Sufra, pp. 26-27.

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catechetical instruction, future clergymen and their fellows were hearing lectures delivered by the newly established ( 1 7 2 7 ) professor of divinity, and also receiving constant drill in Biblical knowledge through the use of Scripture as a text in Greek and H e b r e w languages, and as a subject f o r analysis in the practice of logic. T h e mid-eighteenth century course at Y a l e 52 was quite similar to that at H a r v a r d , though Y a l e had not yet established a divinity professorship. T h e latter half of the eighteenth century, however, saw some significant changes in theological requirements at both H a r v a r d and Y a l e ; changes which indicate acceptance of the idea that theology, once considered knowledge essential to the educated man whether layman or clergyman, had become but one of several learned professions. F r o m occupying conspicuous places in the curriculum required of all students, theology and one of its principal supports, the H e b r e w language, tended to become special offerings to students planning to enter the ministry. A resolution passed by the Connecticut Assembly at the insistence of President Clap in 1 7 5 3 indicates clearly, however, that Y a l e w a s then f a r f r o m relinquishing the tradition of the past. It w a s resolved : that one principal End proposed in erecting the college was to supply the Churches in the Colony with a learned pious and orthodox Ministry ; to which End it was requisite that the Students of the College have the best Instructions in Divinity and the best Patterns of Preaching set before them. And that the Settling a Learned Pious, and Orthodox Professor of Divinity in the College would greatly tend to promote that good End and Design. 58 Inasmuch as the college was thought in danger of " being infected with E r r o r s the Y a l e Corporation expressed the desire that until sufficient funds for the divinity professorship could 52 William Hart, A Letter to a Friend... 53 T h o m a s Clap, The Annals or History

(New Haven, 1757), pp. 26-28. of Yale College . . . , p. 60.

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EDUCATION

73

be accumulated the president should carry on the work. They insisted that " the Students should be established in the Principles of Religion, and grounded in polemical Divinity, according to the Assembly's Catechism, Dr. Ames's Medulla, and Cases of Conscience, and that special Care should be taken, in the Education of Students, not to suffer them to be instructed in any different Principles or Doctrines ; and that all proper Measures should be taken to promote the Power and Purity of Religion, and the best Edification and Peace of these Churches." 64 This professorship was filled in 1755, and the practices of its incumbent were described by President Clap as follows : The Professor of Divinity preaches Sermons in the Chapel every Lord's Day, in the Course of a Body of Divinity, Doctrinal and Practical ; and occasional Discourses or Lectures, at other Times; and frequently gives private Counsel and Instruction.56 Such evidence indicates that the study of divinity at Yale, like that previously observed at the English University of Cambridge, was not comparable with the elaborate pursuit of patristic theology made by medieval doctors; it was intended rather as a thorough grounding in doctrine, and a training in dogmatic, controversial, and casuistical skill. It would provide soundness in the pew ; and in the pulpit a defense against heterodoxy, if not a rich theological background. W h e n Ezra Stiles became president of Y a l e in 1778 the old tradition still prevailed; theological studies, in addition to instruction by the professor of divinity, were : for each of the three upper classes, Vincent's Catechism, and for the senior class the additional study of the old reliable texts, A m e s and Wollebius." The substitution which Y a l e apparently had made for the Westminster Shorter Catechism was doubtless The 54 Ibid., pp. 61-62. 5 5 Ibid., 80-81. 56 S t i l e s , Literary

Diary,

I I , 387-388.

74

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

Principles of the Doctrine of Christ: a Catechism, by Nathaniel Vincent, seventeenth century English Dissenting divine. In 1783, five years after Stiles became president, this text was for the three upper classes all that remained of required theological recitations/ 7 although, of course, there were requirements of attendance upon professorial lectures on divinity and ecclesiastical history. By that time, however, pulpit preparation was apparently losing its position as a principal objective of collegiate education; henceforward the future clergyman's undergraduate knowledge of divinity would depend largely upon his own initiative in mastering the " system " delivered in the Sabbath sermons. In the meantime, Harvard also had taken steps toward modifying theological requirements. In 1764, Professor Wigglesworth, Hollis Professor of Divinity from 1722 through 1765, wrote for the Massachusetts legislature a description of his course quoting, in the beginning, from the provisions stated by the founder, Thomas Hollis : " That he read once a week upon divinity, either positive, controversial, or casuistical ; and as often upon church history, critical exposition of Scripture, or Jewish antiquities, as the Corporation, with the approbation of the Overseers, shall see fit." 58 In fulfilment of these provisions, which are only a little less restrictive than those at Yale, Wigglesworth read three lectures a week and held afternoon conferences with students on " ' systems or controversies of religion, or cases of conscience, or the seeming contradictions of Scriptures ' ". Besides these specified services, he reported that he was accustomed to direct the students as to their library reading. In the memory of one of Wigglesworth's students, however, his course seemed less elaborate than the letter to the legislature would indicate: 57 Ibid.,

III, 99.

58Quincy, History

of Harvard

University,

II, 534.

COLLEGIATE

EDUCATION

75

" W e attended his theological lectures, both in the Chapel for all the students, and in the Hall to the two Senior classes. His lectures to the latter were confined to the subject of the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England. In these lectures, the Professor did not take a text of Scripture, but took some particular article of that creed and discoursed from it. His lecture was very short." "· In 1780, when Harvard was given the title of " University," the divinity professorship still included, in addition to a regular public lecture which must be attended by all students, t w o exercises called " lectures " which only resident graduates and members of the two upper classes were required to attend. One was a discussion by the professor on some topic of positive or controversial divinity; the other a catechetical exercise on the first. The second exercise, however, became so irksome to students who were not preparing for the ministry that, in 1784, on the recommendation of Professor Wigglesworth (the younger), all were excused from it except those who were either specializing in divinity or were on the divinity foundations. The exercise was then changed from a study of Wollebius' Compendium Theologiae to an examination on the theological part of Doddridge's Lectures.*0 This was the first step taken at Harvard toward differentiating the curriculum for those intending to enter the ministry from that of those who expected to follow other pursuits ; thenceforward the former were carefully tutored in doctrines, Biblical languages and customs, while the latter were required only to attend the general instruction." 59 Pierce, History of Harvard University, p. 252. N e w England Congregationalists could accept in general the doctrinal part of the Thirty-nine Articles which might be interpreted according to Calvinist theology. 60 Philip Doddridge, A Course of Lectures on the Principal Subjects in Pncumatology, Ethics and Divinity... (London, 1763). T h e s e lectures were delivered to his o w n students in one of the best known of the English Dissenting academies. Infra, pp. 82-83. 61 Quincy, op. cit., II, 259-260, 276.

76

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

If from these requirements and practices it appears that the Congregational clergyman in his undergraduate career gained no knowledge of theology as learned through the Fathers and the great commentators, it is to be remembered that while New England colleges were intended to conserve learning for the good of both church and state they were not theological seminaries. Certain concessions had been made to undergraduates, more, however, to relieve the students who did not intend to enter the ministry than to improve the theological training given to those who did. Strictly professional training the latter were, now as always, expected to secure after receiving their first degree. Collegiate education in divinity, acquired through catechetical drill on information gained principally from Sabbath sermons and attendance upon somewhat irregular public lectures on didactic divinity and ecclesiastical history, was meager for even the most diligent student. Besides in theological subjects there was, also, particular importance for prospective clergymen in certain aspects of philosophical instruction, especially metaphysics and moral philosophy or ethics, which were the principal studies of the senior class. Interestingly enough in colleges so greatly influenced by theology, they were taught as distinct from that subject, despite the fact that William Ames, one of the two favorite authors in divinity, upheld the Protestant Reformation view that ontology and principles of good and evil should be taught from the revealed Word. 6 2 It was doubtless in opposition to the prevailing practice that Cotton Mather inveighed so bitterly against the study of ethics and the use in colleges of so much time upon this " vile peece of Paganism New Englanders for the most part, however, apparently fell in with the practices of those who held that theology, which was concerned with eternal truth and the attainment of heaven, was distinct from ethics, which was concerned with the practical virtues of daily life. In fact 62 M orison, Harvard College in the Seventeenth Century, pp. 260-263. 63 Supra, p. 25.

COLLEGIATE

EDUCATION

77

American educators, much as they might disagree with rationalists in theology, apparently agreed with them on questions of moral philosophy, and quite freely used as texts the treatises of rationalist philosophers. One of the most popular of these and one in use at Yale, both when Stiles was a student and when he became president, was William Wollaston's The Religion of Nature Delineatedwhich as previously observed rested almost wholly upon principles of natural religion." Needless to say, in American orthodoxy natural and revealed religion were always in agreement. To accept the rationalist thesis that by the laws of nature every man has within himself the power to evolve standards of right and wrong was too much, however, for the orthodoxy of some, notably President Thomas Clap of Yale. In his opinion principles of right conduct were discoverable only in revealed religion; to express and to teach his beliefs he wrote An Essay on the Nature and Foundation of Moral Virtue ( 1 7 6 5 ) , which when Stiles became president was being used jointly with Wollaston as a text.ee Timothy Dwight, after he became president of Yale, made bold to criticize Paley's theories,81 pointing out what he considered the error in Christian ministers' condoning so much substitution of natural for revealed religion.** In any discussion involving distinctions made between theology and moral philosophy it should be observed, moreover, that throughout most of the period under survey here students at both Harvard and Yale were, along with their theological exercises, constantly drilled in that manual of Puritan casuistry, Ames' Cases of Conscience. 64 Stiles, Literary Diary, II, 349, 387-388. 65 Supra, pp. 38-39. 66 Jonathan Edwards' treatise on the freedom of the will, also, was used in the course from 1762 to 1775, but it " giving offence was dropped." Stiles, Literary Diary, II, 349, III, 361. 67 William Paley, whose treatise on moral philosophy had in 1791 been substituted for the older and briefer texts. Sufra, p. 40. 68 Timothy Dwight, Observations on Paley's Moral and Political Philosophy, Ms. class notes by David L. Daggett, Yale University Library. For a detailed discussion of American study of moral philosophy see, Schmidt, The Old Time College President, pp. 108-145.

78

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

Besides philosophy another non-theological study of prime importance to a prospective divine was that of the learned languages. It has been observed that training in Greek and Hebrew, at least, had, by the mid-century, shrunk to a bare minimum. This situation was so much deplored, however, that efforts were made to stabilize instruction both in these languages and in Latin. T h e latter, however, was rapidly losing its prestige as the language of formal scholarship, becoming merely an academic requirement to be met by reading Virgil, Cicero, and Horace; while Greek remained for the most part a study of the Greek Testament, and an adjunct to that detailed study of the Bible still required of every student whether he planned to enter the ministry or not. Special efforts were made to restore Hebrew to a position of importance. In 1764 Harvard received a foundation for a professorship in that and other Oriental languages, but little advance seems to have been made beyond the Old Testament study of Hebrew. W h e n E z r a Stiles became president of Y a l e he tried to revive its study there, though apparently with little success. By 1790 both colleges had faced reality to the extent of making Hebrew an elective s u b j e c t . " Needless to say classes henceforward were small, probably not including all even of those who planned to enter the ministry. 70 That many Congregational clergymen trained in this period were ignorant of Hebrew appears in Moses Stuart's apology for them in 1829: When they came on the stage, the study of Hebrew was not only unfashionable . . . but next to impossible. There were no teachers, and no books ; and nobody urged the importance of the study.71 69Quincy, op. cit., I I , 130, 265, 536; Stiles, Literary Diary, II, 290-291,

HI, 39770 Apparently Stiles considered H e b r e w more than mere ministerial preparation. O n e of his students writes : H e said one of the Psalms he tried to teach us would be the first we should hear sung in Heaven, and that he should be ashamed that any of his pupils should be entirely ignorant of that holy language. Literary Diary, I I I , 306, note 2. 71 Moses Stuart, " T h e Study of Hebrew," American Quarterly I, 203.

Register,

COLLEGIATE

EDUCATION

79

The success of the future clergyman would probably depend more upon his acquirements in theological, philosophical, and linguistic studies than upon other phases of his collegiate education. Late eighteenth-century attention to the arts of rhetoric and oratory,72 however, while perhaps designed in large part to equip the future politician, would not be without profit to the New England pulpit. Indeed the Puritan had never been so dour as not to appreciate the advantage to a clergyman which a mastery of the " flowers of rhetoric " would give. Other secular subjects also might contribute to clerical success. The treasure of appropriate illustrations to be found in natural philosophy had long been recognized and pointed out by both English and American Puritans. Now it was much more valuable as a supply of weapons useful in refuting the arguments of those who would cite the laws of nature to destroy belief in revealed religion. Quite to the future clergyman's hand therefore, was the excellent course in that subject being given at Harvard by Professor John Winthrop, and the somewhat less effective one then offered at Yale. Though great improvements were made in these secular subjects, and though some differentiation appeared between the preparation offered to those who planned to enter the pulpit and that offered those who did not, the training of the clergy remained in both colleges a primary objective. Traditional supports of the study of divinity, languages, the Bible, logic, metaphysics, and moral philosophy, together with a limited amount of divinity itself, still constituted the principal studies, so that a collegiate education per se still included the basic training of a clergyman—a point not without significance, for many did not decide upon that profession until after graduation. A fair appraisal of undergraduate clerical education in eighteenth-century New England, however, must be set against the background of that larger British scene which gives it meaning. Whether or not in contemporary terms the intel72 Baldwin, Annals of Yale College, p. 98 ; Dexter, Biographical ...ond Annals, III, 641; Quincy, op. cit., II, 132, 215, 290-291.

Sketches

8o

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

lectual fare provided was meager depends upon how it compared with that of educational institutions controlled and supported by the Church of Scotland or by English Dissenters. Moreover, though little positive evidence of eighteenth-century British influence upon N e w England education has been discovered, comment by N e w England clerical educators indicates that a spirit of emulation existed. Jonathan Edwards cited Philip Doddridge, head of a Dissenting academy, as a suitable model for college presidents ; 7 8 and President Thomas Clap professed to imitate at Y a l e as nearly as circumstances would permit the standards of British Universities. 74 Connection with Scottish institutions in particular is further indicated by the number of honorary degrees they granted to New England Congregationalists. Between 1740 and 1770 the degree of Doctor of Divinity was given by the University of Edinburgh to Charles Chauncy, 76 E z r a Stiles, 78 and Andrew Eliot ; 7 7 by the University of Glasgow to Thomas Clap ; 7 8 and by the University of Aberdeen to Samuel Langdon, 1 9 and Joseph Bellamy. 80 A t the outset it may be said that though their courses were perhaps more comprehensive in secular studies than those of the New England colleges, Scottish universities offered less in those subjects which directly prepared for the pulpit. This was doubtless due to the fact that the Scottish church required from four to six years' professional study of divinity beyond the first degree, 81 a fact that must be kept clearly in mind in any comparison between Scottish and American systems of minis73 E d w a r d s , Works, I I I , 331. 74 T h o m a s C l a p , The Religious Constitution of Colleges, Yale College in New Haven ( N e w L o n d o n , 1754), p. 7. 75 Stiles, Extracts from Itineraries and Other Miscellanies ( N e w H a v e n , 1916), p. 438. 76 D e x t e r , Biographical Sketches ... Annals, I I , 93. 77 Spragije, Annals

of the American

Pulpit,

78Ja¡mes C o u t t s , A History of the University dation in J451 to içoç ( G l a s g o w , 1909), p. 248. 7 9 Stiles, Extracts

from Itineraries,

80 Sprague, op. cit., I, 406.

Especially

of

of Esra

Stiles

of Glasgow from its

Foun-

I, 418.

p. 523.

81 Supra, p. 54.

COLLEGIATE

EDUCATION

8l

terial education. It is true, as will appear later in this study, that the New England colleges also offered some ill-defined opportunities for graduate study, but the poverty of many students, together with the rapidly growing number of pastorless communities, spurred many of their graduates from college to the pulpit with little further study. This state of affairs probably forced the American college to continue in part at least the tradition of clerical preparation, instead of following the Scottish plan of postponing it entirely until after the first degree. Consequently, there was undoubtedly less time for other subjects, and such as were given were probably often somewhat telescoped as compared with Scottish practice. In some instances, therefore, the Scottish system may reflect the background of an older and more ordered society, but this is less frequently true than might be imagined. I f the undergraduate studies of New England clergymen seem meager it is by comparison with subsequent conditions, not with previous or even contemporary standards. At Aberdeen, in the middle of the eighteenth century, general studies included some subjects, such as history, chronology, and natural history, which at that time were rarely if ever taught in New England. The course in natural philosophy, however, was almost identical with that given at Harvard by Professor John Winthrop. Other subjects which constituted a linguistic and philosophical background to professional theological training were usually similar in form to those at Harvard and Yale, though perhaps somewhat more extensive in scope. An exception to this generalization occurs in the omission of Hebrew from undergraduate study in language. Apparently relegated entirely to the uses of the clergy, this subject was taught only to graduates. Greek and Latin, however, seem to have been studied from literary and philosophical points of view as well as from the grammatical to which New England courses were usually limited. In the purely intellectual fields, which at Harvard and Yale were limited to logic, metaphysics, and ethics; Aberdeen included as well pneumatology (the study of

82

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

the nature and functions of mind and spirit), natural theology, jurisprudence, and politics, illuminated by the reading of ancient moralists.®2 Notably absent was any instruction in didactic divinity unless it appeared in the Sabbath evening meetings at which the professors were expected to discuss such aspects of natural and revealed religion as they considered useful to the students. In Scottish universities theology was evidently regarded as purely professional and, like Hebrew, suitable only to graduates preparing for the ministry. T h e superiority of the University of Edinburgh's undergraduate education over that o f Harvard and Yale is less easy to establish. A t Edinburgh students were quite free to study only such subjects as they chose; in fact the degree itself ceased to be regarded as important and was rarely taken. 83 Even those who followed the formal curriculum probably did not gain an education much if any richer than was obtainable in New E n g land. As at Aberdeen, Hebrew and divinity were lacking. Latin and Greek constituted the studies of the first two years, but they were taught on a school, rather than a college, level so that more than half the students found it unnecessary to take them at all. T h e speculative philosophies, however, here as at Aberdeen, were apparently more inclusive than in the New England colleges. This was even more true later in the century, when notable instructors included Thomas Reid and James Beattie of Aberdeen, and Adam Ferguson and Dugald Stewart of Edinburgh. In comparison with the ministerial preparation of English Dissenters, that of American Congregationalists rated higher. T h e Dissenting academies, which grew up as a result of the exclusion of Dissenters from O x f o r d and Cambridge gave, usually 82 J. M. Bulloch, A History (London, 1895), pp. 148-153.

of the University

of Aberdeen,

1485-1895

83 Alexander Grant, The Story of the University of Edinburgh During Its First Three Hundred Years (2 vols., London, 1884), I, 262-277. Although the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland required of its ministers either a degree in arts or a university certificate of completion of a full course of philosophy, discretion as to the latter was left to the universities.

COLLEGIATE

EDUCATION

83

in the space of four years, all the education both academic and professional which their ecclesiastical polity required. Necessarily such an education was even more compressed than that in N e w England. In the academy of which Philip Doddridge was head there was no regular instruction in languages, though efforts were made to correct school deficiencies in Latin and Greek, and Doddridge himself gave tutorial instruction in Hebrew to prospective clergymen. T h e all-inclusive course in moral philosophy or ethics as distinct f r o m divinity, common to American colleges, was absent, though the heart of the course f o r preparing ministers was Doddridge's 2 5 0 lectures on the

Principal

Subjects

in Pneumatology,

Ethics and

Divinity,84

begun in the second year. Finally, there were the wholly practical studies of preaching and pastoral practice ; every theological student was afforded generous opportunities f o r learning to solve pastoral problems, and before he left the academy each w a s required to preach at least two sermons on assigned subjects. 85 Such was the typical program which between 1 7 2 0 and 1800 took a thousand students f r o m secondary schools to English pulpits, Presbyterian and Independent. 88 I f the highly professionalized and practical education which it provided could supply, frequently with distinction, so many middle-class churches in the old and ordered English social scene, it is hardly appropriate to challenge as narrow and unenlightened the more comprehensive undergraduate training which was at the same time being provided at H a r v a r d and Y a l e f o r ministers who a f t e r some further professional study would serve a relatively new social order. 84 It w a s this system of lectures w h i c h w a s substituted f o r Wollebius at Harvard in 1784. 85 Irene Parker, The English

Dissenting

Academies

(Cambridge,

1914),

pp. 54-55, 84-96, 147-148; Philip Doddridge, The Correspondence and Diary of Philip Doddridge . . . , J. D . Humphrey, ed. (5 vols., London, 1829-1830), II. 396-397, 462-490, H I , 786 J. H . Colligan, Eighteenth PP. 70-73·

Century

Non-Conformity

(London,

1915),

CHAPTER V G R A D U A T E S T U D Y OF D I V I N I T Y AT T H E COLLEGES T R U E to English university tradition, Bachelors of A r t s of H a r v a r d and Yale customarily received the Master of A r t s degree three years a f t e r their first graduation. Although, theoretically, the higher degree was a reward for continued study evidenced by a thesis defended at commencement, this formality came to be disregarded; degrees, when requested and paid for, seem to have been freely conferred upon graduates of three years' standing. 1 T h e fact, however, that a second degree was expected must have served to keep alive the feeling that advanced study was desirable. At any rate, there were always a few who, o f t e n encouraged by college bounties or exemption f r o m fees, remained f o r a few weeks, months, or even years to pursue their studies, availing themselves of the library and of suggestions f r o m the president and his teaching associates.

Such students were not, as one might suppose, invariably aspirants to the ministry. In that interesting picture of eighteenth-century social life, E n o s Hitchock's Memoirs of the Bloomsgrove Family, the son, destined for a secular career, remained in residence at the university that he might benefit by the library and public lectures, while continuing, under professorial direction, his studies in history, moral philosophy, and rhetoric. 2 Such a procedure was followed by m a n y who planned to enter various professions; so f o r instance N . W . Appleton remained at H a r v a r d " to receive nourishment f r o m 1 Clap, Annals of Yale College, p. 87. Frequently the Master's degree was conferred by one college upon graduates of another, as Ezra Stiles and William Samuel Johnson of Yale were honored by Harvard. 2 Enos Hitchcock, Memoirs of the Bloomsgrove 1790), II. 253· 84

Family

(2 vols., Boston,

GRADUATE

STUDY

OF D I V I N I T Y

85

the Fountain H e a d ", before taking up medical studies with a practitioner in Salem. 3 These graduates sojourning on the college campus found definite recognition as members of the college family. T h e i r living accommodations were usually the same as f o r undergraduates, though at Y a l e the greater dignity of their station seems to have been recognized at least in their assignment to a chapel section opposite to that of the president's and professors' families. 4 T h e number usually in residence is difficult to determine. President Willard was under the impression that it was large during his graduate days at H a r v a r d ( 1 7 6 5 ) , while Leonard W o o d s observed that when he w a s an undergraduate ( 1 7 9 2 - 9 6 ) in the same institution there were not more than three or four graduate students in divinity. 5 T h e number cited by W o o d s must, however, be a little short of that commonly prevailing. Unpublished college records show that during the early 90's the total number of resident graduates there averaged about fifteen per year.® A s nearly as could be determined more than half these subsequently entered the ministry and hence may be presumed to have been studying divinity. 7 A t Y a l e , perhaps because of the large number of private theological schools 8 in Connecticut, the number of resident graduates was much smaller.* D u r i n g Stiles' administration there were usually but two or three, and apparently some of them did not study 3 N. W. Appleton, '* Letters of N. W. Appleton to . . . Eliphalet Pearson," W. C. Lane, ed., The Colonial Society of Massachusetts PuMications, VIII, 296-302. 4 Stiles, Literary Diary, I I I , 46.

5 Willard, Memories of Youth and Manhood, I, 36; Leonard Woods, History of Andover

Theological

Seminary

(Boston, 1885), p. 1.

6 Quarter bills from Steward's Records, Harvard College Library. These give only surnames, hence identification is uncertain. 7 Checked f r o m Catalogus Universitatis Harvardianae 1806.

8 Infra, chapters vi and vii. 9 Quarter bills from Steward's Records, Yale University Library. Literary Diary, I I , 284, 481, 512.

Stiles,

86

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

d i v i n i t y . 1 0 E v e n under the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f T i m o t h y D w i g h t the number seems not to h a v e increased i m m e d i a t e l y . B y 1803, h o w e v e r , probably because o f the interest a r o u s e d t h r o u g h the r e l i g i o u s revival,

the n u m b e r j u m p e d

suddenly t o nine,

ot

w h o m perhaps f o u r o r five w e r e s t u d y i n g d i v i n i t y . S i n c e the length o f the student's residence w a s short, e v e n this small a v e r a g e , o v e r a period o f years, w o u l d send o u t m a n y ministers. 1 1

The

first

three

successive

professors

of

divinity

at

Y a l e ( 1 7 5 6 - 1 8 1 7 ) are said to h a v e g i v e n p r o f e s s i o n a l t r a i n i n g to several hundred. 1 2 T h e great majority of

these students w e r e apparently

in

residence immediately f o l l o w i n g g r a d u a t i o n , t h o u g h f o r v a r i o u s reasons some w e r e m o r e mature. F r e q u e n t l y , between the first

degree and f u r t h e r study, it h a d been necessary to e a r n

money,

an obligation

often

met

through

the

time-honored

m e t h o d o f teaching a school. O c c a s i o n a l l y , but rarely, ministerial candidates returned a f t e r active service in the pulpit. M o r e o f t e n the self-supporting g r a d u a t e s pursued their studies w h i l e also s e r v i n g the college in capacities a s varied as those o f butler or tutor, both offices held successively at H a r v a r d by its f u t u r e president, Joseph W i l l a r d . 1 3 W h e t h e r mature or less experienced, the y o u n g

graduate

contemplating the ministry, s o m e w h a t a b a s h e d at the prospect o f e x a m i n a t i o n f o r licensure, o r o f t e s t i n g his w i n g s in the responsibilities o f a pastorate, doubtless felt the w i s d o m l i n g e r i n g in the collegiate nest b e f o r e m a k i n g a trial

of

flight.

H e r e he had already received s o m e t h e o l o g i c a l t r a i n i n g ; here w e r e teachers o f w h o s e learning he h a d o n l y partially availed himself ; here w e r e books, m a n y o f w h i c h he h a d read, but f e w of

w h i c h he h a d p o n d e r e d ; here w e r e f e l l o w

10 Checked f r o m Dexter, Biographical Sketches... 11 D w i g h t , Theology

Explained

and Defended

12 G. P . F i s h e r , A Discourse Commemorative Yale College ( N e w H a v e n , 1858), p. 92. 13 W i l l a r d , Memories

of Youth and Manhood,

students,

Annals.

. . . I, 52. of the Church I, 31-33.

of Christ in

GRADUATE

STUDY

OF D I V I N I T Y

87

whose experiences and needs were similar to his, and whose companionship would be at once a stimulus and a solace; and here would be time, quiet and largely subject to his own direction, in which such genius as was native to him, and had been cultivated through four college years, might at last begin to flower. Accounts of graduate study in divinity, though scanty, suffice to give a fairly clear outline of the usual procedure. Specifications might be sought in college laws as revised and published from time to time but these are for the most part disappointing. A t Yale they prescribed only that Masters and Bachelors should attend all exercises in the chapel, that Bachelors should dispute once a week before the president and perform such other scholastic exercises as he might direct, and that the professor of divinity should give private instruction and advice to resident graduates and other students who were preparing for the ministry. 14 Evidence discovered from records of individual students in that institution is little more revealing. Of Jonathan Edwards' two years' study there, few details are known beyond the fact that he continued his reflective study of Locke and other philosophers. A clearer idea of graduate study in divinity at Yale may be had from a consideration of the activities and statements of the college presidents, though these also are sometimes disappointing ; Thomas Clap in his descriptive account of Yale failed to mention graduate students at all. The Literary Diary of President Stiles is more helpful; from the time of his inauguration in 1778 there is a continuous but terse record of the divinity professor's industry in presenting a body of divinity through his Sunday sermons in the college chapel. Though designed primarily for undergraduates, these sermons, and Stiles' own public lectures on ecclesiastical history, which graduates were required to attend, seem to have constituted all the pro14 The Laws of Yale College in New Haven in Connecticut, Enacted by the President and Fellows ( N e w Haven, 1774, 1787, 1795).

88

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

fessional training made continuously available. 1 " Occasional lectures which President Clap attributed to the divinity professor 14 must have been rare indeed, f o r on June 10, 1779, Stiles notes that on that day Professor Daggett has delivered a public lecture " é Cathedra " upon " Proof of the Exist, of Gd à priori " , his first week-day theological lecture during his twenty-four years in office. 1 ' T h o u g h D a g g e t t gave similar lectures fairly o f t e n f r o m that time until his death a year later, Stiles' final statement regarding him seems a just one : " he has officiated as Professor of Divy or rather Minister of the College Church, for he usually preached only on L d s d y & seldom lectured on week days." 18 Obviously, f r o m one w h o w a s college pastor more than professor of divinity, the resident graduate and prospective divine could expect little if any more guidance in professional study than his contemporary w h o sought counsel of some parish clergyman. 1 8 Meanwhile, however, President Stiles himself had set up a Saturday afternoon " Chamber Theological Lecture " f o r a class in which talent and skill must have been varied indeed, made up as it was of students f r o m all classes, including some freshmen and at least one licensed preacher. A t each meeting three or four students were assigned to read papers which the president a f t e r w a r d discussed. 20 Stiles' purpose in this enterprise was stout-hearted ; but when, upon the death of P r o f e s s o r Daggett, he had to add the duties of that office to an already heavy load, the Saturday lecture was gradually allowed to lapse until in 1782 its duties were transferred to the new professor of divinity, w h o continued the practice f o r a time but as his health declined also abandoned it. 21 15 Some graduate students availed themselves of Stiles' instruction in Hebrew. Supra, p. 78. 16 Supra, p. 73.

17 Stiles, Literary Diary, II, 345.

18 Ibid., II, 482-483.

19 Infra, chapters vi, vii.

20 Stiles, op. cit., II, 453-454, 45Ó, 481. 21 Ibid., I I I , 28 and passim.

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Not until Timothy Dwight became President of Yale in *795 d'd special theological instruction there in the pre-seminary period reach a higher level ; " though even then instructional procedure remained amorphous, and no formal course of lectures was given specifically for graduates. In fact President Dwight, who was also professor of divinity and pastor of the college church, gave no regular public lectures, but, after the manner of his predecessors, delivered a system of divinity in sermons, one every Sabbath during the term for four years. Since the length of the term was forty weeks, the entire course thus comprised one hundred and sixty lectures ; " these the resident graduates had heard during their undergraduate years, but so long as they continued to reside at the college they apparently heard them repeated. There were also, however, group meetings, weekly or more often, where discussions on previously assigned topics were read by the future ministers, and criticized by the president, both as to the opinions expressed and the arguments offered in their support. The advantages of a plan of instruction so informal must have consisted partly in the privileges of Yale's library and partly in the endowments and acquirements of its director, President Dwight. Evidence discovered, however, does not indicate a wide use of library facilities. Moses Stuart, in describing his course of theological study under Dwight's instruction, listed as reading: Samuel Hopkins' System of Divinity, Thomas Ridgeley's Body of Divinity, treatises by Jonathan Edwards and Andrew Fuller, some of Johann Lorenz von Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, and a part of Humphrey Prideaux* Connection of the Old and New Testament with the History of the Jews and Neighboring Nations'* This brief 22 J. L. Kingsley, "A Sketch of the History of Yale College in Connecticut," p. 205.

23 Timothy Dwight, Travels in New England and New York (4 vols., London, 1821-22), I, 208. 24J. S. Davenport, "Moses Stuart," Connecticut Magasine, II, 115. Authors here referred to were Samuel Hopkins of Newport, father of

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list of reading indicates that, though Dwight himself adhered to a modified Edwardean theology, some of its more rigid tenets were still being learned at Yale through the writings of Hopkins and Edwards. As an offset, apparently, to such strictly provincial theology, or to an uncompromising Calvinism, Stuart studied the moderate Calvinist, Thomas Ridgeley, and read from the well-known English Baptist, Andrew Fuller. Ecclesiastical history, regarded as essential background for this limited acquaintance with theology, was learned from standard English and European authors. When Stuart was licensed to preach, he had written but one sermon, a metaphysical dissertation to which a verse of Scripture was prefixed. " With much care he wrote another . . . and went into the world as a preacher of the gospel Such was the preparation of a clergyman whose reputation would, in a few years, lead to his appointment as Professor of Sacred Literature in the infant theological seminary at Andover. In addition to serving as instructor of theological students President Dwight also, through his duties as college pastor, set them an example in pastoral work. The success of his leadership in defeating the forces of rationalism and in conducting revivals of religion has been noted. Such influences could not fail to quicken the study of divinity, and it was this part of his theological training at Yale that seemed to have made the most lasting impression on Lyman Beecher. The president was definitely a revival preacher and, as Beecher recalled in his Autobiography, " a new day was dawning as I came on the stage, and I was baptized with the revival spirit." 2 6 Dwight " Hopkinsianism," extreme wing of the New Divinity ; Thomas Ridgeley (d. 1734), London independent theologian, whose Body of Divinity was a textbook of moderate Calvinism ; Jonathan Edwards, the elder ; Andrew Fuller (1754-1815), English Baptist theologian, sympathetic with American friends on many points of doctrine; J . L. von Mosheim (1693-1755), German Lutheran divine, and Chancellor of the University of Göttingen; and Humphrey Prideaux (1648-1724), Anglican divine and Oriental scholar. 25 Davenport, loc.

cit.

26 Beecher, Autobiography,

I, 69.

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himself, moreover, seems to have regarded training f o r that type of service as of more importance than general learning : The business of a clergyman, it is here believed, is to effectuate the salvation of his flock, rather than to replenish his own mind with that superior information, which, however ornamental or useful in other respects, is certainly connected with this end in a very imperfect degree. 27 Regarding graduate study at Harvard, favorite institution f o r the professional training of moderate Calvinist divines, 28 college laws are little more instructive than those of Yale. There, in 1 7 9 0 , students who already held the Master's degree were required to attend the public lectures of all professors, privileged also to attend those on experimental science, and urged to consult both president and professors with respect to their studies. Resident Bachelors in addition to these duties and privileges, were required to attend the private lectures of the divinity professor. 2 9 Accounts of graduates studying divinity at H a r v a r d indicate practice somewhat as follows : a review of undergraduate lectures, and more or less independent reading, guided or not, as the student chose, by president and professors. E d w a r d Wigglesworth, as professor of divinity, it will be recalled, besides directing students in their reading, set apart two or three hours each week for answering questions. These duties applied, obviously, both to graduates and undergraduates; though Quincy points out that instruction given by professors was confined almost wholly to the latter. 50 In fact, accounts of graduate study at H a r v a r d place much less emphasis than those of Y a l e upon activities of instructors, and much more upon library advantages and stimulating personal associations. These 27 Dwight, Travels in New England and New York, I V , 320. 28 P a r k , Memoir of Nathanael Emmons, p. 219. 29 The Laws of Harvard College (1790), p. 62. 30 Quincy, History of Harvard University, II, 259.

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are the sources f r o m which Joseph W i l l a r d is said to have benefited most during his six years as a tutor at H a r v a r d . ' 1 T h e slight importance apparently attached to formal instruction is indicated in other accounts. D a v i d O s g o o d studied divinity there f o r a year, but his biographer did not know that it was with any particular teacher/ 2 T h e belief that advantages were to be enjoyed at H a r v a r d , even when no one w a s responsible f o r instruction, appears f r o m the student career of John Codman, who, a f t e r studying a year with H e n r y W a r e at H i n g h a m , removed to C a m b r i d g e to continue his theological studies there, though the divinity professorship was then temporarily vacant." A n intimate portrayal of this more or less self-directed study at C a m b r i d g e appears in a journal kept by Joseph Emerson, already a licensed preacher, during his residence there in 1803 as tutor and student in divinity. T h i s day-by-day account, revealing changes in conviction and shifts in plan that must have befallen any student left to wander at will in the fields of learning, covers eight months of professional study carried on in addition to tutorial duties. In the beginning, without advice, he planned a commonplace book on the entire Bible w i t h the intention of committing to memory all important parts; but other activities crowded in, and Bible memorizing progressed but slowly. Emerson felt that in Cambridge the opportunity should be grasped f o r studying music, which would be professionally useful, and f o r reading history, together w i t h such authors as H o m e r , Shakespeare, Milton, Locke, and N e w t o n ; Scripture could be studied a f t e r leaving college. Shortly before his departure f r o m Cambridge, Emerson became deeply engrossed in the w o r k s of R i c h a r d Baxter, which surprisingly enough he seems not to have encountered before, though they 31 Abiel Holmes and Samuel Webber at The Funeral

Eulogy by Professor

of The Rev. Joseph Willard...

with a Sermon

Webber the Next

Lord?s Day by the Rev. Mr. Holmes (Cambridge, 1804), p. 33. 32 S p r a g u e , Annals of The American

Pulpit, I I , 72.

33 William Allen, Memoir of John Codman (Boston, 1853), p. 23.

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were in Harvard's library. Continued influence of the timehonored English Dissenter upon pulpit preparation in New England is manifest in this student panegyric. As might be expected, however, with energies so dissipated, the end of the term found Emerson far short of his goal in Biblical study; nine weeks before the date set for his ordination he was overwhelmed by the realization that he had scarcely completed Exodus. The plan, of course, would have to be revised and rendered chiefly subservient to the task of composing an ordination sermon." It is small wonder that Leonard Woods considered the advantages for theological study at Harvard in his day as of little consequence.3* Woods, however, was discussing the greater advantages of Andover Theological Seminary; as compared with an institution organized specifically for professional education, the extra-curricular activities of a college would necessarily seem inferior. Though it sets a standard that probably was rarely if ever attained, a better criterion of Harvard's graduate instruction appears in the syllabus adopted by David Tappan, who as professor of divinity was a contemporary of Timothy Dwight at Yale. The syllabus is brief, containing but six topics with a list of readings for each, and hence may be reviewed in some detail as representing what must have been considered adequate professional knowledge for ministers. 36 As might be anticipated, both topics and readings were apparently directed toward preparing worthy adversaries for the increasingly dangerous radicals. It is interesting to note, however, that Tappan, unlike Nathanael Emmons, his contemporary in the professional training of Congregational clergymen,37 seemed to consider an introduction to heterodox books unnecessary ; his lists were made up almost entirely of the writings of men presenting the orthodox point of view. 34 35 36 37

Emerson, Life of Rev. Joseph Emerson, pp. 85-111. Woods, History of Andover Theological Seminary, p. 17. Park, Memoir of Nathanael Emmons, p. 219. Infra, pp. 131-134.

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For natural religion, Tappan suggested John Abernethy's and John Leland's sermons on divine attributes, Samuel Clarke's Demonstration of Divine Attributes, and Richard Price's Review of the Principal Questions and Difficulties in Morals. O f these writers John Abernethy, Irish Dissenter, advocated the same orthodox views as those of Leland previously cited. 38 Clarke 39 and Price, 40 however, though relatively sound on this particular topic, were prominent Arians, and one is tempted to speculate on the possible influence their writings may have had on subsequent Unitarianism at Harvard. 4 1 " O n the Necessity of Revelation ", Tappan recommended either Leland or Archibald Campbell, a Scottish divine, whose work on that subject and in answer to Tindal was written in 1739. " O n the Proof of Revelation ", he gave a long and orthodox list including Doddridge, Bishop Newton, Gilbert West, Lord Lyttleton. H u g h Farmer, William Paley, and Bishop Joseph Butler, whose writings on the subject have been cited.42 For each of these three topics, obviously aimed at the rationalists, advocates of the opposite view are conspicuously absent; there is no reference to such men as Tindal or Hume. The list of writers suggested for the " Doctrines of Revelation " presents, on the other hand, some variety, and perhaps ground for further suspicion of Harvard's unorthodox inclinations. There appear the names not only of Calvinists like Jonathan Edwards and Thomas Ridgley, and of many English Dissenters, but also that of Daniel Whitby ( 1638-1726), which is included with those of his brother Anglican divines, Bishops Tillotson and Sherlock. Whitby, it is true, was a vigorous controversialist against the Roman Church and his writings may 38 Sufra,

p. 39·

3 9 S u f r a , pp. 36, 38.

40 S u f r a , p. 41. 41 William Ellery Channing, then an undergraduate at Harvard, subsequently recalled the influence he received from reading Price while in college. Channing, o f . cit., I, 66. 42 S u f r a , p. 39-

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have been suggested for that reason, but one cannot forget that he was also distinguished for his attacks on Calvinism and orthodox Trinitarianism. Certainly Harvard authorities had shifted position since the days when they so vigorously defended themselves against Whitefield's accusations as to the use of Tillotson by their students, and since student Timothy Pickering (Harvard 1763) had been advised to read him, but warned against his heresies. 43 Probably Tillotson was now being studied for his famous attack on Rome. On the " Christian Church and Ordinances ", the authorities were chiefly NewEngland writers, but there were also some English Dissenters and one Anglican. Jewish and ecclesiastical histories recommended were more or less standard works. Such a list of topics indicates that graduate study of theology at Harvard, as at Yale, while it cannot be said to represent a wide variety of views, at least was not merely the product of a century's doctrinal inbreeding, or wholly provincial in scope. Some interesting comparisons may be drawn between the course offered by Tappan of Harvard, and that contemporaneously offered at Yale by Timothy Dwight. A s previously observed, Harvard, besides being traditionally under the leadership of a group less concerned than Y a l e with fine points in theology, was also under the necessity of refraining from too active participation in controversy. Naturally, therefore, topics in Tappan's syllabus, though in some degree designed to refute current atheistic and deistic philosophies, were extremely general, and not aimed at New England doctrinal disputes ; Dwight's teaching on the other hand, though he himself was less inclined than some of his N e w Divinity brethren to dwell on doctrinal issues, was, as heretofore noted, of an ardently revivalistic type. The Harvard program of reading seems more comprehensive than actual practice under D w i g h t indicates for Y a l e ; however, if statements made by graduate students at Harvard as to what they really read are reconsidered, the differ43 Moráis, Deism in Eighteenth Century America, p. 141.

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enee seems negligible. In both colleges advantages of graduate study seem to have consisted principally in opportunity to pursue more thoroughly the course designed for undergraduates. Besides engaging in discussions and reading books, the prospective preachers studying divinity at the colleges enjoyed some valuable practical experience. Those who, like Joseph Emerson, were licensed to preach spent many of their Sabbaths filling pulpits in nearby parishes : a practice sufficiently common to merit a recommendation by the Harvard Overseers that all graduates who were preachers should, whenever they went out to preach, be excused from commons from Saturday afternoon to Monday afternoon. 44 Congenial association with others studying theology was another advantage, and one that seems to have appealed most to John Codman during his residence in Cambridge. He and a group of friends formed a society called Kappa Delta, " from the initials of two Greek words denoting the School of Preachers," ; at each meeting of the society a sermon was delivered, subject to criticism and controversial discussion by members present.45 This society was quite similar to one that Codman enjoyed later as a theological student in the University of Edinburgh. 4 " Adequate appraisal, however, of graduate training in theology, as of undergraduate education received at Yale and Harvard, cannot be made without comparison with that offered by Scottish universities. According to previously mentioned legislation by the General Assembly of the Scottish Church, graduate study there was obviously designed to be of much longer duration than that customary among Congregationalists. The plan, however, was not enforced; until 1777 professors of theology had discretionary power, both as to admission to 44 W. C. Lane, ed., " Rebellion of 1766 in Harvard College " in Massachusetts Colonial Society Publications, X, 35. 45 Allen, Memoir

of John Codman, D.D., pp. 23-24.

46 Ibid., pp. 54, 58.

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Divinity Hall and to completion of professional study. 47 Even the new rule of 1777, requiring four years regular attendance upon Divinity Hall, or six years if attendance were irregular, did not establish uniform practice, since students could apparently qualify by keeping their names enrolled on the professor's books for the longer period. A n effort was made later to prevent this practice by requiring every student to spend at least one session in residence ; 4 8 but neither did this fix a definite period, inasmuch as sessions varied in length from three months at Aberdeen and four at Edinburgh, to six at G l a s g o w ; not until after 1830 was the custom of allowing students merely to enroll in the professor's books abandoned. 48 For the entire period under consideration here, therefore, it is difficult to determine the real extent of preparation for the Scottish pulpit ; it must frequently have been as brief as in N e w England. Despite the indeterminate factor of time, however, the program of theological instruction was, in theory at least, more comprehensive at Scottish universities, which maintained regular theological faculties, than at Yale or Harvard, where such duties fell to the president or to the one professor of divinity. A t Aberdeen the course was given through the cooperative efforts of the divinity professors of K i n g ' s and Marischal Colleges, each of whom gave two lectures a week, covering in order named, the subjects of natural religion, Christian evidences, Scripture criticism, systematic and controversial divinity, the history of the principal controversies, and pastoral care. These professors also shared responsibility for such instruction as was offered in ecclesiastical history. 50 Hebrew, apparently, had suffered much the same fate in Scotland as in 47 Alexander Bower, The History of the University of Edinburgh ( 3 vols., E d i n b u r g h , 1830), I I I , 30-31 ; The Principal Acts of The General Assembly of The Church of Scotland... ( E d i n b u r g h , 1767-1782). 4 8 C o u t t s , A History

of the University

of Glasgow,

p. 375.

49 Coutts, loc. cit. 50 Bulloch, History of the University of Aberdeen, p. 185; W a l t e r Thorn, The History of Aberdeen (2 vols., Aberdeen, 1811), II, appendix ii, 76-78.

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America. Both Aberdeen colleges had Hebrew professorships, and lectures were given in Oriental languages, but little information regarding them has been found, other than that they had long been superficial and poorly attended. In 1798, however, the Synod of Aberdeen recommended that more attention be given to Hebrew, and Marischal College at least seems to have complied. Besides teaching Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian languages and studying the Old Testament with his students, the professor there lectured on textual criticism, Jewish antiquities, and other related subjects. 51 A t Edinburgh the contemporary course was probably less inclusive than that at Aberdeen, and in form more like those of H a r v a r d and Yale. Successive professors of divinity, lectured on Pictet's, 52 or other systems of divinity, and parts of the Bible, examined students, and heard their discourses, repeating the course every four years. 5 3 Alexander Carlyle, spirited contemporary at Edinburgh of Princeton's President John Witherspoon, declared, however, that though the professor was said to be learned, he was nevertheless so tedious and dull in his lectures as at the end of seven years to have covered only half of Pictet ! Carlyle felt that the chief advantage to be gained f r o m such lifeless teaching was in students being left to themselves and thus forming more liberal opinions than they would have gotten from the professor. 5 4 T h e theological faculty at Edinburgh gave one other course, that in ecclesiastical history; but it was required only once a week, was poorly attended, and seems to have been of little importance, until the last decade of the century when a new and stimulating professor made it one of the most popular in 51 Ibid., loc. cit. 52 Benedict Pictet Christiana.

(1655-1724), Swiss theologian, author of

Theologia

53 Bower, op. cit., II, 367, III, 208-209; Allen, op. cit., pp. 47-48; Grant, The Story of Edinburgh, I, 334-335· 54 Grant, op. cit., I, 336.

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H e b r e w , until 1829,

was

listed n o t as a m e m b e r o f the f a c u l t y o f d i v i n i t y but o f arts a n d sciences, and his course w a s little cultivated o r altogether neglected by most theological s t u d e n t s . " In addition to individual university p r o g r a m s , the C h u r c h o f S c o t l a n d made certain specifications as to practical exercises b y the students, s u b j e c t to criticism by both students a n d professors.

At

A b e r d e e n , these

included a lecture o r

popular

e x p l a n a t i o n o f some passage o f Scripture, a sermon, a critical a n a l y s i s and doctrinal explanation o f some portion o f the G r e e k T e s t a m e n t , and an exegesis, or L a t i n discourse o n s o m e theological q u e s t i o n . " T h i s rule at least seems to h a v e been well defined and closely f o l l o w e d ; in 1790, J o h n M i t c h e l l M a s o n , an A m e r i c a n g r a d u a t e o f

C o l u m b i a College, w h o h a d

been

sent to E d i n b u r g h to complete his theological t r a i n i n g , profited g r e a t l y f r o m discipline o f the kind described. 5 8 A s compared w i t h the g r a d u a t e education o f N e w

England

C o n g r e g a t i o n a l i s t s in the same period, the C h u r c h o f S c o t l a n d obviously

set a h i g h e r standard both a s to length o f

time

required and in the system o f courses o f f e r e d . Instances like that o f John C o d m a n , g r a d u a t e a n d g r a d u a t e student o f H a r vard, w h o proceeded f r o m there to E d i n b u r g h f o r t w o y e a r s study, 5 9 a n d o f J o h n Mitchell M a s o n , w h o w a s sent by his Scottish-trained ministerial f a t h e r to the same u n i v e r s i t y a f t e r h a v i n g completed his C o l u m b i a C o l l e g e education, indicate that A m e r i c a n s recognized its superior a d v a n t a g e s . O n the other hand, there is little evidence that, in practice, the g r e a t e r opportunities o f f e r e d in S c o t t i s h schools w e r e g e n e r a l l y utilized to secure an education in f a c t v e r y superior to that o f the a v e r a g e C o n g r e g a t i o n a l i s t . It is difficult to see that v e r y g r e a t benefit 55 Bower, of. cit., III, 273-274. ; Grant, op. cit., I, 335· 56 Ibid., I, 335.

57 Thorn, loc. cit. 58 S p r a g u e , Annals of the American

Pulpit, I V , 2.

59 Allen, Memoir of John Codman, loc. cit.

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could have accrued, even through a period of six years, from merely having one's name enrolled in the professor's book, if one were away teaching in a parochial school. In graduate subjects preparatory to the ministry the Scottish institutions resemble Harvard and Yale. All paid somewhat sketchy attention to ecclesiastical history and to Hebrew, though it seems likely that courses in both these subjects were more systematically taught in Scotland. Catechetical divinity and the current controversies constituted the heart of theological study in Scotland as well as New England.

CHAPTER VI THE SCHOOLS OF THE PROPHETS M A N Y of those w h o planned to enter the Congregational ministry, but w h o did not remain in college residence as divinity students, retired to their father's homes, or to communities w h e r e they had been fortunate enough to secure appointments as teachers; there, guided by their o w n e f f o r t s and a suggestion now and then f r o m the parish clergyman, they attempted to prepare themselves f o r licensure. U s u a l l y they hoped, at most, only to digest a system of divinity and to prepare a f e w sermons. Others went to live in the home o f some clergyman, to observe his practice in pastoral duties, and to receive f r o m him a closer supervision o f preparation f o r the pulpit. T h i s custom, like that of graduate study, w a s an E n g l i s h heritage. W h i l e John Cotton w a s still a pastor in E n g l a n d ,

the master

of

E m a n u e l College is said to have recommended that graduates g o to live with him in order to become better fitted f o r public service. 1 Richard B a x t e r ' s high opinion o f this f o r m of tutelage, o f which he himself w a s a product, has already been mentioned. In reality, it w a s a kind of apprenticeship without contract, and w a s doubtless practiced in N e w E n g l a n d f r o m the b e g i n n i n g ; by nature most i n f o r m a l , here as in E n g l a n d , one o f its chief a d v a n t a g e s w a s the privilege of using the minister's library. M u c h o f this casual type of ministerial education continued throughout the eighteenth and into the nineteenth c e n t u r y ; but b y 1 7 5 0 there had appeared a more formalized development o f it, w h i c h gradually g r e w more and more popular. T h i s was the practice of the teaching c l e r g y m a n ' s receiving several students and conducting their training according to a general plan, a practice eventuating

in w h a t

shall here be

k n o w n as " Schools of the P r o p h e t s . " 1 Leonard Bacon, Commemorative Discourse, p. 74. The custom was followed, also, by Anglicans in America. Samuel Johnson instructed at Stratford, Connecticut, a number of students who were preparing for orders.

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The term, " school of the prophets ", seems to have long been used in N e w England, and perhaps in old England as well, to denote an institution whose prime function was the education of the clergy. In 1743 Jonathan Edwards observed of Harvard and Yale that, " It has been common in our public prayers, to call these societies the schools of the prophets " 2—a statement substantiated by President Holyoke's reference to Harvard as a " School of the Prophets " , in his letter vindicating that institution from Whitefield's aspersions. Biblical derivation of the term, as well as its meaning to an Englishman, is disclosed in George Whitefield's encomium on the " New Side " Presbyterian theological school, the " L o g College ", conducted by Rev. William Tennent at Neshaminy, Pennsylvania. The Place, wherein the young Men study now is in Contempt call'd the [Log] College. It is a Log-House, about Twenty Feet long, and near as many broad; and to me it seemed to resemble the Schools of the old Prophets—For that their Habitations were mean, and that they sought not great Things for themselves, is plain from that Passage of Scripture, wherein we are told, that at the Feast of the Sons of the Prophets, one of them put on the Pot, whilst the others went to fetch some Herbs out of the Field. . . . From this despised Place, Seven or Eight worthy Ministers of Jesus have lately been sent forth. 3 In this study, " schools of the prophets " will be used to mean only those private institutions where, in somewhat the same manner as at the " L o g College " , an active pastor received into his home and his study considerable numbers of young men preparing for the ministry. In the day when those institutions flourished, the term was not used so exclusively, though a teacher might be spoken of as an " Elisha among the young prophets " , and his home be called a " Bethel " or a " Gilgal ". Exclusive appropriation of the name here finds justification in 2 E d w a r d s , Works,

I I I , 331.

3 G e o r g e W h i t e f i e l d , A Continuation of the Reverend Mr. Whitefield's Journal from His Embarking after the Embargo, to His Arrival at Salutinoli in Georgia ( 2 n d ed., L o n d o n , 1740), p. 44.

THE

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OF T H E

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IO3

that, when the schools came into prominence, colleges were already beginning to pass over from theological to secular interests, though there were as yet no established foundations for professional training in theology. The homes of the teaching clergy, immediately prior to the opening of theological seminaries, became in a very real sense the " schools of the prophets ". These informal institutions first appeared in the years immediately following the mid-century revival and seem to have arisen in response to the demand for a new type of theological education. The most prominent teachers were all of the New Divinity, and there is little doubt that revivalistic zeal was responsible for the origin and to a large extent for the continuation of these schools. It is true, however, that whereas formerly a college education was supposed to fit one for the pulpit, the drift of the college course toward secular studies, in the latter half of the century, served to emphasize the need for extra-college training, and thus contributed to their development. The spontaneous origin of the schools can, perhaps, best be shown by illustration. During and following the excitement attendant upon the Great Awakening, largely because of the increasing prominence of certain pastors unconnected with colleges, as well as because of antipathy on the part of Harvard and Yale toward the revival movement, there seemed to arise among those aspiring to the ministry an eagerness to sit at the feet of the great revival preachers, and to learn the secrets of their stirring success. Sometimes students were attracted by hearing the great divine, sometimes by reading his sermons, and sometimes by reports of his triumphs. Among the first to seek such special training was the youthful Joseph Bellamy, just graduated from Yale, who, soon after the revival at Northampton, went there to study with its distinguished inaugurator, Jonathan Edwards. 4 In similar mood, Samuel Hopkins, at the 4 Joseph Bellamy, The Works of Joseph Bellamy... with a Memoir of His Life and Character (2 vols., Boston, 1853), I, viii ; Dictionary of American Biography, II, 165.

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beginning of the Great Awakening, while still a Yale undergraduate, perceived that tutelage other than that available at college would be necessary for the ministerial success to which he aspired. His eager spirit was kindled when he heard Gilbert Tennent, the flaming brand from New Jersey, preach in New Haven, and he determined that, wherever he had to go to seek him, Tennent should be his preceptor. Shortly thereafter, however, he heard the great Edwards, and: Though I did not then obtain any personal acquaintance with him any farther than by hearing him preach: yet I conceived such an esteem of him, and was so pleased with his preaching, that I altered my former determination with respect to Mr. Tennent, and concluded to go and live with Mr. Edwards, as soon as I should have opportunity, though he lived about eighty miles from my father's house.5 The following December he did go, unknown and unannounced, and was received. H e remained a few months, then went away, and was licensed to preach ; but still not satisfied, he returned shortly afterward to Northampton for further study. The matter-of-fact and casual way in which students cast themselves upon the good graces of prominent clerymen is quite in keeping with the theory that taking instruction from pastors in service was part of an accepted tradition; and, although no school developed under Edwards, the student's increasing desire to acquire skills not learned in college is indicative of a need that came to be supplied in the latter half of the century. T h e new development arose at last, because the clergymen most frequently sought found themselves instructing groups instead of individuals. F o r example, Nathanael Emmons, who taught the greatest number, never intended becoming an instructor in divinity ; in his old age he remarked to a former student, " I verily thought, when you asked me to 5 Samuel Hopkins, Sketches of the Life of the Late Rev. Samuel . . . Stephen West, pub. (Hartford, 1805), p. 38.

Hopkins

THE

SCHOOLS

OF T H E

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IO5 6

take you as a pupil, that you were bereft of your wit." However, the first applicant asked to stay only a few weeks, which he was permitted to do ; soon came another for a few months ; and so it went for fifty years, until Emmons had taught nearly ninety pupils—and had declined to take many others.7 Under such circumstances, the teachers came to give more or less formal training, going beyond the simple requirements for licensure ; and it proved not unusual, as in the case of Hopkins, for students to continue these studies even after being licensed. It should not, however, be assumed that training thus spoken of as more formal was comparable to that given later by the seminaries, but only, as will be shown, that there was, in its execution, both plan and individual direction. Of prime importance in so intimate a scheme of education were the personal and educational qualifications of the instructors, for some of whom sketches may be drawn suggesting the kind of education they supplied. The first to establish a theological school, and probably most influential of all the theological mentors, was Joseph Bellamy, graduate of Yale, a student, friend, and follower of Jonathan Edwards, and at the height of the revival himself an itinerant minister. When revival enthusiasm waned he returned home, and soon thereafter, though still but a youth, began writing his first notable treatise, True Religion Delineated. This work, for which his recent experiences and his intimate acquaintance with Jonathan Edwards seem to have been of great value, was published in 1750; from that time his abilities as a divine became more prominent, and students began to seek him out in his rural parish at Bethlehem, Connecticut.8 The tall, massive, coarse featured but forceful-visaged man they found there matched the rugged country in his brusque rather than polished 6 P a r k , Memoir of Nathanael Emmons, pp. 216-217. 7 Ibid., p. 216. 8 Noah Benedict, A Sermon Delivered at the Funeral of Reverend Joseph Bellamy ... ( N e w Haven, 1790), p. 34·

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manners—a shortcoming of which he himself was conscious. Opposition on the part of certain members of a New Y o r k City church to his becoming their pastor was, he felt, because " I am not polite enough f o r them! I may possibly do to be minister out in the woods, but am not fit f o r a city." * H i s bearing, however, was arrogant, a trait which his associates apparently accepted with genial generosity. Both friends and enemies agreed that he was of a domineering nature, impatient of resistance or contradiction, and at times (though perhaps less so in maturer years) sharp of tongue, ungracious, and severe; students upon arrival were sometimes so unpleasantly impressed by his abrupt and opinionated attitude that they refused to stay. 1 0 He apparently regarded himself as something of an oracle chosen to declare the way of truth to a procession of eager young divines. Joel Benedict's commonplace book, under a date two years after he had studied theology with Bellamy, records a conversation with his former teacher on the subject of the downfall of Anti-Christ, at the conclusion of which the doctor, thoroughly warmed, delivered himself a f t e r this manner : " ' Tell your children to tell their children, that in the year 1866 something notable will happen in the Church —tell them the old man said so.' " 1 1 Mrs. Stephen West, the w i f e of one of his fellow theological teachers, used to say that it seemed to her he expected to be a martyr and to be burned on Litchfield Hill. 1 2 In regard to Bellamy's educational qualifications as an instructor of prospective clergymen, it has already been pointed out that he was a graduate of Y a l e and had studied theology, at least f o r a time, with Jonathan Edwards. T o this preparatory equipment he continued to add, through a long life of 9 Bellamy, Works, I, xvii. 10 Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit, I, 412; Stiles, Literary Diary, HI, 274· 11 Sprague, op. cit., I, 682. Belief that the end of the world was approaching was not uncommon in eighteenth century religious thought. 12 Ibid., I, 409.

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diligent study. Recognition, if not for learning at least for ecclesiastical leadership, accorded him beyond the confines of his own locality has been noted in connection with his call to a New Y o r k City pulpit, his correspondence with well-known Scottish divines, and his honorary degree from the University o f Aberdeen. Among his own compatriots and personal acquaintances opinion as to his scholastic attainments was not unanimous; in fact, regarding a man like Bellamy who stood out sharply in the serious doctrinal controversies of the day, impartial judgment on any question is difficult to find. Noah Benedict, who preached his funeral sermon, considered him a man of sound knowledge, based upon wide and scholarly study. In Benedict's opinion, Bellamy had, besides a thorough knowledge of divinity, a good general acquaintance with domestic and world affairs, political and moral, was able to converse intelligently on almost any subject, and " like the men of Issachar, understood the times, to know what Israel ought to do.'' 1 3 One of his less learned clerical neighbors was accustomed to say that he could ride down to Mr. Bellamy's any day, and from one conversation with him get more material for use in the pulpit than by studying at home for a fortnight. 1 4 On the other hand, Ezra Stiles, whose views were definitely biased against the New Divinity, but whose judgment on questions of education was probably better, thought Bellamy but a mediocre scholar in the arts and sciences, not extensively read in theology, ecclesiastical history, or the Fathers, though moderately well-versed in didactic divinity, especially the E d wardean doctrines, on which he had spent the last thirty years of his life. 15 Bellamy's biographer considers this opinion unjust, inasmuch as he left an annotated catalogue of his books show13 Noah Benedict, op. cit., 19. 14 Sprague, op. cit., I, 410-411. 15 Stiles, Literary Diary, I I I , 384. Bellamy was mentioned, however, as a possible successor to Naphtali Daggett as professor of divinity at Yale. Needless to say Stiles did not include him among those whose superior qualifications he pointed out. Literary Diary, II, 499-501.

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ing what was for that day an unusually wide range of reading, especially in theology. 1 ® The catalogue referred to has not been found, but if the probate inventory of books he owned at death be taken as a measure of his reading, Stiles was more nearly correct. 17 Undeniably, Bellamy's library was principally made up of works in didactic theology or closely related subjects. Of the one hundred titles which it contained, exclusive of 350 unnamed pamphlets, eighty-two have been identified as sermons or theological treatises, and some of those not identified were obviously of a theological nature. The authors were for the most part Englishmen, or New Englanders, though a few were Scots or Continental Europeans. Of the last named group there were but three : John Calvin, Pierre van Mastricht, 18 and Johann von Mosheim, 19 each included as the author of a compendium of Protestant theology. Among the Scottish writings there were : a group of essays on divinity by William McEwen ( 1 7 3 5 1 7 6 2 ) , a " Secessionist " 20 ; an Arian treatise on the doctrine of the Trinity by James Purves ( 1 7 3 4 - 9 5 ) , a sectary ; a preface to the Westminster Catechism by William Dunlap ( 1 6 9 2 - 1 7 2 0 ) , professor of church history and divinity at Edinburgh ; sermons by Thomas Boston ( 1 6 7 7 - 1 7 3 2 ) , orthodox Calvinist; an essay and a two-volume work on moral philosophy by Francis Hutcheson ( 1 6 9 4 - 1 7 4 6 ) , whose moral sense theory of philosophy was doubtless acceptable enough, but whose leanings toward deism were distinctly shocking to orthodoxy ; and, surprisingly, 16 Bellamy, Works, I, Ivi. 17 Manuscript inventory of Joseph Bellamy's estate (1790), Connecticut State Library, Hartford, Connecticut. It is true, of course, that such a list is not positive proof as to what books Bellamy may have owned in his prime. 18 Pierre van Maestricht (1630-1706) born in Cologne, was an eminent Protestant theologian, successively professor of Theology and Hebrew in the Universities of Frankfort and Utrecht. 19 Su(>ra, p. 89, note 24. 20 A group that, largely for reasons of polity, seceded from the Church of Scotland.

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a standard exposition of Quaker principles by the Scottish Quaker, Robert Barclay (1648-1690), famous for his telling blows at Calvinist theology. Besides these it is interesting to find among the works by Scotsmen an indication of Bellamy's interest in the current growth of a local group of schismatics : there are three titles by John Glas ( 1 6 9 5 - 1 7 7 3 ) , an ecclesiastical independent, and founder of a sect called " Glassites " (better known in New England as " Sandemanians " ) , which, though in polity it resembled independent Puritanism, gave considerable concern through some of its doctrines to Congregationalist Connecticut in the late eighteenth century. 21 Bellamy's concern at the flare-up of this " heresy " within the gates must account for his having these treatises by Glas, as well as Dialogues Between Theron and Aspasio, a defense of Calvinist doctrine by James Hervey, Anglican divine; with Hervey, Bellamy himself, in Theron, Paulinus and Aspasio, took issue on certain points. He possessed also the two-volume answer to Hervey, Letters on Theron and Aspasio, by Robert Sandeman, son-in-law of Glas. A s one might expect, Bellamy's library also contained other English controversial writings. O n the Trinitarian dispute there were : a book of sermons and the first and second " Defense " of orthodox Trinitarianism by Daniel Waterland, as well as a reply to him, probably by Daniel Whitby, Anglican divine of Unitarian inclination. Other literature doubtless intended to arm Bellamy and his students against the rationalists included Joseph Butler's Analogy, and tracts by John Jackson, disciple of Samuel Clarke, and by Thomas Chubb, protagonist of deism. In refutation of ancient atheistic theories there was the century-old The True Intellectual System of the Universe ( 1 6 7 8 ) by Ralph Cudworth, Cambridge Platonist; and on the question of polity, Micajah T o w g o o d ' s classic, Letters of a Dissenting Gentleman. (1746-48). In addition to these, there 21 Williston Walker, " T h e Sandemanians of N e w England," American Historical Association Annual Report ( 1 9 0 1 ) , pp. 131-162.

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were among unidentified items a few whose titles suggest their controversial nature : " Sermons against Popery ", " Existence of the Soul in Intermediate State ", " Scripture Bishop Vindicated ", and " Truth of Scripture History ". Besides treatises representative of particular controversies, this ministerial library also contained, among English theological writings of a general nature, one discourse each by two celebrated seventeenth century Puritan divines : John Owen and Thomas Brooks; one by an Anglican High-Churchman, William Sherlock; and one by " T u c k e r " , (probably Josiah, Anglican and economic liberal). More comprehensive works include a two-volume edition of Isaac Watts' sermons ; two volumes of orthodox statement regarding the nature and design of sacrifices, by Arthur Ashley Sykes, Arian disciple of Samuel Clarke ; John Edwards' Works ; 2 2 and the separate works of two authors whose last names only were given : " Dawes " and " Taylor "—probably Sir William Dawes ( 1 6 7 1 - 1 7 2 4 ) , Archbishop of York, who was esteemed one of the best preachers of his day; and John Taylor ( 1 6 9 4 - 1 7 6 1 ) , a Dissenter in reply to whom Jonathan Edwards wrote his famous dissertation on original sin. Of New England theological writings Bellamy had, besides his own, principally those of writers whose views were in harmony with his, including Thomas Hooker, Stoddard, Edwards, Hopkins, Trumbull, and Whittlesey ; though he also had Moses Hemmenway's " Vindication " (of unregenerate use of the means of grace), written in opposition to the doctrines of Samuel Hopkins. In books that might be regarded as absolutely essential to the teaching clergyman this collection was amazingly limited ; a Bible, Cruden's Concordance, Matthew Poole's " Synopsis " of criticisms by Biblical commentators, a Catechism, a Catechism and Confession of Faith, a hymn book, a Psalm book, and a copy of the Saybrook Platform complete the list. In general 22 Sufra,

pp. 15-16.

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literature it was equally meager. There were four books recognized as college texts; a copy of the Letters of Sir William Temple, seventeenth-century English statesman; a book on natural philosophy by Christian Wolff, the eighteenth century German philosopher and mathematician ; a book on psychology, probably by the same author ; an English edition of the Koran ; a volume of Pufendorf, seventeenth-century historian and publicist; a history of the Council of Trent; and an " Apology of the Synod of Dordrach A library of this scope could hardly be called comprehensive, though the inclusion of books by such distinguished Continental scholars as Wolff and Pufendorf indicates that Bellamy was not uninformed on the leading philosophical opinion of his day. Certainly, however, as Stiles observed, he was extensively read only in didactic divinity. There was nothing of the classics, or of the Fathers, little in ecclesiastical history, little in science, and nothing of contemporary secular literature; of the theological titles almost all were brief works, and with the exception of a few on current controversies, were substantially in harmony with his own theology.24 The collection was not a treasury from which the divinity preceptor or the future divine could gain a broad professional background; but if either fully availed himself of its stores he would not be wholly unacquainted with eighteenth-century religious thought, or, perhaps, less well-instructed than most of his English and Scottish contemporaries. Not as a scholar, however, but as a preacher did Bellamy achieve greatest distinction. Even enemies acknowledged his 23 i. e. The Synod of Dort Church with delegates from Called to decide theological it resulted in victory for the

(1618-19), an assembly of the Dutch Reformed England and Scotland as well as the Continent. differences between Arminians and Calvinisti, latter.

24 The reading of New England clergymen was not, however, necessarily limited to the books in their own libraries. Many of them engaged with others in a continuous process of borrowing and lending.

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25

pulpit power. Endowed with a splendid voice and an impressive platform manner, this somewhat dour man preached, contrary to the wearisome custom of the day, without notes. H i s sermons, of course, were doctrinal, and he marched his arguments to a majestic climax, with a telling application. Ordinarily he paid little attention to language, and his rhetoric was sometimes poor; but when he became kindled with his subject, a native eloquence seemed to hold his audience spellbound. H i s published sermons were widely read; but, according to Benjamin Trumbull, his clerical contemporary, there was nothing in his writings to equal what was to be seen and heard in his preaching. 2 8 Its impression upon at least one of his hearers is thus graphically described: When the law was his theme, Mount-Sinai was all in smoke; the thunder and the lightning issued from his lips, and all was solemn as the grave. . . . With what amazing terror, would he represent the torments of the damned ! And in what lively pictures, lay open the glories of heaven, and paint the joys of the paradise of God ! " There is small wonder that Eleazar Wheelock expressed anxiety lest Bellamy's discourses be too overwhelming and such as " ' might beat down and discourage God's children.' " 28 Trained under the influence and instruction of such a man, whose lack of social grace was more or less typical of the frontier society of which he was a part, whose intellectual acumen was pronounced even while somewhat restricted f r o m 25 Bellamy, Works, I, lix-lxiv; Stiles, Literary Diary, III, 384. Bellamy, himself, was assured of his skill ; when he declined a New York pulpit, he recommended Jonathan Edwards for the appointment, adding that while Edwards was " not so florid a preacher " as himself, he was by many esteemed the best preacher in America. Works, I, xxiii. 26 Trumbull, A Compiete History of Connecticut . . . , II, 159; William Cothren, History of Ancient Woodbury, Connecticut... (3 vols., Waterbury, 1854-79), I, 251. 27 Noah Benedict, Sermon, 28 Bellamy, Works,

I, lxi.

p. 20.

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lack of enriching literary contacts, and whose power as a preacher was recognized at home and abroad, numbers o f Congregational clergymen went into the pulpit, and some became themselves distinguished heads of theological schools. Through these latter, Joseph Bellamy became the progenitor o f theological instructors unto the third and fourth generation." Following, as o f the first and second tutorial generations in the train of Bellamy, came a succession of teachers almost as renowned as himself among the Congregationalists o f New England. Their training and experience were much the same as his, though some distinguishing features may serve to suggest the special characters of their tuition. John Smalley,* 0 among the earliest to emulate his preceptor in the teaching o f young divines, did not learn from him the secret of success in the pulpit, for Smalley was not a popular preacher. Having in childhood heard Whitefield, he came to regard that pattern of preaching as too emotional, and himself went to the opposite extreme, reading his sermons in an awkward and unattractive manner, closely following his notes, and scorning the ancient arts of oratory. However, his sermons are said to have been doctrinal, convincing, and so adapted to the humblest hearer that despite his tediousness, his congregation remained loyal. This reputation for pastoral success reached such proportions as to draw to his study a great many ministerial students, including Nathanael Emmons, one of the greatest private teachers, and Ebenezer Porter who became the first president of Andover Theological Seminary. It was doubtless with assurance born of the reverence with which he was customarily regarded, 29 F o r example, Bellamy taught Levi Hart, who taught Charles Backus, who taught Alvan Hyde ; Bellamy also taught John Smalley, who was the teacher of Nathanael Emmons. All these continuously instructed groupe of theological students. 30Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit, I, 559-505 ; David N. Camp, History of New Britain, With Sketches of Farmington and Berlin, Connecticut, 1640-1889 ( N e w Britain, 1889), pp. 421-423; Dexter, Biographical Sketches... Annals of Yale, II, 430-434·

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that by stamping upon the meeting-house doorway floor Smalley made known to his congregation the moment of his arrival, so that members of importance might rise and make him their obeisance as he passed down the center aisle on Sabbath mornings. Smalley made no pretensions to high scholarship, though he w a s popularly regarded as an earnest student, and at least one of his treatises, that on " Natural and Moral Inability " is said to have been translated into German and published in Germany. 3 1 A n ardent supporter of the N e w Divinity, he was, nevertheless, apparently little inclined to delve into metaphysical disquisitions, but rather as the books he owned attest, to seek intellectual satisfaction in other fields. Indeed, for a library which must have supplied practically all reading materials to a rural clergyman and a stream o í divinity students, Smalley's amazes by its conspicuous deficiency in theological titles. 32 It was wholly lacking not only in patristic literature, but also in the writings of the R e f o r m e r s and other modern European theologians. It did not even have a copy of the timehonored " systems " of divinity, boasting only that by Samuel Hopkins and one section of a body of divinity by Thomas Stackhouse ( 1 6 7 7 - 1 7 5 2 ) , an Anglican clergyman. Both Smalley and his students must have mined f o r much of their theological knowledge in eighteenth century English and American sermons, including those by such Anglicans as Clarke and Sherlock, a few Dissenters, 33 and several N e w E n g land Congregationalists, most of whom were of the New Divinity. The one important controversy for which he seems to have thought it necessary to stock his library was that with the 31 Dexter, op. cit., II, 432. It was not listed, however, in either Christian Gottlob Kayser, Vollständiges Bücher-Lexikon . . . 1750 . . . IÇI2 (Leipzig, 1912) or Wilhelm Heinsius, Allgemeines Bücher-Lexicon . . . 1700 . . . j8io (Leipzig, 1812). 32 Manuscript inventory of John Smalley's estate State Library, Hartford, Connecticut.

(1820)

33 Dissenters represented did not include Doddridge or Watts.

Connecticut

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deists, though his titles all presented the orthodox view, and included arguments by Samuel Clarke, John Leland, Soame Jenyns, Bishop Berkeley, Hugh Farmer, William Paley, and David Levi. 34 The only other item in the library identified as dealing with one of the major controversies was Samuel Clarke's unorthodox treatise on the Trinity. In view of Smalley's one-sided array of authors against the deists, one can only wonder at his temerity in not supplying his students with an answer to Clarke, especially since the Unitarian movement in N e w England was taking its first bold steps while his teaching was in its prime. Limited as such a store of theological learning may seem, aids to study of the Bible were even more obviously lacking : there were two Bibles and a concordance! Even Bellamy's library had been more completely furnished in these essentials. Y e t this country parson was no uninstructed bigot. If he did not drill his students in systems of divinity, steep them in theological lore, or train them in Biblical exegesis, perhaps his acquaintance with classical and modern literature and his interest in the world outside may have given them a breadth of view unusual for the average preacher, and not without value in a divine serving the early republic. A m o n g the secular titles on Smalley's shelves one might find two volumes of Pliny, Plutarch's Parallel Lives, seven volumes of Shakespeare, Pilgrim's Progress, Paradise Lost, Locke's Essays, Charles Rollings Traités des études,85 Francis Hutcheson's System of Moral Philosophy, Lawrence Echard's ecclesiastical history ( 1 7 0 2 ) , Hume's history of England, and eight volumes of the Spectator and three of the Rambler. The presence of Scottish Doctor William Buchan's Domestic Medicine; or the Family 34 It is true, however, that because of the nature of his arguments Clarke has been called a Christian-deist. Levi (1740-1790) w a s a London Jewish tradesman and scholar who wrote in defense of the Old Testament. 35 B y Charles Rollin, well-known French writer of ancient history, and author of Traité des etudes (1726-31), a four volume work presenting modern theories of education.

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Physician ( 1 7 6 9 ) and of English Doctor John Huxham's Essay on Fevers ( 1 7 5 5 ) indicates either Smalley's interest in medicine, or his possible efforts to meet extra-clerical responsibilities. Nathanael Emmons of Franklin, Massachusetts, was, however, by far the most notable of all Bellamy's successors in the work of making ministers." Graduate of Yale in 1769, and student of theology under the instruction, successively, of Nathan Strong and John Smalley, Emmons continued to augment his education, contentedly reading and thinking from ten to sixteen hours a day, throughout his seventy-eight years of ministerial life. His powers of concentration, apparently, were most unusual, and extraordinary mental disciplines which he imposed upon himself must have been somewhat awe-inspiring to students in whom he sought to inculcate them, and to whom he often said : " Give me the man in any profession, who can look half an hour at the point of a needle, without moving a muscie; for such obstacles as do not vanish before him he will surmount, and will in the end be successful." iT As for himself, he sat in one spot in his study for so many years that his feet wore holes in the floor—and also in the wainscot! Visitors who found him there, behind a door securely bolted against intrusion, adorned with a wig and clad in quaint knee breeches long after they were out of style, dispatched their errands promptly, for, outside appointed hours, this pastor and teacher was not averse to making known his desire to be left 36 A. R. Baker, " Memoir of Rev. Nathanael Emmons," American Quarterly Register, X V , 113-130; Blake, A Centurial History of Mendon Association of Congregational Ministers..., pp. 109-117; A History of the Town of Franklin, Mass. (Franklin, Mass., 1879), pp. 84-85; Dexter, Biographical Sketches... Annals of Yale, I I I , 216-230; Dictionary of American Biography, V I , 150-151; P a r k , Memoir of Nathanael Emmons, passim; Sprague, op. cit., I, 693-706. 37 Baker, op. cit., pp. 124-125.

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alone with his studies. Though he was not curt or forbidding in manner, his function was not that of talkative neighbor, but of student, mentor, and spiritual guide. W h e n he entered the ministry he determined that no secular pursuits should deflect him from his calling; consequently, he refused to perform the slightest manual labor, or even to superintend his own business affairs, knowing so little of his own possessions that he once rode all the w a y home from Boston on another man's horse. I f he needed a house and farm, friends were engaged to purchase it; did the house need repair, others were engaged to attend to that, and though he passed it every day, he never went inside until it was finished. He would not even interest himself in protecting his property, refusing so much as to replace the fence bars that would keep the cattle from his crops, or to lend a hand to save the season's hay from an approaching storm. 38 The studies which so engrossed Emmons' time were comprehensive in scope. Unexpected liberality is revealed in his regret that the clergy in general had disregarded broad learning and confined themselves to acquaintance with a limited sphere of divinity, many preachers reading only the sentiments of their own sect, and vainly imagining that all were heretics who did not subscribe to their contracted creed. That mistake he determined to avoid through extensive study of divinity and profitable acquaintance with prevailing " errors and delusions." Moreover, he quite early reached the conclusion that proper understanding of natural and revealed religion was contingent upon knowledge of such secular subjects as history, ethics, metaphysics, and civil polity, which he promptly set out to acquire. A n illuminating revelation as to possible uses of such learning appears in the fact that before writing his sermons 011 the law of Paradise, he studied the whole of Blackstone's Commentaries. Beauty of style, charming descriptions, and timely opinions on morals he gleaned from novels; but for improving the art of preaching he found nothing so valuable as tragedies, 38 Park, op. cit., 57-60.

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which led gradually to a grand catastrophe. S e r m o n s he read, o f course, ancient ones, as he said, f o r g o o d ideas poorly expressed, and modern ones f o r construction and style. Such a p r o g r a m required books, and the diligent and studious E m m o n s , realizing that ideals f o r his o w n as well as his students' professional development would be in vain without them, lost no opportunity f o r a d d i n g to his store. In this he w a s more fortunate than most o f his contemporaries,

prin-

cipally because he w a s able to keep in his house both the parish library belonging to his congregation, and the F r a n k l i n t o w n library which was the g i f t of B e n j a m i n F r a n k l i n to the village bearing his name.

The

first

of

these, one

is surprised

to

discover, seems to have been made up chiefly of history, travel, and the political, economic, and social treatises characteristic o f the eighteenth century, with only a sprinkling o f theological authors including those of both N e w and old England.

The

g i f t of Franklin on the contrary w a s constituted almost wholly of the w o r k s of English theologians : A n g l i c a n s and Dissenters, orthodox and unorthodox. Besides these E m m o n s had a personal library composed of a f e w aids to the study o f Scripture ; a number of philosophical treatises, including those of

Cud-

w o r t h and the eighteenth century Scottish philosophers ; and the theological w o r k s of Calvin, and of E n g l i s h and A m e r i c a n theologians. 3 9 E m m o n s ' explanation of his plan f o r choosing and securing additional books is instructive not only as to his perseverance but also as to his philosophy of clerical education : " I resolved to divide and appropriate my time to the various branches of knowledge which I meant to pursue, and to furnish myself with a good collection of books. These I spared no pains nor expense to obtain. I examined the libraries of my brethren in the ministry. I searched the old books which I found among my people. I kept my eye upon the catalogues of the booksellers ; and among the great variety of authors which I found upon differ3 9 Ibid.,

pp. 68-70.

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erct subjects, I made it a rule to select the best and the worst ; that is to say, those who had written most ingeniously in favor of the truth, and against it. I meant to read upon both sides of disputed subjects, and wished to obtain those authors on both sides, who exhibited the most light. Though I was not able to purchase many books at a time, yet I constantly made additions to my collection, by buying and exchanging authors so that I rarely failed of procuring any book which I felt a strong inclination to read. Providence often smiled upon me. . . . By these means I generally had a supply of all those kinds of books which were necessary and useful to a divine; and I never wished for others, because I meant to confine my studies to my own profession, and not waste time in acquiring mere speculative knowledge." 40 The plan of study indicated here Emmons conscientiously carried out, if one may judge from references found in his Works,*1 and from comments made by his biographer. In the former, as might perhaps be expected, references occur f a r more frequently to those whom Emmons considered in error than to those with whom he agreed. Among the contenders for rationalism, he referred to Lord Herbert 4 2 of Cherbury, author of De Veritate ( 1 6 2 4 ) which was really the beginning of the deistic controversy, Hume, 43 Tindal, 44 Gibbon,45 Priestley, 46 Bishop Hoadley, 47 Chubb, 48 Bolingbroke, 49 Shaftesbury, 50 and Voltaire. 51 Against the widely accepted utilitarian philosophy also he aimed some of his sharpest barbs, singling out for special attention in this regard Bishop John Law, William 40 Ibid., 67-68. 41 Nathanael Emmons, The Works of S'athanael Emmons... with Memoir of His Life . . . , Jacob Ide, ed. (6 vols., Boston, 1860-1863).

a

42 Ibid., II, 122, III, 456, IV, 43743 Ibid., II, 5-7, 122.

44 Ibid., II, 123, III, 565.

45 Ibid., II, 122.

46 Ibid., II, 108-109.

47 Ibid., IV, 436. Hoadley was famous for his part in the Bangorian Controversy which led to silencing the Convocation. 48 Ibid., VI, 368.

49 ibid., II, 122.

50 Ibid., II, 122.

51 Ibid., II, 45, 219.

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Paley, David Hume, and William Godwin.' 2 It is quite in keeping with his arch-Calvinism to discover that he devoted special attention to heresies regarding the terms of salvation and the intermediate state of the soul. On one or both of these questions he challenged the views of Locke, 53 Price," John Law, 5 5 Samuel Johnson, 54 the lexicographer, and Relly," father of the Murray Universalists then causing considerable alarm within New England Congregationalism. There were some authors, however, on whom Emmons could rely for support, and whom he could cite as great and useful divines. These included Richard Baxter, Philip Doddridge, and Jonathan Edwards. 58 Besides an acquaintance with these representatives of theological opinion, Emmons' biographer notes his careful study of many others including Daniel Waterland and Bishop Bull both celebrated as defenders of the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity, Richard Hooker, author of The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, Samuel Clarke, Bishop Burnet, Charles Leslie, Bishop Watson, and the following whom he considered primarily propagators of error: Daniel Whitby,5® John Taylor, 60 Joseph Priestley, Edward Gibbon, William Warburton, famous chiefly for his defense of the Old Testament, but from whose pen not even the orthodox were safe, and Charles Chauncy, Boston liberal."1 52 Ibid., II, 204-213. In his attitude toward utilitarianism Emmons was at variance with such of his fellow divines as the younger Jonathan Edwards, Timothy Dwight, and Asa Burton, Park, op. cit., p. 373. 53 Emmons, op. cit., I, 41, III, 730.

54 Ibid., I, 41.

55 Ibid., III, 730.

56 Ibid., III, 733·

57 Ibid., III, 772-777, 789, 799·

58 Ibid., I, 78.

59 Supra, pp. 94-95.

60 Supra, p. 110.

61 Park, op. cit., p. 69. Edwards Amasa Park (1808-1900), the biographer of Emmons and of Samuel Hopkins, occupies an interesting position as the last notable exponent of the " New England Theology ". Abbott Professor of Christian Theology at Andover (1847-81), he was the bearer of the old tradition not only in doctrine but in philosophy of teaching. With him the

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Emmons apparently had considerable knowledge also of literature other than strictly theological, as in his acquaintance with the works of Shakespeare; S i r Isaac Newton; George Berkeley, philosopher, and Bishop of Cloyne; François Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambrai, and writer on many subjects, including theology and pulpit eloquence ; and Adam Smith, economist." Acquaintance with such a range of reading matter is not proof of comprehensive scholarship; most of it was obviously acquired f o r purposes of controversy. It does, however, indicate a disposition and ability to examine from different points of view issues most pertinent to the clerical profession—issues, it should be added, that were by no means confined to churchmen but occupied also some of the best non-clerical minds of the day. Even though Emmons' reading included little that was not of his own century, and was lacking in the philosophy of preceding ages, it was not narrow or sectarian. Clergymen whom he trained would not have a wholly New England point of view, but would have been introduced at least to some of the more significant British lay and clerical thinkers of the time. If they were fired with zeal for the defense of particular views it would not be in entire ignorance of others. Emmons himself labored vigorously in the pulpit and with the pen both on behalf of certain refinements of Calvinist doctrine which he had evolved, and against eighteenth century rationalism, lamenting in 1 7 9 5 that a " ' loose and Infidel spirit prevails more or less everywhere ' " and that what ministers said tended to be disbelieved per se.*3 His knowledge of rationalist writings he apparently turned to good account in dealing with this situation. Gardiner Spring, of New Y o r k City, declared : pattern and design of ministerial training herein described may be said to have finally passed away.

62 Ibid., p. 69. 63 Ibid., p. 362.

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" I am more indebted to his writings, and those of Bishop Butler, than to any other men. I know of no such refutations of Arminian, Socinian, and Universalist errors, as I find in the published works of Dr. Emmons." 84 A s a preacher, however, E m m o n s did not compare favorably with some of his more dramatic contemporaries; his appeal seems to have been rather in substance than in stirring presentation. A s he appeared in his simple painted pulpit Sabbath a f t e r Sabbath f o r fifty years, the pine p l a t f o r m upon which he stood came, like his study, to show the size and imprint of his feet, f o r he never changed his position. H e read his sermons in a low monotone f r o m a manuscript held closely before his face, but his arguments seem to have been convincing, and when he laid away his notes and pushed back his spectacles, his extemporaneous application is said to have been vigorous and compelling. A measure, perhaps, of the success of his preaching is the fact that during his pastorate there were f o u r great revivals in his church. E m m o n s ' f a m e as an ecclesiastic of sound doctrine and a man of solid judgment spread abroad into other states, causing him to be much in demand for church councils and ordinations; in that age of poor communications and few outside contacts he received seventy-five calls to attend ordinations in six different states. Such distinction could not fail to draw the scores of y o u t h f u l ministerial aspirants w h o came seeking wisdom at the lips of the " Sage of Franklin " ; nor, as their testimonies bear witness, were they disappointed in the manner of man they found. 6 5 It seemed to them, as Levi H a r t once said in urging a student to apply f o r instruction f r o m this eminent divine, that he knew " ' every rope in the ship.' " ββ Moreover, he was sensitive to the principal concerns of his social order, and not as some might suppose a solitary metabilbid.,

p. 202.

65/bid., pp. 220-221. 66 Ibid., p. i i 6 .

THE

SCHOOLS

OF

THE

PROPHETS

I23

physician spending his days in the dull rattling of dry bones. His biographer points out the error of those who, forgetting his vigorous intellect and the core o f his creed, imagine, that his quiet studious life was one o f tedious and dreary monotony. He was always amid stirring scenes; for he saw angels encamping on the plains of Franklin, and hourly ascending and descending to or from the skies. Was an infant born in the still parish? This was not a mere terrene occurrence. . . . Did a good man die in the quiet town? . . . This intellectual pastor feft no drowsiness amid the tranquil valley through which he rode, for he was in a daily contest with principalities and powers of wickedness.®7 Joseph Bellamy, John Smalley, and Nathanael Emmons were typical o f the heads of the private theological schools, but there were other instructors of importance. There was the celebrated theologian Samuel Hopkins, theologically trained by the elder Edwards, and himself significant as a teacher, not from numbers taught but from the eminence achieved by some of his students, among them the younger Jonathan Edwards and Samuel Spring.®8 There was also the well-known instructor Levi Hart, Bellamy's son-in-law and former student, who as a zealous defender of the New Divinity, was an extremely popular teacher of the rising clergy of that persuasion." One of 67 Ibid.. pp. 1 1 2 - 1 1 3 . 68 Allen, American Biographical and Historical Dictionary, pp. 467-470; Dictionary of American Biography, I X , 2 1 7 - 2 1 8 ; Sprague, op. cit., I, 428436; Ashbel Green, Life of Ashbel Green, Joseph H. Jones, ed. ( N e w York, 1849), pp. 239-240; Williston Walker, Ten New England Leaders (New York, 1901), chapter viii ; Hopkins, Sketches of the Life of The Late Rev. Samtiel Hopkins ; Park, Memoir of... Samuel Hopkins (2nd ed., Boston, 1854). Hopkins was the author of a two volume " S y s t e m of Divinity" but he was a poor preacher, which may or may not account for the fact that few students seem to have sought his instruction. 69 Allen, American Biographical and Historical Dictionary, p. 442; Joel Benedict, . . . Sermon Delivered at the Funeral of Levi Hart, D.D. (Norwich, 1 8 0 9 ) ; Dexter, Biographical Sketches... Annals of Yale, II, 658-661; Sprague, op. cit., I, 590-594; "Obituary," The Patwplist, I V , 287-288.

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his pupils, Charles Backus, achieved a distinction perhaps greater than his own, for Backus was offered the chair of divinity in both Dartmouth and Yale colleges, and numbered among his former theological students Leonard Woods, professor of theology at Andover; Alvan Hyde, another prominent private teacher of theology; Zephaniah Swift Moore, president successively of Williams and Amherst colleges; and Henry Davis, president first of Middlebury, then of Hamilton College.70 Another of Hart's pupils, much sought for theological instruction, was the plain-spoken, metaphysically minded Asa Burton, who apparently felt little if any limitation from the meagerness of his six-foot shelf of books, since he preferred to discover truth through meditation rather than reading. He is said to have spent three months in study upon the three words : free moral agency.''1 One of the most interesting and colorful of all the theological teachers was Stephen West, short but erect and a little vain, who, though he wore no wig and had his hair cut in uncomely " roundhead " style, never condescended to the leveling pantaloon, but so long as he lived (1819) appeared in his threecornered beaver hat, well polished shoes with silver buckles, and black silk hose displaying a handsome calf and ankle. He was not a man of great learning though he published several widely-read theological treatises. His preaching, however, was compelling in its warnings of wrath and he himself was regarded by his congregation as " standing in the gap and keeping off the judgments of God." " Among distinguished students who sought instruction from this frontier evangelist 70 Allen, op. cit., pp. 60-61; Dexter, op. cit., III, 310-316; S prague, op. cit., I I , 61-68; " R e v i e w s , " The Panoplist,

I V , 321.

71 Thomas Adams, " Memoirs of Rev. Asa Burton, D.D., Thetford, Vt. p " American

Quarterly Register, X , 331-341 ; Dictionary

of American

Biography,

III, 340-341 ; Sprague, op. cit., II, 140-147. 73 T i m o t h y W o o d b r i d g e , The Autobiography of a Blind Minister Including Sketches of the Men and Events of His Time ( B o s t o n , 1856), p. 31.

THE

S C H O O L S OF T H E

PROPHETS

125

were President Kirkland of Harvard, A l v a n Hyde, Samuel Spring, and Jacob Catlin." A n instructor especially interesting to students of Congregational history was the younger Jonathan Edwards, not because of numbers taught, for they were few, but rather because of his father's distinction, his own contributions to New E n g land Theology, and the eminence achieved by his students. A m o n g them were his nephew Timothy D w i g h t ; Samuel Austin, theological teacher and president of the University of V e r m o n t ; Edward Dorr Griffin, successively professor of pulpit eloquence in Andover Theological Seminary and president of Williams College; Samuel Nott, widely known teacher and preacher; and Jedidiah Morse, clergyman and author of the American GeographyJ* Marking the transition to a more formal preparation for the pulpit was the private theological school maintained by Asahel Hooker, at Goshen, Connecticut, for a few years prior to the establishment of Andover Theological Seminary. It was begun at the solicitation of his fellow clergymen in Connecticut, who after the death of Charles Backus in 1805, felt seriously the need of a theological school to train ministers in their particular way. Emmons was still active in Massachusetts, and D w i g h t was instructing a number at Y a l e ; but the latter's college duties engrossed so much of his time that he could not adequately meet the demand. Every one seemed to think Hooker the most suitable person to take up the labors of the departed 73 Allen, op. cit., p. 765 ; Dexter, op. cit., II, 388-394 ; R . D. Smith, Sketches of Yale Graduates, M S . Yale University L i b r a r y ; S prague, op. cit., I, 548-536; C a t h e r i n e M . S e d g w i c k , The Life and Letters of Catherine M. Sedgwick, M a r y T . Dewey, ed. ( N e w York, 1871), pp. 60-64; T i m o t h y W o o d b r i d g e , op. cit., pp. 28-32. 74 Dictionary of American Biography, V I , 37-38; J o n a t h a n E d w a r d s , The Works of Jonathan Edwards, D.D., Late President of Union College, w i t h a Memoir of His Life and Character by T r y o n E d w a r d s (2 vols., Boston,

1842), I, i x - x i ; " M e m o i r of Rev. Jonathan Edwards, D.D., President of U n i o n College," American Quarterly Register, V I I I , 289-298; P a r k , Memoir of ...Samuel Hopkins, 58-59; S p r a g u e , op. cit., I, 653-660.

126

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TRAINING

instructors and he agreed to do so, operating a flourishing school for about five years, until illness forced his withdrawal." By this time, however, the faculty of Andover had provided a more systematic program of theological training for orthodox Congregationalism. These private teachers of theology, and others like them, were responsible for the professional training of most of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Congregational clergy.78 Their personalities, learning, and doctrinal bias were definitely stamped upon the Congregational pulpit of that day. In the main they perpetuated a tradition of which they were a part, devoting themselves primarily to the study and teaching of didactic divinity. Though they were acquainted with current British thought, perhaps they followed too closely Luther's advice that those who study in any art " 'should betake themselves to the reading of some sure and certain sorts of books oftentimes over and over again; for to read many sorts of books produceth more and rather confusion than to learn thereout anything certainly or perfectly, like as those who dwell everywhere and remain certainly in no place, such do dwell nowhere nor are anywhere at home.' " 77 Certainly, some instructors were too poor to own adequate libraries, for the price of books did not, as was suggested, enter " with the price of corn, into the computation of the means of subsistence." 78 Yet many clergymen who lived in rural communities having little direct 75 Dexter, op. cit., IV, 640-643; Arthur Goodenough, The Clergy of Litchfield County ( N e w York, 1909), p. 80; A. G. Hibbard, History of the Town of Goshen, Connecticut... (Hartford, 1897), p. 9 1 ; Sprague, op. cit., II, 316-321. 76 Among other instructors who taught appreciable numbers were Joseph Lathrop, Benjamin Trumbull, Elizur Goodrich, Ephraim Judson, Ebenezer Porter, Nathan Perkins, Jason Haven, Jedidiah Mills, Eleazer Wheelock, and William Robinson. 77 Quoted in Park, Memoir

o f . . . Nathanael

Emmons,

78 Augustus Pope, A Discourse Commemorative of Rev. Zephaniah Willis (Boston, 1847), p. 23.

pp. 65-66.

of the Life and

Ministry

THE

SCHOOLS

OF T H E

PROPHETS

I2J

contact with the outside world were known abroad through publication and correspondence. Many were sufficiently interested in educational progress and achieved sufficient recognition among their New England contemporaries, to be offered, and frequently to fill with credit, positions in higher institutions of learning, varying all the way from member of the board of trustees to president ; their educational status in their own social order was unsurpassed. To evaluate properly their services to eighteenth-century New England Congregationalism it now becomes necessary to examine the content and method of their teaching.

CHAPTER

VII

EDUCATIONAL PROCEDURE IN T H E SCHOOLS OF T H E P R O P H E T S THE length of time devoted to study in the private theological schools was not more fixed apparently than in graduate study at the colleges. There was no contract and no f o r m of graduation. 1 Although individual instructors seem to have had what they regarded as a more or less fixed course of theological instruction, the question of how much of that course he should take rested entirely with the inclination or convenience of the student. H e might, in rare cases, remain to continue his reading and study under the counsel of his teacher, even a f t e r he had completed a " system of divinity " and such other instruction as constituted the usual course, or he might stay only a f e w weeks or months altogether, sipping but scantily f r o m the fountain of professional knowledge. A few instances will serve to illustrate the common practice. When Samuel Hopkins first arrived at Northampton, in December, 1 7 4 1 , intending to study with Jonathan E d w a r d s , the latter was absent on a preaching tour, as he continued to be periodically, until the end of March when Hopkins returned home and secured a license to preach. Not regarding his training as adequate, however, he went back to Northampton, as previously noted, f o r three additional months of study. Still not satisfied, he returned in M a y of the following year to spend the summer, but, this time, illness interrupted his plans. Altogether, he had spent a little more than eight months under the guidance of his instructor. 2 Similar instances may be cited from among the students of Joseph Bellamy. J o h n Smalley was graduated at Y a l e in September, 1 7 5 6 , and began, immediately 1 In some instances, apprentice teaching in the professions of law and medicine was under a more or less loosely defined contract. 2 Parle, Memoir of... 128

Samuel Hopkins, pp. 23-24.

TEACHING

I29

METHODS

afterward, to study theology with Bellamy; in November, 1757, he was licensed to preach, and ordained in 1758. 3 T h i s would indicate that he studied theology not more than fourteen months, and it is not certain that all of his study was under supervision; he might, according to the practice of the day, have read independently a large part of that time. 4 Levi Hart studied with Bellamy from October, 1760, to May, 1761, " when he completed the required course." In those seven months, moreover, he had an illness, and the school was interrupted by an epidemic of smallpox." Some, however, spent a longer time, and many went from one instructor to another. Samuel Spring devoted three full years to the study of divinity,® partly under President Witherspoon at Princeton, and partly in New England under Bellamy, Hopkins, and West. 7 Current opinion as to the time requisite for ministerial preparation may be surmised from the following quotation from The Panoplist, referring to David Tappan, afterward professor of divinity at Harvard. Though very young, he could not himself, unprepared, into the sacred University [Harvard] he assiduously two years, to the study of divinity, employed in teaching a school.8

be charged with intruding office. For, after leaving the devoted his mind, more than though he was occasionally

The weight of evidence is in accord with this statement and that of Nahum Gale, biographer of Bennet Tyler, that the 3 Sprague, op. cit., I, 560. 4 Leonard Woods studied for three months under Backus' instruction, and then, at home, continued through the remainder of the academic year the studies thus initiated. Walker, Ten New England Leaders, p. 371. 5 Sprague, op. cil., I, 590. 6 Gardiner Spring, Personal Reminiscences of the Life Gardiner Spring (2 vols., N e w York, 1866), I, 21-34.

and Times

of

7 Sprague, op. cit., II, 85. 8 "Sketches of the L i f e and Character of Rev. David Tappan, D.D.," The Panoplist, I, 1.

130

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

usual term of professional study, beyond graduation, was one year.® The mode of instruction varied to some extent with the instructor; but inasmuch as Joseph Bellamy was the first great teacher and the pedagogical progenitor of a succession o f others who followed him in the profession, it is appropriate to examine his procedure in some detail. The core of his plan was to give students, from time to time, lists o f questions on such subjects as these : the existence, attributes, and moral government of God ; our moral agency, and the law under which we are placed ; the sinful state and character of mankind; the need of a divine revelation, and the fact that one has been given; the great doctrines of revelation, especially of the gospel ; the character, offices and work of Christ ; the atonement, and regeneration through the truth, and by the Holy Spirit; justification by faith; the distinguishing nature and fruits of repentance, love, and other Christian graces ; growth in grace ; the perseverance of the saints ; death, the resurrection, and final judgment; heaven and hell; the nature of the church; particular churches, their officers and ordinances ; the nature, uses, and ends of church discipline, etc. 10 On these questions students are said to have been directed to read treatises presenting all shades of opinion, though in view of Bellamy's limited library, such an assignment must have presented practical difficulties. It is probable that most of the unorthodox opinions with which students became acquainted were those which Bellamy himself chose to disclose. Each evening he discussed with them impressions they had received from reading, offering suggestions for solving their problems, propounding others, giving his own opinion, with what he considered a thorough justification, and requiring 9 Bennet Tyler, Lectures (Boston, 1859), p. 23. 10 Bellamy, Works,

I, lvii.

on Theology

with a Memoir

by Nahum Gale

TEACHING

METHODS

131

students to write out conclusions on the subjects under discussion. These themes were examined carefully as to the sufficiency of their arguments; vulnerable points were indicated, objections of outstanding opponents to Congregational orthodoxy were stated and answers regarded as conclusive were given to their contentions. When by this procedure of questions, readings, and discussion, students were well established in systematic theology and had done what Bellamy considered an exhaustive study in some particular field, he had them begin writing sermons, which he criticized and revised. For improving the style and construction of their discourses they were urged to read those of accomplished preachers, some of whose works it will be recalled were on his own shelves.11 This plan of grounding students in systematic or didactic divinity, through a series of questions and answers, prevailed to a greater or less degree among all the theological teachers, being doubtless in most instances a matter of inheritance from teacher to pupil-teacher. For example, Nathanael Emmons at first left his students much to themselves, conversing with them occasionally, and listening to their compositions ; when, however, he came to consider himself an instructor, he adopted a plan similar to that of his own teacher, Smalley,12 who in turn probably copied it from his teacher, Joseph Bellamy. In response to a request from Asahel Hooker at the beginning of his teaching career, Emmons was at some pains to describe his adaptations of this procedure. Like most of his fellows, he believed the first principle to be thoroughness and the mastery of a few fundamental questions before delving into side issues; one of his maxims on study was, " Begin the study of divinity at the root, and not at the branches." n His twenty-six commonly proposed questions were of the same general character as Bellamy's, beginning with On the Being 11 N. Benedict, Sermon, 12 Park, Memoir 13 Ibid., p. 8a.

pp. 34-35; Bellamy, Works,

of Nathanael

Emmons,

p. 217.

I, lvii-lviii.

132

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

and Perfections of God, continuing through fundamental Calvinist tenets, and questions of church polity, to the last topic which was On the Millennium.1* As might be anticipated from the character of Emmons' own reading, authors suggested for studying his questions reflect his acquaintance with recent and contemporary writers, as well as the accessibility of libraries. It seemed to him very important that students read heterodox as well as orthodox writers, not only for the purpose of securing a balanced judgment, but as a sort of inoculation against possible future infection. H e was well aware that even the best minds were not always able alone to detect and refute sophistry; therefore, while he recognized the danger of introducing students to error, it seemed to him wise to have their first playing with fire done under his careful supervision. A few topics selected from his list, with the readings suggested for each, will serve to illustrate his practice : On the Being and Perfections of God, Hume's Dialogues, Clarke, Doddridge; . . . On the Inspiration of the Scripture, Deism Refuted, Doddridge, Paley; . . . On the Trinity, Chubb, Priestley, Lyndsey, Clarke, Gill, Doddridge, Waterland; . . . On the State of Man after the Fall, Edwards, Chauncey, Whitby, Taylor; . . . On the Form of the Christian Church, Hooker, Cambridge Platform." In accord with the prevailing custom, Emmons spent an hour or two each afternoon or evening answering questions and hearing and criticizing student compositions. These occasions the students apparently considered quite formidable and by no means to be taken lightly, for the instructor was free in his criticisms and remarks, and discussions were likely to be both protracted and penetrating. In addition to these regular sessions, Emmons gave special advice on sermon construction, public 14 Ibid., pp. 218-219. Tappan's more general topics were only six in number, supra, pp. 93-95· 15 Park, op. cit., pp. 218-219.

TEACHING

METHODS

I33 speaking, parochial duties, and private conversation, making general recommendations as to subsequent independent reading. 15 Apparently he was particularly interested in, and gave special attention to, matters of style and delivery, vitally influencing methods of sermon construction in N e w England for half a century, notwithstanding the fact that he, himself, as previously noted, made an unattractive pulpit appearance. It was not E m m o n s ' opinion, however, that professional training in theology should include general educational material. Colleges, he thought, should be depended upon f o r supplying all necessary " Biblical " or " classical " information, but the theological knowledge added to it should be strictly practical, as in preparation for the legal and medical professions. O n this point he took definite issue with George Campbell, principal of Marischal College, Aberdeen, who, according to Scottish usage, held that a proper knowledge of divinity was contingent upon and closely allied with sacred history and Biblical philosophy. Emmons, however, like Timothy Dwight, was convinced that valuable as these subjects might be in preliminary studies, and though they might be vitally necessary to an accomplished divine, they were really more ornamental than useful to ministers in general, except perhaps in repelling their learned adversaries. It was his opinion that knowledge of doctrine, or mastery of " systematic divinity ", was the one essential of theological preparation, and that it could be acquired through recognized " systems ", commentaries, and polemical writings, without much critical learning. 1 7 H e was not unaware that many theological educators, other than the Scottish, disagreed with this opinion ; but systematic divinity he felt was the only reliable guide for the propagation of truth and the only invulnerable 16 Ibid., pp. 216-221. 17 Leonard Woods, History of the Andovcr Theological Seminary, pp. 21-22, observed that Emmons' students devoted some attention both t o ecclesiastical history, and to Scripture (as he supposed the New Testament) in the original language and in English. Other evidence of study of these subjects has not been discovered, however.

134

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

error.1®

armor for protection against T o him as to his Puritan forbears the w a y of truth was clearly marked, and it was still the duty of the divine to keep his people in it. The courses given by Bellamy and Emmons were, apparently, the most thorough given in any of the private theological schools, but others followed the same model in greater or less degree. A manuscript copy of A Systematic Collection of Questions and Answers in Divinity,19 made in 1794, by Maltby Gelston while studying theology in New Haven with the younger Jonathan Edwards, shows the catechetical form instruction sometimes took. In this collection there are about five hundred questions and answers covering much the same doctrinal topics as those listed by Bellamy and Emmons, though they seem more pointedly aimed at the rationalist and Unitarian heresies. Some of the answers are briet but others fill four or five pages, so that learning the whole set must have involved considerable exercise of the memory at least. In the manuscript itself there is no indication of readings recommended but other evidence indicates that Gelston's reading in systematic divinity was limited to the Bible, Hopkins, Edwards, and Ridgeley. 20 Programs followed by other instructors, also, seem to have called for acquaintance with very few theological writings. Stephen West's students read Edwards, Hopkins, " and a few other important works such as might be found in the library of a country minister " ; = 1 it was the boast of A s a Burton's biographer that he did not bury his students in the productions of the Dark Ages, nor " deluge " them with periodicals. 22 18 Emmons, Works, I, Sermon x x . 19 Manuscript in Yale University Library. 20 Fosdick Harrison, A Discourse Delivered.. Maltby Gelston ( N e w Haven, 1857), p. 18.

.at the Funeral of

Rev.

21 Woodbridge, Autobiography, p. 30; Sprague, op. cit., 1, 553; Thomas Robbins, Diary 1796-1854, Increase Tarbox, ed. (2 vols., Boston, 1886}, I, 36-40, 58-64. 22 Adams, Memoirs of Asa Burton, p. 332.

TEACHING

METHODS

I35

Aside from thorough discipline in systematic theology, most theological teachers gave little classroom instruction. Rarely were the Scriptures read in the original, there was no careful study of exegesis or linguistics, practically none of church history or the Fathers, and except for casual and infrequent reference to public speaking, which was taught in connection with practice preaching, no other study appears. Even theology, as taught, did not include acquaintance with the history of Christian doctrine as a whole. Besides classroom instruction, however, some schools of divinity arranged for practice in preaching and in pastoral service. Outlying parishes supplied admirable opportunity for the former, which under the observation and criticism of the instructor might become painful though valuable experience, as young Levi H a r t discovered while a student in Bellamy's school. He had made earnest preparation for his first pulpit appearance, and at its conclusion felt well pleased with his performance. As they rode home after the service, he and Bellamy side by side in front, followed by the other students in procession, Bellamy's silence on the subject of the sermon added to Hart's self-satisfaction. They discussed various topics, while those in the rear rode as closely as possible in order to catch the venerable teacher's remarks. At last, when near home, they passed a field of luxuriant buckwheat plants on which there was no grain. " ' H a r t ' ", the doctor called in stentorian tones, " ' you see that buckwheat? There is your sermon.' " 23 Sometimes the prospective clergymen were pressed into service to help gather the harvest incident to a revival, and frequently they were present to observe pastoral procedure on these important occasions. 24 Charles Backus, interestingly enough, found it necessary to give students practical lessons in controlling the emotions of the congregation, and methods of 23 Cothren, History

of Ancient

Woodbury,

24 S. D. Clark, The New England 1877), p. 34-

Ministry

I, 253. Sixty

Years Ago ... (Boston,

136

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

preventing the " enthusiasm " and " wild-fire " prevalent in some churches." At times students were delegated to pray and read at evening meetings, and perhaps to deliver exhortations ; occasionally, on the Sabbath, they were dispatched to remote sections of the parish to conduct meetings and to read sermons." One instructor, to give his teaching a practical turn, assigned each student a portion of the parish where he was expected to attend a religious meeting each week, and to perform customary pastoral duties." Of less definite form than theological instruction and pastoral practice, but nevertheless of importance in forming the young divine, were experiences attendant upon living in the home of the teaching clergyman. Perhaps the most significant of these was contact with the ministerial family, the day-byday intercourse with the minister himself, the kindly attentions of the minister's wife, and association with the sons and daughters. Many students came from simple backwoods homes where social amenities were little stressed, and they must have acquired some of the urbanity necessary in a successful clergyman, even from so gruff a teacher as Joseph Bellamy. One of Asahel Hooker's students recalled that living in the family of that " Elisha among the young prophets ", observing the minister as he went in and out, " how he walked before his flock . . . enjoying his daily conversation, sitting under his ministry, and getting insensibly, as it were, initiated into the duties of the pastoral office, by the light of his example ", was among the chief benefits received there. 28 When Samuel Hopkins went to Northampton it was Sarah Pierrepont Edwards, wife of the great theologian, who received him into the home and welcomed him for the winter. It was she also, apparently, who through comforting him and leading him out of the cloud of religious 25 Sprague, op. cit., II, 63. 26 Tyler, Lectures on Theology, 27 S. D. Clark, op. cit., p. 467. 28 Sprague, op. cit., II, 321.

p. 27.

TEACHING

METHODS

I37

despair which had troubled him had much to do with determining his theological career.2® I t was at this time, that she, always o f somewhat mystic nature, was experiencing those intense religious emotions which a few weeks later resulted in her notable acceptance of the most severe implications o f Calvinist theology. J u s t how much M r s . E d w a r d s ' experience may have influenced Hopkins' later doctrines it is impossible to determine, but certainly there is a striking resemblance between her reflections and the doctrines later formulated by the divine who as a youth spent a N e w E n g l a n d winter at her fireside. S h e undoubtedly made a deep impression on him ; twenty-two years later he spoke o f her with profound regard and a clear recollection of her conversations on " experimental " religion. 3 0 T h e presence o f the E d w a r d s daughters, who, behind Hopkins' back, spoke kindly of him as " Old Sincerity " or " Old Benevolence ", 3 1 seems to have added to the pleasure o f his sojourn in their father's house. E s t h e r Edwards, who became the w i f e o f President Aaron B u r r o f Princeton, Hopkins cherished long as a friend and held in amiable recollection. 3 2 Frequently, such friendships between the student and the minister's daughters, or other young women members o f the household, had even more important results, and the young clergyman found there not only his professional training but also his wife. It was thus that Levi H a r t met and married Bellamy's daughter. In addition to the social aspects o f the student's life in the minister's home, there were also important economic factors, which if they did not directly affect his development, at least 29 Hopkins, Sketches of the Life o f . . . Samuel Hopkins, pp. 40-45. 30 Park, Memoir.. .of Hopkins, pp. 20-23 ; Α. V. G. Allen, Jonathan Edwards (Boston and New York, 1889), pp. 45-47; Samuel Hopkins, The Life and Character of ... Jonathan Edwards... (Northampton, Mass., 1804),

pp. 98-104.

31 A. P. Stokes, Memorials of Eminent Yale Men (New Haven, 1914), I, 31-32. Quoted from Esther Burr's Journal, Dec., 1741. 32 Hopkins, op. cit., p. 93.

138

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

a f f o r d an inferential background to this study. Frequently the minister's w i f e , bearing alone the burden of feeding and clothing a large family on the income of a meager salary and the produce of a small farm, welcomed the student f o r the f e w extra dollars the payment of his board would bring. 3 3 H a v i n g one or a number of additional mouths to feed added, of course, to the burdens of f a r m and household ; and receiving students was sometimes contingent upon the convenience of taking boarders. 34 A colorful account of the difficulties of maintaining a theological school, during her husband's absence in the R e v o lution, has been left by the w i f e of Cotton Mather Smith, who at the time ( 1 7 7 5 ) had in his household five divinity students. Provision was made f o r their instruction during his absence by engaging his friend Joseph Bellamy to live in his house while supervising the students, filling the pulpit, and attending to his pastoral duties. Bellamy brought with him two students of his own so that, besides servants, there were twenty-two members of the household—a number sufficient, in a country disturbed by war, to occasion considerable domestic activity. Mrs. Smith, however, had no time for murmuring. S o greatly did household cares weigh upon her mind that she could scarcely forget them during family prayers. Instead of dutifully sending her supplications to heaven f o r safety of husband and country, she found herself wondering about such earthly affairs as whether the bread had been set to rise, kindling chopped to start the fire f o r the big oven, or some necessary housekeeping detail overlooked. 35 Frequently the minister himself forsook his study f o r the fields. Joseph Bellamy found most of his exercise and recreation in superintending his f a r m ; and even Nathanael E m m o n s , whose determination to ignore mundane a f f a i r s has been 33 Thomas Robbins paid Stephen West sixteen dollars for twelve weeks' board. Diary, I, 64. 34 Robbins, Diary, I, 33. 35 Helen Evertson Smith, Colonial Days and Ways... pp. 226-227.

( N e w York, 1900),

TEACHING

METHODS

I39

noticed, once a year allowed the passion of his farm boyhood to triumph over stern rules. Proud of his speed and dexterity as a reaper, when the grain was ready to harvest, he would challenge a student or a workman to compete with him in the fields, while assembled neighbors watched the fun. His championship for years was undisputed, but one unlucky day he met his match in a brawny divinity student who outstripped him in the race; the discomfited, ruddy-faced, and perspiring theologian thereupon shouldered his sickle and hastily retired to his study, never to be seen again in the reaping field.38 Farm activity for students, however, was not so unusual or spectacular ; they often assisted the master in the fields, presumably crediting their wages toward expenses. Student Thomas Robbins once entered in his diary the laconic remark : " Worked with Dr. West in hay. Tired." " Another, and perhaps more agreeable, method by which a student might earn his way was that of teaching the children of the household, as Nathanael Emmons did while studying with Nathan Strong, 38 and subsequently, in turn, had his own children instructed by Joseph Emerson. 38 This procedure of securing final preparation for the pulpit, within the compass of an active pastor's domestic and parochial environment, and through a more or less formal plan of study, was not without advantages. The teacher was able to give individual guidance, and the parish afforded admirable opportunity for pastoral practice, both of which a greater concentration of students would have made less practicable. The high regard in which this type of training was held, even as late as 1803, is indicated by a letter of advice written by Joseph Buckminster to his son, Joseph Stevens Buckminster, regarding the latter's entrance into the ministry : 36 Park, op. cit., p. 62. 37 Robbins, of. cit., I, 61. 38 Park, op. cit., p. 32. 39 Emerson, Life of Joseph Emerson, p. 64.

I40

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

But if you have thought of beginning to preach any time within these six months, you should resolve to reside with some clergyman whose company, conversation, and ministerial g i f t s would assist and initiate you into some of the more private, as well as public, offices of the profession ; . . . Y o u would come with fairer prospects from under the wing, and with the countenance, of some respectable clergyman, than from your present residence. 40 A f t e r the turn of the century, however, leading C o n g r e g a tionalists began to point out the weakness of such a system. T i m o t h y D w i g h t called attention to the difficulties which faced a teacher trying to give a complete course of professional training, while burdened with the responsibilities of a parish, and the labor of w r i t i n g and preaching t w o sermons a week. U n d e r such circumstances even a competent instructor would find it impossible to teach the most fundamental principles, and many important subjects would have to be taught briefly or not at all. 41 In 1807, The Panoplist

presented the f o l l o w i n g summary

statement of the situation: W i t h respect to the opportunities of preparation for the desk, at present enjoyed, it is well known, that, after the expenses of a public education, the pecuniary circumstances of most candidates will permit but a short time for this purpose ; and this short period, when not passed alone, as it often is, with little or no advice, is commonly spent with some clergyman, whom proximity, economy, or accident may dictate. Happy is it, when the clergyman, thus selected, possesses the talents, leisure, and any considerable part of the books necessary for the direction and instruction of his pupil. But is it not a serious fact, that the preparatory education of many clergymen was itself so narrow, that their libraries are so small, and their avocations so numerous, that it is impracticable for them to afford much assistance to those who may place them40 E l i z a B u c k m i n s t e r Lee, Memoirs of Joseph Buckminster, D.D. and of His Son Rev. Joseph Stevens Buckminster ( B o s t o n , 1849), PP- 135-136. T h e son w a s then t u t o r i n g in the h o m e of a Boston f a m i l y . 41 T . D w i g h t , A Sermon Preached at the Opening Institution in Andover ( B o s t o n , 1808), pp. 11-12.

of The

Theological

TEACHING

METHODS

I4I

selves under their direction? The natural consequence is, that the instructor feeling his pupil a burden, and the pupil remaining a stranger to the extensive walks of sacred literature, and desirous perhaps of proving his talents, a few sermons are written, the pupil commences preacher; and, if he possess popular talents, soon obtains a settlement. Thus are his preparatory studies terminated, and, in many instances, all opportunity of calm, uninterrupted research into the deep things of God. 42 The Panoplist, under the editorship of Jedidiah Morse, was, it is true, bending every effort toward the establishment of a theological seminary; nevertheless, the summary, while it r e f e r s to apprentice clerical training in general, and not specifically to the more efficient schools, does seem to present, on the whole, a fair picture. A system of preparation for the pulpit which had served a vital need in the more or less transitional period of late eighteenth-century clerical education must now give way before new standards. 42 Thoughts on the Panoplist, I I I , 308.

Importance of

a Theological

Institution,"

The

CHAPTER V i l i T H E COMING OF T H E THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY WORTHILY as their system may have served to propagate an educated clergy in a period of educational transition and of theological sectarianism, the first decade of the new century found leaders of both moderate Calvinism and the N e w Divinity alarmed over its weaknesses. The defection of H a r v a r d f r o m Trinitarian Congregationalism through the election of Unitarian Henry W a r e to the Hollis Professorship of Divinity in 1805, the still potent factor of eighteenth-century rationalism, especially in eastern Massachusetts, and the increasing demand f o r more preachers f o r the unsupplied settlements on the frontier brought sharply to focus the immediate need of strengthening the orthodox position through a more numerous and a better prepared ministry. In addition to these incentives there was also the stimulus that the early nineteenth century was bringing to all forms of education. Secularization of the college curriculum has been noted, and this in turn was having its effect upon post-collegiate study : the learned professions were breaking away f r o m the clerical background f r o m which they had stemmed since the Middle Ages, leaving theology as one of several professions, each of which must be trained in its own body of knowledge. N o w that the Unitarians had definitely secured control of Harvard, the other two Congregational groups were left, each staunchly maintaining its own point of view and making plans to establish a school f o r the professional training of its clergy. T h e most active advocate of a school for the E d w a r d e a n group was Samuel Spring of Newburyport, himself much more widely educated than most of his fellow clergymen. 1 W h a t effect his educational experience and acquaintance with President John Witherspoon of Princeton, and with Bellamy, Hopkins and 1 Supra, p. 129. 142

THE

THEOLOGICAL

SEMINARY

I43

W e s t may have had upon his ideas regarding clerical education one m a y only conjecture. H e w a s ably assisted, however, by others, including, notably, the neighboring pastor,

Leonard

W o o d s of N e w b u r y . T o g e t h e r they made plans and received f u n d s f o r the establishment of a seminary which should be placed under the direction of W o o d s . Meanwhile, the moderate Calvinist group, under the leadership of Eliphalet Pearson, recently professor o f H e b r e w and Oriental languages at H a r v a r d , had made plans f o r the establishment of a theological chair in connection with Phillips A c a d e m y at A n d o v e r , Massachusetts. F o r a time it appeared that the t w o Congregational g r o u p s opposed

to the " heresy "

of

eastern

Massachusetts

would

f u r t h e r diminish their strength by setting up schools in opposition to each other. T h e r e were those, however, w h o saw the dangers of continued particularism and believed that unity o f faith had been disturbed largely through lack of u n i f o r m i t y a m o n g tions preparing f o r the ministry. In 1807 The

institu-

Panoplist

ob-

served that : so long, as the clergy of this country were educated at one college, there was very little difference of opinion on religious subjects, and that the churches were almost universally of one denomination ; a sectary was then scarcely known. But during the last half century, in which colleges have been so multiplied in our country, and candidates for the ministry, not, as was the ancient custom, at a public institution, but in private, and under direction of gentlemen of opposite opinions, have made preparation for the desk, errors and sects have been multiplied beyond calculation. 2 Conservative leaders on all sides were beginning to realize that if the more fundamental tenets on which they agreed were to be maintained, minor differences would have to be overlooked. Such counsels prevailed, and the t w o groups united in estab2 " Thoughts on Panoplist, I I I , 314·

the

Importance

of

a

Theological

Institution,"

The

144

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

lishing at Andover a single institution to be under their joint control. 3 In the interest of doctrinal security an oath was required similar to that exacted of Y a l e ' s first professor of divinity. T h e constitution of the new institution provided that every professor should declare that he would maintain and inculcate the Christian faith as summarized in the Westminster Assembly's Shorter Catechism, together with all the other doctrines and duties of our holy religion, so far as may appertain to his office, according to the best light God shall give him, and in opposition, not only to Atheists and Infidels, but to Jews, Mahometans, Arians, Pelagians, Antinomians, Arminians, Socinians, Unitarians, and Universalists, and to all other heresies and errors, ancient or modern, which may be opposed to the gospel of Christ, or hazardous to the souls of men.4 T h e new seminary, it was believed, through an adequate library and a faculty made up of men of reputation who could devote their entire time to study and instruction, would correct critical weaknesses of the former system of clerical education.® W h e n it opened two of the teachers had been appointed : Eliphalet Pearson as Professor of Natural Theology, with the understanding that he should teach Sacred Literature also ; and Leonard W o o d s as Professor of Christian Theology. In 1809, E d w a r d Dorr Griffin was appointed Professor of Pulpit Eloquence; in 1810, Moses Stuart succeeded Pearson in the department of Sacred Literature, and in 1812, Ebenezer Porter succeeded Griffin. N o other appointments were made until 1821. 3 H e n r y K . Rowe, History of Andover Theological Seminary ( N e w t o n , 1933), chapter i ; Leonard Woods, History of the Andover Theological Seminary, pp. 17-131. 4 The Constitution and Associate Statutes of the Theological in Andover ... (Boston, 1808), p. 19.

Seminary

5 Timothy Dwight, A Sermon Preached at the Opening of the Theological Institution in Andover. " T h o u g h t s on the Importance of a Theological Institution," The Panoplist, I I I , 306-316.

THE

THEOLOGICAL

SEMINARY

I45

It was through these men that Congregationalists inaugurated the advance to theological seminary training. Although no effort is made here to trace the development of Andover, it will be instructive to compare their preparation and the ministerial training that they offered with those of their predecessors in the college divinity professorships and in the private theological schools. Their educational preparation was the same as that of those who for half a century had trained the Congregational clergy. Eliphalet Pearson was a graduate of Harvard ( 1 7 7 3 ) , studied theology at Cambridge (though not ordained to the ministry until his appointment to Andover), was a preceptor of Phillips Academy from 1778 to 1786, and professor of Hebrew and Oriental languages at Harvard from 1786 to 1806. Leonard Woods was graduated from Harvard in 1796, studied theology for three months under the direction of Charles Backus, and one winter alone, confining himself in the latter period chiefly to the Bible and a system of divinity. In 1798 he was inducted into the ministry at Newbury, Massachusetts, where he continued to serve until his appointment to Andover. Edward Dorr Griffin was graduated from Yale and studied theology with the younger Jonathan Edwards; from a pastorate in Newark, New Jersey, he was called to Andover. Moses Stuart had more if not better education than the others, for, following his graduation at Yale ( 1 7 9 9 ) , he studied law and was admitted to the bar, studying theology later under the direction of President Dwight.® When his pulpit reputation led to his appointment as professor of Hebrew and Oriental languages at Andover, he knew neither Hebrew nor German, though he later became a scholar in both. Ebenezer Porter, graduate of Dartmouth ( 1 7 9 2 ) , and student of theology under the direction of both Job S w i f t and John Smalley, had, before his appointment as professor of Pulpit Eloquence, already achieved eminence not only as a preacher but as a theological instructor. It was with a training and experience typical of 6 F o r the narrow scope of the training, see above, pp. 89-90.

146

MINISTERIAL

TRAINING

their time, that these clergymen laid the foundation of Congregational seminary education. F r o m the beginning, however, the education offered by the new seminary was, as its founders intended, much broader than that given by the divinity professors or the private teachers. T o enter upon it the student must have a college degree or successfully pass an examination in Latin, Greek, and the sciences ; to complete it he must spend three years, instead of a f e w months or a year. Moreover, where the former system had neither offered nor required anything in linguistics or exegesis, the new institution devoted the first year to sacred literature, including the original languages, exegesis, and the history and authenticity of Scripture. Christian theology, the study of the second year, w a s more similar to the course offered by the earlier teachers ; it was still taught by much the same doctrinal topics and much the same method, with perhaps more time devoted to f o r m a l lectures by the instructor. Class discussions were doubtless more fruitful, since this study followed the course in sacred literature. The third year was devoted to pulpit eloquence, ecclesiastical history, and pastoral duties, in all of which except the last the old system had been almost entirely lacking.' A t last Congregationalists were provided with means necessary to the realization of long-cherished ideals of ministerial training which they had inherited f r o m their English Puritan forbears. F r o m the time of arrival in New England, nearly two centuries before, one of their principal concerns had been the maintenance of a clergy whose learning should be adequate to the proper understanding and presentation of Biblical truth. T o this end colleges had been founded and their activities carefully ordered, especially as regarded the preservation of purity of doctrine. College studies, f r o m the beginning, bore the imprint of medieval tradition that education should be designed Seminary 7 The Constitution and Associate Statutes of the Theological in Andover, passim ; Rowe, op. cit., pp. 40-61; Woods, op. cit., pp. 159-163.

THE

THEOLOGICAL

SEMINARY

I47

to prepare for the clerical office. With the Great Awakening, and the growing turbulence of eighteenth-century thought, however, new demands were made upon ministerial preparation, at the same time that colleges were beginning to devote more of their attention to the needs of secular society. To prepare for meeting changed conditions and to supplement the training received in college, some students remained in residence as graduates, studying under the supervision of the professor of divinity or the college president. Others sought counsel and instruction from regular pastors, some of whose homes came in time to resemble the Biblical " schools of the prophets ". All these, however, were but temporary measures : the stress of regular duties left little time for college officials to devote to graduate instruction; and by the end of the century many of the most notable private teachers had passed from the stage. Recognition of the necessity for a better organized and more permanent plan of clerical education had now resulted in the crowning achievement of the founding of Andover Theological Seminary, an institution devoted solely to the training of an effective ministry.

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15°

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Abiel Holmes, The Life of Ezra Stiles . . . (Boston, 1798). Abiel Holmes and Samuel Webber, . . . Eulogy by Professor Webber, at the Funeral of the Rev. Joseph Willard... with a Sermon the Next Lord's Day by the Rev. Mr. Holmes (Cambridge, 1804). The Holyoke Diaries, 1709-1856, George Francis Dow, ed. (Salem, 1911). Samuel Hopkins, The Life and Character of the Late Reverend Learned and Pious Mr. Jonathan Edwards . . . (Northampton, 1804). , Sketches of the Life of the Late Rev. Samuel Hopkins, D.D Written by Himself. Published by Stephen West (Hartford, 1805). Memoir of Rev. Alvan Hyde, D.D (Boston and Philadelphia, 1835). Samuel Johnson, Samuel Johnson... His Career and Writings, Herbert W . and Carol Schneider, eds. (4 vols., New York, 1929). Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States, John Howard Brown, ed. (7 vols., Boston, 1900-1903). Joseph Lathrop, An Exposition of the Epistle to the Ephesians .. .To Which is prefixed a Memoir of the author by the Rev. William B. Sprague (Philadelphia, 1864). Eliza Buckminster Lee, Memoirs of Rev. Joseph Buckminster, D.D. and of his son Rev. Joseph Stevens Buckminster... (Boston, 1849). David McClure and Elijah Parish, Memoirs of the Rev. Eleaser Wheclock (Newburyport, Mass., 1811). Joseph François Michaud, Biographie Universelle, Ancienne et Moderne (52 vols., and Supplement, Paris, 1811-1855). Kenneth Ballard Murdock, Increase Mather, the Foremost American Puritan (Cambridge, 1925). Samuel Orcutt, History of Torrington, Connecticut... ( Albany, 1878). Edwards A. Park, Memoir of Nathanael Emmons with Sketches of His Friends and Pupils (Boston, 1861). , Memoir of the Life and Character of Samuel Hopkins, D.D. (2nd ed., Boston, 1854). Isaac Parsons, Memoir of the Life and Character of Rev. Joseph Vaili (New York, 1839)· William Patten, Reminiscences of the Late Samuel Hopkins, D.D. (Boston and New York, 1843). Lavalette Perrin, The Life of John Smalley, manuscript, Yale University Library. Augustus R. Pope, A Discourse Commemorative of the Life and Ministry of Reverend Zcphaniah Willis... (Boston, 1847). Thomas Robbins, Diary (1796-1854), Increase Tarbox, ed. (2 vols., Boston, 1886). Edward Robinson, Memoir of the Rev. William Robinson... (privately printed. New Y o r k , 1859). Catherine M. Sedgwick, Life and Letters of Catherine M. Sedgïrick, Mary E. Dewey, ed. ( N e w York, 1871).

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AUTHORITIES

J . H . Allen, A Historical Sketch of the Unitarian Movement Since the Reformation (New York, 1894). Alice M. Baldwin, The New England Clergy and the American Revolution (Durham, N. C., 1928). Mortimer Blake, A Centurial History of the Mendon Association of Congregational Ministers... (Boston, 1853). Silas Leroy Blake, The Separates, or Strict Congregationalists of New England (Boston, 1902).

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George Ν. Boardman, A History of New England Theology ( N e w Y o r k , 1899). The Cambridge History of American Literature (4 vols., New York, 18171923)· Francis Manwaring Caulkins, History of New London, Connecticut, From the First Survey of the Coast in i6u to 1852 (New London, 1852). Frank Samuel Child, The Colonial Parson of New England ( N e w Y o r k , 1896). F. A . Christie, " The Beginnings of Arminianism in New England," American Society of Church History, Papers, 2nd ser., III. Sereno D. Clark, The Neiv England Ministry Sixty Years Ago (Boston, 1877). Sylvanus M. Duvall, The Methodist Episcopal Church and Education up to i86ç (New York, 1928). Frank Hugh Foster, A Gcnetic History of New England Theology (Chicago, 1907). M. Louise Greene, The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut (Boston and New York, 1905). Joseph Haroutunian, Piety versus Moralism. The Passing of the New England Theology (New Y o r k , 1932). Edward F. Humphrey, Nationalism and Religion in America, 1774-1789 (Boston, 1924). Jacob C. Meyer, Church and State in Massachusetts from 1740 to 1833 (Cleveland, 1930). Herbert M. Moráis, Deism in Eighteenth Century America ( N e w Y o r k , 1934)· Herbert L. Osgood, The American Colonies in the Eighteenth Century (4 vols., New York, 1924). John W . Platner, William W . Fenn, et al., The Religious History of New England (Cambridge, 1917). R. J. Purcell, Connecticut in Transition. 1775-18x8 (Washington, 1918). Josiah Quincy, Figures of the Past (Boston, 1883). Herbert W . Schneider, The Puritan Mind (New York, 1930). Joseph Tracy, The Great Awakening—A History of the Revival of Religion in the Time of Edwards and White field (Boston, 1842). Williston Walker, A History of the Congregational Churches in the United States (New York, 1894). , " The Sandemanians of New England," American Historical Association Annual Report (1901), vol. I. In England SOURCES

Joseph Butler, The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed to the Constitution and Course of Nature... (London, 1740). William Paley, The Works of William Paley (5 vols., New Y o r k , 1824).

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Richard Watson, Two Apologies, One for Christianity in a Series of Letters to Edward Gibbon, Esq. The Other for the Bible in Answer to Thomas Paine... (London, 1816). [William Wollaston], The Religion of Nature Delineated (8th ed., London, 1750). SECONDARY

AUTHORITIES

J. H a y Col ligan, Eighteenth Century Nonconformity (London, 1915). John Martin Creed, John Sandwitch Boys-Smith, Religious Thought in the Eighteenth Century Illustrated from Writers of the Period (Cambridge, 1934). William Hutton, The English Church from the Accession of Charles I to the Death of Anne, 1625-1714, W . R. W . Stephens and William Hunt, eds. (London, 1903). Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James II... ( 5 vols., New Y o r k , 1849-71). Shelby Thomas M c C l o y , Gibbons Antagonism to Christianity (London, 1933)· John H . Overton, Life in the English Church, 1660-1714 (London, 1885). John H . Overton and Frederic Relton, The English Church, From the Accession of George I to the End of the Eighteenth Century, W . R. W . Stephens and W i l l i a m Hunt, eds. (London and N e w Y o r k , 1906). George G. Perry, The History of the Church of England from the Death of Elisabeth to the Present Time (3 vols., London, 1861-1864). Preserved Smith, A History of Modern Culture ( 2 vols., New Y o r k , 1930-1934)· Sir Leslie Stephen, History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century (2 vols., New Y o r k , 1876). John Stoughton, Religion in England under Queen Anne atid The Georges, 1702-1800 (2 vols., London, 1878). Norman Sykes, Church and State in England in the XVIIIth Century (Cambridge, 1934)· G. B. Tatham, The Puritans in Power... (Cambridge, 1913). Roland G. Usher, The Reconstruction of the English Church (2 vols., New Y o r k and London, 1910). A r t h u r Whitham, Holy Orders ( N e w Y o r k , 1903). V.

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Constitution and Associate Statutes of the Theological Seminary in Andover (Boston, 1808). Thomas Clap, The Annals or History of Yale-College in New Haven, . . . from the First Founding thereof, in the Year 1700 to the Year 1766: With an Appendix, Containing the Present State of the College, the Method of Instruction and Government... ( N e w Haven, 1766).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I57

, The Religious Constitution of Colleges, Especially of Yale-College in New-Haven ( N e w L o n d o n , 1 7 5 4 ) · P h i l i p D o d d r i d g e , The Correspondence and Diary of Philip Doddridge.. • J . D . H u m p h r e y s , ed. ( 5 vols., L o n d o n , 1829-1831). , A Course of Lectures on the Principal Subjects in Pneumatology, Ethics, and Divinity... (London, 1763). T i m o t h y D w i g h t , Sermons ( 2 vols., N e w H a v e n , 1828). [ J o h n G r a h a m ] , A Letter to a Member of the House of Representatives of the Colony of Connecticut in Vindication of Yale-College... ( Printed, 1759, n. p . ) . W i l l i a m H a r t , A Letter to a Friend Wherein Some Free Thoughts Are Offered on the Subject of the Rev. Mr. Noyes' Proposed Examination by the Corporation of Yale College and Their Erecting a Church within the Same ( N e w H a v e n , 1757). Catalogus Bibliothecae Harvardiana Cantabrigiae Nov.-Anglorum (Bostonae, 1790). Catalogus Librorum Bibliotheca [ H a r v a r d C o l l e g e ] ( B o s t o n , 1723). Harvard College Records, Colonial Society of M a s s a c h u s e t t s Publications, XV, XVI, XXXI. The Laws of Harvard College ( B o s t o n , 1790). E n o s H i t c h c o c k , Memoirs of the Bloomsgrove Family ... Containing Sentiments on a Mode of Domestic Education, Suited to... the United States ( 2 vols., B o s t o n , 1790). W i l l i a m L a u d , The Works o f . . . William Laud... ( 7 vols, in 9, O x f o r d , 1847-1860). W a l t e r Thorn, The History of Aberdeen ( 2 vols., A b e r d e e n , 1811 ; s e p a r a t e p a g i n a t i o n in a p p e n d i x , vol. I I ) . J o h n W h e e l o c k , Sketches of the History of Dartmouth College and Moor's Charity School... ( n . p., 1815). L e o n a r d W o o d s , History of the Andover Theological Seminary (Boston, 1885). Catalogue of Books in the Library of Yale-College, New Haven (New L o n d o n , 1742). ( N e w Haven, 1755). ( N e w H a v e n , 1791). ( N e w H a v e n , 1808). Documentary History of Yale University under the Original Charter of the Collegiate School of Connecticut, 1701-1745, F . B. D e x t e r , ed. ( N e w Haven, 1916). The Laics of Yale-College in New Haven in Connecticut, Enacted by the President and Fellows ( N e w H a v e n , 1774). ( N e w H a v e n , 1787). ( N e w H a v e n , I79S)-

I58

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Henry Adams, " H a r v a r d College, 1786-1787," Historical Essays (New York, 1891). Leonard Bacon, " Commemorative Discourse," A Memorial of the Semicentennial Celebration of the Founding of the Theological Seminary at Andover (Andover, 1859). Ebenezer Baldwin, Annals of Yale College from its Foundation to the Year 1831 ( N e w Haven, 1 8 3 1 ) . Alexander Bower, The History of the University of Edinburgh (Edinburgh, 1817, vols. I, II, 1830, vol. I I I ) . Charles Augustus Briggs, History of the Study of Theology, Emilie Grace Briggs, ed. (2 vols., New York, 1916). John Malcolm Bulloch, A History of the University of Aberdeen, 148,5i8ç$ (London, 1895). James Coutts, A History of the University of Glasgow From its Foundation in 1451 to 1909 (Glasgow, 1909). Franklin B. Dexter, An Historical Study of the Powers and Duties of the Presidency in Yale College (Worcester, 1898). " History of English Dissenting Academies," American Quarterly Register, X I I I , 195-205. George P. Fisher, A Discourse Commemorative of the History of the Church of Christ in Yale College ... ( N e w Haven, 1858). Sir Alexander Grant, The Story of the University of Edinburgh, during its First Three Hundred Years (2 vols., London, 1884). Rashdall Hastings, The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages (2 vols., Oxford, 1895). [James Luce] Kingsley, " A Sketch of the History of Yale College, in Connecticut," American Quarterly Register, vol. V i l i . William C. Lane, ed., " Rebellion of 1766 in Harvard College," Colonial Society of Massachusetts, Publications, vol. X . Samuel Eliot Morison, The Founding of Harvard College (Cambridge, 1935)· , Harvard College in the Seventeenth Century (Cambridge, 1936). , Three Centuries of Harvard (Cambridge, 1936). James Bass Mullinger, The University of Cambridge... (3 vols., Cambridge, 1 8 7 3 - 1 9 1 1 ) . Irene Parker, English Dissenting Academies (Cambridge, 1914). Benjamin Pierce, A History of Harvard University from Its Foundation, in the Year 1636, to the Period of the American Revolution (Cambridge, 1833). Josiah Quincy, The History of Harvard University (2 vols., Cambridge, 1840). Leon Burr Richardson, History of Dartmouth College (2 vols., Hanover, 1932).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I59

Henry Κ . Rowe, History of Andover Theological Seminary (Newton, 1933). George P. Schmidt, The Old Time College President ( N e w York, 1930). Robert Schwickerath, Jesuit Education... (St. Louis, 1903). William O. Shewmaker, The Training of the Protestant Ministry in the United States.... American Society of Church History, Papers, 2nd ser., vol. V I . Baxter Perry Smith, The History of Dartmouth College (Boston, 1878). Louis F. Snow, The College Curriculum in the United States (New Y o r k , 1907).

Theodore D. Woolsey, An Historical Discourse Pronounced before the Graduates of Yale College, August 14, 1850, One Hundred and Fifty Years after the Founding of That Institution ( N e w Haven, 1850). Yale College—A Sketch of Its History..., William L. Kingsley, ed. (2 vols., New York, 1879). Two Centuries of Christian Activity at Yale, James B. Reynolds, et al., eds. (New York and London, 1901). VI.

PERIODICALS AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY

American Historical Association, Annual

Reports

PUBLICATIONS

(Washington, D.

C.,

1889-1931). American Antiquarian Society, Proceedings (vols. 1-8, new series, vols. 1-44, Worcester, Mass.). The American Society of Church History, Papers, 2nd ser. (9 vols., New Y o r k and London, 1906-1933). The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, Publications (25 vols., Boston, 1895-1935)· The Connecticut Magazine (12 vols., Hartford, 1895-1908). Massachusetts Historical Society, Collections (77 vols., Boston, 1792-1927). Massachusetts Historical Society, Proceedings (64 vols., Boston, 18591933)· New Haven Colony Historical Society, Papers (9 vols., New Haven, 18651918). The American Quarterly Register (18 vols., Boston, 1827-1843). The Massachusetts Missionary Magasine (4 vols., Salem or Boston, 18031807). The Panoplist (16 vols., Boston, 1806-1820). The New England Quarterly (vols. 1-6, Baltimore, Portland, 1928-1933).

INDEX Aberdeen, Synod of, 98 Aberdeen, University of, 48, 49,80-82, 97-99. 107, 133 Abernethy, John, 94 Academies, English Dissenting, 51, 80-83 Academy of Philadelphia, 47 Age of Reason (Paine, T h o m a s ) , 41, 63 . Atnerican Geography (Morse, Jedidiah), 125 Ames, William ( Cases of Conscience ; Medulla Theologiae), 26, 27, 58, 71. 73, 76, "7; widow, 27 A m h e r s t College, 124 Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, to the Constitution and Course of Nature, The (Butler, J o s e p h ) , 39, 109 Andover Theological Seminary, 36, 90, 93, 1 1 3 , 124-126, 144-147 Andrewes, Launcelot, 16 Anglicans, 16, 38, 94, 101 n i , 118 Anti-Paedobaptists, 27 Antinomians, 59, 144 Antiquities, Jewish, IS, 20, 74, 98 Apology for the Bible (Watson, R i c h a r d ) , 41, 63 "Apology of the Synod of Dordrach", III Apostles' Creed, 59 Appleton, Ν. W., 84 Aquinas, 19 Arabic, 98 Arianism, 27, 30, 37, 59, 94, 144 Aristotle, 25 Arminianism, 20, 27, 30, 30 n2, 31, 34, 35, 59, 62, m n23, 122, 144 Astronomy, 25, 45, 67 Athanasia» Creed, 59 Atheism, 63, 144 Augustine, 27 Austin, Samuel, 125 Autobiography (Beecher, L y m a n ) , 90 Backus, Charles, 44, 1 1 3 n29, 124, 125, 129 n4, 135, 145

Baptism, 30; infant, 58 Baptists, 10 n3, 43 Barclay, Robert, 109 Barnard, John, 58 Baxter, Richard, 92, 120; ( T h e Reformed Pastor), 13-15, 18, 28, 101 Beattie, James, 82 Beecher, Lyman (Autobiography), 70, 90 Belknap, Jeremy, 61 Bellamy, Joseph, 35, 48, 80, 103, 105113, 116, 123, 128-131, 134-136, 138, 142 Benedict, Joel, 106 Benedict, Noah, 107 Berkeley, George, Bishop of Cloyne, 115, 121 Bethlehem, Connecticut, 105 Biography, 26 Blackstone's Commentaries, 117 Blount, Charles, 39 Body of Divinity (Ridgeley, Thomas ), 89, 90 n24 Bolingbroke, Lord, 1 1 9 Boston, Massachusetts, 34, 52, 61 Boston, Thomas, 108 Brief Directions to a Young Scholar Designing the Ministry for the Study of Divinity (Willard, Samuel), 22-23, 27 Brief Retrospect of the Eighteenth Century (Miller, S a m u e l ) , 52 Brooks, Thomas, 110 Buchan, William (Domestic Medicine; or the Family Physician), 1 1 5 Buckminster, Joseph, 139 Buckminster, Joseph Stevens, 139 Bull, Bishop George, 120 Burnet, Gilbert, 120; (Discourse of the Pastoral Care), 16 Burr, Aaron, 137 Burton, Asa, 120 n52, 124, 134 Butler, Bishop Joseph ( The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, to the Constitution and Course of Nature), 39, 94. 109, 122 161

162

INDEX

Calvin, John, 9, 19, 27,34, 44,108,118 Calvinism, 26, 30, 31, 36, 38 nil, 47, 50, 58, 62-64, 75 Π59, 90, 90 Π24, 95, 109, 120, 121, 137, 142 Calviniste, 15, 19 1134, 64, 91, 94, 108, m Π23; "Moderate", 34, 42, 61, 91, 134, 143; " O l d " , 34, 36 Cambridge, Massachusetts, 60, 61, 96 Cambridge Platform, 132 Cambridge University, 15, 17, 18, 22, 23- 46, 50, 70, 73, 82, 92, 145 Campbell, Archibald, 94 Campbell, George, 40, 48, 133 Canons, 15; of 1604, 12 Carlyle, Alexander, 98 Case of Reason, or Natural Religion Fully Stated, The (Law, William), 39 Cases of Conscience (Ames, William), 27, 73, 74, 77 Casuistry, 20, 27, 46, 49, 77. i f f also Theology, moral Catechism: Greek, 71; Vincent's, 73, 74; Westminster Assembly's, 59, 73, no, 144 Catholics, Roman, 10, 27, 94 Catlin, Jacob, 125 Chaldee, 67, 71 Channing, William Ellery, 94 n4l Chauncy, Charles, 52, 62, 80, 120, 132 Christian evidences, 97 Christian Philosopher, 25 Christianity not Mysterious (Toland, John), 38 Christianity as Old as the Creation (Tindal, Matthew), 39 Chronology, 51, 81 Chrysostom, 27 Chubb, Thomas, 39, 109, 119, 132 Church of England, 10, 15, 20, 27, 36, 58, 59, 75 Church of Scotland, 47, 50, 54, 80, 82 n83, 96, 99; divines of, 48, 94, 107 Cicero, 78 Clap, Thomas, 43, 65 n35, 66, 72, 73, 77, 80, 87, 88 Clarke, Samuel, 36, 60, 109, no, 114, 115, 120, 132; (Demonstration of Divine Attributes), 38, 94 Clergy, need of a learned, see Theories of clerical education Codman, John, 92, 96, 99 College curricula, 70-83, 146; of Cambridge University, 17-18; of English Dissenting Academies, 8283; of Scottish universities, 80-82

College of New Jersey, 55. 56, 57· See also Princeton Collins, Anthony (The Literal Scheme of Prophecy Considered), 40 Coiman, Benjamin, 60 Columbia College, 99 Common-place Book, 92, 106 " Commonplaces ", 19, 23 Compendium Theologiae ( Wollebius, Johann), 75 Composition, 49, 51 Concordance, Cruden's, n o Congregationalism, 27, 29-38, 43, 47, 53, 54, 109· ι·2», 126, 127. I42· See also Orthodoxy Connecticut, 32, 33, 35, 57, 66, 85, 109, 125; General Assembly, 72 Connection of the Old atid New Testament with the History of the Jews and Neighboring Nations (Prideaux, Humphrey), 89 Controversialists, 36, 38-41, 94, 108110, 115, 119-120 Controversy, religious, 13, 15, 29-41, 61 ; study of, 49, So, 74, 95, 97, 100, 108-111, 114-115, 119-121 Conversion, 30, 64 Conversion of Saint Paul (Lyttleton, Lord), 40 Coptic language, 67 Cotton, John, 52, 101 Covenant, Half-way, 29 Criticism, 49; Biblical, 15, 97, 98 Cruden's Concordance, 110 Cudworth, Ralph (The True Intellectual System of the Universe), 109, 118 Daggett, David L., 77 n68 Daggett, Naphtali, 59, 65 n35, 88, 107 ni5 Dartmouth College, 56, 57, 65, 124, 145 Davis, Henry, 124 Dawes, Sir William, 110 Degrees, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 21, 22, 52, 76,80-82,86, 146 ; Bachelor of Arts, 18, 84; Doctor of Divinity, 80; Master of Arts, 18, 54, 59, 84, 84 ni, 91 Deism, 30, 37-41, 49, 51, 95, 108, 109, US, 119. 132 Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God, A (Clarke, Samuel), 38, 94

INDEX Dialogues between Theron and Aspasio ( H e r v e y , J a m e s ) , 109 Discourse of the Pastoral Care (Burnet, Gilbert), 16 Dissenters, English, 36, 39, 47, 50-51, 74, 80, 82-83, 93. 94. 95, n o , 114, 1 1 4 n33, 118; Irish, 94 Dissertations uj>on Miracles ( F a r m e r , H u g h ) , 40 Dissertations on the Prophecies ( N e w t o n , T h o m a s ) , 40 Divinity, theory and practice regarding the study of : English Dissentin?. 50-51. 82-83 ; English Puritan, 10, 14-16, 18-20; New England Congregationalist, 22, 23, 26-28, 38, 41-47. 71-77, 82, 87-gó, 101-105, 107-108, m , 114, ι ι 6 - Ι 2 Ι , 128-135, 139-147; Scottish Presbyterian, 4850, 54, 80-82, 96-100 Doddridge, Philip, 36, 50, 51, 80, 94, 120, 132 ; ( A Course of Lectures on the Principal Subjects in Pneumatoloqy, Ethics and Divinity), 7 5 , 8 3 Domestic Medicine; or the Family Physician (Buchan, W i l l i a m ) , 1 1 5 D o r t , Synod of, m 1123 Dunlap, William ( P r e f a c e t o the Westminister Catechism), 108 Dutch R e f o r m e d Church, h i n23 Dwight, Timothy, 55, 61-69, 77, 86, 89, 90,93, 95. 120 n52, 125, 133, 140, 140 041, 145; ( Theology Explained and Defended; Travels in New England and New York), 68 Ecclesiastical History (Echard's), 115, (Mosheim's), 89. See also History Ecclesiastical Polity (Hooker, Richa r d ) , 27 Ecclesiastical regulation, Elizabethan, II Echard, Lawrence, 1 1 5 Edinburgh, University of, 80, 82, 96-99, 108 Edwardeans, 35, 90, 107, 142 E d w a r d s , Esther, 137 Edwards, John (The Preacher), 15, 19, 27, 28; ( Works), no Edwards, Jonathan ( E l d e r ) , 3 1 , 32, 34. 35. 43. 48. 55. 77 n66, 80, 87. 89, 90, 90 n24, 94, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 110, 1 1 2 n25, 120, 123, 132, 134, 137

163

Edwards, Jonathan ( Y o u n g e r ) , 57, 120 n52, 123, 125, 134, 145 Edwards, S a r a h Pierrepont, 136, 137 Election, doctrine of, 10, 30, 31 Eliot, Andrew, 80 Emerson, Joseph, 63, 92, 93, 96, 139 Emlyn, Thomas, 36 Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, 18, 101 Emmons, N'athanael, 53, 54, 93, 104, 105, 113. 1 1 3 IV29, 116-123, 125, 131-134. 138. 139 England, 10, 20, 24, 28, 37, 102, m n23. See also Church of England English Dissenting Academies, 51, 80-83 Episcopal Church, 61 ni9 " E r r o r " , 23, 31, 43, 49, 57, 72, 117, 120, 122, 132, 143, 144. See also H e r e s y ; Infidelity Erskine, John, 48 Essay on Fevers ( H u x h a m , J o h n ) , 116 Essay on the Nature and Foundation of Moral Virtue, An (Clap, T h o m a s ) , 77 Ethics, 25, 76, 81, 83, 117. Sec also Philosophy, moral Evarts, Jeremiah, 64 Evidences of Christianity (Paley, William), 40 Exegesis, 99, 115, 135, 146 Experience, religious, 31, 34, 137 Faculty, college, 65, 86; religious tests required, 58, 59. See also Professors ; Tutors Farmer, H u g h (Dissertation upon Miracles), 40, 94, 1 1 5 Fathers, Church, 15, 20, 24, 27, 73, 76, 107, i n , 135. 5Ve also respective names Fénelon, François, Archbishop of Cambrai, 121 Ferguson, Adam, 82 Fordyce, David, 49 Fordyce, James, 49 Fox, George, 10 n 3 Franklin, Benjamin, 46, 47, 67, 118 Franklin, Massachusetts, 116, 123 Freedom of the Will, treatise on (Edwards, Jonathan), 77 n66 French, 24, 67 Fuller, Andrew, 89, 90, 90 n24

164

INDEX

Gale, Nahum, 129 Gelston, Maltby (A Systematic Collection of Questions and Answers in Divinity ), 134 Geography, 25, 51 Geometry, 25 Gibbon, Edward, 41, 119, 120 Gill [John], 132 Glas, John, 109 Glasgow, University of, 8o, 97 " G l a s s i t e s " ("Sandemanians"), 109 Godwin, William, 120 Goodrich, Elizur, 126 n"6 Goodrich, S. G., 69 Goshen, Connecticut, 125 Göttingen, University of, 90 n24 Graduate study of divinity, 84-100. See also Divinity Grammar, 17, 22 Great Awakening, The, 21, 29-33, 36, 60, 61, 103, 104, 147 Greek, 10 n3, 17, 18, 20, 24, 46, 49, 71, 72, 78, 81, 82, 83, 99, 146 Greenfield Hill, Connecticut, 55 Griffin, Edward Dorr, 125, 144, 145 Hamilton College, 124 Hampton Court Conference, 12 H a r t , Levi, 113 1129, 122, 123, 124, 129, I3S, 137 H a r v a r d College, 17 1128, 21, 22, 23, 26, 33, 36, 40 ni7, 41, 56, I02, 103, 125, 129, 142, 143, 14s; orthodoxy in, 57-65 ; president, 65-70 ; studies, 70-83 (undergraduate), 84-100 (graduate) H a r v a r d Corporation, 58, 74 H a r v a r d Overseers, 58, 59, 02, 74, 96 Haven, Jason, 126 nyó Hebrew, 10 n3, 15, 18, 20, 24, 71, 71 n50, 72, 78, 78 n70,81-83, 88 nis, 97-100, 143, 145 Hemmenway, Moses (Vindication), no Herbert, Lord, of Cherbury (De Veritate), 119 Heresy, 23, 29, 30, 37. 49, 59. 60, 95, 109, 120, 134, 143, 144. See also " E r r o r " ; Infidelity Hervey, James (Dialogues between Theron and Aspasio), 109 History, 23, 44, 45, 46, 49, 51, 81, 84, 92, 117,118 ; ecclesiastical, 15,20,23, 26, 27, 46, 74, 76, 87, 89, 90, 95, 97, 98, 100, 107, h i , 115, 133, 133 ni7, 146; of England, Hume's, 115; Jewish, 95 ; natural, 46, 81

Hitchcock, Enos (Memoirs of the Bloomsgrove Family), 84 Hoadley, Bishop Benjamin, 119 Hollis Professorship of Divinity, 36, 58, 74, 142 Hollis, Thomas, 74 Holmes, Abiel, 43, 67 Holyoke, Edward, 58, 65, 65 n35, 102 Homer, 92 Hooker, Asahel, 125, 131, 136 Hooker, Richard (Ecclesiastical Polity), 27, 120 Hooker, Thomas, 52, 110, 132 Hopkins, Samuel, 35, 60, 89 1124, 90, 103, 105, 110, 114, 123, 123 n68, 128, 129, 134, 136, 137, 142; (System of Divinity), 89 " Hopkinsianism 90 n24 Horace, 78 H u m a n nature, study of, 49 Hume, David, 40, 94, 115, 119, 120; (Dialogues), 132 Hutcheson, Francis (System of Moral Philosophy), 108, 115 Huxham, John (Essay on Fevers), 116 Hyde, Al van, 113 T129, 124, 125 Infidelity, 34, 41, 49, 62-64, 144. also " E r r o r " ; Heresy Itinerants, 32, 33

See

Jackson, John, 109 Jenyns, Soame ( View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion), 40, 115 Jesuit education, 20 Jews, 144 Johnson, Samuel, 101 ni, 120 Johnson, William Samuel, 84 m Judson, Ephraim, 126 n76 Jurisprudence, 82 Kappa Delta, 96 King's College, Aberdeen University, 97 Kirkland, John, president of Harvard, 125 Koran, m Langdon, Samuel, 65 n35, 66 n3Ó, 80 Languages, 10, 22, 24, 44, 49, 5«, 51, 67, 71. 72, 75. 78, 79, 81, 83, 98, 112, 143, 145. See also Chaldee, Coptic, French, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Persian, Syriac Lardner, Nathaniel, 48 Lathrop, Joseph, 126 n7Ó

INDEX Latin, 10 113, 12, 17, 24, 46, 71, 78, 8 1 , 82, 83, 99,

146

Latitudinarianism, 36, 38, 60 Laud, Archbishop William, 17 Law, John, 119, 120 Law, study of, 15, 128 n i , 145 Law, William (The Case of Reason, or Natural Religion Fully Stated), 39 Laws, college, 60, 87, 91 Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, The (Hooker, Richard), 120 Leland, John ( V i e w of the Deistical Writers), 39, 94. » 5 Leslie, Charles, 120; (A Short and Easie Method with the Deists), 39 Letters (Temple, Sir William), h i Letters of a Dissenting Gentlemen (Towgood, Micajah), 109 Letters on Theron and Asf>asio (Sandeman, Robert), 109 I-evi, David, 115 n34 Liberalism, 34, 36, 42, 58, 61. See also Unitariartism Libraries, h i 1124, 126, 132, 140; Congregational, 15; Bellamy's, 108III, 130; Emmons', 118-121; Franklin, 118; Harvard, 93; Smalley's, 114-116; Yale, 89 Licensure, 11, 53. 54. 55, 86, 105 Linguistics, 135, 146 Literal Scheme of Prophecy Considered, The (Collins, Anthony), 40 Literary Diary (Stiles, E z r a ) , 87 Literature, 15, h i ; classical, 25, 49, 51, 115, see also names of classical authors ; modern, 115; patristic, 114; sacred, 144 Locke, John, 38, 61, 87, 92, 120; (Essays), 115 Locke, Samuel, 65 n35, 66 n3Ô "Log College" ("New Side" Presbyterian Theological School), 102 Logic. 10, 17, 22, 25, 45, 46, 49. 72, 79. 8 1 Luther, Martin, 126 Lyndsey [Theophilus], 132 Lyttleton, Lord (Conversion of Saint Paul), 40, 94 McEwen, William, 108 McLaurin, John, 48 Maestricht, Pierre van, 108 Mahometans, 144 Manductio ad Ministerium (Mather, Cotton), 24

165

Manductio ad Theologiam (Wollebius, Johann), 26 Marischal College, Aberdeen University, 48, 97, 98, 133 Mason, John, 51 Mason, John Mitchell, 99 Massachusetts, 57 n3, 125 ; eastern, 35. 36, 58, 64, 142, 143; General Court of, 27; western, 32, 35 Mathematics, 14, 25, 51 Mather, Cotton (Student and Preacher), 2 4 - 2 8 , 7 1 nso, 7 6 Mayhew, Jonathan, 62 Medicine, study of, 85, 116, 128 n i Medieval tradition, 11, π n6, 17 Medulla Theologiae (Ames, William), 26, 58, 71, 73 Memoirs of the Bloomsgrove Family (Hitchcock, Enos), 84 Metaphysics, 1 4 , 2 5 , 4 4 , 5 2 , 7 6 - 7 7 . 79, 81, 114. Sec also Ethics; Philosophy Methodists, 43 Middlebury College, 124 Millenary Petition, 12 Miller, Samuel (Brief Retrospect of the Eighteenth Century), 52 Mills, Jedidiah, 126 n76 Milton, John, 92 " Minister, T h e : Duty in Life and Doctrine" (Taylor, Jeremy), 16 Moore, Zephaniah Swift, 124 Morse, Jedidiah, 125, 141 Mosheim, Johann Lorenz von (Ec89, 90 Π24, clesiastical History), 108

Mullinger, John Bass, 18 Music, 25, 92 Natural law, 77, 79 Natural Theology, or Evidence of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity Collected from the Appearances of Nature (Paley, William), 40

New Divinity, 34, 35, 42, 53. 61, 64, 90 n¿4. 95, 103, 107, 114, 123,

142

New Haven, Connecticut, 33, 66, 69, 104,

134

" New Lights ", 33, 34, 44, 56, 57, 60 New London, Connecticut, 33 " New Side " Presbyterian Theological School ( " L o g College"), 102 New Testament, study of, 12, 18, 24, 133 ni7. See also Scripture, study of Newbury, Massachusetts, 143, 145

166

INDEX

Newburyport, Massachusetts, 57, 142 Newton, Sir Isaac, 25, 92, 121 Newton, T h o m a s (Dissertations on the Prophecies), 40, 94 Ν itene Creed, 59 Northampton, Massachusetts, 31, 55, 103, 104, 128, 136 Nott, Samuel, 125 Novels (in Emmons' l i b r a r y ) , 117 Observations on the Resurrection ( W e s t , Gilbert), 40 Occam, 19 " Old Lights ", 33 Old T e s t a m e n t : defense of, 115 n34. 120; study of, 71, 78, 98. See also Scripture, study of Ontology, 76 Oratory, 49, 79 Ordination, 55, 93 Orthodoxy, 37-41. 48, 72, 77, 93. 94. 95, 108, 115, 118, 120, 1 3 1 , 142; in the colleges, 57-65 Osgood, David, 92 Owen, John, 110 O x f o r d University, 17, 39. 50, 82 Paine, T h o m a s ( A g e of Reason), 41, 63 Paley, William, 77 nö7, 94, 115, 120, 1 3 2 ; (Evidences of Christianity; Natural Theology, or Evidence of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity Collected from the Appearances of Nature; Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy),40 Panoplist, The, 129, 140, 141, 143 Paradise Lost (Milton, J o h n ) , 1 1 5 P a r k , Edwards Amasa, 120 nói Pastoral practice, study of, 20, 83, 9-97, 135-136, 146 Pearson, Eliphalet, 143-145 Pelagianism, 59, 144 Perkins, Nathan, 126 ηγ6 Perkins, William, 23 Persian, 7, 67, 98 Phillips Academy, 143, 145 Philosophers : rationalist, 63, 7~. See also Deism, Atheism ; Scottish, 82, 108-109. 118 Philosophy, 14, 17. 18. 25. 49. 54, 63, 71, 82, 82 n3, 1 2 1 ; atheistic, 95; Biblical, 133 ; deistic, 95 ; moral, 38, 44, 49, 52, 76, 77, 77 nÓ7, n68, 79, 83, 84, 108; natural, 17, 23. 25, 49. 65, 68, 79, 81, i n ; utilitarian, 119, 120 n52. See also E t h i c s ; Metaphysics

Pickering, Timothy, 95 Pictet, Benedict, 98, 98 n52 Pilgrim's Progress (Bunyan, J o h n ) , »5 Pliny, 1 1 5 Plutarch's Parallel Lives, 115 Pneumatology, 81 Poetry, 25 " Polite " learning, 50, 71 Politics, 51, 82 Polity, civil, 1 1 7 Polity, ecclesiastical, 27, 109 : Congregational, 26, 33, 47, 54; English Dissenting, 8 3 ; Presbyterian, 54 Poole, Matthew (Synopsis), no Porter, Ebenezer, 113, 126 n76, 144, 145 Preacher, The ( E d w a r d s , J o h n ) , 28 Preaching, function of, 10, 13, 1 4 ; a r t of, 20, 27, 46, 72, 83, 112, 1 1 3 , 117, 122 Predestination, doctrine of, 3 1 , 58 President, the college, 65-70, 80 Presidents : H a r v a r d , 65, n35, 66 ; Yale, 65 n35, 66 Preston, John, 19, 23, 26 Price, Richard, 41, 48, 94 n4i, 120; (Review of the Principal Questions and Difficulties in Morals), 94 Prideaux, H u m p h r e y (Connection of the Old and New Testament with the History of the Jews and Neighboring Nations), 89, 90 n24 Priestly, Joseph, 41, 119, 120, 132 Princeton, 98, 129, 137, 142. See also College of New Jersey Principal Subjects in Pneutnatology, Ethics and Divinity (Doddridge, Philip), 83 Priticiples of the Doctrine of Christ, The: A Catechism (Vincent, Nathaniel), 74 Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (Paley, William), 40 Π17 Professors, 65, 68, 79, 81, 82; at Andover, 144-147; of divinity, 59, 68, 72-75, 86-98, 129 Psychology, 44, 1 1 1 P u f e n d o r f , Samuel von, h i Pulpit eloquence, 50, 51, 121, 125, 145. 146 Puritans : English, 9-20, 26. 34, 42, 46, 79, 134, 146; American, 21, 23, 79

167

INDEX Q u a k e r principies, 109 Quakers, 10 113, 27 Queen's College, Cambridge University, 19 Quincy, Josiah, 91 Rambler, The, l i s Rationalism, 31, 40, 41, 77, 90, 94, 109, 119, 121, 134, 142. See also Deism ; Atheism Reading requirements in divinity, 8990, 93-95, 132 Refortned Pastor, The ( Baxter, Richard), 13 Reid, Thomas, 82 Religion, natural and revealed, 39, 49, 6 4 , 7", 79. 8 2 , 94, 9 7 , 1 1 7 , 1 3 0 Religion of Nature Delineated ( Wollaston, W i l l i a m ) , 38, 77 Relly, James, 120 Review of the Principal Questions and Difficulties in Morals (Price, R i c h a r d ) , 94 Revivalists, 41, 90, 103; revivals, 58, 64, 70, 86, 122. See also Great Awakening R h e t o r i c , 10, 17, 22, 25,49, 79. 84, 1 1 2

Ridgeley, Thomas, 94; (Body of Divinity), 89, 90, 90 N24, 134 Robbins, Thomas, 139 Robinson, William, 126 n76 Rollin, Charles ( Traites des etudes), n 5, 1 1 5 n35 " Rules and Advices to the Clergy " ( T a y l o r , J e r e m y ) , 16 Salvation, doctrine of, 10, 31, 91, 120 Samaritan language, 67 Sandeman, Robert (Letters on Theron and Aspasio), 109 " Sandemanians " ( " Glassites " ) , 109 Saybrook P l a t f o r m , 33, 59, 110 Schools, private theological, 85, 145. See also Schools of the Prophets· Schools of the Prophets, 101 ff. ; teaching methods in, 128 ff. Science, 44, 46, 50, 51, 91, 111, 146 " Sciences ", 25 Scotus, 19 Scripture : Puritan reliance on, 9 ; study of, 10, 10 n3, 15, 16, 19 n34, 2 2 , 2 5 , 2 6 , 4 2 , 44, 4 5 , 46, 49, 5 1 , 7 2 , 74, 75. 78, 79, 90, 9 2 , 98, 99, n o , 1 1 5 , 1 1 8 , 1 3 3 Η 17, 134. 135, 145,

146. See also Old New Testament

Testament;

S e c u l a r s t u d i e s , 17-18, 76-79, 80, 8 1 83,

103

" Separates ", 33, 43, 61 Sermons, writing of, 55, 83, 90, 93, 96, 9 9 , 1 0 1 , 1 0 7 , 1 1 7 , 1 3 1 ,

135

S h a f t e s b u r y , Lord, 119 Shakespeare, 92, 115, 121 " Shepherd's T e n t ", 33 Sherlock, T h o m a s ( Six Discourses The Tryal of the on Prophecy; Witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus), 40, 94 Sherlock, William, n o , 114 Short and Easie Method with the Deists, A (Leslie, C h a r l e s ) , 39 Silliman, Benjamin, 64 Six Discourses on the Miracles of our Sawour (Woolston, T h o m a s ) , 40

Six Discourses on Prophccy (Sherlock, T h o m a s ) , 40 Smalley, John, 5 3 , 1 1 3 - 1 1 6 , 1 2 3 , 1 2 8 , 1 3 1 , MS Smith, Adam, 121 Smith, Cotton Mather, w i f e of, 138 Socinians, 59, 62, 122, 144 Speaking, public, art of, 10, 135 Spectator, The, 115 Spring, Gardiner, 121 Spring, Samuel, 57, 123, 125, 129, 142 Stackhouse, Thomas, 114 Stewart, Dugald, 82 Stiles, Ezra, 48, 52, 57, 59, 65 no5, 6 7 - 6 8 , 7 3 , 7 7 , 7 8 N70, 80, 8 4 n i , 8 5 , 8 7 , 8 8 , 1 0 7 , 1 0 7 ni5, H I

Stoddard, Solomon, 31, n o " Strict Congregational " Churches, 33. See also " Separates " Strong, Nathan, 116, 139 Stuart, Moses, 78, 89, 90, 144, 145 Sttident and Preacher ( M a t h e r , Cotton), 24 Student life in teachers' homes, 136139 S w i f t , Job, 145 Sykes, A r t h u r Ashley, n o Syllabus, Tappan's, in divinity, 93-95 Synopsis of Criticisms by Biblical Commentators (Poole, M a t t h e w ) , no Syriac language, 24, 67, 71 System of Moral Philosophy (Hutcheson, F r a n c i s ) , 115 Systematic Collection of Questions and Answers in Divinity, A (Gelston, M a l t b y ) , 134

168

INDEX

Tappan, David, 62, 129; (Syllabus), 93-95 Taylor, Jeremy ( " T h e Minister: Duty in L i f e and D o c t r i n e " ; " Rules and Advices to the C l e r g y " ) , 16 Taylor, John, 110, 120, 132 Teachers, private theological, 101127, 147; methods o f , 128-136, 146 Tennent, Gilbert, 104 Tennent, William, 102 Theodoret, 27 Theology : moral, 20, 23, 50, 52, see also Casuistry ; N e w England, 120 nói, 125, see also Congregationalism ; study of, sec Divinity Theology Explained and Defended (Dwight, T i m o t h y ) , 68 Theories of clerical education: American, 22-28, 41-47, 50; English Dissenting, 50-52 ; Puritan, 9-20 ; Reformation, 9 ; Scottish, 48-50 Theron, Paulinus and Asfasio (Bellamy, Joseph), 109 Thirty-nine Articles, 59, 75, 75 n59 Thought, eighteenth century religious, 29 ff.. I l l Tillotson, John, 38, 60, 94, 95 Tindal, Matthew (Christianity as Old as the Creation), 39, 94, 119 Toland, John (Christianity not Mysterious), 38 Towgood, Micajah (Letters of a Dissenting Gentleman), 109 Tragedies (in Emmons' library), 117 Travel, study o f , 51, 118 Travels in New England and New York ( D w i g h t , T i m o t h y ) , 68 Trent, Council of, h i Trials, 54. See also Licensure Trinity, doctrine of the, 36, 38, 41. 58, 59. 95, 108, 109, 115, 120, see also Unitarianism ; Defense of (Waterland, Daniel), 109 True intellectual System of the Universe, The (Cudworth, Ralph), 109 True Religion Delineated (Bellamy, Joseph), 105 Trumbull, Benjamin, 42, 43, 45, 46, 110, 112, 126 n76 Tryal of the Witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus, The (Sherlock, Thomas), 40 Tucker, Josiah, 110 Tutors, college, 59. 62, 65, 66. See also Faculty, college Tyler, Bennet, 129

Unitarianism, 34, 36, 41, 58, 62, 64, 94, 115, 134, 142, 144. See also Liberalism Universalists, 43, 120, 144 Universities, British, 48, 80, 82, 82 n3, 97. See also Aberdeen, Cambridge, Edinburgh, O x f o r d Vertíate, De (Herbert, L o r d ) , 119 Vermont, University of, 125 View of the Deistical Writers (Leland, John), 39 View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion (Jenyns, Soame), 40 Vincent, Nathaniel (Catechism), 73, 74 Vindication (Hemmenway, M o s e s ) , 110 Virgil, 78 Voltaire, 119 Warburton, William, 120 W a r e , Henry, 36, 92, 142 Waterland. Daniel, 109, 120, 132 Watson, Richard, 120; (Apology for the Bible), 41, 63 Watts, Isaac, 36, 50, 51, 110 Webber, Samuel, 65 n35 Westminster Confession, 58, 59 West, Gilbert, 94; (Observations on the Resurrection), 40 West, Stephen, 124, 129, 134, 139, 143; w i f e of, 106 Wheelock, Eleazar, 56, 61, 112, 126 n76 Whitby, Daniel, 94, 109, 120, 121, 132 Whitefield, George, 32, 34. 60, 95, 102, 113 Whittlesey, Chauncy, n o Wigglesworth, Edward, 58. 59, 74, 75. 91 Willard, Joseph, 62, 65,65 n35, 69, 85, 86, 92 Willard, Josiah, 62 Willard, Samuel (Brief Directions to a Young Scholar Designing the Ministry for the Studx of Divinity), 22-28 Williams College, 65, 124, 125 Williams, Solomon, 48 Winthrop, John, 65, 79, 81, 98 Witherspoon, John, 129, 142 W o l f f , Christian, 111 Wollaston, W i l l i a m (Religion of Nature Delineated), 38, 77

INDEX Wollebius, Johann (Manductio ad Theologiam), 26, 58, 71, 73, 75, 83 «84 Woods, Leonard, 85, 93, 124, 129 04, 143. 144 Woolston, Thomas (Six Discourses on the M ¡rocíes of our Saviour), 40

169

Yale, 21, 33, 40 ni7, 43, 48, 55, 56, 102, 103, 104. 105, 106, 107 ni5, 116, 124, 125, 128, 144, 145; orthodoxy in, 57-65 ; president, 65-70 ; studies, 70-83 (undergraduate), 84-100 (graduate)