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Noble Character of the Puritans.

93

the descendants of the Puritans, who still hold up their heads in society without being ashamed of themselves.

To venerate one's ancestors is as natural to the generous mind as to honor one's own immediate parents; and he who takes pleasure in ridiculing his forefathers, is quite as mean as he who strikes his mother.

It is the instinct of all noble minded men, however faulty their ancestors, to veil their defects as much as may be, and dwell with pleasure on what is praiseworthy. Who is most to be respected, Ham and Canaan, who gloated over their father's nakedness, or Shem and Japheth, who modestly covered their unconscious and dishonored parent? In exalting our ancestors, we do honor to ourselves - we show an honorable feeling — a heart susceptible of generous emotion. The Romans in their best days—how proud were they of their sires-how glowingly they speak of them, and how readily and justly we honor them for the feelings they show in this respect; yet, when we examine the matter closely, a sad set of rogues those founders of the Roman State must have been. Never was there a more honorable, upright, intelligent race of men than the Puritans. Never were the beginnings of a commonwealth more praiseworthy than theirs, or results more glorious. Never did ancestors exist of whom their posterity had better reason to be proud. Yet, while all other races honor their ancestry and delight in its glories, it is strange that the Puritan race alone should produce so many who take pleasure in decrying their progenitors. The fathers were noble, but they certainly have been cursed with some very mean children; and some of those mean children are still alive, the foulest blot the memory of their fathers has ever been tarnished with.

It is not difficult to account for this. The Puritans broke away from the public sentiment of their times and struck out for themselves a new path, the path of truth, usefulness and honor. By this they mortally offended the leaders of what was then the established order of things and brought upon themselves the hatred and contempt of the existing magnates. This has been handed down from generation to generation as a precious heir-loom, and the expressions of it continue to be repeated from many of these high places of power and influence. There are some who never have either ideas or feelings of their own, but just take such as are ready made to their hand. These readily take what they see current in certain quarters; and thus they learn to think and speak ill of those to whom they owe their existence and all its enjoyments. They blind and befool themselves with the prejudices of an age and race to which they do not belong. Again, there are some even among the descendants of the Puritans, who hate the simple gospel and popular freedom more than they love family honor, and who never

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the most innocent simplicity, exclaim: "How tall I am

see! the top of }

- what better

could we say t

is this famous Kentucky giant compared with me
head reaches only to my knees
stultorum infinitus est numerus?
Some verdant arithmetical genius might take Newton's Pri
examine it carefully, find in it nothing which is not now rega
elementary, familiar to every student, and set forth far more
hensively and clearly and wonder why it is that Newton has
a name for an amount of knowledge scarcely up to the lev
are now ordinary attainments, and with no small self-grat
self-conceit, publish his wonderment abroad, and put dow
renowned Sir Isaac Newton as quite below the average st
tific men.

Some bustling mechanician might hunt up the ghost ton's first steam-boat, that with great noise and puffing ling and tugging, was able to move some four or when wind and tide were favorable, and compare t! less, swift-working, faultless machinery of our s gravely conclude that Fulton was a senseless blur serving the credit which had been awarded him. more noticeable if the fellow were himself a dese took pride and pleasure in tearing to pieces the of his ancestor, and endeavoring on all occasion cule and contempt.

If any should venture on such a course in ton or Robert Fulton, they would be treated

of mathematicians and mechanicians with t
would be too much despised to be able to
feeling of indignation; and the unscient
as lunatics or idiots.

It is well known and should be well
of a new idea is the difficult part of it -
the world it is necessarily feeble and i
is the great labor and the great meri'
afloat, the subsequent developments
tively easy and the work of far inferi
because it is not a full grown mar
joicing mother, what hast +
throes and pangs is l

whom the number is

Now this is

the Puritar

of the Puritans, readily admit leness of improvement in social yet may be startled at the idea of im(say they) have we not the Bible, and perfect? And can we improve on pereology of the Bible is perfect, but the diffiderstanding of it in all its parts. Who yet has we? Had our Puritan fathers? A faultless

Bible faultlessly combined with a faultless mental faultless theology; and when this faultless combided so far as to exhaust all that is knowable on the ology becomes perfect and fixed. Did our Puritan fathers reach it?

They left us something to do in this

Have we reached No indeed, neither

matter; and when

ne all we can, we shall leave enough for our posterity to do

undamental principles of the Puritans, their great leading outoughts, their germinating, fructifying ideas, as regards theology, government, and social organization, were in the main correct, and

advance of the public sentiment of their age, but they were not by any means wrought out perfectly into the clear. If I may so express myself, the process of incubation had but just terminated; and though the ideas were living, active, progressive, many fragments of the old shell were still hanging to them, and some of the pieces were pretty large, some quite cumbrous and impedimentaly. The virtues of the Puritans, great as they were, were mainly their own in respect to

can forgive their ancestors for being evangelical in faith and republican in policy. They are like some parents, who are forbearing and tolerant and tender to their children while they are only dissipated and worthless; but who storm with rage and disinherit them if they become worthy and respectable by becoming pious and joining an evangelical church. Happily the number of such members of the Puritan family is rapidly diminishing and bids fair for utter extinction.

Is it a real love of truth, is it a pure sense of justice, that leads any of the children of the Puritans to dishonor the graves of their ancestors? No, never. Truth and justice, so far as the Puritans are concerned, can never lead in that direction. In this case, truth and justice can never lead to contempt and ridicule nor in any case, to misrepresentation and one-sided interpretation. Men can be impartial without being scornful, can expose a fault without sarcastic triumph, can rejoice in an improvement which time has made, without pouring contempt on the glories of an honorable though imperfect beginning. Truth and justice in this case would be calm and respectful, even where they criticise and condemn. The Puritans were the introducers of a new era in civilization, the beginners of a new and improved development of society, a development which has already become predominant in more than half the civilized world, and in which all nations will yet participate. They were the beginners, and that is glory enough; they were but beginners, and that is no disgrace: it is no diseredit to them, nor will it be imputed to them as such by any honorable mind.

It is by no means necessary, in order to do honor to the Puritans, that we should claim perfection either for their theories or their practices, or that we should close our eyes to the improvements which have naturally grown from what they gloriously but imperfectly begun. Do we honor Guttenberg by condemning all modern improvement in printing, by claiming that his wooden types and clumsy press, and slow, tedious and costly manipulations were the very perfections of the typographical art, and that all the inventions of recent date are to be regretted and mourned over as the heresy of the times and proof of progressive degeneracy? Should we see a company of antiquated travellers on board a modern steamer going, sorely against their will, twenty miles an hour, without noise, or jarring, or scarcely the perception of motionexpressing their admiration of Fulton by lauding the excellence of his noisy, jarring, plodding boat, and mourning over the grievous innovations of the recent facilities in the line of steam travelling, - what could we think of but our old text again, Perversi difficile corriguntur, et stultorum infinitus est numerus? No, that is not the way in which we would honor the Puritans. They in their day were the men of pro

1850.]

Fundamental Principles of the Puritans.

95

gress that is the thing for which we honor them; and we would show the legitimacy of our descent from them; we would prove ourselves to be not unworthy children of our parents, by being in our day the men of progress too. They begun a new era, gloriously begun it, in relig ion, in politics, in social life-most gloriously did they begin it, amid many obstacles and imperfections—and we would carry it on still more gloriously with fewer obstacles and fewer imperfections; and, with the great advantages which we owe to their virtue, and labors, and sufferings, we will do better than they did for they did better than any who went before them, and we are their sons; at least this shall be our aim and object, and endeavor—or we are bastards and not sons. They were no models of perfection either in theology, or policy, or social life, nor did they ever claim to be. They labored to make improvements in all those things; and improvements, very great improvements they did make, and this is their glory, and in this they have left us an example that we should follow their steps.

Most men, at least most descendants of the Puritans, readily admit both the possibility and the desirableness of improvement in social life and in civil government, who yet may be startled at the idea of improvement in theology. "What (say they) have we not the Bible, and is not the theology of the Bible perfect? And can we improve on perfection?" Doubtless the theology of the Bible is perfect, but the difficulty is to get a perfect understanding of it in all its parts. Who yet has attained to this? Have we? Had our Puritan fathers? A faultless interpretation of the Bible faultlessly combined with a faultless mental philosophy makes a faultless theology; and when this faultless combination has proceeded so far as to exhaust all that is knowable on the subject; then theology becomes perfect and fixed. Have we reached this point? Did our Puritan fathers reach it? No indeed, neither they nor we. They left us something to do in this matter; and when we have done all we can, we shall leave enough for our posterity to do after us.

The fundamental principles of the Puritans, their great leading outline thoughts, their germinating, fructifying ideas, as regards theology, civil government, and social organization, were in the main correct, and far in advance of the public sentiment of their age, but they were not yet by any means wrought out perfectly into the clear. If I may so express myself, the process of incubation had but just terminated; and though the ideas were living, active, progressive, many fragments of the old shell were still hanging to them, and some of the pieces were pretty large, some quite cumbrous and impedimentaly. The virtues of the Puritans, great as they were, were mainly their own - in respect to