beyond all these things to the soul which is within and beyond them. That makes them beautiful. Seeing that, they regard his defects as little as does the true lover the color of his mistress' eye, which burns with love for him, or the smoothness of that cheek, which blushes at the sound of his voice. He asks not, and cares not for the clay tenement, if the tenant be full of truth and affection: and as that tenement will die, but that affection through eternity have its influence, so will the works of Wordsworth pass away, but his influence over others endure forever. In yon world of spirits is the poet's true immortality. The mourner that has drank Hope from his well; the doubting that found Faith there; and the poor earthy slave of Ambition and Pride that from him has learned

"Still to suspect, and still revere himself
In lowliness of heart,"

these will yet bless him, and walk with him, and love him, when the solid bones of this earth have been rent asunder, and the names of many an "immortal hero," and degraded bard has gone down into oblivion amid the groans and hissings of the millions whom they have trampled on, and dragged down from heaven.

J. H. P.

ART. IV. THE CHRISTIAN MINISTER.

It will be readily conceded, that no one occupies a more elevated station in common life, or has higher and more important duties to perform, than the minister of the gospel. He is the expounder of the doctrines of that holy religion which emanated directly from God himself; from that Almighty Being by whom all things were created, and by whose Will the vast fabric of the visible world is upheld and sustained. He should exhibit in his walk and conversation, in every action of his life, the influence of that religion upon his own heart, and by his example conduct the flock committed to his charge, through the rough and thorny mazes, the trials and temptations of life, to the smiling pastures and flowery meads

promised to the faithful in "another and a better world." It is his duty to place before his congregation, in strong, yet plain and intelligible language, the plan of salvation as revealed in the book of life, the Christian's creed, and urge them by every argument in his power, to embrace and cling to it, as the only sure means of obtaining an interest in the eternal kingdom prepared for the righteous.

Can there be a more interesting spectacle, one capable of inspiring more exalted sentiments, than to behold a venerable minister of the most High, bending under the weight of years, with trembling hands and uplifted eyes, ministering at the altar, and presenting to those around him, the emblems of the broken body and shed blood of him who brought life and immortality to light? of a whole congregation bending the knee in prayer to the Almighty, or with united voices singing his praise? Spectacles of more dazzling splendor, may be presented to the external senses, but all their pomp and glory fall infinitely short of the moral grandeur of such a scene as that to which I have alluded.

The preacher of the gospel has a wider field for the display of eloquence and learning, than the member of any other profession. The elucidation of the heaven-derived doctrines of the religion he teaches; the being, majesty, power and goodness of Him who "rides on the whirlwind and directs the storm;" the sufferings, death, and glorious resurrection of the son of God; the great duties inculcated in the scriptures, and so eloquently enforced by his precepts and example; the promises and rewards held forth to his sincere and humble followers, present themes rich and inexhaustible, for the exercise of his mental powers. The plain and simple doctrines of the gospel, as explained and illustrated by the disciples of liberal Christianity, are means of intellectual wealth, upon which a preacher of cultivated mind, and a taste improved by reflection, may draw without the fear that its riches will be exhausted, and without resorting to incomprehensible and mysterious doctrines, which only bewilder the Christian's path, without scattering even a ray of light.

To fill the responsible station of a Christian minister with propriety and effect, in addition to the graces of piety, the man who aims at such distinction should prepare himself for his arduous duties by close and unremitting study of the oracles of God. He should be well educated; he should be well versed in the ancient languages, that, whilst he derives profit himself from the study of the scriptures, he may qualify himself to communicate his knowledge to others. I well know

there are many, very many, who stand ready to controvert the position, that a liberal education is necessary to make a useful preacher. They believe that education for the gospel ministry is a useless expenditure of time and money, and that if a man be called to preach, the "spirit" will furnish him with ideas and words to express them. They will cite the example of the apostles and immediate followers of Christ, who are generally supposed to have been uneducated and illiterate men, but who preached the gospel with power and effect, who unfolded the glories of Christianity in "thoughts that breathe, and words that burn." Admit the fact; it does not prove that, at the present day, uneducated and illiterate men, are capable of making efficient preachers. The apostles lived in an age of miracles, at a time when miracles were necessary to impress upon the minds of men the truths of the gospel, and convince the Jewish and Gentile world, that they emanated from the throne of the Eternal. For the purpose of effectually propagating the gospel, they were miraculously endowed with the gift of languages. But the age of miracles has passed away: God works now upon the minds and hearts of men by other means. It has been my lot to hear many who believed themselves called of God to preach the gospel, and minister in holy things; but, notwithstanding their apparent zeal, the effect of their preaching was the very reverse of that which was intended. Such preachers by previous declamation, and denunciation of heaven's vengeance upon the impenitent sinner, may alarm the fears of the weak-minded and the timid, but they can never adopt that style of argument, which, while it convinces the reason, touches the heart, and subdues the passions of men. They often seize upon the more abstruse and mysterious doctrines of orthodoxy, which the more powerful cannot make intelligible, and interpret the sacred writings in a manner calculated to ridicule the most sublime system ever offered to man.

It is of great importance for the successful propagation of the Christian faith, that all those who take upon themselves the office of Christian ministers, should not only be conversant with the sacred scriptures in their own tongue, but should possess a competent knowledge of the ancient languages in which they were originally written. I would not have them thus accomplished for the purpose of making a pedantic display of learning in the pulpit, but to enable them more clearly to comprehend the principles of their faith, and the evidences upon which it rests, and more effectually combat the arguments of sceptics and infidels. Had Luther been as ignorant and un

learned as some of our modern preachers, he could not have so successfully and triumphantly attacked the errors, and exposed the corruptions of the Roman Church, and opened the way for that reformation to which we are indebted for our religious comforts and enjoyments, for our freedom of opinion, and, in a great degree, for the civil liberty we enjoy. Had he not exhibited in his celebrated controversy with the elite of the Roman hierarchy, the value of learning, and infused a portion of his own spirit of investigation into the minds of his countrymen, the reformation might have been nipped in the bud. But his learning enabled him to make such an exposition of his doctrines, as to induce the people to whom they were addressed, to distrust the explanations of interested priests, and examine for themselves the important points in dispute. The blessings of the reformation have extended over distant lands, and the name of Luther is known and reverenced, as that of one who shook to its foundation the mighty fabric of corruption and profligacy, which priestcraft, united to ignorance, had raised upon the basis of a pure and holy religion. To keep that religion pure, and undefiled by the corruptions and inventions of ignorant teachers, and to present it in the plain and simple garb in which it was clothed by the inspired messenger of the Most High, should be the object of every Christian teacher, more particularly of those who stand forth the advocates of the simple unity of God-the doctrine taught in the first ages of the church. We live in a land where all the advantages of education may be obtained at a trifling expense, and where he who aspires to become a teacher in sacred things may even be instructed "without money, and without price." When, therefore, the means of knowledge are at hand, and can be so readily employed, there can be no reasonable excuse why those who are invested with the sacred office of ministers of the Gospel should be groping in darkness.

T.

THE CHILD IN THE CRADLE.-FROM SCHILLER.

Happy suckling! The cradle is to thee an infinite space; Become a man, and the infinite world will be narrow to

thee.

J. F. C.

ART. V.-STATE OF THE TIMES.

Sober Thoughts on the State of the Times, addressed to the Unitarian Community. Boston: Published by E. R. Broaders. 1835. 12mo. pp. 66.

This is one of the best books lately issued from the Boston press, and calculated to do a great deal of good. It is an animated, judicious appeal to the Unitarian community upon the most important topics, and coming, as it does, from a member of that body of Christians, it is well entitled to calm and thoughtful attention. Every sect needs, at times, and this too very frequently, to be called to self-scrutiny; to ask itself where it stands, what progress it has made, how it has fulfilled its "mission," what there is left for it to do, what are its weak points, and its dangerous tendencies, in short, everything which an individual should know of himself, a sect should know of itself. But this sort of examination is very difficult, and can be conducted only by a strong and discriminating mind. Such a mind has just been at work among our NewEngland brethren, and the result is the little book before us, which contains as many plain truths, and as much good Christian advice, as any book we ever read. We shall not attempt to give an outline of its contents, but extract a few pages to show the spirit and style of the author. In another number, we shall probably make one or two more extracts, which we have marked as peculiarly forcible and likely to be productive of good. Our apology for making so free use of this book is, that the majority of our readers will probably never meet with it; and those of them who have seen it, will unite with us in our desire to have it generally known. The extract we now make, explains the idea of Unitarianism.

"Such is a cursory view of the condition in which we stand at the close of the struggle, which has made us a distinct denomination among the churches of our land. Thus do we stand before the world, just three centuries after the beginning of the Reformation, at the moment when we have been striving to do our share toward carrying its great principles into complete effect.

It is a moment for pausing to look around us, a crisis of unspeakable interest. It is now to be tried and known what are the power and worth of the principles for which we have been contending. It is to be seen whether we are willing to ADORN the doctrine we have secured to ourselves; whether we can LIVE for our faith, as well as fight for it; whether we will struggle as hard for the character, as we have done for the name, of Christians. It is impossible that the present state of