LIBRARY OF PRINCETON 
 
 MAR -em 
 
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 THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
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"President of ihe 'I'l.ccil.ijjjciil Scmlnaw. AuJovlt. 
 
MEMOIR 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LIFE AND CHARACTER 
 
 OF 
 
 EBENEZER PORTER, D. D. 
 
 LATE PRESIDENT OF THE 
 THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, ANDOVER. 
 
 BY LYMAN 'maTTHEWS, 
 
 Paslor of the Soulh Church, Braintree, Mas>. 
 
 BOSTON : 
 
 PUBLISHED BY PERKINS & MARVIN. 
 PHILADELPHIA : HENRY PERKINS. 
 
 1837. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1837, 
 Bv Perkins & Marvin, 
 n the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of 
 Massachusetts. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 " A man's life may be so uniform," said the subject 
 of the following Memoir, when speaking of a char- 
 acter he much admired, " that no splendid incidents 
 shall fix the eye of curiosity ; no glare of genius shall 
 attract the admiration of the multitude; and yet a 
 sound understanding, a steady piety, and an habitual 
 course of beneficent action, shall secure him an im- 
 perishable reputation ; while others are gazed at as 
 prodigies of excellence, for a moment, and then for- 
 gotten." A happier illustration of the truth of this 
 remark, it may perliaps be difficult to find, than that 
 which is furnished by the life and character of its 
 lamented author. He was not formed to dazzle or 
 astonish ; but to be eminently useful in a steady course 
 of Christian action. The reader of his biography will 
 not therefore expect aught that is novel or startling. 
 He will expect only the history of the wise and faithful 
 pastor, the discreet and devoted teacher of candidates 
 
4 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 for the holy ministry, the constant friend, the active, 
 yet unassuming patron of every judicious enterprise 
 for the advancement of piety and philanthropy. 
 
 The likeness prefixed to the Memoir, though an exact 
 copy of the painting from which it is taken, and which 
 is in most respects a perfect work, exhibits a slight 
 frown which was never observable on Dr. Porter's 
 countenance, unless he was exercised with severe 
 pain, or was engaged in intense study. For this 
 defect in the portrait, he attributed no blame to 
 the artist, who was a master in his profession : but 
 supposed it to be owing to the structure of the room 
 in which he sat for the painting, and to a tempo- 
 rary weakness of his eyes which rendered the light 
 painful. 
 
 The biographical sketch of the Hon. Thomas 
 Porter, though somewhat more extended than is 
 usual in such cases, is inserted with the belief that it 
 will render the volume more valuable to the numerous 
 circle who were acquainted both with the father and 
 the son ; and with the hope that the intrinsic excel- 
 lence of the character, and the obvious bearing of the 
 father's counsels and example on the character and 
 usefulness of the son, will render it instructive to the 
 general reader. 
 
 The form of this volume has been determined by 
 the peculiar character of the materials. Dr. Porter 
 did not allow himself to keep a diary, nor even a journal 
 of sufficient extent and particularity to impart variety 
 and animation to a biography. Denied the fund of 
 interesting matter usually derived from these sources, 
 the compiler has been left to a choice between the al- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 5 
 
 teiTiatives of making the narrative of Dr. Porter's life 
 brief, or of protracting it by the relation of minute and 
 unimportant incidents. 
 
 Should any one inquire why the letters of Dr. Porter 
 are not inserted in some consecutive order, as is usual 
 in the compilation of Memoirs } it is replied first, — the 
 compiler feels a strong objection to the indiscriminate 
 publication of familiar letters to the extent, to which 
 they have often been presented to the public. They 
 may interest particular friends, but of what use are 
 they, in general, to the community What must be 
 the influence of their publication on the literature of 
 our country ? Secondly, — Dr. Porter's letters were 
 mostly brief documents relating to business, and in 
 general are not proper for publication. As he was 
 an invalid, and rarely left home except in pursuit of 
 health, his letters written to intimate friends, to whom 
 they are almost exclusively addressed, contain, with few 
 exceptions, a minute account of his state of health ; his 
 symptoms; the remedies he employed, and their effects ; 
 and though full of interest to those for whom they 
 were intended, they would be tiresome to most readers. 
 Hence the necessity of presenting extracts only from 
 those that are inserted. There was one friend out of 
 his family circle with whom he kept up a familiar cor- 
 respondence through life, the Rev. Zephaniali Swift, 
 of Derby, Connecticut. But his letters to this indi- 
 vidual are made up chiefly of references to his state 
 of health ; or of confidential remarks respecting the 
 men and measures which were attracting public notice, 
 when they were written. And though many facts of 
 interest might be gathered (some such have been 
 1 * 
 
6 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 gathered) from these letters, the publication of most of 
 them would be an obvious violation of propriety. 
 
 His letters relating to controverted theological sub- 
 jects, which are limited in number, in connection with 
 a frank expression of his own views, contain also fre- 
 quent allusions to the character and spirit of individuals, 
 which, from their very nature, he must have considered 
 confidential. As most of these individuals are still living, 
 delicacy, not to say justice, requires that these allusions 
 should be suppressed. Dr. Porter w as one of the last 
 men to proclaim another's failings, intellectual or moral, 
 or to inflict a needless wound on the feelings of others, 
 even in supporting a good cause ; one of the last, in- 
 deed, to venture a doubtful approach to limits pre- 
 scribed by delicacy, much more a doubtful step across 
 those limits. Could he now speak from the narrow 
 bed where his ashes repose, he would say what his 
 whole course of conduct, as a man, a friend, a Chris- 
 tian, a minister, a teacher unequivocally said — " Let 
 not my memory be a seed of discord among brethren." 
 Yet, if the writec, whose happiness it has been to en- 
 joy peculiar facilities for becoming acquainted with his 
 character, has not studied that character in vain, he 
 would also require that sentiments, a distinct avowal of 
 which he believed was demanded by the interests of 
 Zion, should not be suppressed. He was fearless in 
 the expression of his views — was above disguise. It 
 would be doing him injustice, therefore, to suppress his 
 known ojjinions on any important subject. For the 
 bearing of these on the favorite views or measures 
 of others, tlie compiler does not consider himself re- 
 sponsible. His duty is performed, if he executes a 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 7 
 
 faithful portraiture of the character he has undertaken 
 to dehneate. 
 
 With these views, the Memoir, which has been de- 
 layed much beyond the compiler's intentions, partly by 
 unavoidable engagements, but chiefly by his ill health, 
 is offered to the Christian public ; with the hope that 
 it may perpetuate the influence of its lamented subject, 
 and thus prove instrumental in advancing the sacred 
 cause to which his life was devoted. 
 
 Braintree, March 22, 1837. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Biographical sketch of Hon. Thomas Porter, 13 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 LIFE OF EBENEZER PORTER. 
 
 Birth — Childhood — Classical education — Profession of religion — Theo- 
 logical studies and license to preach — Calls to several places — 
 Ordination at Washington — Marriage, 31 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 Settled purpose of continuing in Washington— Pastoral labors and their 
 effects — Meeting-house burned — Another erected — Instruction of 
 theological students — Health impaired by labors — Deficiency in 
 salary — Correspondence on the subject— Council called — Address 
 from young men — Meeting of council and result — Services desired 
 at other places— His feelings— Elected a member of C. A. S.— 
 Elected a trustee of Conn. Jlis. Soc. — Attends Gen. Assembly Pres. 
 Church— Invitation to Dutch Church at Albany — Request to preach 
 election sermon, 35 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Appointment at Andover — Reasons for and against accepting — Com- 
 munication to his church and society — Meeting of consociation — 
 Dissolution of pastoral relation — Answer to trustees — Inaugura- 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Enters on his labors — Receives degree of D. D. — Doubts about ac- 
 cepting it— Elected President of University of Vermont— Answer- 
 Finds the northern winter unfavorable to his health— Seeks a 
 
10 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 southern climate — Effect on health — Employment while absent — 
 Returning, attends Gen. Assembly of Pres. Church — Appointed 
 Prof, of Divinity in Yale College— Answer, 62 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Illness — Consulted respecting presidency of Hamilton and Middlebury 
 Colleges — Appointed President of University of Georgia — Answer 
 — Consulted respecting pastorship of Presbyterian church in Colum- 
 bia, S. C. — Voyage to Charleston — Journal — Efforts to raise funds 
 for indigent students — Meets President Brown — Casualty— Return 
 to Andover — Consulted respecting presidency of South Carolina 
 College, 72 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 Voyage to Baltimore — Letters— Voyage to Charleston — Memoranda- 
 Returning, attends General Assembly — Consulted respecting pres- 
 idency of Dartmouth College, 86 
 
 CHAPTER VHI. 
 Contemplates going to Europe— Communication to trustees— Varies his 
 determination and goes to Havana and New Orleans — Letters — 
 Memorandum returning — Salutary effect on his health, 97 
 
 CHAPTER DC. 
 
 Appointed President of Theological Seminary — Answer — Increase of 
 labors — Thinks of retiring from the Seminary — Requests leave of 
 absence — Embarks for Charleston — Letter to Mrs. P. — Proceeds 
 to St. Augustine — Letter to a friend in his family — Letter to a 
 colleague — Letter to Mrs. P.— Return to Charleston— Thinks of 
 going to Europe — Plan for the summer — Reflections on leaving 
 Charleston, 117 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Resigns professorship of Sacred Rhetoric — Embarks for Charleston, 
 accompanied by Mrs. Porter — Proceeds to Walterboro' and Colum- 
 bia — Delivers course of lectures in Theological Seminary at C. — 
 Return to Andover — Health but little improved — Again advised to 
 go south— Resolves to remain in Andover— Sickness and death of 
 his niece— His letter to her parents — His own sickness and death — 
 Funeral — Nature of his disorder, 130 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 INTELLECTUAL CHARACTER. 
 
 Intellectual endowments happily proportioned — Effect of infirmities on 
 his intellectual habits — Mental characteristics — Eminently qualified 
 
CONTENTS. 11 
 
 to act as umpire in cases of difficulty— Mode of preparing to write 
 — Qualities as a writer— Feeling of responsibility as a literary 
 man— Letter to Robert Hall, 142 
 
 CHAPTER Xn. 
 
 CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 Remarks — Reason wliy Dr. Porter kept no diary — Resolutions — Means 
 of growth in piety — Systematic in cultivating spiritual feelings — 
 Characteristics of his piety — Faithfulness in discharging duty ; 
 illustrations — Qualifications as a counselor and reprover — Letter — 
 Susceptibility of enjoyment heightened by piety — Testimony of his 
 colleagues— Concluding remarks, 155 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 
 
 Ministerial character. Theological studies — Selllemcnl at Washing- 
 ton-First efforts directed lo improvement of the young — Instruc- 
 tions respecting parental duties — Caloclieiical instruction — Results 
 — Estimate of maternal influence— Reliance on doctrinal instruc- 
 tion — On activity in doing good to promote growth in piely — Mode 
 of preaching — Eflbrls in training his vocal powers — Pastoral labors 
 
 — Revival. Studies — Desire of improvement — Observance of 
 
 propriety in public religious services — Concern respecting reputa- 
 tion — Activity — Solicitude for the purity of ihe church — Theological 
 views — Letters to Dr. Tyler — E.xiracls from Letter on Revivals, . 191 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Clutracteristics as a teacher in a theological sfminary — Views of adequate 
 training for the Christian ministry — Of the labors and responsibility 
 of his department — Disadvantages under which he prosecuted study 
 — Habhs of exercise — Intercourse with his pupils — Mode of giving 
 instruction — Estimate of a good delivery — Theory respecting vocal 
 tones and inflections — Letter from one of his pupils, 2'13 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Characteristics as a presiding officer of a theological seminary — Testimony 
 of his colleagues— First object lo promote the growth of piety in his 
 pupils — Views of its importance — M<;moranda of pastoral conversa- 
 tions — His interests idenlifieil with those of the seminary — Anxiety 
 that theological education should be thorough— Concern respecting 
 the rights of Congregational churches — Illustrations of their corporate 
 capacity, 256 
 
12 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 Mauners — Social qualities — Familiar letters — Principles of family 
 government— Paternal directions— Judicious management of pe- 
 cuniary afTairs — Contributions — Habits as to personal expenditures, 
 equipage, &c. — Hospitality — Summary view of his social char- 
 acter, 283 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 CONNECTION WITH BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Remarks — IMonday evening meeting — Monthly concert — American 
 Tract Society — Cliristian Sabbaili — Letter to Gov. Treadwell — 
 Blonroe's tour — La Fayette's tour — American Education Society — 
 Labors in its behalf— Letter to Tabernacle church — Letter to Mr. 
 Cornelius— Mr. C.'s reply — Letter from Rev. Dr. Cogswell — 
 American Home Missionary Society — Letter to Mr. E. Lord — 
 Letter from Rev. Dr. Peters — Prison Discipline Society — Letter 
 from Mr. E. Lord, 317 
 
 CHAPTER XVUI. 
 
 PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Sermons — Preacher's Manual — Analysis of Rhetorical Delivery — Rhe- 
 torical Reader — Lectures— Owen on Spiritual Mindediiess — Do. on 
 cxx.\. Psalm — Miscellaneous writings, 373 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Remarks— Views of Dr. Porter's character — Comparative exemption 
 from faults— Remarks — Epitaph, 391 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HON. THOMAS PORTKR. 
 
 Design and utility of biography — Birth — Early life — Settlement in 
 Cornwall, Conn. — Removal to Vermont — Civil offices — Retire- 
 ment from public life — Mental, moral, and Christian chaiacter — 
 Retains his faculties to extreme age — Last letter — Decease. 
 
 It was a happy device of the ancients, to perpetuate 
 the memory of those whom they loved or admired, by 
 preserving their statues in their dwellings and places of 
 public resort. There is something akin to this practice, 
 in the delineation of departed worth by the pen of 
 biography ; something much better adapted permanently 
 to secure in the highest degree the results at which it 
 aimed. The chisel or the pencil may delineate noble 
 features, may forcibly express characteristic energy and 
 fire, or benevolence and kindness; may in a word mould 
 a form before which the observer bows with admiration. 
 By these means the skilful artist may group together 
 the most impressive personages or events of a passing 
 scene. Biography docs not present the form, indeed, in 
 its actual proportions ; does not present the features 
 glowing with life, the eye seeing, the lips impatient to 
 speak ; but it does more, — it does that which the highest 
 skill of sculpture and painting cannot reach. It follows 
 2 
 
14 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 the man in his course through life ; presents him in 
 prosperity and adversity, in sickness and in health, in 
 employment and relaxation. It tells us of qualities which 
 the countenance cannot express — qualities implanted by 
 Sovereign Grace ; of a life of holy feeling and action, 
 and of enjoyments inseparable from them. It brings the 
 portraiture to the fireside and the closet, and calls us to 
 free, intimate, unrestrained communion with departed 
 wisdom and piety. It tells us by what efforts these 
 qualities were acquired or nurtured. It tells us of spirit- 
 ual conflicts, and bids us admire and lean upon that 
 grace which won the victory. In it as in a glass we 
 see ourselves — what we are, and what we should be. Is 
 the portrait that of the unregenerate ? — It teaches us that 
 " sin is exceedingly sinful," however prepossessing the 
 habiliments in which it is arrayed. Is it that of him who 
 has attained the " fullness of the stature of a perfect man 
 in Christ?" — We are admonished of neglected duty; are 
 invited, urged, allured to its performance. He, who 
 " being dead yet speaketh," leads the way. Are our 
 hearts susceptible of salutary impressions? — It matters 
 little what was the vocation, or what the circumstances 
 of the departed. 
 
 " With moistened eye 
 We read of faith and purest charily, 
 In Statesman, Priest, and humble citizen." 
 
 Several months previous to his decease, Dr. Porter in- 
 formed the writer that he intended to prepare for publica- 
 tion, a brief sketch of the life and character of his honored 
 father. He had to some extent collected the materials ; 
 though in consequence of ill health and the pressure of 
 official and other engagements, he had done nothing fur- 
 ther towards its preparation. It seems but a just tribute 
 to the venerable father, and a reasonable compliance with 
 
HON. THOMAS PORTER. 
 
 15 
 
 the wishes of the son, that such a sketch, though lacking 
 the completeness which that son would have imparted to 
 it, should be given to the public. This cannot perhaps 
 be done under any circumstances so well adapted to 
 clothe it with interest, as in connection with the Memoir 
 of the son. 
 
 The Hon. Thomas Porter was one of the few who 
 outlive their generation ; who, though they once filled 
 a large space in the public eye, are comparatively 
 forgotten in the tranquillity of private life, because 
 others occupy the places of those with whom they 
 were associated in counsel and labor. He was born 
 in Farmington, Connecticut, February 3, 1734, O. S. 
 He bore the name of his great grandfather, who emi- 
 grated from England, and was one of the original pro- 
 prietors of Faruiingfon. His father, on his dying bed, 
 committed to him the direction of his affairs, charging 
 him especially to maintain family worship, and as he was 
 the oldest son, though he was but seventeen years of age, 
 to set a godly example before his younger brothers and 
 sisters. This last charge, as he was not then pious, he 
 felt unprepared to obey; yet filial reverence and affection 
 constrained him to make the attempt. By the blessing of 
 God, his obedience was productive of spiritual benefit to 
 himself. As he led the morning and evening devotions 
 of a circle which from infancy had been taught to join 
 in a father's confessions and supplications, he felt the 
 solemnity of the duty with which he was charged, and the 
 responsibility of the relations he sustained ; he felt his 
 own guilt and insufficiency, and repaired to his heavenly 
 Father for pardon and aid. He used, in subsequent life, 
 to refer to his father's dying counsels, especially to his 
 charge respecting family worship, as having been chiefly 
 instrumental in his conversion. 
 
 In May, 1757, about six years after his father's decease, 
 
16 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 be removed to Cornwall in his native State, where he 
 purchased a farm; and in June, 1758, he was married to 
 Abigail Howe. Respecting his residence in Cornwall, 
 very few facts of much interest can be collected. There 
 is evidence, however, from various military, civil and ec- 
 clesiastical offices to which he was elected by his fellow- 
 citizens, that he enjoyed their confidence and esteem. 
 From the year 17G7, while he continued in the State, 
 he sustained the office of deacon of the Congregational 
 church in Cornwall ; of a magistrate, and a representative 
 of the town in the State legislature. 
 
 In 1779, Judge Porter removed to Tinmouth, in the 
 State of Vermont. For some years previous to his re- 
 moval, this district of country, which had long been 
 known by the designation of " New Hampshire Grants," 
 and which was even then thus designated by all but its 
 inhabitants, had hppn in violont commotion, because of 
 the right claimed by the State of New York, to hold and 
 dispose of tracts of land which had been sold and con- 
 firmed to their occupants by the authority of New Hamp- 
 shire. It had been decided by the king of Great Britain, 
 to whom the disputed territorial limits had been submitted 
 by the contending parties, that the western shore of Con- 
 necticut river bounded the territory of New Hampshire, 
 and that the jurisdiction of the territory in question be- 
 longed of course to New York. The government of 
 New York contended that this decision " had a retro- 
 spective operation, and determined not only what should 
 thereafter be, but what always had been the eastern 
 boundary of New York, and that consequently the grants 
 which had been made by the governor of New Hampshire 
 were void."* A strenuous and protracted effort was made 
 by New York to enforce this interpretation of the royal 
 decision, even in the face of a subsequent prohibition by 
 the king, of interference with the titles given by New 
 
 * Vermont State Papers, p. 20. 
 
HON. THOMAS PORTER. 
 
 17 
 
 Hampshire. The settlers remonstrated, but their remon- 
 strances were disregarded ; they petitioned, but were not 
 heard. They saw themselves liable to be forcibly dis- 
 possessed of property which to them was exceedingly 
 valuable, and to be thrown unprotected on the mercy of 
 masters for whom they had little affection. In this 
 emergency they fearlessly declared that they would never 
 submit to the usurpation of their neighbors. They 
 leagued together and made the best preparation their 
 means would allow, to defend their rights by arms. They 
 organized a government; established courts of justice; 
 and made other arrangements for the administration of 
 their affairs as an independent State ; and with as much 
 regularity as circumstances admitted, their government 
 was in a course of administration when Judge Porter 
 removed to Vermont. This was a period of less commo- 
 tion, but not of less interest than the preceding ten or 
 fifteen years. He was immediately called by his fellow- 
 citizens to act a prominent part in the affairs of his 
 adopted State. Beside being appointed a justice of the 
 peace, and chosen to several responsible offices in town, 
 he was, in 1780, the year after his removal to Tinmouth, 
 elected a representative to the State legislature. Of that 
 body he was the same year chosen Speaker, which office 
 he held during three successive years, the whole time of 
 his continuance in the house. In 1783, he was trans- 
 ferred to the executive council, of which body he con- 
 tinued a member, with but very brief if any intervals, 
 till his retirement from public life in 1794, when he 
 tendered to his colleagues the following resignation. 
 
 " Gentlemen of the Council, and House of Assembly, 
 
 " I take this opportunity to express the grateful sense 
 I have of the honors done me by the freemen from time 
 to time, in electing me a councilor; and it hath been, 
 2* 
 
18 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 perhaps, as agreeable to me as to any other person, to 
 serve the public in that capacity. Yet my age, and other 
 attending circumstances, incline me at this time to resign 
 my seat in council, and it is my wish to spend the re- 
 mainder of my time in private life. Yet my attachment 
 to the interest of this government is such, that tlie free- 
 men may rest assured that I shall use the small share of 
 influence that I may have in private life, to promote the 
 true interest and welfare of this State. 
 
 " And now, Mr. Speaker, as a member of the council, 
 I would take my leave of this honorable house of assem- 
 bly, with the pleasing hope and expectation that wisdom 
 and uprightness will mark all their steps, and in that way 
 meet with the approbation and smiles of Heaven to the 
 latest posterity. ^ Tno. Porter." 
 
 By joint vote of the council, and house of assembly, 
 he was honored with the subjoined reply. — 
 
 " Sir, — This assembly, sensible of the uprightness and 
 sincerity with which you have so long filled the office of a 
 councilor in this State, regret that the time has arrived 
 when, you say, the infirmities of age have induced you to 
 retire to the private walks of life. In the name of the 
 freemen, they thank you for the patriotic firmness with 
 which you have, for a long series of years, stepped forth 
 in support and vindication of their liberties. Be assured, 
 Sir, you retire with the approbation of your country for 
 your past services, and their ardent wish for your present 
 and future felicity." 
 
 While Judge Porter was serving his fellow-citizens in 
 the capacity of a legislator, they were pleased to express 
 their estimation of his talents, and their approbation of his 
 conduct, by calling him to several other offices of high 
 responsibility. In 1781, he was appointed a judge of the 
 
HON. THOMAS PORTER. 
 
 19 
 
 county court for the county of Rutland ; In 1784, a judge 
 of the supreme court, in which office he served till 1787; 
 and from '87 he was again a judge of the county court 
 till he resigned in 1790. In 1791, he was a member of 
 the convention which approved and assented to the con- 
 stitution of the United States, preparatory to the admis- 
 sion of Vermont into the Union. In conversation re- 
 specting the frequency with which his fellow-citizens had 
 been pleased to demand his services in various official 
 stations, he remarked that he believed he had held every 
 civil office established by the laws of Vermont, excepting 
 those of governor and lieutenant-governor. 
 
 Connected as he was with the legislative councils of 
 Vermont, during a succession of years after she had de- 
 clared herself an independent State, and while she was 
 seeking from congress an acknowledgment of her sove- 
 reignty, and admission into the Union ; obliged in various 
 instances, in his official capacity, to be the organ of com- 
 munication between the state and general governments, 
 Judge Porter unavoidably became deeply interested in po- 
 litical affairs. His interest rather increased than abated, 
 as he advanced in years. While he was in principle and 
 action a republican, he was a decided opposer of every 
 thing approaching political licentiousness. While he 
 would secure his own rights, he would consent to no 
 form of government which did not on equitable principles 
 equally secure the rights of all. His political feelings 
 were under the control of piety. When he surveyed his 
 country, it was with the eye of a Christian. When he 
 spoke of the character or the measures of those in au- 
 thority, it was in the language of piety, dictated by 
 unaffected concern respecting their influence on the 
 well-being of Zion. 
 
 Though he had no fondness for military office, he early 
 manifested a readiness whenever his services were need- 
 
20 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 ed, to join his fellow-citizens and repair to the scene of 
 danger. lie several times held a military commission ; 
 in the last instance as captain of a company of " minute 
 men" in the war of the revolution; though it is not known 
 that he was ever permanently connected with any military 
 corps in active service. 
 
 In stature, Judge Porter was somewhat above six feet, 
 and in person was uncommonly, commanding. His man- 
 ners were easy and dignified; his address conciliating. 
 To etiquette in his intercourse with others, he was pecu- 
 liarly attentive ; so much so, that even in very advanced 
 age, he used among his friends occasionally to animad- 
 vert, with much severity, on the negligence which in 
 this respect he often observed. His whole deportment 
 was characterized by simplicity and uniform kindness. 
 
 He was a man of singular prudence. This was mani- 
 fest both in the management of his private affairs, and in 
 the discharge of official duty. Always deliberate, he acted 
 with reference to some distinct and worthy end, and that 
 he might attain this end, he was accustomed, before com- 
 mencing a proposed course of action, to calculate, as far as 
 human foresight could reach, the bearings and conse- 
 quences of his conduct. His plans of action being di- 
 gested, they were pursued with the same deliberation with 
 which they were formed. Hence he was rarely accounted 
 imprudent. His acquaintance were wont to confide in 
 his counsel. He was often appealed to as a mediator, in 
 cases of difficulty, in which capacity his practical wisdom 
 qualified him to be very useful. He showed himself, 
 especially, the friend of the oppressed and the suffering. 
 
 He was also a man of inflexible integrity. No prospect 
 of advancing his secular interests could induce him to 
 compromise with dishonesty. Though with the divine 
 blessing he acquired an ample estate, it is believed that 
 no man was ever disposed to charge him with a want oi 
 
HON. THOMAS PORTER. 
 
 21 
 
 perfect uprightness in his dealings. His frequent election 
 to places of honor and trust, was not the result of his own 
 seeking. He was far above the intrigue and machination 
 to which those who are advanced to office often owe their 
 elevation. 
 
 His character was not less marked by decision and 
 Jirnnicss. By his fellow-citizens it was understood that 
 he would follow the convictions of duty: consequently, if 
 they wished him to advocate their claims, they had first to 
 convince him that those claims were founded in justice. 
 Whenever called to act in concert with others, these 
 qualities won their confidence. They were equally ob- 
 servable in the government of his family. Here his de- 
 cisions were law. He aimed particularly to impress upon 
 his children in early life, .the restraints of piety, and to 
 implant the principles by which their conduct should be 
 governed toward uod and their fellow-men. This he did 
 not so much by frequent, personal addresses on the subject 
 of religion, as by the language of a consistent, holy ex- 
 ample. The result was, that his influence, sustained by 
 that of his wife, whose views and feelings happily coin- 
 cided with his own, was paramount in the formation of 
 their character. To this influence, his son, Dr. Porter, 
 repeatedly and gratefully acknowledges his obligations. 
 Alluding to it, he incidentally remarks, " I ascribe it, 
 under Providence, to the restraints of my early life, to the 
 Christian influence of an excellent father and mother, that 
 I am not a beggar, or an infidel, or a reprobate. Of the 
 obligations I am under to my parents, I hope always to 
 cherish a grateful recollection." 
 
 Judge Porter possessed withal exemplary modesty. He 
 was first to suspect his fitness for stations of high respon- 
 sibility, and slow to admit his competency. Content that 
 others should judge of his worth, he was commonly in- 
 clined to make liberal deductions from their estimate. In 
 
22 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 his ninety-fourth, or ninety-fifth year, he began, at the 
 earnest solicitation of his son, a brief autobiography ; but 
 had proceeded only a few pages, when extreme solicitude, 
 lest the attempt should by some be attributed to arro- 
 gance, induced him to desist, and destroy what he had 
 written. 
 
 Tliougli he enjoyed in early life no other than common 
 advantages for education, his thirst for knowledge and the 
 facility with which he made acquisitions, qualified him to 
 fill his place, with honor to himself and interest to others, 
 in the society of educated and intelligent men ; and to 
 preside, to the acceptance of his fellow-citizens, in the 
 hall of legislation and in the court of justice, during a 
 period adapted to prove alike wisdom, and patience, and 
 intrepidity. To native strength of mind, he added prac- 
 tical knowledge and a degree of mental discipline, which 
 rendered him, at times, botli attractive ana powerful m 
 debate. 
 
 But the predominant excellence of Judge Porter was 
 his piety. It was enlightened. For many years he had 
 contemplated with painful interest the perishing condition 
 of his fellow-men; had watched, especially, the gradual 
 encroachments of irreligion on institutions which, from 
 infancy, he had regarded as sacred and invaluable. When 
 therefore, in the evening of life, he saw organizations 
 springing into being to ameliorate this condition, to per- 
 petuate and extend these institutions, he felt that the 
 desire of his heart had been granted; that "his eyes had 
 seen the salvation of God." lie felt no jealousy of the 
 efforts of Christians because they were new, but was pre- 
 pared to lend every organization based on the principles 
 of the gospel, his cordial support. 
 
 His piety was active. It has already been remarked, 
 that soon after his settlement in Cornwall, Conn., he was 
 chosen a deacon of the church in that town, and officiated 
 
HON. THOMAS PORTER. 
 
 23 
 
 in that capacity during his continuance in the State. On 
 his removal to Vermont he was immediately chosen a 
 deacon of the Congregational church in Tinmouth. The 
 duties of this station he continued to discharge to ad- 
 vanced age, when he was succeeded by his oldest son, 
 Thomas Porter.* The following statement, in the hand- 
 writing of Dr. Porter, records an instance of activity and 
 fidelity in an officer of the church, as rare it is to be 
 feared, as it is worthy of imitation. — " My father informed 
 me that for fifteen years after the dismission of Mr. Osborn, 
 Tinmouth enjoyed only occasional preaching. The rest 
 of the time he read sermons, and prayed himself, and kept 
 up the worship of God without assistance, and without the 
 interruption even of a single Sabbath. During this time 
 he was never once absent on the Sabbath." 
 
 Several of Judge Porter's letters to his children are 
 preserved, which breathe unusually deep and constant 
 religious feeling. With few exceptions they are devoted 
 almost exclusively to religious topics. His letters to his 
 pon, Dr. Porter, for several years after he entered the 
 ministry, are chiefly confined to the importance of his 
 ofiice, and contain exhortations to diligence and faithful- 
 ness, which we may reasonably suppose exerted a salutary 
 influence on his future character and usefulness. In 
 nearly every letter he describes particularly the state of 
 religion in Tinmouth ; mentions minutely the causes 
 which in his view were producing and perpetuating 
 spiritual declension, or awakening Christians to activity; 
 
 * This son, at whose house the venerable father died, survived 
 his parent but a week. The day after his father's decease, he pre- 
 pared for the Vermont Chronicle a brief obituary sketch, when he 
 was himself violently attacked with a fever; lingered a few days, 
 and expired. Dea. Porter for many 3'ears, while a resident of 
 Tinmouth, exerted an extensive and happy influence as a member 
 and ofhcer of the church, and repeatedly represented the town in 
 the State legislature. 
 
24 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 as though by his own example, he would incite his son 
 to similar habits of observation. No other blessing is 
 alluded to in his letters so frequently, and with so full a 
 measure of gratitude, as the grace of God manifest in the 
 hopeful renewal of all his children but one. Respecting 
 this child, though he rarely gave utterance to his feelings, 
 occasional expressions betrayed intense solicitude. Evi- 
 dently struggling with inexpressible emotion, a few months 
 before his death, he asked a friend standing at his bed- 
 side, as though fearful that his solicitude was sinful, " To 
 what extent is a father's anxiety for the salvation of an 
 unconverted child, consistent with Christian submission?" 
 
 The piety which so happily controlled his life. Judge 
 Porter found a rich source of consolation in affliction. In 
 the 79th year of his age, he was called to part with his 
 wife, who, with a spirit kindred to his own, had been a 
 bright example of the power of godliness. At her decease, 
 the bereaved husband, having already passed the appointed 
 limit of human life, supposed that the time of his own 
 departure was at hand, and he was " in a strait betwixt 
 two, having a desire to depart." In a letter subsequently 
 written, he remarks, that " all his enjoyment arose from 
 communion with God, and that he was sustained by evi- 
 dence of preparation for the rest of heaven." 
 
 We cannot with propriety omit a passing notice of the 
 state of society, in which the germ of the character we 
 are contemplating, received the training that determined 
 its future form and growth. Dr. Porter elicited from his 
 father, then in the 93d year of his age, the following facts, 
 which were recorded nearly in the words of the venerable 
 narrator. They are transcribed as reminiscences of days 
 gone by ; of usages which secured for Connecticut the 
 honorable appellation — "the land of steady habits." — 
 " Judge Porter was accustomed, in childhood, to see his 
 parents pay so strict a regard to the Sabbath, that all the 
 
HON. THOMAS PORTER. 
 
 25 
 
 labor which it was possible to do, even towards the prepa- 
 ration of food for that day, was done on Saturday. Before 
 sunset, Saturday evening, the vegetables were washed, the 
 pudding, (an indispensable part of every dinner,) was pre- 
 pared, and a piece of meat made ready for the Sabbath. 
 Though Saturday evening was generally regarded as holy 
 time. Sabbath evening was religiously observed. None 
 were permitted to stroll about the streets for visiting or 
 other unnecessary purposes. The laws requiring the 
 observance of the Sabbath were rigidly enforced by the 
 tithingmen. Great regard was entertained for the services 
 of the sanctuary, and they were punctually attended, 
 though neither wheel-carriages nor sleighs were in use.* 
 The Westminster Assembly's Catechism was taught on 
 the Sabbath, and in the common school. There was but 
 one public school in the society in which he resided, but this 
 was well sustained through the year, being kept in winter 
 by a man ; in summer by a female. Family worship was 
 so commonly practised, that in his native town it was 
 
 * The following reminiscences, though somewhat miscellaneous, 
 may interest the reader. 
 
 In the meeting-house of Farmington, the children, that they 
 might be under the inspection both of their parents and the min- 
 ister, were ranged along the principal aisle, on seats prepared for 
 that purpose. When the minister entered, the congregation rose in 
 token of respect. 
 
 Judge Porter believed that before he was twenty years old, it 
 was a very general practice of Christians in Connecticut to ask a 
 blessing at table, in a sitting posture ; afterwards, without discus- 
 sion, so far as he knew, the practice of standing became equally 
 general. 
 
 During his youth there was no lawyer in the society in which he 
 resided, chiefly, as he thought, because none was needed. 
 
 Jumping, running, and wrestling, were the principal recreations 
 of iiis youth ; these were so much in vogue, as in some instances 
 almost to become the standard of merit. 
 
 Judge Porter never saw a potatoe till ho was twenty years old. 
 Previously, turnips were generally used. 
 
 3 
 
26 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 thought disreputable for a young man, when married and 
 settled in life, to neglect it. To ardent spirits he was in 
 childhood and youth almost a stranger. They were very 
 little used in Farmington ; in no case as a common drink. 
 He did not recollect, that during the first half of his life, 
 he ever saw spirits carried into the field for laborers. As 
 might have been expected, where Christian institutions 
 were so reverently observed, vice was discountenanced, 
 and the morals of the community were, in general, 
 blameless." 
 
 Very few men retain their bodily and mental powers to 
 advanced age, so unimpaired as were those of Judge 
 Porter. Having possessed an unusually vigorous constitu- 
 tion, he enjoyed uniform health, with scarce an interruption 
 of a day, till the last year of his life. He used to remark, 
 that " until his 'fifty-third year, he knew not that he had 
 ever experienced fatigue ; that he did not recollect the 
 day, previous to that time, when, at the close of a day's 
 labor, he did not feel as well able to proceed with his 
 work, as if he had enjoyed the best opportunity for 
 repose." His youngest son informed the writer, that his 
 father, at the age of eighty-five, would take his scythe 
 and go into the field, in company with others, and without 
 any apparent fatigue, perform as much labor for half a 
 day as any of his companions. Although he made such 
 a disposition of his property as to be exempt from the 
 necessity of labor, it was his recreation long after the 
 period just named, to spend a part of each day in some 
 useful employment on the farm, devoting the remainder of 
 the day to reading, of which he was enthusiastically fond. 
 About a year before his death, he rode forty-five miles in 
 a single day to visit a daughter. To the inquiries of his 
 friends respecting his health, he usually replied, " I 
 enjoy as good health as I ever did, excepting the infirmi- 
 ties of age." He uniformly regarded death, however, as 
 
HON. THOMAS PORTER. 
 
 27 
 
 near at hand. Being aware that very aged persons often 
 drop away without premonitory illness, he used, for years, 
 to say, that when he " laid his head upon his pillow, 
 and closed his eyes in sleep, he expected to awake in 
 eternity." 
 
 Of the extent to which he retained his mental faculties, 
 the following letter, written in his 99th year, affords an 
 illustration. It was addressed to a grandson and his wife 
 in Michigan, to whom he was much attached. 
 
 My dear Grandchildren, 
 
 " I have such evidence of the overruling provi- 
 dence of God, that I believe there is nothing in this world 
 which is not under the superintendence of that provi- 
 dence. You have been under its protection ever since 
 you have been on the journey of life, and you have great 
 reason for gratitude and thankfulness to the Giver of all 
 your mercies. 
 
 " It is so difficult for me to write, and will be so diffi- 
 cult for you to read my letter, that I shall omit every thing 
 of a worldly nature ; only I advise you, if you meet with 
 
 embarrassments, to apply to Judge C for aid, and I 
 
 trust he will be willing to assist you by advice or other- 
 wise. I shall confine myself principally to family religion. 
 If you have arri%ed at your expected place of residence, I 
 advise you to adopt Joshua's resolution, that you and your 
 household will serve the Lord, the living God. I advise 
 you to set up and maintain family religion, reading some 
 part of the sacred Scriptures every morning, with prayers 
 morning and evening. — Christ said to his disciples, and 
 now says to you, ' Enter into thy closet, shut thy door, and 
 pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father 
 which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.' Any 
 place, retired from the world, will answer for a closet for 
 Christ Jesus. I advise you to withdraw from the world 
 
28 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
 
 and spend some time in prayer and meditation. I have 
 
 understood that when you was at C school, you was 
 
 a subject of awakening and of hopeful conversion ; it was 
 the best news I ever heard ; — but that you have since 
 lived like the rest of the world. I hope you will find 
 pleasure in religion, and go on your way rejoicing. If 
 religion is burdensome, you have reason to conclude that 
 your heart is not right in the sight of God. Pray earnestly 
 for a right frame of mind. Nearness to God in duty is 
 the greatest satisfaction the Christian ever enjoys. Let 
 not the world engage your whole attention ; you may 
 live comfortably with a small portion of this world, but 
 without religion you cannot be happy. 
 
 " I firmly believe you would be glad to add something 
 to my comfort in my old age. There is nothing you can 
 do that will add so much to my comfort, as to furnish me 
 good evidence that you and your family are engaged in 
 religion. I do not know what religious privileges you 
 enjoy, but I do not expect you will be favored with 
 preaching for some time. If you are destitute of preach- 
 ing, I advise you, if you have religious neighbors, to meet 
 upon the Sabbath, and pray and read the Scriptures, or 
 other books on divinity. But if you cannot be favored 
 with such meetings, I advise you to withdraw from worldly 
 concerns, for reading, prayer, and meditation. 
 
 " A word to N . Dear N , I advise you to 
 
 assist your dear husband in the important duties of family 
 religion. I expect the adversary will be casting stumbling- 
 blocks in the way of religious duty ; you must remove 
 them. If you should be blessed with a family of children, 
 join hand in hand in traii\ing them up in the fear and 
 admonition of the Lord. Let not the world prevent your 
 attending to the one thing needful. If these few lines 
 should reach you, you will trace in them a striking evi- 
 dence of the effects of old age on the human frame. It is 
 
HON. THOMAS PORTER. 
 
 29 
 
 so difficult for me to see and to write, that I must close 
 with this advice : — keep near to God in duty, and God 
 will be near to you with a blessing. I shall commit each 
 of you to the care and keeping of that God, who hath 
 promised to protect and bless all that put their trust in 
 him. Live in love, live in peace, and the God of love and 
 peace be with you. 
 
 " I must bid you adieu by subscribing myself your aged 
 and affectionate grandfather, 
 
 " Thomas Porter." 
 
 An equally clear indication, perhaps, of the remarkable 
 degree to which Judge Porter retained his mental facul- 
 ties, was his correct perception of their gradual decay. 
 Of such perception, indeed, he used modestly to acknowl- 
 edge himself incapable. " I feel," says he in a letter to 
 his son, several years before his death, " I feel my strength 
 decaying, but I consider myself incompetent to judge of 
 the failure of my mental faculties." Consequently, towards 
 the close of his life, he was rarely heard to express an 
 opinion in regard to secular concerns, which might by 
 others be called in question, and might be imputed to a 
 lack of judgment. He would sometimes say, respecting 
 the miscalculations of others, " I saw they were wrong, 
 but did not express my conviction, because they were 
 sanguine, and would have deemed my opinion of no 
 value." The first certain indication which he discovered 
 of the decay of his faculties, was, to use his own expres- 
 sion, " an inability to cast figures in his head, as he had 
 formerly done." 
 
 He was wholly exempt from the peevishness, common 
 to advanced age. Every attention from his friends was 
 gratefully received. It was rare indeed that any designed 
 act of kindness done for him, did not seem to meet his 
 full approbation. It was even more rare that he uttered 
 3* 
 
30 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 an expression of dissatisfaction. The last years of his life 
 he manifested affecting solicitude lest he should be a 
 burden to his friends. While spending a few months with 
 his youngest daughter, about a year before his death, she 
 found him several times in tears. When she kindly 
 inquired the cause of his grief, he would reply, " I fear, 
 my daughter, I occasion you more trouble than your feeble 
 health will enable you to sustain." His son, at whose 
 house he died, remarks in his obituary, that " during 
 several months of entire helplessness, previous to his 
 decease, not a murmuring word escaped his lips." 
 
 For some years. Judge Porter stood alone. He knew 
 not that one companion of his childhood or youth sur- 
 vived. He regarded himself as belonging to a past age — 
 a man of another generation ; and he desired that " his 
 earthly house of this tabernacle might be dissolved, that 
 lie might be clothed upon with his house which is from 
 heaven." He longed to depart, that he might be reunited 
 with his early friends in the holy and perfect services and 
 enjoyments of heaven. The vital current ceased to flow, 
 not because obstructed by disease, but because the foun- 
 tain, which had so long fed it, was exhausted. He came 
 to his " grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh 
 in his season." He died at the house of his son, in Gran- 
 ville, New York, May 30, 1833, aged ninety-nine yeaks 
 
 AND three months. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 LIFE OF EBENEZER POUTER. 
 
 Birtii — Childhood — Classical education — Profession of religion — 
 Theological studies and license to preach — Calls to several 
 places — Ordination at Washington — Marriage. 
 
 Ebenezer Porter was the third son of the Hon, 
 Thomas Porter, the subject of the preceding sketch. 
 Besides his older brothers, the family consisted of three 
 sisters older, and one brother younger than himself He 
 was born at Cornwall, Connecticut, Oct. 5, 1772, and 
 removed with his father to Tinmouth, Vermont, in 1779. 
 In childhood, he was distinguished only by loveliness of 
 disposition and propriety of deportment. His principles 
 of action began very early to be formed under judicious 
 parental training ; and to this, doubtless, is chiefly to 
 be attributed the uniform correctness of his early con- 
 duct. A single instance of his mother's instruction he 
 used to mention as having probably exerted a controlling 
 influence in the formation of his character. While very 
 young, having one day received an injury from some of 
 his mates, he went directly to his mother to unbosom his 
 grief. She said, "My son, treat your companions kindly 
 in return, and you will heap coals of fire on their heads." 
 This precept, if not new to his young mind, had never 
 before attracted his attention. He pondered it, and was 
 enabled, as he hoped, to make it a permanent principle 
 of action. 
 
32 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 As he early manifested a fondness for books, and a 
 desire to obtain a thorough education, his parents cheer- 
 fully furnished every facility in their power to the accom- 
 plishment of his wishes. He commenced his classical 
 studies when twelve years of age, with his brother in law, 
 Rev. Benjamin Osborn, then minister of Tinmouth, and 
 afterward pursued them, until prepared for college, at 
 Bennington, Vt., a resident in the family of Rev. Dr. 
 Swift. He entered Dartmouth college in 1788. Though 
 his health during part of his college life was feeble, he 
 pursued the prescribed course of study, and graduated 
 with his class in 1792. While a member of college he 
 was distinguished for love of order, and cheerful obedience 
 to established regulations. His standing as a scholar in- 
 dicated respectable intellectual endowments, and habits of 
 diligent and patient application. Says one of his class- 
 mates, " he was much distinguished as a scholar while in 
 college. He joined college when young. — I perfectly well 
 remember his appearance at that time. His face was 
 then round, his hair very light as well as his complexion, 
 and his whole appearance exceedingly youthful, fair, and 
 prepossessing. As a speaker he was even at that time 
 much admired." When he graduated, he delivered the 
 valedictory oration. It was during his junior year at 
 college, that he received his first permanent religious 
 impressions. 
 
 Having arrived at manhood, many of his characteristics, 
 bodily and mental, bore a striking resemblance to those of 
 his father. 
 
 " All but the wrinkles and the hairs 
 Were copied in the eon." 
 
 He was about six feet in height, and in person well pro- 
 portioned. His face was thin ; his forehead high ; his 
 nose well formed and rather prominent ; his eyes gray, of 
 
LIFE. 
 
 33 
 
 a bluish cast, and es^pressive of mildness, benevolence, 
 and decision. Though there was nothing very striking in 
 his features, his countenance distinctly indicated intelli- 
 gence, firmness, and energy. 
 
 After leaving college, he spent some months at Wash- 
 ington, Conn., in teaching, in which employment his 
 services were highly acceptable. During this period he 
 made a profession of religion, uniting with the church of 
 which he afterwards became the pastor, then under the 
 care of Rev. Noah Merwin. His theological studies he 
 pursued under the direction of Rev. Dr. Smalley, of 
 Berlin, Conn., and received license to preach in 1794. 
 He commenced his labors as a preacher, by supplying, for 
 a few weeks, the pulpit of Rev. Mr. Hooker, of Goshen, 
 while he was absent on a tour of missionary service. He 
 first preached as a candidate at South Britain, during the 
 last part of 1794, and the first part of 1795, from which 
 place he received a call to settle. About this time, the 
 decease of Rev. Mr. Merwin, of Washington, occasioned 
 a vacancy, for the supply of which, the attention of that 
 people was at once turned to Mr. Porter. Having de- 
 clined the invitation from South Britain, he consented to 
 preach at Washington a few weeks, though it would seem 
 without any intention of finding a settlement there. The 
 mutual attachment, however, which commenced during 
 his previous residence among that people, was increased 
 by his intercourse with them as a candidate ; and Tie soon 
 received an invitation to become their minister. Respect- 
 ing this call, he wrote to one of his relatives : — " Though 
 Washington has become to me a peculiarly agreeable 
 place of residence, and though I should choose it on many 
 accounts before almost any place for a home, I cannot 
 remain here unless some circumstances attending the 
 call are changed." Accordingly, he returned a negative 
 answer. A few Sabbaths following he spent at Salisbury, 
 
34 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 where he was also favored with an urgent invitation to 
 settle. During his stay at Salisbury, the people of Wash- 
 ington renewed their proposals, with such modifications as 
 he felt constrained to accept. He immediately returned 
 to Washington ; and as a text for his first discourse, 
 selected the words of Peter : — " Therefore came I unto 
 you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for : I ask, 
 therefore, for what intent ye have sent for me?" This 
 discourse was often referred to by those who heard it, as 
 having set forth, in a manner adapted permanently to 
 affect their hearts, the relations and the reciprocal duties 
 of a minister and his people. He was ordained Sept. 6, 
 1796, having nearly attained his twenty-fourth year; and 
 in May following, was married to Miss Lucy Pierce 
 Merwin, the eldest daughter of his predecessor. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Settled purpose of continuing in Washington — Pastoral labors and 
 their effects — Meeting-house burned — Another erected — Instruc- 
 tion of theological students — Health impaired by labors — Defi- 
 ciency in salary — Correspondence on the subject — Council called 
 — Address from young men — Meeting of council and result — 
 Services desired at other places — His feelings— Klected a mem- 
 ber of C. A. S. — Elected a trustee of Conn. Mis. Soc. — Attends 
 Gen. Assembly Pres. Church — Invitation to Dutch Church at 
 Albany — Request to preach election sermon. 
 
 FnoM the moment of Mr. Porter's acceptance of the call 
 from Washington, it seems to have been his purpose there 
 to spend his days. With this purpose he formed his plan 
 of action ; a plan sufficiently extensive to embrace the 
 labors of a life of unwearied diligence. In the execution 
 of this plan, he seems to have pursued study, to have per- 
 formed parochial labor, to have tasked every energy, with 
 a confident anticipation that results would correspond 
 with his efforts. As it is proposed in another connec- 
 tion to exhibit, at some length, his mode of pastoral 
 labor, it is sufficient here to remark, that though no 
 special manifestation of the divine presence and power 
 amounting to a general revival of religion, signalized the 
 first years of his ministry, he had cheering evidence that 
 his instrumentality was owned of God, in the occurrence 
 of frequent cases of hopeful conversion, and in a gradual, 
 
36 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 yet constant and very considerable, increase of his church 
 both in numbers and piety. A happy change was soon 
 perceptible, also, in the intellectual and moral character 
 of the youth of his charge. His parish presented to the 
 eye indubitable indications of faithful, skilful, and un- 
 tiring spiritual husbandry ; indications that it enjoyed the 
 culture of a " workman that needed not to be ashamed." 
 
 A few years after the settlement of Mr. Porter, an in- 
 sane person set fire to his meeting-house, and it was saved 
 only by extraordinary exertions. As it was not known 
 how the fire originated, the incendiary was left at liberty. 
 The damages the building had sustained, were scarcely 
 repaired, when the same person kindled another fire in 
 such a position as to render all efforts to extinguish it 
 unavailing, and the edifice was reduced to ashes. The 
 Sabbath following, the pastor addressed his bereaved 
 flock from the injunction of the Apostle, Let brotherly 
 love continue ; and administered, in a temporary place of 
 worship, the sacramental symbols which his church had 
 hoped to participate in the sanctuary where their fathers 
 worshipped. The indispensableness of mutual forbear- 
 ance and affection was urged upon his people, especially 
 with reference to the work of erecting another house for 
 God. He presented before them the example of Nehe- 
 miah ; reminded them of their obligations to imitate his 
 energy, his zeal, and perseverance, and bade them do 
 their duty. In a single week the location of another 
 edifice was determined, the incipient steps towards its 
 erection were taken, and with the same spirit, the enter- 
 prise was prosecuted to its consummation. The call to 
 rebuild their sanctuary under the circumstances which 
 have been related, was an essential benefit to the people 
 of Washington, as it developed their resources and thus 
 taught them their strength, while it bound them more 
 strongly to each other, and to their pastor. 
 
LIFE. 
 
 37 
 
 Mr. Porter's health, which always suffered from the 
 severe labor he imposed upon himself, suffered yet more, 
 when to parochial duties and severe professional study, 
 he superadded the labor of giving instruction to youth, 
 and afterwards to theological students. To the last 
 undertaking he was urged by several of his brethren in 
 the ministry, who early discovered in him certain peculiar 
 qualifications for the work ; and as theological schools did 
 not then exist, he reluctantly consented to receive a suc- 
 cession of students into his family. Partly that the en- 
 ergies of his pupils might be fully employed, and partly 
 that he might secure sufficient time for their instruction, 
 he used to devote to this work the hours spent at the 
 table ; assigning at each meal, some topic to be discussed 
 at the next. Each pupil was expected, in his turn, to 
 take the lead in reciting the thoughts of some author, or 
 in offering his own opinions, after which the discussion 
 became general, and was concluded with remarks from 
 the teacher. The prostration of his health, which com- 
 menced under this complication of duties, was completed 
 under the pressure of labor incident to a general revival 
 among his people in the years 1804 — 5. He was now 
 compelled to suspend his labors for nearly a year. Here 
 probably was laid the foundation of the disorder, which, 
 in subsequent life, caused him almost uninterrupted, and 
 often extreme suffering. This protracted suspension of 
 his labors in no respect diminished the attachment of his 
 people to him. Nothing occurred, for a moment, to 
 interrupt the harmony which had prevailed until the year 
 1809, when a deficiency in his means of support, occa- 
 sioned by circumstances which he could not control, and 
 which at his ordination could not be foreseen, compelled 
 him to make known to his people his situation, and ask 
 relief at their hands. His correspondence with his people 
 in relation to this matter, he carefully transcribed and 
 4 
 
38 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 preserved, and though under other circumstances, it 
 might seem desirable to suppress it as furnishing merely 
 a detail of facts of no utility to the public, it becomes a 
 matter of interest, exhibiting as it does its author's 
 opinions respecting the sacredness of the pastoral relation 
 and the desirableness of its permanency ; and especially 
 as showing his mode of treating a subject which has often 
 proved to ministers one of great delicacy and difficulty. 
 No single cause, perhaps, has more frequently occasioned 
 the dissolution of the pastoral relation than the one which 
 called forth this correspondence ; none is now operating 
 with greater power to render its continuance precarious.* 
 Being desirous to prevent discussion and excitement, 
 Mr. Porter at first coinmunicated his views to a few influ- 
 ential friends. Failing in this way to secure his end, he 
 drew up the following statement, which he submitted 
 somewhat extensively to individuals in his society. 
 
 " I ought, perhaps, to preface this statement by observ- 
 ing, that I never have doubted the friendship of my 
 people. Being but a youth when I accepted your call, I 
 endeavored to enter, with my whole heart, into your 
 interests, and have received many affectionate testimo- 
 nials of your attachment and esteem, which I shall always 
 remember with sincerest satisfaction. But I have, for 
 
 * To this correspondence Mr. Porter prefixed the title : — " Papers 
 showing the cause and progress of the difficulties virhich led to my 
 dismission from Washington," — a title which implies that the tran- 
 script was made after his dismission, with a design of preserving 
 the fact, that the continued hearing of tliese difficulties upon his 
 usefulness, had a decisive influence on his final determination to 
 resign his charge and enter a new field of labor. This comports 
 with what is believed to have been his settled purpose, that he 
 would not listen to any solicitation to remove from Washington, so 
 long as he should have reason to believe that his usefulness there 
 would continue unimpaired. 
 
LIFE. 
 
 39 
 
 years, felt difficulties respecting my support arising from the 
 depreciation of money. These difficulties I have hoped 
 to surmount, under the blessing of Providence, Jirst, from 
 the smallness of my family, and the assistance derived 
 from some of my connections — and next, from the ex- 
 pectation that my people would, of their own accord, 
 perceive the deficiency of my salary ; especially as that 
 deficiency resulted from causes which were Inoicn and 
 acted upon in all the public and private concerns of the 
 country. The difficulties which I have felt still remain ; 
 and it is with much reluctance, that I feel it neces- 
 sary at last to make them known more publicly than 
 heretofore. 
 
 " With all the prudence which I have been able to 
 practise, my salary is inadequate to support my family, 
 and the company which it belongs to every minister to 
 entertain. It must be supposed that I have had expe- 
 rience enough to speak with certainty on this subject. 
 
 " 2. As to support, my salary has not been what I had 
 good reason to think it would be when I was settled. I 
 came here without experience — was attached to this 
 people ; and it seemed to be plainly the will of Providence 
 that I should remain here. It was supposed that the 
 troubles of Europe, which had then begun, would soon 
 subside, so that the proposed salary might be sufficient, 
 and I accepted it. Contrary to my own expectation and 
 that of those on whose judgment I relied, many of the 
 articles of living, and all kinds of agricultural and 
 mechanical labor soon rose about one-third in price. Of 
 course, the value of my salary sunk in the same propor- 
 tion. For ten years past it has come short of the spirit of 
 the original covenant, about one hundrtd dollars annually. 
 And instead of being as good as the salary of Rev. Mr. 
 Merwin, my predecessor, which I expected, it has been 
 nearly two hundred dollars annually less than his would 
 hare been for the same time. 
 
40 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 " 3. After spending thirteen years of my prime in 
 Washington, with a small family, and as strict a system of 
 economy as I think it proper for a minister to exercise ; 
 and after having received important aids from sources on 
 which I have no right to place any further dependence, I 
 still owe several hundred dollars on interest, which I have 
 no means of paying, unless I sell my land ; and without 
 my land I have no reasonable prospect of support. 
 
 " 4. Though I ought to remember, and trust I always 
 shall remember with affection, the kindness of my people 
 in the years 1805 and 1806, during my ill health, yet 
 their actual expense for preaching, during those years, 
 was less than the salary of many of my brethren in the 
 ministry, and less than mine would have been, had it 
 been made good according to the spirit of the original 
 contract. 
 
 " In conclusion, I wish to be expressly understood — 
 that I am not under an invitation to remove to any other 
 place ; that I have no wish to exchange my people for 
 any other whatever ; that I wish them to do nothing but 
 what may be done freely ; that I ask nothing as matter of 
 favor, and desire nothing but what is honorable and just." 
 
 This statement soon became the subject of general 
 conversation, and produced some excitement and unkind 
 feeling. An effort was made by some of Mr. Porter's 
 friends, at a meeting of the society holden very soon 
 afterwards, to raise his salary to a sum corresponding 
 with the intent of the original agreement. The effort 
 however failed. This occasioned the following commu- 
 nication, addressed to the church, dated Nov. 13, 1809. 
 
 " My Christian Brethren, 
 
 " For thirteen years we have lived together in 
 harmony. The happy union which has subsisted betwixt 
 
LIFE. 
 
 41 
 
 U8, has of late been interrupted in a manner which is 
 remarkable, and to a degree, which I fear is incurable. 
 As the subject involves the interests of religion, the honor 
 of the ministry, and the happiness of yourselves and 
 families, I am bound to submit the following plain state- 
 ment of facts, for your candid consideration. Before 
 I was a preacher, I lived in the family of Rev. Noah 
 Merwin. After his death, it pleased Providence to order, 
 that I should be invited to become his successor in the 
 ministry. I had supposed that his salary, though not 
 large, was a competent support for a family. It was 
 called an hundred pounds, and wood. The same sum 
 was offered me, excepting it was stated in money instead 
 of produce, and fifty dollars instead of wood, which I 
 was told would be as good for me, and more convenient 
 for the society. As there was then an advance on pro- 
 visions, owing to the state of the world, an addition was 
 made to my settlement by subscription, as an equivalent 
 for that sacrifice on my part, which was considered, on 
 all hands, as temporary. No one supposed that I was to 
 make a permanent sacrifice of one fourth or one third of 
 my salary, from the spirit of the original agreement. If 
 I had considered this as a probable event, I should have 
 looked forward to the generosity and justice of this people 
 for my remedy, or I should certainly have refused your 
 call. Within two or three years after my settlement, I 
 perceived that my salary was likely to prove essentially 
 deficient. I endeavored to practise a careful economy in 
 my house, and to take the best advantage of my land. In 
 this, I found difficulty. Every day's work began to cost 
 me from twenty-five to fifty, and finally, in many instances, 
 one hundred per cent more than I expected. With some 
 of my mechanic bills, the case was the same. My peace 
 and my usefulness forbade me to contend with individuals 
 on this subject. I had lived long enough to see the 
 4* 
 
42 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 extreme delicacy of money transactions betwixt a minister 
 and his people. I consulted with judicious friends on the 
 expediency of selling my land. This they advised me to 
 defer, as it was plain that I could not live without my 
 land, or an increase of salary. 
 
 " From time to time, I have stated my circumstances 
 and my feelings to individuals in this place. In the mean 
 time, I have perceived that the salaries of my brethren, 
 in some of the neighboring societies, which were the same 
 as my own, have been considerably advanced. I have 
 hoped my people would see all these things, and that I 
 should be spared the pain of being first to move a con- 
 sideration of my own case. Early in the present year, 
 I conversed with a few individuals more seriously than 
 heretofore, on this subject. In the spring, I conversed 
 with others. In the summer, I was given to understand 
 that something would probably be done at the annual 
 meeting. Here it rested till the latter part of September, 
 when I again urged upon a few, the necessity of a rea- 
 sonable attention to this subject, and the probable conse- 
 (juences of its being attended to in an improper manner. 
 On account of the difficulties of the season, I did not 
 insist on the subject being pressed, at present, any further 
 than to know whether the principle was admitted, that 
 something ought to be done. This, I supposed, might be 
 determined one time as well as another. 
 
 " So soon as the statements I made to individuals,* 
 became matter of public conversation, I was informed 
 that the common impression was against any thing being 
 done. This led me to express my choice that the business 
 should go forward to some regular issue. I have seen its 
 unhappy progress. I have seen and lamented that every 
 circumstance respecting it, has received the most unfa- 
 
 • Those contained in the first paper. 
 
LIFE. 
 
 43 
 
 vorable construction ; and I have been well aware, that so 
 much irritation and ferment, and misrepresentation, could 
 not produce any good effects. 
 
 " To conclude this statement, I have only to say to you, 
 brethren, that if you can devise any means to restore 
 tranquillity to this society, and afford me a competent 
 support, I shall be happy to remain your minister. I can 
 forget all the wanton and cruel things that have been said, 
 provided I can have reason to think they will be forgotten 
 by you. But I cannot remain here, and see you a divided 
 people — I cannot remain here, and receive a support 
 which is drawn from you with reluctance, and accom- 
 panied with your reproaches. I had rather have your 
 friendship than your money. I must insist on it, if any 
 thing is done, that it be done cheerfully. If something 
 effectual cannot be done, I presume you will think it rea- 
 sonable to join with me in calling the Consociation, that 
 our relation may be dissolved." 
 
 An unsuccessful effort to raise the salary by subscrip- 
 tion, followed this communication. In consequence of 
 the communication, however, the society voted to raise 
 the salary to the value contemplated in the original con- 
 tract, encumbering their vote with the condition, that 
 their pastor might leave, by giving them six months' 
 notice ; and that his salary should cease in six months 
 after notice from the society, that they wished his services 
 discontinued. This vote, without very mature considera- 
 tion, Mr. Porter thought it his duty to accept, hoping that 
 excitement would pass by; that unkind feelings would 
 subside; and that he might continue his labors with a 
 fair prospect of usefulness. His acceptance of the vote 
 he communicated to his people, and informed them that 
 he should dismiss the subject from his thoughts. The 
 excitement was not however, as he hoped, allayed — his 
 
44 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 motives were still suspected ; his remarks were miscon- 
 strued ; and feelings were discoverable in the society, the 
 existence of which would obviously be prejudicial to his 
 usefulness. Further reflection convinced him that he 
 had acted injudiciously in acceding to the proposals of 
 his people, and induced him to make the communication 
 which follows. 
 
 " To the Church and Society in Washington. 
 
 " Fathers and Brethren, 
 
 " In the note which I read on the last Sabbath, you 
 were given to understand, that, though I had deliberated 
 on the subject of leaving this place, and had been in a 
 state of painful suspense as to my duty, I should dismiss 
 the subject from my thoughts, at present, and if that 
 should be agreeable to you, let it rest where it is. I had 
 expected that it would thus rest. I had hoped that you 
 would see, in my communication, a spirit not unworthy of 
 a Christian minister. But another week has confirmed 
 all my apprehensions, and left me no room to hesitate 
 in the conclusion, that the foundation of confidence and 
 harmony, which heretofore existed betwixt us, can never 
 be restored. With this persuasion, I conceive that nothing 
 but mischief can result from further suspense. I request 
 your attention, therefore, to the following communication. 
 
 " When I was set apart to the work of the ministry 
 here, it was with the yiew of spending my life among you. 
 This has been uniformly, both my wish and my expecta- 
 tion until lately. The circumstances which, within a few 
 months, have interrupted the harmony of our relation, are 
 fresh in our recollection. These circumstances, I have 
 weighed carefully and prayerfully. But, the more I have 
 deliberated on the subject, the more I have become con- 
 vinced, that my stay here as your minister, cannot pro- 
 
LIFE. 
 
 45 
 
 mote your best interests, nor my own usefulness and happi- 
 ness. This opinion is founded on the following reasons. 
 
 "1. It will be recollected, that by your proposition and 
 vote, provision is made for a peaceable separation to take 
 place within six months, whenever it is requested by you 
 or me. This proposition I thought it my duty to accept, 
 because it was my sincere wish to remain here, and 
 because it was manifest that I was reduced to a choice 
 betwixt this and a speedy dismission. On more reflection, 
 I have doubted the correctness of my judgment, though I 
 cannot question the purity of my motives. Though this 
 proposition had been mentioned, it was not possible for 
 me to anticipate that it would be seriously made to me by 
 this society. When it was made, you are sensible I had 
 but a moment for reflection. I rejoiced to see a respite 
 to those painful sensations, which had prevailed in so 
 threatening a manner. The occasion led me to correct 
 false impressions which had been felt, and to express 
 those sentiments of attachment to this people, which I 
 had always sincerely entertained. For a time, I did 
 indulge the hope, that what had taken place in this so- 
 ciety might leave me a prospect of continued peace and 
 usefulness. But, 
 
 "2. I was soon informed that I had acted under a 
 mistake, by supposing the proportion of voters, in the 
 affirmative, to be larger than it really was. 
 
 " 3. On a careful review of the whole ground, I could 
 not but fear that the unhappy prejudices which had 
 attended the raising of my salary, and the manner in 
 which it was finally raised, must, according to the com- 
 mon course of human nature, and at no distant period, 
 operate to disturb the tranquillity, and to destroy that 
 confidence which ought to exist betwixt a minister and 
 people. 
 
 "4. In the mean time, I have been called to apply 
 
46 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 myself more particularly to study than I had lately done ; 
 and have found its influence unfavorable to my prospects 
 of enjoying health. My constitution has been impaired 
 by my past labors, so that I fear I should be less useful 
 among you, hereafter, than I might be in another place, 
 or than another minister might be in this place. 
 
 " Laying all these things together, it has become my 
 painful duty to inform you, that, with the leave of Provi- 
 dence, my labors among you will cease at the end of six 
 months from this time ; or at any earlier period that may 
 be more agreeable to you. 
 
 " This decision has been formed, I trust, in the fear of 
 God. It is the result of deep and solemn reflection — a 
 result which has been brought about by an unexpected 
 coincidence of events ; and which I have endeavored to 
 consider well, according to its momentous nature and 
 consequences. I have anticipated the reluctance with 
 which I shall leave many friends, who are dear, very dear 
 to my heart, and the pangs which a separation will inflict 
 on their feelings and my own. While I remain with you, 
 you will have my best efforts to promote your interests; 
 and while I live, my sincerest wishes for your happiness. 
 I entreat you to be at peace among yourselves, and I pray 
 that the God of love and peace may be with you." 
 
 By desire of several persons, who entertained hope that 
 the breach might yet be healed, and the valuable services 
 of their pastor retained, another meeting of the society was 
 called. Mr. Porter was informed previously to this meet- 
 ing, that though the society generally manifested a willing- 
 ness to grant what he would deem a competent salary, 
 and chose to remove the condition appended to their 
 former vote, of which he had already taken advantage, 
 and by which it was obvious he was much less likely to 
 suffer than they ; yet a respectable minority would insist 
 
LIFE. 
 
 47 
 
 that the salary should cease with actual service. From this 
 he dissented, not so much from a fear of personal disad- 
 vantage, as from principle. Being still convinced that 
 the harmony indispensable to his usefulness could not be 
 restored, lie submitted to the meeting a brief review of 
 the circumstances which had transpired, and concluded 
 with the address which follows : — 
 
 " To many of you, gentlemen, my sincerest acknowl- 
 edgments are due for the motives which gave rise to the 
 meeting of this day. But being well assured that there 
 cannot be that entire unanimity and cordiality in your 
 proceedings, which the nature of the case renders indis- 
 pensable, I cannot consent that your peace should be 
 hazarded, and my own feelings put to a new trial on the 
 subject. I beg you will receive this communication in 
 the same frank and friendly spirit with which it is made. 
 I am satisfied it is the will of Providence that we should 
 separate. Let us separate in love and peace. It is my 
 wish that no measures whatever may be taken, with the 
 expectation of my remaining here ; but that your atten- 
 tion should be turned like a band of brethren, to the 
 settlement of another minister. Should you adopt this 
 course, the money you have been pleased to add to my 
 salary, is at your disposal to employ a candidate, if that 
 should be your pleasure. It is my earnest prayer, that 
 brotherly love may continue among you. In the faith and 
 fellowship of the gospel, I am yours, 
 
 " E. Porter." 
 
 In pursuance of this determination, letters missive were 
 issued for the purpose of convening an ecclesiastical 
 council, to whose decision the proposed separation should 
 be referred. Just previous to the meeting of the council, 
 Mr. Porter received an animated and cheering address 
 
48 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 from the young men of his charge, which, as it is alike 
 creditable to themselves and their pastor, is in substance 
 subjoined. 
 
 " The young people of Washington, animated with the 
 highest sentiments of love and attachment to their pastor, 
 respectfully request leave to present this address, as an 
 expression of their esteem and friendship to him — a 
 friendship, which thirteen years' acquaintance has only 
 served to strengthen and increase. Bearing in mind the 
 valuable instructions we have received, and the virtuous 
 example so long exhibited for our imitation, too deep an 
 impression is made on our hearts to be easily effaced. 
 We have beheld, with the greatest reverence, the tender 
 and anxious solicitude which our minister has ever mani- 
 fested, to promote our present and future happiness. For 
 that paternal affection and watchfulness for the eternal 
 welfare of our souls, our hearts overflow with gratitude 
 which language is too feeble to express. 
 
 " The young people are truly sensible of the extraor- 
 dinary privileges they have enjoyed, while under the 
 special charge of their present pastor. The instructions 
 they have received, have in a peculiar manner endeared 
 him to them, and we trust they will not soon be for- 
 gotten. 
 
 " While we thus cheerfully pay our tribute of respect, 
 and our grateful acknowledgments to our beloved pastor 
 for the invaluable services he has rendered us, may we not 
 be permitted to cherish the hope that they may still be 
 continued. 
 
 " We have beheld with the greatest pleasure, the happy 
 union which has so long subsisted between us ; and we 
 sincerely regret that this union is apparently on the verge 
 of dissolution. An event so distressing to our society, 
 must in a particular manner, be felt by us who have so long 
 
LIFE. 
 
 49 
 
 been peculiarly favored with his instructions. We enter- 
 tain the pleasing hope that Mr. Porter will approve the 
 measures adopted to preserve the continuance of this 
 union. Should this be the happy consequence, the high- 
 est wishes of the rising generation will be realized. To 
 them, nothing is more desirable ; and we flatter ourselves 
 that the same unanimity and harmony which have hith- 
 erto subsisted, will still prevail. As the difficulty that has 
 arisen between Mr. Porter and the society, has been re- 
 specting his salary, and as some of our fathers and friends 
 have wished a condition annexed thereto, we, their sons, 
 (paying due deference to their judgment,) wish no such 
 thing. We are willing to give our pastor an honorable 
 support, not clogged with any conditions. And if Provi- 
 dence should lengthen out his life beyond his usefulness 
 here as a preacher, we are willing to give in the evening 
 of his life, that support which a grateful people will ever be 
 willing to give a beloved minister. 
 
 " But if Providence in wisdom should otherwise deter- 
 mine, and a separation between us and our pastor be 
 deemed indispensable, he will still retain our best wishes 
 for his prosperity and happiness, united with our fervent 
 prayer for his extensive usefulness in what part soever of 
 the vineyard of our Lord he may be placed." 
 
 This address, which Mr. Porter was assured was unani- 
 mously approved by the young men of his charge, served 
 very much to allay his apprehensions respecting the possi- 
 bility of his continued usefulness among his people. Those 
 for whose conversion and improvement he had labored with 
 the most unwearied solicitude, and on whose friendship and 
 co-operation his future usefulness would most depend, it was 
 evident continued to entertain a strong attachment to him as 
 a man, and a decided preference for him as a minister. His 
 determination, which he had considered final, wavered, 
 5 
 
50 
 
 MEiMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 He thought it possible lie had yet a work to do in Washing- 
 ton. The council, which was composed of six pastors and 
 delegates from the neighboring churches, met April 25, 
 1810, and as the result of their deliberations, advised that 
 the relation between Mr. Porter and his people should be 
 continued. " We advise," they added, " both minister 
 and people to forgive and forget past occurrences, which 
 have tended to impair the unusual harmony heretofore 
 existing between them ; and that they unitedly seek the 
 things that make for peace, Christian love, and mutual 
 edification. Permit us to assure you, that our prayers will 
 ascend to heaven for you. Feeling the utmost confidence 
 in the fidelity of your minister, and his ardent zeal for 
 your good, we hope and trust that by his prudent and faith- 
 ful efforts, he may with the blessing of God be tlie instru- 
 ment of unspeakable good. Finally, brethren, we commend 
 you to the grace of God. Farewell ; live in peace, and the 
 God of love and peace will be with you. Amen." 
 
 Previous to the meeting of the council, the rumor hav- 
 ing gone abroad that Mr. Porter was about to leave his 
 charge, several applications were made for his services. 
 Strangers in some instances made it convenient to spend 
 the Sabbath in Washington, and manifested a solicitude to 
 hear him preach, which clearly indicated to his people, 
 tliat his talents and services as a minister, however they 
 might regard them, were highly estimated by others. 
 Among the applications he received, was one bearing date 
 the same day as the meeting of the council, from the First 
 church in New Haven, then vacant, in consequence of the 
 removal of Rev. Moses Stuart to the theological semi- 
 nary at Andover. Before the date of this application, the 
 desire had been repeatedly expressed to Mr. Porter by 
 members of that church, and by others particularly inter- 
 ested in its prosperity, that, by procuring a dismission from 
 
LIFE. 
 
 61 
 
 Washington he would place himself in a situation to 
 receive a formal invitation to New Haven ; the feelings of 
 that church at the time, and indeed his own principles 
 about removal, forbidding the presentation of a call to 
 another parish while he retained a pastoral charge. To a 
 communication from a highly esteemed friend, urging his 
 dismission from Washington, and his removal to New 
 Haven, on the ground that the interests of Zion demanded 
 it, he thus replied : — " The subject to which you call my 
 attention, I have taken into serious consideration. It has 
 many hearings, as it concerns myself, and especially as it 
 involves interests which I ought to hold more dear than my 
 own. The favorable opinion which you have happened to 
 form of me, must not be allowed to govern my decision in 
 a case, on which so much depends. There are two sides 
 to this question, which I am called to consider, in the fear 
 of God. It is too delicate to admit of advice, and too mo- 
 mentous to be determined without. All I can say to you 
 now is, if an immediate result is expected, it cannot be 
 such as you wish. It has of late been my prevailing 
 opinion that Providence designs my removal, — in this 
 however, I am not yet perfectly decided ; and should I 
 become so, such removal must be the work of months, not 
 of a day or week." 
 
 The address of the young men had somewhat predis- 
 posed Mr. Porter to concur in the result of the council ; 
 and from that time he seems to have been confirmed in the 
 conclusion, that the Lord designed his continuance at 
 Washington. Under this impression, he engaged anew 
 with his wonted zeal in the performance of pastoral labors. 
 It appears indeed, that his people to a very desirable 
 extent, were disposed, in accordance with the judicious 
 advice of the council, " to forgive and forget past occur- 
 rences," and in union with their pastor, " to seek the 
 things which make for peace, Christian love, and mutual 
 
52 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 edification." He was not, however, permitted to continue 
 his labors uninterrupted by applications from abroad. 
 That from New Haven continued to be urged. By many 
 of his friends in whose judgment he greatly confided, 
 among whom were Dr. Dwight, and others associated with 
 him in the government of Yale college, it was believed to 
 be his duty under existing circumstances, to obtain a 
 dismission, solely for the purpose of removing to New 
 Haven. Even after his appointment at Andover, when a 
 meeting of the consociation was contemplated for the dis- 
 solution of his pastoral relation, he was urged to receive a 
 dismission in such form, that he might consistently settle 
 at New Haven. So long, however, as he had doubts 
 respecting his duty, the solicitations of friends were ex- 
 pended upon him in vain. 
 
 It may be proper here to note, that during the year 
 1809, Mr. Porter was elected a member of the Con- 
 necticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. 
 
 In May, ISIO, he preached the annual sermon before 
 the Connecticut Missionary Society ; and in August fol- 
 lowing, was elected a trustee of the same body. 
 
 In the early part of 1811, he undertook, with several 
 other gentlemen, at the request of the Connecticut Bible 
 Society, a special agency for the purpose of ascertaining 
 the number of families in the State destitute of the sacred 
 Scriptures. In May of this year, he attended the meet- 
 ing of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church 
 at Philadelphia, as a delegate from the General Associa- 
 tion of Connecticut. In July, he received a communica- 
 tion acquainting him that the Consistory of the Dutch 
 church in Albany, had fixed on him as their future pas- 
 tor, and were very desirous of securing his services. This 
 communication was followed by an oral application from 
 a committee of the church. In August, he received from 
 
LIFE. 
 
 53 
 
 Gov. Griswold the following complimental request to 
 prepare an election sermon. 
 
 " Sir, 
 
 " The usage of this State has devolved on the Gov- 
 ernor the duty of requesting two gentlemen of your pro- 
 fession to prepare sermons to be delivered before the 
 General Assembly, at the Election in May. Mr. Welch, 
 of Mansfield, was last year requested by Gov. Treadwell 
 to deliver the sermon, in case Mr. Stebbins, who had 
 been previously appointed, should be prevented from 
 officiating. He has of course been requested to prepare 
 himself for the next election, and I trust will not object 
 to performing the duty. In making a selection myself, 
 in case Mr. Welch should disappoint our wishes, I have 
 really met with no difficulty. The sermon which I had 
 the pleasure of hearing in May, 1810, and which you 
 delivered before the Missionary Society, satisfied me 
 that the public had further claims on your talents, and I 
 take the liberty at this time of making one of those claims, 
 and request that you will be so good as to prepare and 
 deliver the sermon at the next election, provided Mr. 
 Welch should be prevented. You must allow me to add, 
 that I cannot accept an ordinary excuse. The honor of 
 the State is concerned in a proper selection, and I feel 
 no small interest in making a choice which shall be 
 honorable to myself. 
 
 " With great respect, I have the honor to be your obe- 
 dient and very humble servant, 
 
 " Roger Griswold. 
 
 " Rev. Mr. Pouter." 
 
 Compliance with this request, Mr. Porter felt it his 
 duty, on account of his state of health, to decline. 
 
 5* 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Appointment at Andover — Reasons for and against accepting — 
 Conimunication to his church and society — Meeting of conso- 
 ciation — Dissolution of pastoral relation — Answer to trustees — 
 Inauguration. 
 
 About this time the guardians of the Theological 
 Seminary at Andover were called to fill the Professorship 
 of Pulpit Eloquence in that Institution, left vacant by the 
 resignation of Rev. Dr. Griffin. With entire unanimity 
 both the Trustees and Visitors concurred in the election 
 of Mr. Porter. When this appointment, which bears 
 date Sept. 24, 1811, was announced to Mr. Porter, his 
 state of health seemed to forbid its acceptance ; yet, at 
 the same time to admonish him, that he could not reason- 
 ably hope much longer to discharge, as formerly, pastoral 
 duties. By many of his friends, his state of health, 
 especially his state of lungs which rendered public 
 speaking irksome, was urged as a strong reason in favor 
 of his acceptance. He felt, on the other hand, that with 
 a constitution impaired by previous labor, and under- 
 mined by disease, he could not expect so successfully to 
 pursue study as to supply deficiencies, and make the 
 attainments indispensable to a useful and honorable 
 discharge of official duty in the station to which he was 
 called. To this was added the apprehension that through 
 
LIFE. 
 
 55 
 
 the partiality of friends his talents had been overrated, 
 and that in undertaking the proposed duties, he might do 
 religion disservice and himself discredit. Few men, it 
 is believed, contemplate the acceptance of a public station 
 with more unfeigned diffidence and solicitude. His 
 deliberation and caution are manifest from the following 
 paper, evidently drawn up for his own use at the time. 
 The document serves also to exhibit his mode of examin- 
 ing questions of moment. 
 
 " An important question to be decided — 'Shall I remain 
 at Washington ?"' 
 
 Motives for the affirmatire. 
 
 1 . God has given me the charge 
 of this church and people. He 
 has assigned me a good work, a 
 great work ; — work sufficient to 
 employ the whole lime and 
 strength of three such mmislers 
 as myself. 
 
 2. The duties to which I am 
 called at Andover, might be per- 
 formed better by some other man 
 than by me : and probably by 
 some other man who has not the 
 charge of a people. 
 
 Motives for the negative. 
 
 1. The Theological Seminary 
 is an object of unquestionable and 
 high importance. Its design is to 
 raise up ministers for the church 
 of God. Its constitution and 
 statutes are evidently the result 
 of wisdom and piety ; and the 
 unparalleled liberality of wealthy 
 individuals for its support, in- 
 creases the evidence that it is 
 owned of God. 
 
 2. I am called to take part as 
 an instructor in this Seminary, 
 by men of established reputation 
 for judgment and piety : men 
 whose opinion on any other sub- 
 ject, I should certainly deem 
 worthy of more regard than my 
 own. 
 
 3. Such are the collisions of 
 
 3. A removal would be attended 
 with immense and irreparable!sentiment and local prejudice un- 
 sacrifices as to my family and happily prevalent in Rlassachu- 
 ministenal connections. setts, and in so many ways do 
 
 I these bear upon this infant insti- 
 Itution, that a refusal of my call 
 jmight be attended with many 
 levil consequences. 
 
 4. My habits are so settled at 4. My prospects of happiness 
 the age of thirty-nine, that they and usefulness here r.re impaired 
 would not easily conform to a by the events of and '10. 
 new situation. My salary was raised by con- 
 
 \straint rather than by conviction 
 
56 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 5. I have much reason to ques- 
 tion my competence to the new 
 task assigned me : and a failure 
 in that would be more probable, 
 and be attended with worse conse 
 quences to myself and the great 
 interests of leligion, than an equal 
 failure in my present duties. 
 This is tlie only professorship in 
 the institution which is subjected 
 to popular scrutiny : and public 
 approbation in this office, can 
 hardly be expected, consistently 
 with a proper discharge of its 
 duties. I 
 
 0. This people might expe- 
 rience difficulty in procuring 
 another pastor. 
 
 7. A removal would be attended 
 wilh much perplexity, and prob- 
 ably with considerable sacrifice as 
 to j)roperty. 
 
 and choice : things were said and 
 done by individuals, which can 
 never be retracted: impressions 
 were made on my feelings, which 
 can never be effaced ; the fire 
 which then raged so terribly, 
 though smothered, is not extin- 
 guished. 
 
 5. There is reason to believe 
 that another minister might be 
 obtained here, who could do more 
 ministerial service than I can do ; 
 as the stated labors of the pastoral 
 office are manifestly too great for 
 mv constitution. 
 
 6. Though a succcs.^or should 
 prove no more active or faithful 
 than I have been, he might prob- 
 ably be more useful tlian I could 
 be in future, especially to the 
 rising generation. 
 
 7. The principles on which I 
 entered the ministry, forbid me 
 to place personal sacrifices in 
 competition with duty. 
 
 While pondering the question of his removal, Mr. Por- 
 ter received numerous letters from the professors already 
 residing at Andover, and other distinguished clergymen, 
 expressing confidence in his fitness for the station to 
 uliich he was called, and a conviction that the interests 
 of Zion demanded his acceptance. Having become con- 
 vinced that it would be his duty to remove to Andover, if 
 the consociation of which he was a member should concur 
 with him in opinion, he made the communication to his 
 church and society, which is subjoined. 
 
LIFE. 
 
 57 
 
 " To the members of llie First Church and Society in Wasliin!;ton. 
 
 " WasMnglon, JVov. 4, 1811. 
 
 " Fathers and Brethren, 
 
 " The gentlemen who superintend the interests of 
 the Theological Seminary at Andover, have seen fit to 
 appoint me a Professor in that institution. The sole 
 design of the above seminary is to educate pious young 
 men for the work of the Christian ministry. It consists 
 of about fifty students ; a considerable proportion of 
 whom, as well as all the professors, are supported by the 
 pious liberality of a few individuals. I am satisfied that 
 this institution is owned of God, and promises important 
 usefulness to his church. I am satisfied that its instruc- 
 tors must tliemselves be ministers, possessed of that expe- 
 rience which can be acquired only by an actual per- 
 formance of the duties of the pastoral office. 
 
 " Whether it is, or is not best that I should remove to 
 that institution, now becomes a subject of interesting 
 inquiry. 
 
 " Tlie ministry is my chosen employment. My heart 
 and my life are devoted to it. In the charge of this 
 people, God has assigned me a great and good work : a 
 work more than sufficient to employ the whole time and 
 strength of one man : a work indeed, which has proved too 
 arduous for my constitution. 
 
 " You perceive then, brethren, that I am placed in 
 solemn circumstances. The question before me, deeply 
 involves my own personal interests, and the more important 
 interests of this people, and of religion generally. There 
 are but two ways, in which this question can come to an 
 issue : it must be decided either by me or by othtrs. As 
 to the first : — probably I have no right, and certainly I 
 have no disposition to decide it myself As to the second : — 
 I conceive the consociation to be the proper judges in the 
 
58 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 case. Tlicy gave me the charge of this people. To tliem 
 I liold myself accountable. In their wisdom I have entire 
 coufulcncc. They are known throughout New England, 
 as a dignified and enlightened ecclesiastical body. Your 
 interests and mine are one with theirs. 
 
 " I invite you then, brethren, to unite with me in a 
 friendly reference of this subject to their decision. Thus 
 doing, if we are still to live together, we may live together 
 in love : if we are to part, we may part in love. 
 
 " To the many motives which should induce us to look 
 to consociation for direction, divine Providence has added 
 another, in the recent change of my health. Though it 
 becomes us to feel no solicitude on this subject, it is my 
 duty to say frankly, that I have no expectation of being 
 able to serve you as a minister for some time to come. 
 Under all circumstances, I do rely upon it, that from a 
 regard to the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom, from 
 a prudent care of your oicn best interests, and from friend- 
 ship to me, you will consent to a call of consociation, 
 and will authorize a committee to agree with me as to the 
 time and manner of convening that body. Any other 
 course of proceeding will give to this business the aspect 
 of a j-clig ious controvcrai/ ; which would be equally painful, 
 I am sure, to you and to me. 
 
 " With the best wishes for the spiritual and temporal 
 prosperity of this people, and wishing you the divine guid- 
 ance and benediction, I am, 
 
 " Your affectionate Pastor. 
 
 " N. B. 1. I have fixed no time when I would wish con- 
 sociation to meet. Perhaps in the month of December. 
 
 " 2. I shall expect that meeting to be at my expense, if 
 such should be the wish of the society." 
 
 Mr. Porter's people having consented to refer the ques- 
 tion of his removal to the consociation, that body was 
 
LIFE. 
 
 r>9 
 
 convened Dec. 18, 1811, and with great unanimity dis- 
 solved his pastoral relation. The next day he communi- 
 cated to the trustees, through their president, his answer. 
 
 " Washington, Dec. 19, 1811. 
 
 "Rev. Sir, 
 
 " The Consociation gave a decision yesterday, in favor 
 of my removal to Andover, as soon as my health and other 
 circumstances will permit. I view this as the decision of 
 Providence which I am required to obey. In every step 
 of the process which has produced this conclusif)n, I have 
 proceeded with trembling. I have anticipated the pangs 
 which await me, in separating from a circle of friends 
 whom I love most tenderly. I have felt the difTicuity with 
 which habits so settled as mine can be conformed to new 
 relations and new duties. I have felt and still feel a deep 
 conviction of my own incompetence to fill a station so ar- 
 <luous and re.sponsible, as that which is assigned me. 
 The solicitude excited by other considerations, has been 
 increased by the state of my health, which there is reason 
 to fear will prove inadequate to the labors required. 
 
 " But I commit myself to God, relying upon his aid, and 
 upon the candor, the counsel, and prayers of the trustees, 
 and of the Christian brethren with whom I am to be as.so- 
 ciated. It will, however, be expressly understood that I 
 must have time to study the things which I am to teach ; 
 that I must be my own judge, how much application to 
 business my constitution will bear ; and that if tlie inter- 
 ests of the institution should be found to suffer through my 
 lack of health or other qualifications, I siiall cheerfully 
 relinqui.sh the office whenever the tru.stees may think it 
 necessary. Should these views correspond with those of 
 the gentlemen who superintend the interests of the insti- 
 tution, I do hereby accept the invitation to iiecome one of 
 its professors. In doing this, I rest assured that every 
 
60 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 proper indulgence will be given to my infirmities, as to 
 one who claims no other reputation than that of a plain 
 man of honest intentions. 
 
 " With sentiments of great respect, 
 
 " I am, Rev. Sir, yours &c. 
 
 " E. Porter. 
 
 " Rev. Eliphalet Pearson, LL. D., ) 
 President of the Board, &c." 5 
 
 As the interests of the institution were suffering from 
 the vacancy in the department of Pulpit Eloquence,* it 
 was the earnest wish of the trustees, in which the profes- 
 sors then connected with the seminary participated, that 
 Mr. Porter should be inaugurated, and enter on his offi- 
 cial duties without delay. Being apprised, however, of his 
 apprehensions that the excitement and fatigue of removal, 
 and of entering a new sphere of action during the inclem- 
 ency of winter, might prove seriously prejudicial to his 
 health, they kindly waived their claims, and consented to 
 such delay as he might deem expedient. Through their 
 president, the trustees remark — " Much as we wish to see 
 you, and enjoy your labors here, we ^xc primarUij anxious 
 for your health, and request you in no way to expose your- 
 self to injury during the cold of winter. Considering the 
 delicate state of your lungs, you ought to run no hazard of 
 doing yourself a lasting injury, for the sake of a few weeks' 
 partial duty." Early in March, 1812, he made his first 
 visit to the sacred seminary, which was to become the 
 object of his future solicitude and prayers ; and which to 
 his latest consciousness, ceased not to engage his undi- 
 vided affection. The interval between his arrival at 
 Andover, and his induction into office, which took place 
 
 * By Mr. Porter's desire the title of his professorsliip was changed 
 from Pulpit Eloquence to Sacred Rhetoric : the former title beingtoo 
 imposing to accord with his feelings. 
 
LIFE. 
 
 61 
 
 on the first day of April, was employed in making prepa- 
 ration for the removal of his family ; in surveying his future 
 field of labor, and in becoming acquainted with the ven- 
 erable founders of the institution, who, with paternal 
 solicitude, had watched over its rising interests ; had 
 anticipated, and with unexampled munificence provided 
 for its numerous wants. Of the founders of the institu- 
 tion, there were then living Samuel Abbot, Madam Phil- 
 lips, John Phillips, Moses Brown, and William Bartlet, 
 Esq., by the last of whom the professorship, of which 
 Dr. Porter was the incumbent, was founded ; and from 
 whom it receives its name. Of these, only the last named 
 gentleman survives, to witness the extended usefulness of 
 the beloved seminary he has so kindly fostered ; himself 
 an object of grateful and affectionate remembrance, by the 
 many who have enjoyed the facilities for theological instruc- 
 tion furnished by his enlarged liberality. At Mr. Porter's 
 inauguration, the Rev. Dr. Holmes made the introductory 
 prayer, and preached a sermon ; Rev. Dr. Dana of New- 
 buryport, made the inaugurating prayer ; the Rev. Dr. 
 Pearson, president of the board of trustees read the appro- 
 priate parts of the statutes of the founders. He also read 
 the creed which was repeated by the professor elect ; and 
 Rev. Dr. Spring made the concluding prayer. An address 
 which had been expected from Mr. Porter, was omitted on 
 account of his delicate health. He entered at once on 
 the discharge of official duty, which he continued till the 
 spring vacation. In June he removed his family to 
 Andover. 
 
 6 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Enters on his labors — Receives degree of D. D. — Doubts about 
 accepting it— Elected President of University of Vermont — 
 Answer — Finds tlie northern winter unfavorable to his liealth — 
 Seeks a southern climate — Effect on health — Employment while 
 absent — Returning, attends Gen. Assembly of Pres. Church — 
 Appointed Prof of Divinity in Yale College — Answer. 
 
 The hopes which Professor Porter and his friends had 
 fondly entertained respecting the favorable influence of a 
 change of labors on his health, were not realized. He 
 did, indeed, gain relief from public speaking, which, for 
 some months previous, had been peculiarly laborious and 
 painful. The disappointment of his hopes arose, in part, 
 from the miscellaneous character of his duties, which 
 required constant attention ; and in part, from intense 
 application to study, to which he felt constrained, by a 
 due regard to the character of the Seminary, to the 
 interests of Zion, to the improvement of his pupils, and 
 to his own reputation, to devote every moment, not pre- 
 occupied by other official engagements. In fact, his 
 history, from his removal to Andover to the close of his 
 life, is the history of an invalid. 
 
 During the years 1812 — 1814, he continued his labors 
 with only occasional, and in no instance very protracted 
 interruptions, on account of ill health. 
 
LIFE. 
 
 63 
 
 In August, 1814, the honorary degree of Doctor of 
 Divinity, was conferred upon him by Dartmouth college ; 
 — a title, it would seem, which he had some scruples 
 about receiving. It is not known that these were com- 
 municated to any one, at the time ; but it is evident 
 from the following paper, that the subject occasioned 
 him some solicitude. 
 
 "duESTioN. Is it right for Christians, especially 
 Christian preachers, to receive honorary titles 1 " 
 
 I. What say the Scriptures.' 
 
 Theij mention four sorts of ti- 
 tles— 
 
 1. Civil and military, as kin^, 
 nobleman, ruler, (.-Saoiiizog, ao- 
 ;^uiv), captain, &c. 
 
 2. Ecclesiastical or spiritual 
 simply, as prophet, preacher, 
 apostle, teacher, (SiSuoxaXo?). All 
 these, if 1 mistake not, are used 
 appropriately. 
 
 3. Appellations of civility, as 
 Master, Sir, Lord, (Ki'Qiog, Domi- 
 jius). Master commonly denotes 
 authority, " Servants, obey your 
 (xvoioi:).'' Eph. vi. 5. "Be not 
 many [SiSuaxaXoi)." James iii. 1. 
 (" ETTiajura!) we perish." Luke 
 viii. 24. (Ki-Qiog), Sir, Lord — is 
 applied to an earthly father, "1 
 go, Sir ;" — to Clirist as a common 
 appellation, by the woman of Sa- 
 maria ; — to Christ as a divine title, 
 " Lord, Lord, open unto us." 
 
 It is clear that the three first 
 classes of titles, or such as are 
 merely official, or appellations of 
 common civility, are not directly 
 condemned in the Bible. They 
 liave been usual, and deemed 
 necessary in all ages and coun- 
 tries. Yet, it is not a little curi- 
 ous, that the same word (xvQiog) 
 should be applied in the Scrip- 
 tures indifferently to Jehovah, to 
 an earthly prince, to a master of a 
 family, and even to one neighbor 
 by another. 
 
 To what a pitch of impiety 
 have reptile kings been "stuck 
 o'er with titles" — borrowed from 
 those of the infinite God ! 
 
 Thouglitless ben 
 they bow ! 
 
 ) guilt, and turn 
 on Uoil— 
 
 Eitli whose awful eye 
 
 4. Titles of respect, as Rabbi, The 4th class of titles were 
 (Chaldaic.) These seem to lmve;those coveted by the Scribes and 
 been applied indefinitely to civil. , Pharisees in Clirist's time. They 
 military, or ecclesiastical otficc.j loved chief seats and greetings in 
 Nebuzaradan was Rabbi of the | the market; and to be called of 
 guards. Ashpenaz was Rabbi of i men. Kitbhi. " But be not (/c called 
 .the eunuchs; and Daniel RabbiiRabbi, for one is your Master, even 
 of the interpreters. I Christ, and all ye are brethren." 
 
64 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 The term Rabbi, in more mod- 
 ern times, seems to have been 
 limited to ecclesiastical office, and 
 conferred by vote of those who 
 possessed it before. 
 
 On this passage it is said, 
 It forbids preachers to receive 
 honorary titles ; because Rabbi 
 was an ecclesiastical title in 
 Christ's time. 
 
 Ans. 1. Some have replied, — 
 Christ spake this to " the multi- 
 tude and to /lis disciples." These 
 men were not preachers, nor can- 
 didates for ecclesiastical dignity. 
 An exhortation to a modern, 
 mixed assembly, " Be not called 
 D. D.," would be unintelligible. 
 
 2. These Rabbis claimed to be 
 acknowledged as infallible inter- 
 pieters of God's will, and dicta- 
 tors of others' faith. In this. 
 Christians must not be like them. 
 
 3. It was not their crime to 
 be greeted in the market, or ad- 
 dressed respectfully by others, but 
 they loved sounding titles ; sought 
 them ; claimed them. Their vain 
 ostentation was to be shunned by 
 Christians. 
 
 4. The spirit of the injunction 
 then is, that Christians, especially 
 Christian preachers, be not vain- 
 glorious. 
 
 II. What says History ? 
 
 1. Paul had no doctorate, nor| 
 had any of the first preachers of 
 the gospel. 
 
 2. After these honorary degrees 
 began to be given on the conti- 
 nent, some of the first and best 
 men were omitted, as Calvin and 
 others. 
 
 3. They were not conferred on 
 Baxter, Flavel, etc. 
 
 4. This degree was refused by 
 the excellent J. Newton, niid, so 
 it is said, by A. Fuller; and prnba- 
 bly would have been by President 
 Edwards, had it been conferred. 
 
 Ans. 1. It is said that Paul had 
 no degree of A. B. or A.M. — 
 and that literary degrees of every 
 sort are modern things. 
 
 a. Luther and others were not 
 omitted. 
 
 3. English universities have 
 never conferred them on dis- 
 senters. 
 
 4. Newton's objection was that 
 lie was not a literary man. But 
 il was accepted by Watts, Dod- 
 dridoe, and others in England; 
 by Witlierspoon, Hopkins, Bel- 
 lamy, J. Edwards, Jr., Increase 
 Mather, and others in this coun- 
 try. 
 
LIFE. 
 
 66 
 
 III. The TENDE.Ncr is bad. 
 
 1. It makes a distinction amongi 1. If it makes any distinction, 
 men who are equal in office. it is only /(Vcrary, not o|^c;a/. But 
 2. It makes 7io distinction, be- 
 cause it is so often conferred 
 upon boys and blockheads, that 
 it ceases to denote that real dLt- 
 tinction which personal and offi- 
 cial merit establishes. 
 
 '■' The rage for titles on earth, especially in the church, is one 
 striking mark of human littleness. The style of the Roman pontiff, 
 ' Your Holiness' — of the Greek patriarch, ' Your Holiness' — of 
 the Metropolitan, ' Your Beatitude ; ' or of the priest, ' Your old age,' 
 to denote wisdom, especially when applied to young men, are 
 sufficiently ridiculous. 
 
 " And the modern title of D. D. is often so conferred as to excite 
 contempt. He that can look at facts in this case, and then be 
 pleased with the application of it to himself, has ' great pride, or 
 little sense.' He that can be tickled with a ring or rattle, has the 
 heart of a child, and not of a minister. 
 
 " What then shall a sober man do ? If he refuses this title on 
 general principles, because it is inconsistent with the spirit of the 
 gospel, he charges a long list of such worthies as Watts, &c. witli 
 wearing a public mark of pride or folly. If he refuses it on 
 principles that respect himself only, he is liable to be charged with 
 the ostentation of humility; and really needs much prayer and 
 heart-searching to be certain that ' cursed pride ' is not at tlie 
 bottom. Too much noise to get rid of this contemptible honor, 
 ' resembles ocean into tempest wrought, to wafl a feather or to 
 drown a fly.' A wise man would not kill a gnat, by a blow that 
 might fracture his leg. 
 
 " What shall I do ? My official relations involve this question in 
 peculiar difficulties. Lord, direct me," 
 
 In March, 1815, Dr. Porter was elected President of 
 tlie University of Vermont. From communications ad- 
 dressed to him in connection with his appointment, it 
 appears that the institution at that time, was in a broken 
 state. For some years, the attempt on the part of certain 
 6* 
 
66 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 of its trustees, to introduce lax theological sentiments, 
 had created unhappy divisions, and exerted a deleterious 
 influence upon its interests. Several of the trustees who 
 entertained evangelical sentiments, having become satis- 
 fied that the college could not under these circumstances 
 become what they desired it should be, had resigned their 
 places ; and tiie remainder of the board, fearing that the 
 institution might expire under their administration, had 
 surrendered it into the hands of the State legislature, 
 in whom the ultimate control of it was vested. Some 
 changes in its statutes were made ; several new trustees 
 were elected, and another effort was resolved upon to 
 sustain it. But an application having been made for the 
 use of the college edifice, to accommodate the United 
 States' troops then stationed in the vicinity, it was ac- 
 cepted ; the few remaining students were disbanded, and 
 the officers dismissed. On the return of peace, the 
 trustees again determined to place the institution on a 
 permanent footing. With this view, they resolved to elect 
 officers, whose religious sentiments should correspond with 
 those of the patrons of the college generally ; and whose 
 influence would warrant the hope of its future prosperity 
 and usefulness. To Dr. Porter, say the letters from which 
 the preceding facts are collected, the eyes of the trustees 
 were turned, and they unanimously concurred in his 
 election to the presidency. This appointment he thought 
 it his duty to decline, for the reasons stated in the sub- 
 joined answer to the trustees. 
 
 " TAe Honorable and Reverend, the Board of Trustees of the 
 University of Vermont. 
 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " The documents certifying your election of me as 
 President of your University, have been communicated 
 
LIFE. 
 
 67 
 
 by the hand of Rev. Mr. Preston. The motives wliich 
 induced the board to make this election, the history of the 
 establishment, its present circumstances, and its prospects, 
 have been presented to my mind with as much fidelity 
 and ability, on the part of Mr. Preston, as you could 
 desire. 
 
 " I thank you, gentlemen, for this public testimony of 
 your confidence in me, as one whom you deem qualified 
 for a station, so arduous and responsible as that which 
 your president must occupy. The question has indeed 
 come with a solemn appeal to my judgment and heart. It 
 is one, on which I have not dared to act without deliberate 
 reflection, and fervent supplication for guidance from Him, 
 whose I am, and whom I profess to serve. I have con- 
 sidered my life as sacredly devoted to the Theological 
 Seminary with which I am connected ; a seminary which 
 probably ought not to be considered as second in impor- 
 tance to any other in this land. To serve the church in 
 this station, I left an affectionate people and a circle of 
 friends, whom I love most tenderly. To leave this station, 
 (with the duties of which I am just becoming familiar,) 
 and remove to another sphere of action, would be a 
 sacrifice, to which nothing but the most obvious and 
 imperious call of duty would reconcile me. There is 
 also much reason to fear that my health would prove 
 inadequate to the various and difficult duties of the office 
 to which you invite me; especially, as my constitution 
 is little adapted to endure the severity of the northern 
 winter. For these reasons, I am sure you will see the 
 propriety of my declining the important service, to which 
 you have been pleased to appoint me. I do this with 
 the less reluctance, because I have a strong hope that 
 Dr. Austin may be obtained; a full confidence that he is 
 competent to the undertaking ; and thus that my decision 
 
68 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 in the case will ultimately promote the interests of your 
 establishment. 
 
 " With .sentiments of great respect, 
 
 " I am, gentlemen, yours &,c. 
 
 " E. Porter. 
 
 " The Honorable and Reverend Trustees ) 
 of University of Vermont," j 
 
 During the cold season of 1815-16, Dr. Porter began 
 to be apprehensive that he should not be able to endure 
 another northern winter, and in accordance with the 
 united advice of medical and other friends, he determined 
 to spend the following winter in a milder climate. He 
 embarked at New York, for Charleston, South Carolina, 
 Nov. G, 1SI6. After spending a few weeks at Charleston, 
 enjoying hospitalities which made an abiding impression 
 on his heart, he proceeded to Savannah ; thence to Au- 
 gusta, and thence still further into the interior, to Wash- 
 ington and Sparta. Most of the winter he spent in Georgia. 
 While there he was consulted by the trustees of the Georgia 
 University, respecting an election to the presidency of that 
 institution. 
 
 The effect of a southern climate upon Dr. Porter was so 
 favorable, that he was able to preach one or more sermons 
 almost every Sabbath during his absence. From his let- 
 ters, it appears that he found a very interesting field for 
 Christian effort. Alluding to his absence in a private 
 report to the trustees, he remarks ; — " Whatever sacrifice 
 to the seminary or to myself has been involved in this 
 suspension of my appropriate duties, as being directed by 
 an all perfect Providence, it has been accompanied, on my 
 part, with ample reasons for submission and gratitude. 
 Besides the benefit derived to my health, from a southern 
 excursion, perhaps no equal portion of my life has fur- 
 nished more advantages for usefulness to the church." 
 
LIFE. 
 
 69 
 
 He assiduously employed himself in promoting the cause 
 of the American Education Society, which had but just 
 commenced its being ; and in collecting such facts 
 respecting the moral condition of the southern States, as 
 he hoped successfully to employ, after his return, in 
 awakening an interest in their behalf. Returning, he 
 travelled the whole distance on horseback. Having re- 
 ceived information, on his way homeward, that the Massa- 
 chusetts delegation to the General Assembly of the Pres- 
 byterian church would fail, unless he would serve in that 
 capacity, he consented to remain at Philadelphia, and 
 attend the session of that body. He reached Andover in 
 June, with health greatly improved. 
 
 In February, Dr. Porter was elected Professor of Di- 
 vinity in Yale college, the intelligence of which appoint- 
 ment he received while'yet in Georgia. Perhaps no station 
 could have been offered him, which would have presented 
 so many and so strong inducements to remove from 
 Andover, as were presented in this appointment. Connec- 
 ticut was his native State ; it had been the scene of his 
 labors and enjoyments as a pastor ; and he felt most ardent 
 attachment to its institutions and its people. Accepting 
 the appointment, he would still continue in his chosen 
 employment, with flattering prospects of usefulness. He 
 would be called, moreover, to co-operate with a circle of 
 Christian brethren, whose characters he had long known ; 
 in whom he reposed entire confidence ; and to some of 
 whom, he had for years been attached by personal friend- 
 ship. Yet strong as were the inducements to remove, he 
 felt that paramount obligations bound him to the station 
 he then occupied. His answer, which shows how deep 
 an impression the call made upon his heart, and what 
 were his reasons for declining it, is presented to the 
 reader. 
 
70 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 " To the Reverend and Honorable, the Trustees of Yale College. 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " While in Georgia, I was officially informed, that you 
 had appointed me Professor of Divinity in Yale college. 
 The considerations by which my views of duty, relative to 
 this important subject, were to be determined, were laid 
 before me by your committee, on my return, the first week 
 in June. 
 
 " The importance of Yale college to the interests of 
 learning and religion ; its pre-eminent claims to public 
 regard, for the benefits it has conferred on the church and 
 on the world ; the sore bereavement it has sustained in 
 the death of its late illustrious head ; the high respect 
 which I entertain for those gentlemen of your board, with 
 whom I have the honor to be acquainted ; and my entire 
 confidence in your excellent president elect and professors, 
 are considerations which have conspired to render this 
 subject deeply interesting. I might add that a removal to 
 New Haven would be especially pleasant, as it would 
 gratify feelings of immutable attachment to my native 
 State, and would bring me again into connection with a 
 circle of ministers, and personal friends, whom I shall 
 always love most tenderly. 
 
 " But gentlemen, there are two reasons why I cannot 
 view it as my duty to accept this appointment. 
 
 " The first is, that the labor of staled preaching, espe- 
 cially in a station of such responsibility as that to which 
 you call me, is one to which my health is inadequate. I 
 should probably sink under the efforts which would be 
 requisite in any tolerable measure to fulfil my own wishes 
 or the expectations of the public. 
 
 " 1'he second reason is, that so far as I have any 
 capacity to be useful to the church, the business of my 
 present office, is perhaps as well adapted to my constitution 
 
LIFE. 
 
 71 
 
 as any in which I could engage ; and the difficulty of 
 filling my place here, would, in the opinion of all who are 
 concerned in this seminary, be at least as great as that of 
 filling the vacant office at Yale. I am to remember too, 
 that Providence has placed me here, and to justify a 
 removal, there must be such a decisive preponderance of 
 motives in favor of the measure, as I cannot perceive to 
 exist in the present case. 
 
 " With assurances, that the testimony of confidence in 
 me, which you have been pleased to express, will always 
 be among the most grateful recollections of my life, and 
 that I shall never cease to pray for the prosperity of your 
 beloved college, 
 
 " I am, gentlemen, very respectfully yours &,c. 
 
 " E. Porter. 
 
 'Mnrforer, July 17, 1817." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 niness — Consulted respecting presidency of Hamilton and Middle- 
 bury colleges — Appointed President of University of Georgia — 
 Answer — Consulted respecting pastorship of Presbyterian church 
 in Columbia, S. C. — Voyage to Charleston — Journal — Efforts to 
 raise funds for indigent students — Meets President Brown — 
 Casualty — Return to Andover — Consulted respecting presidency 
 of South Carolina college. 
 
 Very soon after his return, he visited by request a sick 
 person in a remote part of Andover, and in consequence 
 of exposure while performing tliis service, had a severe 
 attack of pleurisy ; a disorder of which he was ever after 
 a frequent subject. The period which elapsed between 
 his recovery from this illness, and the winter of 1819-20, 
 he spent in Andover, diligently and happily engaged in the 
 duties of his department, visiting occasionally in vacations 
 the springs at Saratoga, from whose waters he frequently 
 derived much benefit. He was not however permitted to 
 continue his labors without repeated solicitations to accept 
 other places of high responsibility. In July, 1817, he 
 received a communication, the object of which was to 
 ascertain whether if elected President of Hamilton college, 
 as successor to Rev. Dr. Backus, deceased, there would 
 be any prospect of his accepting the office. And in 
 September of the same year he was officially offered the 
 presidency of Middlebury college ; the corporation of that 
 
LIFE. 
 
 73 
 
 institution having delegated one of their number to con- 
 sult liim respecting the probability of his acceptance, 
 previous to a formal election. 
 
 In November 1818, he was chosen President of the 
 University of Georgia. That the literary and religious 
 community of that State had become deeply interested in 
 him, and entertained a high respect for his character, is 
 evident from the entire unanimity which characterised this 
 appointment ; and from the numerous and urgent letters 
 from men of the first respectability and influence, which 
 accompanied or followed the announcement of his election. 
 His answer to the trustees will best show how he regarded 
 the appointment, and his reasons for declining it. In 
 addition to the motives which urged his acceptance, men- 
 tioned in this document, were a noble spirit of liberality 
 manifest in the proposals respecting his removal and sub- 
 sequent support ; and the fact that about that time an 
 increased interest in the education of youth was awakened 
 in that community, — that men of intelligence especially 
 were uniting in vigorous efibrt to furnish among them- 
 selves adequate means of literary and religious instruction. 
 
 " To the Seiialus Academicus, and the Board of Trustees, of 
 the University of Georgia. 
 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " The official documents, announcing my appoint- 
 ment to the Presidency of your University were duly 
 received. Permit me to return my sincere acknowledg- 
 ments for this testimony of your friendly regard, and for 
 the very handsome manner in which it is expressed. In 
 forming my judgment on a subject of so much magnitude, 
 as connected with the general interests of religion and 
 learning, and so deeply involving my personal happiness, 
 and that of my family, some delay was unavoidable. 
 " Several considerations have urged my acceptance of 
 7 
 
74 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 this invitation. In the early endowment provided for 
 your university, I have perceived an encouraging pledge 
 of that public patronage, which is so essential to its pros- 
 perity. The aid which your President may probably 
 render, in forming the literary institutions of a State 
 rapidly advancing in wealth, inhabited by a people 
 generous and enterprising, and destined to hold a dis- 
 tinguished rank in this great country, attaches a high 
 importance, in my estimation, to the office wliich you 
 have been pleased to confer on me. Your genial climate, 
 too, would afford a refuge from the northern winter, 
 peculiarly favorable to my health. 
 
 " But, gentlemen, after mature reflection on this inter- 
 esting subject, I think it my duty to decline the station 
 to which you invite me. I have considered my life as 
 sacredly devoted to the Theological Seminary with which 
 I am connected, and to serve the interests of which, I 
 left an affectionate people, and a circle of beloved friends 
 in Connecticut. The elevated objects for which this 
 seminary was established, and the ample means with 
 which it is furnished for the promotion of these objects, 
 induce me to believe, that, so far as I have any capacity 
 for usefulness, it may be more advantageously employed 
 in my present station, than in any other to which I could 
 remove. There is one more consideration, which of 
 itself, perhaps ought to be decisive in this case ; I mean 
 the special relation which I sustain to a distinguished 
 benefactor of this seminary, whose liberality towards ij 
 has scarcely any parallel in modern times. These views 
 of the subject, especially the last, which will be readily 
 appreciated by gentlemen of enlarged and honorable feel- 
 ings, have presented an insurmountable obstacle to my 
 removal. 
 
 " Allow me to add gentlemen, that I shall cherish a 
 grateful recollection of your partial regard to me, and I 
 
LIFE. 
 
 75 
 
 shall rejoice in any service, however small, which it may 
 be in my power to render the literary institution of which 
 you are the guardians. 
 
 " I am, gentlemen, yours, with sentiments of great 
 respect, E. Porter." 
 
 A few months previous to the invitation from the 
 Georgia university, the committee of the Presbyterian 
 church, in Columbia, S. C, appointed to procure a pastor, 
 being aware that Dr. Porter's constitution but ill sustained 
 a northern winter, and supposing that he might on that 
 account prefer a southern residence, expressed their 
 desire that he would consent to receive a call from that 
 church. 
 
 During the autumn of 1819, he and his friends were 
 apprehensive that a change of climate for the winter 
 might again be indispensable. Unwilling to suspend his 
 labors, however, unless compelled to do it, he continued 
 them with occasional interruptions until February, when 
 it became obvious that prudence demanded rest, and 
 resort to a milder atmosphere. He embarked at New- 
 buryport, Feb. 18, 1820, for Chaileston, "having re- 
 ceived," to use his own language, " every expression of 
 paternal kindness," from his venerable friend and patron, 
 Mr. Bartlet. The vessel did not arrive at Charleston till 
 the 20th of March ; the passage having been not only 
 unusually protracted on account of " continual head 
 winds," but unpleasant on account of " heavy breezes, 
 and frequent thunder squalls." The voyage was, on the 
 whole, favorable to his health. A few extracts from a 
 very brief journal of this voyage, will interest the reader. 
 
 " During this passage, several things which have long 
 been familiar to me, impressed my mind with increased 
 interest. 
 
76 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 " 1. The power of habit. 
 
 " This appeared in the capacity of the seamen to walk 
 the deck steadily during the rolling and pitching of the 
 ship; in the skill with which they climbed ropes, and 
 mounted to the top-yards and maintained their hold there 
 to reef and unreef the sails, during a violent gale, in 
 which they were swung from side to side, perhaps twenty 
 feet in a second, with the rolling of the ship ; while not 
 one landsman in ten, if placed there, would keep his hold 
 a second. 
 
 " Nothing in my experience compares at all to the 
 motions of a ship, except those of land carriages. When 
 one of these vehicles, by any sudden declivity or vio- 
 lence is thrown upon one side, so as greatly to change 
 the angle of its axis with the plane of the horizon, the 
 apprehension of upsetting inclines one instinctively to 
 throw his weight toward the elevated side. This same 
 motion on board a rocking ship, though so natural to a 
 landsman that he will certainly adopt it on first going to 
 sea, is needless, and to seamen appears ridiculous. Now, 
 considering the contrast betwixt the feelings of a mariner, 
 and mine, in a gale at sea, and this contrast resulting 
 from the mete force of habit; it becomes a solemn 
 question, how far even my religious opinions, and sensi- 
 bilities, and associations, may be influenced by this in- 
 visible, but powerful principle, — habit. 
 
 " 2. The influence of men's interest on their opinions, 
 " Our sixteen days of head winds made us all weather 
 prophets. And so it happened that we were generally 
 agreed in construing the prognostics of each day in our 
 own favor, while the fact almost as constantly turned out 
 agamst us. When we spoke the master of a vessel and 
 inquired his opinion as to the probable course of the wind, 
 I could pretty accurately anticipate his answer if I knew 
 what point of compass he wished himself to steer. In tho 
 
LIFE. 
 
 77 
 
 present case, the mistake was almost invariably harmless ; 
 but the same principle may lead to mistakes in opinion, 
 fraught with infinite mischief. Nothing indeed can be 
 more obvious than that in the most important of all con- 
 cerns, our religious belief, the temper of the heart guards 
 the avenues to the judgment, and modifies the evidence 
 on which its decisions are formed. An impartial result 
 can hardly be expected where passion or interest stands 
 by, and sets her invisible foot on whichever side of the 
 balance she pleases. 
 
 "3. The utility of comparison and coutrast, to our 
 intellectual operations and enjoyments. 
 
 "On the turnpike, the traveller notes his progress by 
 mile-stones. The savage in the forest is guided by marks 
 on the trees, and exhilarated by seeing the rock, or moun- 
 tain, or morass, or river to which he is accustomed. But 
 on the ocean, all is one wide, unvarying, unmeaning 
 uniformity. We accommodate our sails and helm to 
 changing winds ; — but the ' parted wave ' retains ' no 
 furrow from the keel.' We struggle against opposing 
 gales and currents ; we cross our own track twenty times 
 without perceiving it, till at the end of a week, the sun 
 breaks from the clouds, and shows us by the aid of a 
 quadrant, that we are farther from our port, than when 
 the week began. 
 
 " To the youthful mind, the progress of life is marked 
 by the novelty and contrast of its varied scenes, and a 
 year is a long period. But in more advanced age this 
 variety to most men is succeeded by a dull uniformity, 
 time flies, and eternity approaches unperceived, and death 
 closes the scene in an unexpected moment. 
 
 " 4. The spiritual state of men must be very much 
 affected by professional pursuits and circumstances. 
 
 " During my passage to Carolina, there were very few 
 days, (the Sabbaths not excepted) in which the seamen 
 7* 
 
78 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 vrere not constantly employed, or liable at any moment to 
 be called upon, in managing the ship. Of course reading 
 the Scriptures and secret prayer, must be attended with 
 much irregularity, even by a pious sailor ; and I presQme 
 that a vigorous piety is never maintained without sys- 
 tematic attention to these duties. The habits of seamen 
 are therefore formed in circumstances extremely unfa- 
 vorable to religious meditation ; of necessity, they are 
 generally without Christian teachers, without stated public 
 worship, without opportunity to read ; and therefore of 
 choice, without religious books and retirement. 
 
 " Besides, the great fatigue and exposure to which they 
 are occasionally called, tempt them to intoxicating drink 
 to a degree which benumbs their moral sensibilities, and 
 'sears their consciences' with a corrosive more fatal than 
 that of a ' hot iron.' 
 
 " These circumstances furnish a great contrast to the 
 condition of one, trained up in the bosom of Christian 
 society, and accustomed to all the restraints and privileges 
 of a Christian family. Comparatively we may say he can 
 hardly avoid religious impressions; and though we cannot 
 estimate probabilities with exactness, in such a case, he is 
 far more likely to be saved than if he had been destined 
 to navigate the ocean. But if he perishes, his guilt must 
 be beyond all computation aggravated. 
 
 "May 1. When I came to Carolina Mr. , a 
 
 pious, benevolent, wealthy and highly respectable man, 
 in advanced life, was suffering with a morbid affection 
 of one of his limbs. He however became better, received 
 company, rode out, and for two weeks appeared to be 
 evidently recovering. But suddenly this local affection 
 became a general one, and laid him on a bed of languish- 
 ing, for a few days, during which his reason was occa- 
 sionally staggered, and after exhibiting much Christian 
 resignation, he expired, greatly and justly lamented. 
 
LIFE. 
 
 79 
 
 " Two things impressed me deeply respecting the death 
 of this good man. 
 
 " 1. The fact that while his end was approaching, not 
 by doubtful steps, but by a definite and certain, and 
 speedy progress, (for his limb was mortified,) he was not 
 informed of his condition, except as it must have been in 
 some measure revealed to him by circumstances. 
 
 " The motives of friends in this case were unques- 
 tionably good. Mr. had been long and eminently 
 
 pious. His preparation for death could not be doubted ; 
 and it was feared that a disclosure of its near approach 
 
 might distress him. Mrs. , who is in all respects 
 
 a worthy partner of so worthy a husband, shrunk, I am 
 told from the anguish of an explicit parting, on her own 
 account as well as his. But while the delicate sensibility 
 which led to this course is greatly to be respected, I 
 cannot but think it inconsistent with those enlarged and 
 exalted views which the death bed of a Christian is 
 adapted to inspire. When the finger of Providence points 
 distinctly to his last hour, why should we cover his eyes? 
 Why deny ourselves the comfort of his parting counsels 
 and blessing ; and him the privilege of honoring his 
 Saviour and his Christian hope, in the last conflict, and 
 of meeting that conflict by a little season of special 
 preparation? O how unmeaning is the commiseration 
 which says of such an one, ' Poor man, he is dead and 
 gone;' — when a thousand worlds would not tempt him to 
 reoccupy his fallen tabernacle of clay.* 
 
 " 2. Mr. had been, habitually, a beneficent 
 
 * An instance of the triumph of faith in a pious Africnn, came to 
 Dr. Porter's knowledge in one of his southern excursions, wliich 
 
 so deeply impressed him that he recorded it. " A Christian 
 
 negro, on his death bed, when he was called 'poor Powpty,' said — 
 ' No say poor Pompey now, I king Pompey.' " To the record Dr. P. 
 added the remark, " Pagan Athens furnished no parallel of sub- 
 limity." 
 
80 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 man. Towards objects of compassion, still more towards 
 objects of public utility, and peculiarly towards objects 
 embracing the interests of evangelical religion, his heart 
 was always expected to feel with tender sensibility ; and, 
 of course, the solicitors of charity by whom Charleston has 
 been as often visited as any other spot of the United States, 
 were accustomed to resort to Mr. as a liberal pat- 
 ron of every good enterprize. As he had but two daughters, 
 whose personal accomplishments had secured them very 
 advantageous matrimonial connections, and as his property 
 was supposed to be about half a million of dollars, it was 
 confidently expected that large donations would be found 
 in his will to some of the great charities of this day. I am 
 told that these donations were but two, amounting only to 
 one thousand dollars. 
 
 "Now, I cannot account for this fact, without supposing, 
 in the first place, that his will must have been of long 
 standing, and so made under the refrigerant influence of 
 that dreary night from which the church is but just begin- 
 ning to awake. Or, in the next place, that false views of 
 family distinction and consequence, to which wealth so 
 much contributes, especially in this region, must have had 
 undue influence on the good man's judgment. If this 
 latter supposition is the true one, it only furnishes a new 
 proof how much the Christian, who associates with the 
 first rank of the wealthy and fashionable, needs to guard 
 his heart with increasing vigilance, against the insinuating 
 and seductive influence of maxims adopted by worldly men, 
 while they are in direct hostility to the principles of the 
 gospel. O, when shall the combined instruction of experi- 
 ence and of revelation, teach wealthy Christians that there 
 are nobler ends to which tlieir money may be applied than 
 to transmit a large estate to heirs, even could they have 
 assurance that it will not be abused — but especially when 
 it so often proves a rock to shipwreck the comfort, the 
 
LIFE. 
 
 81 
 
 reputation, and the souls of their children ! Before the 
 prosperous Christian is called into eternity, it is important 
 that he should have at least a few hours to fix an unwaver- 
 ing eye upon its realities, to dispel the blur with which 
 worldly attachments and habits may have obstructed his 
 spiritual vision. 
 
 " May 5. John's Island. In addition to the common 
 courtesies afforded to strangers, in this hospitable region, 
 I am favored with opportunities to ride, at my own pleasure, 
 on horseback or in a chair. After riding a mile or two 
 this morning, the sky became suddenly overcast, and it 
 began to rain before I was aware that I was in danger of 
 being wet. As I had neither surtout nor umbrella, I 
 resorted to an adjacent plantation, where I found a pleas- 
 ant family, who welcomed me to a retreat from the shower, 
 and offered me a chaise to guard me on my return, and a 
 servant to accompany me on my saddle. 
 
 " While the shower lasted I entered into conversation 
 with a young gentleman, who had spent one winter at the 
 Philadelphia medical school, and expected to spend 
 another winter in hearing the same course of lectures read 
 a second time, having also taken the precaution to hire 
 them transcribed against the next winter. By this passive 
 process he expected to become a learned physician. 
 
 " Now to one who has lived to any good purpose in this 
 world, nothing can be more certain than that men are 
 made by their own efforts ; and, allowing for the obvious 
 difference in native powers, the substantial qualities for 
 usefulness, which any one will possess at the age of forty, 
 depend on the single article industry. The whole sys- 
 tem of instruction by public lectures, as it exists in Euro- 
 pean seminaries, without collateral exercises to drill and 
 invigorate the minds of young men, is adapted to make 
 literary dunces, rather than scholars. And the cases are 
 few in which the ardor and enterprize of the pupil can in 
 
82 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 any good measure be relied on, as a substitute for those 
 excitements to daily and diligent study which the univer- 
 sity itself ought to furnish." 
 
 Wliile Dr. Porter's stay in Charleston and the vicinity 
 obviously promoted his convalescence, it gave him oppor- 
 tunity to pursue study with much greater facilities than he 
 could have enjoyed at home. He was also usefully em- 
 ployed in raising funds for the American Education Society, 
 and for indigent young men residing at the Theological 
 Seminary. As the Education Society did not, at that time, 
 extend appropriations to its beneficiaries in their profes- 
 sional course, Dr. Porter was, in this way, instrumental in 
 affording very timely and important relief to many young 
 men, who on account of indigence despaired of enjoying 
 the course of theological instruction prescribed by the 
 statutes of the seminary. Several, indeed, who are now 
 occupying stations of distinguished usefulness, gratefully 
 acknowledged to him their indebtedness to this aid alone, 
 for ability to pursue a full couise of professional study. 
 Of the funds which he procured lor the special benefit of 
 young men at the seminary, he took the sole management 
 while he lived. 
 
 While in Charleston, Dr. Porter met the lamented 
 President Brown of Dartmouth college, who with his wife, 
 having spent the preceding winter in the interior of Caro- 
 lina, had just returned to that place with the design of 
 proceeding homeward by land. This design. Dr. Porter, 
 who viewed him as near his end, considered perilous, 
 and attempted to dissuade him from it ; but finding his 
 purpose fixed, he kindly afforded liim all the encourage- 
 ment and aid in his power. In a letter to Mrs. Porter, he 
 remarks. — " My expectation is that he will never see New 
 England. It grieves me to think on the case of this 
 respectable and afflicted man. But I will not say, ' how 
 
LIFE. 
 
 83 
 
 dark are the ways of Providence !' — for there is no dark- 
 ness except what results from my own defective vision ; 
 and I hope to meet this dear man, and that at no very 
 distant period, in a state where it will be more manifest 
 than hitherto it has been, that ' God is light, and in him 
 there is no darkness at all.'" 
 
 A few days before Dr. Porter intended to return to New 
 England, an incident occurred, which, but for the kind 
 interposition of his heavenly protector, might have termi- 
 nated his life. The circumstances are thus related in the 
 journal from which the preceding extracts are taken. 
 
 " Charleston, May 27, 1820. One week ago to-day, I 
 stepped into a chair to ride down to the wharf, and inquire 
 as to the practicability of sailing for Savannah, a measure 
 I had for some time contemplated. In the middle of the 
 city, near Union Bank, the horse took fright, and running 
 a few rods, came directly against a brick wall at right 
 
 angles with the street we had been in. Mr. C , the 
 
 gentleman who was driving, and myself, were precipitated 
 on the side walk with great violence. I fell on my left 
 side, receiving a contusion in the chest, just where my 
 pocket book full of papers, was interposed betwixt my body 
 and the stones of the side walk. At the same instant my 
 head struck the pavement, just above my left ear and on 
 the back of it, and my left hip was severely bruised. The 
 horse was young and athletic, and frantic with terror. A 
 post and a tree prevented his wheeling to the left ; and in 
 wheeling the other way, he passed directly over me with 
 several violent leaps. At this moment he set his foot on 
 my forehead, and another foot on my right leg. By the 
 time he had gone back about five rods, where he dashed 
 the chair in pieces, I had recovered my feet ; and from 
 the regular exercise of my mind, at the instant, perceived 
 that my brain had not sustained a fatal injury. A crowd 
 
84 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 of people assembled at once, proffering me their aid. I 
 walked a few steps to a boarding house, and was soon 
 visited by two respectable physicians. After blood-letting, 
 by which the difhculty of respiration, occasioned by the 
 concussion in my chest, subsided, I returned in a car- 
 riage to Mr. O'Neale's, where I received every attention, 
 not only that my case required, but that the most assiduous 
 kindness could suggest." 
 
 In a letter to Mrs. Porter of the same date, he adds : — 
 " I continued to mend of the soreness and bruises : on 
 Wednesday rode out, and every day since ; and to tell 
 you all that need be said in a word, though I had a hair- 
 breadth escape from instant death, and though I shall of 
 course bo thrown back some days, as to general health, it 
 is my deliberate opinion that God does not design any 
 lasting injury to my frail body from this occurrence. A 
 few days more of caution, as to cold and effort, will I trust 
 remove all the inconvenience that remains of the fall. I 
 give Mrs. O'Neale the credit of being the best nurse I 
 have ever found, except my wife. Indeed this is pre-emi- 
 nently the region of kindness to strangers. The Lord 
 bless this dear family, and reward them a thousand fold.* 
 
 * Mr. and Mrs. O Neale, both since deceased, belonged to a circle 
 of friends in Cliarleston and the vicinity, to whom Dr. Porter became 
 strongly attached, and to whose generous hospitality he felt himself 
 deeply indebted. Their kindness he mentions more frequently, 
 because after having tendered to liim the hospitality of their house 
 as a guest, tliey consented, at his urgent request, to admit him aa 
 one of tlieir family, and to receive such remuneration, as the usual 
 charge for board could make, for services which to him were 
 invaluable; and which can be adequately rewarded only by Him 
 who hath said, that those who minister to his disciples because 
 they are his, shall in no wise lose their reward. During several 
 of his last visits to Charleston, he was permitted to find a home in 
 this excellent family — a home rendered all that he could wish, by 
 unwearied kindness. 
 
LIFE. 
 
 85 
 
 " During repeated absences and long journies, in which 
 I have been separated from you, my dear wife, this is the 
 first time that I have been snatched from the door of 
 death. God has protected me while travelling thousands 
 of miles among rocks, and has sent me here to be dashed 
 on those imported from my own country. May he give 
 me trrace to improve the residue of my spared life in an 
 acceptable manner. I bless his name that in a moment 
 when sudden death was before me, I had no distressing 
 emotions. Though I have been an unprofitable servant, 
 and there are many things which I wish and hope to do 
 in my great Master's work, still, at my Master's call, I 
 would desire to leave this world cheerfully : and for some 
 time have regarded it as my habitual duty to leave nothing 
 unfinished, which should fill me with reluctance to obey 
 that call, however suddenly it may .come." 
 
 Dr. Porter reached Andover the latter part of June, and 
 resumed his duties with health greatly improved. 
 
 From letters written the latter part of 1820 and the begin- 
 ning of 1821, it appears that many of the friends of religion 
 and learning in South Carolina, were very solicitous that 
 Dr. Porter should succeed to the presidency of the college 
 in that State, left vacant by the death of Rev. Dr. Maxcy. 
 These letters contain urgent requests that he would permit 
 himself to be named to the trustees for that ofiice, and 
 that he would give some encouragement that if elected, 
 he would accept the appointment. It is not known what 
 were his feelings on this subject, but we may infer that 
 the considerations which induced him to decline similar 
 calls to other institutions, would, if in this instance he had 
 been elected, have prevented his acceptance. 
 
 8 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Voyage to Baltimore — Letters — Voyage to Charleston— Memoranda 
 — Returning, attends General Assembly — Consulted respecting 
 presidency of Dartmouth College. 
 
 In the fall vacation of 1820, hoping to confirm his 
 health to such a degree as would enable him to spend the 
 approaching winter in Andover, Dr. Porter determined by 
 advice of medical friends, on a voyage from Boston to 
 Baltimore. Being, on this excursion, without companions 
 of congenial feelings, and having but indifferent accom- 
 modations, he sought relief in noting the reflections 
 suggested by his circumstances. To Mrs. Porter he thus 
 writes : — 
 
 "Schooner Helen, of Nantucket, Oct. 12, 1820. 
 " My dear Wife, 
 
 " Friends who are sometimes separated, it is rea- 
 sonable to believe feel an increase of mutual attachment 
 from such separation. The constitution of human minds 
 and the testimony of experience on other subjects, might 
 lead us to expect this. The uninterrupted enjoyment of 
 each other's society, which is allowed to most husbands 
 and wives, renders their happiness, when it deserves this 
 name, scarcely perceptible to themselves; whereas an 
 occasional separation awakens the tender recollection of 
 
LIFE. 
 
 87 
 
 kind offices, which perhaps might otherwise never have 
 been properly estimated; strengthens the consciousness 
 of mutual dependence; recalls the absent friend with 
 the most advantageous associations of endearment ; and 
 prepares the mind to overlook tliose minor irritations, 
 inseparable almost from all relations that exist among 
 human beings. From these remarks, I of course except 
 the cases of frequent or long absence, which change the 
 order of social affections and habits ; — such cases as those 
 in which one head of a family is always on sea, and the 
 other on land. But whether or not the amount of happi- 
 ness, in such separations as those to which you and I have 
 been called, is increased, it is doubtless rendered more 
 vivid and sensible ; for men in health scarcely think that 
 a quiet respiration is any favor, while its enjoyment is 
 indescribable to one just recovered from a paroxysm of 
 asthma. 
 
 " In these remarks you will perceive that I am seeking 
 consolation, in view of our parting last evening; and I 
 suppose you will allow it to be the part of wisdom to 
 * educe good from ill.' I should indeed accuse myself of 
 strange insensibility, not to leave with painful reluctance, 
 such a home as mine, doubly dear to me, since the deli- 
 cate state of my health has rendered your kind offices so 
 valuable to me, as to make it impossible that I should 
 find any equivalent for them abroad. As I have deter- 
 mined to write you a long letter, I seize this calm day to 
 begin it, knowing that to-morrow we may be tossing on 
 the angry waves, so that I cannot hold my pen, if indeed 
 I can hold up my head. If our domestic arrangements 
 had permitted you to attend me, I perceive that the 
 interior accommodations of this vessel would have been 
 to you a painful contrast to the comforts of your own 
 parlor and chamber; and if you had been as sick as two 
 
88 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 young ladies on board, it would have been a source of 
 much uneasiness to me. 
 
 " Among the millions that compose this busy, bustling 
 world, I am really, as well as comparatively, of little con- 
 sequence ; and yet I am aware that such is the arrange- 
 ment, which Providence for the best reasons has estab- 
 lished, that you will be interested to know that my head 
 does not ache, nor my pulse throb with fever ; nor my 
 stomach loathe food. Indeed I know that it is no im- 
 peachment of your benevolence to presume, that in some 
 respects my comfort is more important to you than that 
 of all Asia. It gives me pleasure therefore to assure you, 
 that our heavenly Father smiles unexpectedly on this little 
 enterprise which I have undertaken. I am much relieved 
 of my cold. You must not be anxious respecting me. 
 God is my preserver ; and on sea or land, I am immortal 
 till my work is done. Take care of your health, in the 
 absence of your affectionate husband." 
 
 The preceding letter, which Dr. Porter had expected 
 to commit to the mail in Baltimore, he sent the day after 
 it was written from Barnstable, whither they were driven 
 by a head wind. During the passage, he again wrote : — 
 
 " Schooner Helen, Oct. 12, 1820. > 
 " Vff Maryland shore. ) 
 
 " My dear Lucy, 
 
 " I perceive my letter, begun soon after leaving port, 
 should have been dated 13th and not 12th. The 14th 
 we beat against head winds through Martha's Vineyard 
 Sound, and anchored for the night in Tarpaulin Cove. 
 Sabbath I5th, in the morning, our captain, a daring and 
 driving man, made his way with difficulty through several 
 vessels that had anchored without us, and were too cau- 
 tious to go to sea with such indications of rough weather. 
 Through the day we had a heavy breeze from the south 
 
LIFE. 
 
 89 
 
 east, increasing till six o'clock on Monday morning. All 
 this time we were obliged to drive through a tempestuous, 
 raging ocean, with as much sail as we could carry, or be 
 driven on the back of Long Island. Indeed had the wind 
 changed a few points south, the hazard of being wrecked 
 must have been great. But the God of the sea and of 
 the dry land ordered it otherwise. We had however but 
 one passenger that escaped severe sea-sickness; and the 
 steward and captain, who have been (especially the latter) 
 almost constantly at sea for a long time, and last in port 
 but a few days, were so sea-sick for many hours, as to be 
 almost disabled. All whose duties required them to be 
 on deck, were drenched with rain and sea-water; the 
 forward deck being washed continually by the waves. 
 The cabin also was wet by water dashing down the 
 companion way. 
 
 "If you were desirous of having a description of the 
 terrific majesty of the ocean, in a stoim, you could easily 
 find many better than I can give, with this difference as 
 to your interest in the scene described in books, that your 
 husband was not there. But you will never understand 
 any description of this sort, while it is true, as I hope it 
 may always be, that yourself was not there. Our captain 
 is a man of good understanding and good manners, and 
 respectful to Christian institutions. But the mate, and 
 some of the people encouraged by his example, are 
 impiously profane ; and that, as it seems, from the mere 
 influence of habit, and the want of religious restraints, 
 while they possess all the generosity and kindness of 
 feeling common to mariners. But the transition from 
 the tranquillity and the sacred delights of a Sabbath on 
 shore, to a Sabbath at sea, in the uproar of a storm, with 
 such accommodations and such companions as are found 
 in a coasting packet, is painful in the extreme. And if I 
 were as superstitious as these sons of Neptune, retaining 
 8* 
 
90 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 too my present Christian principles, I should have ex- 
 pected our vessel to be buried under mountains of 
 waves, as a just retribution from Him whose name they 
 so dreadfully profane. As it is, however, I cannot expect 
 a special act of divine vengeance in such a case, without 
 expecting the instaut depopulation or annihilation of our 
 sinful world. 
 
 " In many respects, I perceive men are every where 
 alike, with the only difference made by the grace of God, 
 and by less restraints. That these uncultivated minds 
 should be fretful under adverse events, though plainly 
 ordered by Providence, is not strange to me ; wTiile I see 
 the same disposition indulged among Christians of high 
 advantages and professions, and feel it so often, I am 
 ashamed to say, in myself In all societies of human 
 beings, there is some one unfortunate enough to be the 
 victim of all the irritations felt by the rest. In a ship, 
 this is commonly the cabin boy or cook ; in other cases, 
 it is precisely that individual whose station renders him 
 most liable to blame for little faults, and least able to 
 defend himself 
 
 " You will not mistake, if you conclude from the strain 
 of these two letters, that time hangs heavily on my hands. 
 It is a relief to me to write on, while my pen is in hand, 
 and while I write to one who will require no apology for 
 my matter, provided my sheet is filled with lines closely 
 written. 
 
 " On Monday morning the wind died away, then sud- 
 denly changed to north west, and has been till now 
 (Tuesday evening) as favorable as could be wished. 
 
 "Thursday, 19. About midnight of Tuesday we en- 
 tered the Chesapeake Bay, and the course to Baltimore 
 being nearly north, the wind which was favorable before, 
 became a head wind, so that our progress since has been 
 slow ; at the same time we have a smooth sea, and find 
 
LIFE. 
 
 91 
 
 real comfort in being released from our violent tossing. 
 When we came in sight of Maryland shore, the wind was 
 fresh from the north west, and every passenger and some 
 of the seamen were simultaneously attacked with a violent 
 cough, and all the symptoms of the same influenza, that 
 was so prevalent in Boston. My frail body of course 
 suffered with the rest. Tuesday night, yesterday, and 
 last night, I was full of pain, from which I obtained relief 
 only by hot drinks, and hot bottles. My head was in 
 extreme agony with rheumatism for many hours. I 
 desire to be submissive to all the variety of infirmity 
 which it pleases God that I shall suffer ; while I have the 
 fullest conviction that his chastisements are both just and 
 hind. Just, because I deserve them, and kind, because 
 I need them. So far as means are concerned, however, 
 I have no doubt that my life has been preserved scores 
 of times, by exciting a powerful action on the skin, to 
 divert inflammation from my vital organs. To-day I am 
 quite comfortable, though obliged to be cautious after so 
 much perspiration. 
 
 "Friday, 20. This morning about five o'clock I was 
 awaked by the noise and agitation of the vessel, and by 
 the profane cursing of the mate and seamen. At first, I 
 supposed we were near Baltimore; and that the capricious 
 passion of joy, aping sometimes grief, at others vexation, 
 was expressed by tiiis unseemly language. But I soon 
 learned that a head wind blew so hard as to obstruct our 
 progress. Last night my rheumatism gave me less trouble 
 than the night before, but still made me feverish and full 
 of pain. To-day like yesterday, I keep close. Our cook 
 has kept his berth, being sick ; and his absence is some 
 relief from the filth and laziness which are his chief 
 properties. If I had not had my arrow-root, I must have 
 suffered ; being wholly unable to eat the best food, pre- 
 pared as it has been here. 
 
92 
 
 MEMOIR OP DR. PORTER. 
 
 " Sabbath, 22. Still on this restless elemetit. I am 
 relieved, however, from the offensive conversation which 
 has troubled me so much ; as the captain very promptly 
 caused it to cease, on my representing to him how re- 
 volting it has been to my feelings. And Mary, a passenger, 
 a very ignorant servant girl, received my reproof for her 
 foolish talk with the seamen, so as both to reform and 
 apparently to esteem me much for my faithfulness. 
 
 " Tuesday, 24. Baltimore. I came on shore at six 
 o'clock Sabbath evening, having been five days within the 
 capes; a passage which our captain has made fifty times, 
 and never before exceeded two days. Our whole passage, 
 however, was but ten days, which is reckoned quite good. 
 Yesterday I spent at a hotel, but found myself too unwell 
 to be among such a crowd ; and last evening came to 
 my present lodgings, a respectable, quiet boarding house, 
 sought for me by the pious and lovely partner of Mr. V — . 
 I have been so full of rheumatism, that both pairs of my 
 thick drawers, and all my wrappers flannel and leather, 
 have barely sufficed to keep me from freezing. Last 
 night I feared being sick : but warm drinks, a full quota 
 of blankets, and as fine nursing as you could desire, gave 
 me a quiet night's rest; and having kept in all day, I am 
 this evening sitting up, and almost well. No plan as to 
 my future absence — all must be cheerfully submitted. 
 
 " Yours ever." 
 
 " P. S. Recollect that dear Mr. and Mrs. Bartlet, and 
 Mr. and Mrs. Homes will wish to know that you have 
 heard from me." 
 
 From the preceding letter, the reader will learn some- 
 thing of the extreme caution which Dr. Porter found it 
 necessary to practice in respect to exposure, diet, clothing, 
 &.C. Though practiced in this case in sickness, he wag 
 for years scarcely exempt from the same necessity, even 
 
LIFE. 
 
 93 
 
 for a day. So much accustomed was he to be racked with 
 pain, that when the severity of an attack had passed by, 
 he used often, as in the close of this letter, to call himself 
 " almost well." As soon as he thought it prudent to travel, 
 he commenced his journey homeward by land, having 
 received more injury than benefit from the excursion. 
 Though he spent the following winter in Andover in the 
 discharge of official duty, early in the spring his labors 
 were arrested by an attack of pleurisy, which so effectually 
 prostrated his health, that his physicians advised him to 
 try the effect of a voyage to Carolina. As soon as it was 
 deemed safe, he left home for New York, whence he 
 sailed for Charleston. Here he spent a few days with 
 beloved friends, to whose kindness he was already deeply 
 indebted. Respecting this tour we find the following 
 memoranda. 
 
 "New York, May 1, 1821. This MS.* which I had 
 supposed to be lost, I have just found on a shelf of rubbish, 
 at the consignee's of the ship Franklin, in which I sailed 
 from Charleston last year. 
 
 " About the last of March, my health which had been 
 quite comfortable during the winter, sunk under an attack 
 of pleurisy. The latter half of April I spent, in a very 
 delicate state on my way to New York, amid violent 
 storms of snow, by which I was confined at Boston, and 
 again at Providence. A few days of fine weather at New 
 York however, enabled me to regain my habits of exposure 
 to the air, and contributed much to my restoration. To- 
 day I sail in the ship President, for Charleston. 
 
 " May 5. At six o'clock, P. M., landed at Charleston, 
 having been favored with a passage unusually prosperous 
 and pleasant. 
 
 * The MS. containing the brief journal of his absence in 1820, 
 \7hich has already been presented to the reader. 
 
94 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 " May 7. In a walk about the city, I incidentally passed 
 the spot where I was so violently thrown from a gig last 
 year. At once a thousand tender recollections rushed 
 upon my mind, and almost overwhelmed me. To what 
 purpose has my life, rescued by the kind interposition of 
 Providence in a moment of extreme peril, been devoted. 
 Oh, how little has this wretched heart felt the thousand 
 obligations imposed upon it, by the unremitted, unmerited 
 goodness of my heavenly benefactor. 
 
 "May 10. The streets of a crowded city furnish innu- 
 merable sources of instruction, to an intelligent, and es- 
 pecially to a pious mind. Yet these are overlooked by 
 those who are immersed in the bustle of business, or in 
 the whirl of fashionable amusement. In this and in other 
 cities, I have often passed by objects of extreme indigence 
 and wretchedness, and have felt a transient emotion of 
 compassion or of gratitude, which has too commonly left 
 no valuable impression on my mind. 
 
 " To-day I met a little chimney sweep, in the usual cos- 
 tume of his profession, a few dirty rags ; and seeking 
 employment to earn his bread among the suffocating dust 
 of soot and cinders. As he passed along in the crowd, 
 occasionally uttering his shrill and piercing note — the 
 tender of his services to those who might need them ; I 
 observed him to carry his hoop and stick, with which he 
 amused himself whenever the foot-way for a moment was 
 free of passengers. There was something in the appear- 
 ance of tliis poor child that strongly awakened my sensi- 
 bilities, and involuntarily I turned round and looked after 
 him, then went on my way with these reflections : ' In the 
 most degrading of all employments, one, indeed, the very 
 existence of which is a reproach to civilized society, this 
 poor boy exhibits the same cheerfulness as is common to 
 childhood in its most pleasant forms. Probably he is even 
 happier than the boy of princely parentage, whose little 
 
LIFE. 
 
 96 
 
 heart is vexed with a thousand artificial wants, and whose 
 wishes are anticipated by the misguided tenderness of 
 friends. As an immortal being, the degradation of this 
 child is greatly to be deprecated ; while it is but one 
 among millions of facts, that exhibit the sovereignty of 
 Him ' who giveth no account of his matters.' O my 
 God ! — thou hast made me to differ, in the advantages of 
 birth, and the instructions, examples, and restraints of a 
 Christian education.' " 
 
 Dr. Porter returned by way of Philadelphia, reaching 
 that place in season to attend the General Assembly of the 
 Presbyterian church, as a delegate from the General Asso- 
 ciation of Massachusetts ; having been highly favored as 
 on his outward passage, with delightful weather, and (what 
 perhaps was scarcely less conducive to his health) with 
 intelligent and Christian society. At this meeting of the 
 General Assembly, an opportunity offered for the happy 
 exercise of the Christian discretion by which he was 
 characterised. A subject was under discussion more than 
 ordinarily adapted to excite unkind feelings, and several 
 members had manifested a spirit which to him was painful. 
 As the debate was assuming an angry character, a member 
 called on Dr. Porter for his opinion respecting a particular 
 point. lie rose, and with an air rendered deeply solemn 
 by the painful interest of the scene before him, said — 
 " Moderator, my heart has been pained by the spirit ex- 
 hibited by many of the brethren on this subject. We have 
 need to humble ourselves before God." The effect was 
 electric. In a moment anger seemed to disappear, and 
 penitence to be depicted on every countenance. A motion 
 immediately followed, seconded by several voices, that Dr. 
 Porter should lead in prayer for divine forgiveness and 
 direction. After a fervent address to the throne of grace, 
 
96 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 several brethren publicly expressed their gratitude to him 
 for his timely reproof. 
 
 in April, 1821, he received a communication from one 
 of the trustees of Dartmouth college, informing him that 
 in filling the vacancy which was about to be caused by the 
 resignation of their president, (Rev. Dr. Dana,) the unani- 
 mous choice would doubtless fall on him, if they might be 
 encouraged to expect his acceptance. His attachment to 
 this institution, as his Alma Mater, was .strong, and his 
 desire ardent to promote its interests ; yet he could offer 
 no encouragement to such a choice. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Contemplates goinff to Europe — Comtnunication to trustees — Varies 
 his determination and goes to Havana and New Orleans — Letters 
 — Memorandum returning — Salutary effect on his health. 
 
 Though Dr. Porter derived obvious advantage from his 
 last tour to Carolina, and was able to perform his labors 
 at home during the summer following, disease had made 
 such ravages upon his constitution, that his colleagues and 
 medical advisers believed it his duty, if possible, to arrest 
 its progress by a more protracted suspension of official 
 functions. It was thought he would be most likely to 
 derive permanent benefit from a voyage to Europe, and a 
 winter's residence in its southern latitudes, in which 
 opinion he was himself disposed to concur. The grounds 
 of this opinion he states in a communication to the trustees, 
 requesting leave of absence. 
 
 " To the Rev. and Hon. the Trustees of Phillips' Academy. 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " Since my severe illness in the spring of 1819, my 
 health has been gradually mending, so that I have been 
 able to prosecute the writing and delivery of public lectures 
 through the term now closed ; and have in other respects 
 performed as much official service, as in any equal period 
 9 
 
98 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 since my connection with the seminary ; except that I 
 have avoided duties abroad in the evening. 
 
 " Still my ablest medical advisers, who know my system 
 and predispositions think decidedly, that it would be 
 improper for me to hazard an exposure to the severity of 
 our winter, without more firmness than I have at present. 
 They are also of opinion, from the uniform advantage 
 attending partial experiments of the kind, that a voyage 
 to the south of Europe, or to some remote part of this 
 continent, would promise more than all other means to 
 remove my liability to violent attacks of disease. 
 
 " The experience, gentlemen, which I have had of your 
 generous sympathy, increases the painful reluctance with 
 which I mention this subject. But it is my duty to bow 
 to the will of Him, ' whose I am, and whom I profess to 
 serve.' And associated as I am with interests so much 
 more important than those of myself and family, it is ray 
 privilege that I may cast myself on the guardians of these 
 sacred interests for direction. 
 
 " If those in whom I should most confide, think it my 
 duty to proceed with my labors here next winter, and trust 
 the result to Providence, I will do it without hesitation. 
 But should it be thought expedient that I should be at 
 liberty to conform to circumstances, I request leave of the 
 trustees to be absent for the winter, or a part of it, as the 
 case may require. I wish it to be understood also, that, 
 in the event of my absence, I shall endeavor to make such 
 arrangements, that my salary for the time being may be 
 applied to the employment of a temporary substitute, should 
 the trustees see fit to authorize a committee to select a 
 proper man for the above purpose. 
 
 " Permit me to add, gentlemen, that if it pleases God to 
 give me sufficient health, there are many reasons why I 
 desire to finish a course of public lectures in my depart- 
 ment. One of these reasons is, that no course corres- 
 
LIFE. 
 
 99 
 
 ponding with that contemplated in our statutes, has 
 heretofore been given in any language. The materials 
 for the execution of this design, I have digested to a 
 considerable extent, as the result of all the reading and 
 experience connected with the labors of my office here. 
 
 " But strongly as I am attached to my office, and to the 
 circle of friends with whom I have been associated for nine 
 years past, I shall consider it my duty promptly to relin- 
 quish my plan, whenever the guardians of this beloved 
 seminary shall think that its interests will be promoted by 
 such a measure. 
 
 " I remain, gentlemen, yours with great respect, 
 
 " E. Porter." 
 
 This request the trustees with their characteristic spirit 
 of accommodation, readily granted. In pursuance of his 
 purpose, early in autumn, he procured the papers neces- 
 sary to secure him protection under the seal of the United 
 States, designing to spend the winter in Italy. Instead of 
 crossing the Atlantic however, he varied his determination 
 and sailed for Charleston, whence, after a few weeks, he 
 proceeded by way of Havana to New Orleans ; returning 
 after a brief absence to Charleston. 
 
 Several extracts from letters written during this absence, 
 follow ; they are inserted consecutively — the first dated on 
 his outward passage from Boston. 
 
 " Brig Two Friends, Lat. 35, Lon. 68, ) 
 JVov. 15, 1821. 5 
 
 " My dear Wife, 
 
 " Among the sacrifices to which God in his holy Provi- 
 dence has called me in past years, none has been so great 
 as that which now calls me away from the endearments of 
 home, and of our beloved hill of Zion. One reason why 
 I feel thus, probably is, that the increasing attachment to 
 home which commonly attends advance in years, is 
 
100 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 Strengthened in my case by infirmity of body. Another 
 reason is, that heretofore when I have gone abroad, it has 
 been from immediate and urgent necessity ; whereas in 
 the present case, I have yielded to the opinion of physicians 
 that a more seasonable retreat from the northern winter, 
 might prevent those severe attacks of disease that have 
 repeatedly prostrated my feeble frame, and as a measure 
 of precaution, render me less liable to those attacks here- 
 after. 
 
 " Though I am on the whole well satisfied that this 
 view of the case is correct, the struggle between my heart 
 and my judgment has been great, considering the magni- 
 tude of the work which I am called to leave. But enough 
 of this painful trial. Oh for more of that submission which 
 enabled my blessed Master to say, ' the cup which my 
 Father hath given me, shall I not drink it ? ' 
 
 "We did not sail on the afternoon of the 8th, till near 
 
 3 o'clock, Capt. S having been detained by the 
 
 desertion of his steward. While searching for him, he 
 engaged another, who also ran away ; and just at the 
 moment of sailing, both were brought forcibly on board. 
 The second, after one attempt to escape to the wharf, was 
 compelled to return, and leaping overboard was drowned 
 at our side, refusing the aid of ropes, &lc. thrown to him 
 from the deck. This act of desperation resulted from 
 shame and anger, under the influence of intoxication, 
 that brutal sin which makes such havoc among seamen. 
 
 " We went down the bay with a fine breeze, and next 
 day were becalmed some hours. From that time till 
 yesterday we encountered adverse winds of unusual vio- 
 lence. The surges have not yet subsided, though it has 
 been almost calm for twenty-four hours. To-day has been 
 uncommonly fine, so that the ladies have gone on deck for 
 the first time, and I have been able to walk and split wood 
 on deck. We are now in the latitude of Cape Hatteras, 
 
LIFE. 
 
 101 
 
 but near five hundred miles east of Charleston longitude, 
 outside of the Gulf stream, with a temperature of 68 by 
 the thermometer. Our captain is skillful and kind, a very 
 pleasant man ; and our brig a strong, safe vessel ; but 
 above all, the Maker of this great deep, and the Ruler of 
 these restless elements is our keeper. To him we owe 
 our preservation amid these raging billows. 
 
 " Charleston, Nov. 29. Through the goodness of God 
 we arrived yesterday afternoon. I fear, my dear wife, you 
 will suffer anxiety on account of our long passage in this 
 month of storms. Last Friday night, after a severe blow 
 from S. W., the wind came suddenly round to west, and 
 blew tremendously. We had entered the Gulf stream 
 hoping to cross it, but were forced back, after such violent 
 tossing as I never before experienced. Not only crockery 
 and glass, but trunks, chairs, and men were dashed about 
 the cabin ; and the oldest seamen could not stand or sit 
 without holding fast. Truly we saw ' the works of the 
 Lord and his wonders in the deep.' The last two days of 
 the passage were as unexpectedly pleasant and prosperous, 
 as the preceding had been boisterous. About twenty 
 vessels came up to town with us ; one twenty-two days 
 from Middletown, one twenty-five from New York, and 
 one thirty from Baltimore. I came directly to Mr. 
 O'Neale's, and lodge in my old room. The dear, afflicted 
 man was glad to see me. The servants came sobbing, to 
 shake hands with their mistress's friend. My heart, which 
 had been swelling with emotion, as I came up the street, 
 and entered the dwelling of that lately beloved and useful 
 woman, burst from its constraint and vented itself in a 
 half hour's weeping. If it were not so incorrigible a heart, 
 it must be made better by this painfully instructive lesson. 
 Lord, make it a better heart ! 
 
 " Invariably yours." 
 
 9 
 
102 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 " Charleston, Dec. 7, 1821. 
 
 " My dear Wife, 
 
 " The expectation which I formed early in the 
 autumn, of going to the Mediterranean, and the sacrifice 
 of my vacation accordingly, would have left me badly pre- 
 pared to encounter the winter at home. The sinking of 
 my system, of which I was conscious for some time before 
 my departure, was more fully developed afterwards in the 
 entire derangement of my digestive organs, and the 
 prostration of my strength to a degree greater than usual 
 without violent disease. On the ocean, especially for the 
 first ten days, I had no appetite ; and after we reached the 
 warm latitudes, the weavles, (a rice insect,) and certain 
 other worse enemies of sleep, annoyed me even more than 
 the commotion of the agitated elements. Since our arrival 
 an influenza has been somewhat prevalent, but I have been 
 exempt from all irritation of lungs, so as scarcely once to 
 need the relief of my customary keyn. For several days 
 my vigor has been increasing, with an excellent appetite, 
 and to-day I have wallsed at least six miles. 
 
 " You wish, I know, to learn my plan for the winter. 
 Mr. O'Neale, with his characteristic kindness, invited me 
 to make his house my home. But as I wished not to live 
 on hospitality, I consented to do so, on condition that he 
 would take me as a boarder, and present me his bills for 
 payment as such. To this he assents. Here I have a 
 quiet chamber, with niy own fire. The servants are kind, 
 obliging and faithful, especially the cook, who is unwearied 
 in her attentions ; so that my chief danger perhaps is that 
 which besets me at home, viz. being injured by too much 
 kindness. She stood by me this evening and said, ' We 
 talk in kitchen after missus die, will Massa Porter ever 
 come again 1 Some say no : — I say he will come, and see 
 poor Massa O'Neale ; — he so lonely, nobody talk to in the 
 evening.' Then she went on to say — ' no so good massa 
 
LIFE. 
 
 103 
 
 in Charleston ; — I go on my knees to take care of him; — 
 missus say when she die, Grace, take care your massa.' 
 Then she repeated the dying advice of Mrs. O'Neale to 
 the servants, and described her triumph in the tenderest 
 manner. Bob, the waiting man, is hopefully pious, and 
 has learned to read the Bible which I gave him last year. 
 I shall remain at least si.x or eight weeks longer, as I have 
 better accommodations as to study, food, and exercise 
 than I can have elsewhere. I shall study as many hours 
 as if I were at home. A young Protestant minister from 
 France, calls several evenings in a week to teach me 
 French pronunciation, and to be taught English by me. 
 
 " I have opportunity here to do much for the Education 
 Society, by correspondence with the interior, and distri- 
 bution of pamphlets. Tell Mr. , that I wish him 
 
 to send me a good supply of the Education Society tracts, 
 for Carolina and Georgia. In the course of the winter I 
 mean to visit Georgia and New Orleans, if God will. Tell 
 
 Br. ■ , that I shall consider my commission as agent 
 
 of the Education Society for the south, as continuing 
 unless otherwise informed, 
 
 " You know how essential it has been to the happiness of 
 my past life to be a busy man. Though I came here for 
 health, I do not wish to be idle, and I cannot be. Indeed, 
 systematic walking, riding on the saddle, and sawing wood ; 
 receiving and returning the visits of friends ; study, and 
 labor for the Education Society, afford me ample employ- 
 ment. Yesterday I procured a meeting, preparatory to 
 more efficient operations of the South Carolina Education 
 
 Society. Tell Mr. , that during the cold winter 
 
 months he must keep his furnace full of fuel to heat New 
 England. His circular is efficacious wherever it goes. 
 
 " Tell Mr. , of the senior class, that I intended 
 
 before leaving home, to procure some of the students, 
 who would interest themselves in the thing, to correspond 
 
104 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 with the officers of colleges, and learn what encourage- 
 ment can be had for an American edition of Quinctillian's 
 Institutes, to be comprised in two 8vo. volumes. This 
 may be ascertained in some measure by correspondence, 
 as the patronage must be found chiefly at the literary 
 institutions. Yours immutably." 
 
 " Charleston, Jan. 12, 1822. 
 
 " My dear "Wife, 
 
 " Your welcome favor of Dec. 24, arrived several 
 days ago. I am sorry to learn that you had been ill. 
 You leave me to infer rather than say that your health 
 was restored. So far as health of body depends on the 
 mind, devotional reading and prayer are doubtless favora- 
 ble to it. But the body has claims of its own. Its food, 
 exercise, and rest, are distinct from those of the mind; 
 and religion demands such an attention to both as that 
 we may fulfil all our social and relative as well as our 
 devotional duties. Take care of your health my dear 
 wife, for the sake of many who love you, especially for 
 wjy sake. 
 
 "If I have forgotten to say before, let me say now, 
 that I object to the reading of my letters to individuals, 
 unless in special cases. If a letter is of such a cast that 
 a friend may take it himself, there is no tax on his polite- 
 ness or his patience. He may read one sentence or ten 
 as he pleases. But to compel him to hear a whole letter, 
 or a page, whatever engagements he may have, is quite 
 another thing. I extend this remark to letters generally, 
 and to 'passages in books which interest us. We have no 
 right, on the ground of civility, to presume that the same 
 interest will be felt by another. I have myself often felt 
 the same vexation that Horace did, towards those who 
 would ' hold me fast, and read me dead.' 
 
 " I hear occasionally from our young men in the 
 
LIFE. 
 
 105 
 
 interior ; they are doing well. , since his 
 
 return from New England, takes better aim, and fires 
 heavier shots than heretofore. Nothing but pungent 
 doctrinal instruction seems wanting here, with God's 
 blessing, to produce a revival. 
 
 " I have proposed that the ladies here shall have a 
 regular correspondence with those in Boston, for mutual 
 communication as to means and amount of Christian 
 
 operations. Tell Brother I thank him, and will 
 
 answer his letter perhaps from New Orleans, whither 
 I expect to sail to-moirow in the steam ship. Tell 
 
 Mrs. her very good and useful brother sends love. 
 
 I dined there to-day with my friend J. W. Esq., who 
 reached the city yesterday, and embarks to-morrow as 
 my companion for New Orleans. This is as pleasant 
 
 as unexpected to us both. Mr. G , a pious invalid 
 
 minister from New York, is also to go with us. 
 
 " Constantly yours." 
 
 Steam Ship Robert Fulton, Gulf of Mexico, \ 
 Jan. 2!), 1822. 5 
 
 " My dear Wife, 
 
 " As an acknowledgment to my gracious Preserver 
 and Benefactor, and of my duty to you, I resume my pen 
 to give you a brief history of myself since leaving Charles- 
 ton. Our accommodations have not been in all respects 
 as good as we had reason to expect, from general report, 
 and from information obtained at the office of the con- 
 signee in Charleston. About the fourth day I was attacked 
 
 with sore throat and general cold. Besides Mr. W , 
 
 the only pious passengers were Mr. , and Mr. , 
 
 a lawyer. 
 
 " The Havana, at which we staid three days, is a 
 pagano-Christian city, with about one hundred and thirty 
 thousand inhabitants. It is one of the strongest military 
 
106 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 posts in the world, inclosed with walls; and the harbor, the 
 finest I ever saw, is defended by a complete investment of 
 forts. Off Tortugas we were chased by what we supposed 
 a pirate, but outsailed her. On arrival at Havana, it 
 appeared that eight or ten American vessels within a few 
 days had been robbed, some burnt, and many cases of 
 murder. The population of Havana look like a dirty, 
 degraded race. Among them, every few rods you meet 
 a ghostly looking friar. The churches retain the appear- 
 ance of that ancient splendor which they derived from 
 unbounded wealth and superstition. I had before no 
 conception of the extravagant expenditures of the Catho- 
 lics to maintain the mummeries which they call religion. 
 The streets are narrow and filthy, and the houses ancient, 
 with massive shutters for windows instead of glass, and 
 floors of solid stone and plaister. We took lodgings at 
 an American boarding-house at two dollars and fifty cents 
 a day — a sufficient price for me, as my food was arrow 
 root. 
 
 "Feb. 1. By the smiles of Providence I am about 
 relieved of my cold for several days past. We have 
 entered the great Mississippi. Our passengers have been 
 of a peculiarly mixed character; most of them profane, 
 and some extravagantly so. At the table we keep up 
 the acknowledgment of God, but have not been able to 
 establish daily worship. On the Sabbath after leaving 
 Charleston the passengers attended decently in the cabin 
 while I read part of the 107th Psalm and prayed. The 
 next Sabbath was broken up by navigating the ship out 
 of Havana, and we had no worship till evening. Neither 
 Mr. G. nor I were well enough to preach on either day. 
 
 " Feb. 4. Day before yesterday we arrived at New 
 Orleans in twenty hours from the mouth of the river, 
 while other ships are from six to thirty days. A harsh 
 wind renewed my cold to a slight degree, but by the 
 
LIFE. 
 
 107 
 
 goodness of God, I was able to preach yesterday, to the 
 destitute and interesting little flock of the lamented 
 Lamed ; though it was rainy, and the notice short, the 
 church having been shut up generally this winter. To- 
 day I am quite comfortable, having walked some dis- 
 tance. The company of Mr. W. has been an unspeakable 
 comfort to me. The few Cliristians here, gather around 
 us with deep interest, and beg us to stay a few weeks. 
 My heart bleeds for them. 
 
 " Charleston, Feb. 25. Through the goodness of God, 
 I returned here this morning. Send this to father Bartlet 
 in exchange for a long one 1 forward to him by this 
 conveyance, bringing up to this time an account of my 
 absence from Charleston. I did hope to continue my 
 letters to the students on the voyage, but the confusion of 
 the ship prevented ; — I shall resume them soon. 
 
 " With immutable affection yours." 
 
 The letter to Mr. Bartlet, giving an account of his re- 
 turning voyage from New Orleans to Chaileston, follows. 
 
 " Gulf of Mexico, Feb. 17, 1822. 
 " Respected and dear Sir, 
 
 " Though I was strongly solicited to stay some weeks 
 at New Orleans, and though I had some weighty motives 
 to comply with these solicitations, I thought it best to 
 return with the steam ship to Charleston, that so far as 
 I have strength, I may devote my undivided attention to 
 the prosecution of my own official duties. This I might 
 have done with far less expense, but with more inter- 
 ruption, at New Orleans than at Charleston ; because at 
 the latter place I have the command of my own room 
 and time, not being called on for any ministerial service 
 except such as I can perform without inconvenience; 
 whereas the state of New Orleans, connected as it is 
 
108 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 with a world of paganism in the west, would doubtless 
 have excited in me emotions and efforts inconsistent with 
 the main object of my visit to the south. 
 
 " We left New Orleans on the 8th inst. and arrived on 
 the coast of Cuba on the 12th, and almost in sight of 
 Havana, with a fine wind to reach it in three hours, 
 when the captain, being a stranger to the coast and 
 supposing himself to be off Matanzas, sailed westward 
 twenty-four hours, and did not ascertain his mistake till 
 he reached Cape Antonio. Having a strong head wind 
 and being short of fuel, our progress back was difficult. 
 
 "Havana, Feb. 19. We arrived here yesterday and 
 are to leave to-morrow for Charleston. As I had felt but 
 little interest in visiting Cuba, I had taken no letters 
 of introduction. I am therefore much indebted to the 
 politeness of Capt. Jackson of Newburyport, who is here, 
 and who has kindly devoted his time to-day, to introduce 
 me to several respectable families, and attend me with 
 
 Mr. S , a merchant of your acquaintance, on a ride 
 
 into the country. While the city of Havana presents at 
 once a striking combination of wealth and magnificence 
 with vice, superstition and filth, the soil and climate of 
 the interior arc incomparably fine. It was an unexpected 
 gratification to me to witness the luxuriance of tropical 
 fruits, trees, and plants of various kinds. 
 
 " While I was wrhing the last sentence, a young man 
 put into my hand a letter to Rev. Mr. Byington, from the 
 officers of the Moravian Missionary Society at Nassau, 
 New Providence. The bearer was passenger in a 
 schooner wrecked on that coast the last week. She 
 belonged to Charleston, S. ('., and had a large quantity 
 of clothing, &-C. for the Eliot mission, which articles 
 the wreckers sold for a trifle to the negroes. But the 
 Wesleyan society redeemed the valuable articles of com- 
 munion plate presented by the church in Yale college to 
 
LIFE. 
 
 109 
 
 the church in Eliot, and forwarded them by this young 
 nnan. Being a stranger in New Orleans, whither he is 
 to sail shortly, he called on me for advice, to whom he 
 should commit the articles there, to be forwarded to 
 Mr. Byington. 
 
 "Gulf Stream, off Florida, Feb. 21. Besides the 
 schooner above mentioned, four other vessels were wTeck- 
 ed on the same reef, the same night (10th inst.), but I 
 learned on seeing the young man again, that the com- 
 munion plate was in a vessel wrecked four months ago. 
 
 " We left Havana yesterday at 10 o'clock, with a fair 
 wind, and we are now about two hundred miles on our 
 way. My thoughts return with a mixture of compassion 
 and abhorrence to the Spanish island of Cuba, blessed to 
 profusion by the bounties of the Creator, and cursed by 
 
 the stupidity and vice of its inhabitants. Mr. S 
 
 informed me that one of his coffee plantations of one 
 hundred and eighty acres, yielded him last year a crop 
 of forty thousand dollars. The cattle are large and fine, 
 but make bad beef. The oxen I am told, a single pair 
 harnessed by the horns, march off at quick step with a 
 load of three tons. But the men! — ah, the immortal 
 beings that throng that island, are a disgrace to the 
 human character ; and though nominally Christian, are 
 sunk in a more hopeless state of ignorance and depravity 
 than almost any spot shrouded in the night of paganism. 
 
 " Among our thirty-six passengers there are three of 
 
 some distinction. Gen. , whose public 
 
 character you know, is possessed of great wealth. His 
 cotton crop in South Carolina and in Louisiana is said 
 to be not less than one hundred and twenty thousand 
 dollars this year, and his sugar crop in Louisiana forty 
 thousand more. Poor man, he is a stranger to all the 
 noblest uses of money, and to all the consolations of piety. 
 He advanced his infidel views to me very confidently at 
 
110 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 first, but finding himself unable to stand a moment on the 
 ground of argument, he became cautious, and has been 
 uniformly civil. He has given me an invitation, which I 
 cannot accept, to spend some time with him in Carolina. 
 Gen. Lefebre Desnoettes, Buonaparte's favorite cavalry 
 commander, came with us also from New Orleans. He 
 is tall and slender ; thirty-five or forty years old, a very 
 intelligent and respectable man. He has resided in this 
 country as a proscribed officer some years, but is about 
 returning to make his peace with Louis. He is not fond 
 of talking about his fallen master; but when I inquired 
 of him whether any of the writings ascribed to Napoleon 
 are genuine, he said he could not answer positively as to 
 any except one recently published, as the ninth volume of 
 Buonaparte's Works, the other eight being still unpub- 
 lished. This ninth he has read, and is sure that none but 
 Napoleon could have been the author. I have had much 
 interesting conversation with him on various topics. In 
 reply to my inquiry, what use is made of ardent spirits in 
 the French armies, he assured me that it is never a part 
 of rations; that very rarely a small use is made of brandy 
 by connnon soldiers, but their daily allowance is merely 
 a pound and a half of bread. All else as to food, drink 
 and clothing they provide for themselves, though their 
 wages are but six cents a day. At the battle of Waterloo 
 he says not a man had seen meat for three days ; he adds 
 that French officers and soldiers are seldom sick ; and 
 that they can fight with very little to eat and drink. He 
 says that he never saw ardent spirits used with water till 
 he came to America, and what is stranger still, he never 
 saw a Bible in any language, except the English, till I 
 showed him one to-day in French. He read it for some 
 time and thanked me. Though he prefers the Catholic 
 religion to any other, he evidently does not believe the 
 divine origin and obligation of any. Such is the genuine 
 
LIFE. 
 
 Ill 
 
 influence of the Catholic worship. It makes the ignorant 
 mass bigots, and the more enlightened, infidels. Not 
 only tlie inquisition, but the priesthood and forms of this 
 religion are publicly ridiculed on the stage at Havana, 
 though there is no Protestant worship in the country. 
 
 " We have besides as a passenger, Capt. D of the 
 
 United States' navy, who has just returned from Mexico. 
 The principal interest I have felt in him arises from 
 his minute description of that country, of which I have 
 hitherto been very ignorant. He describes the interior 
 of Mexico as a paradise, so far as climate and natural 
 advantages of country are concerned. The thermometer 
 ranges between 75 and 85 through the year. There are 
 no fevers ; — the people live to advanced age, and aside 
 from the precious metals, have one of the richest countries 
 on the globe. On the high grounds off from the coast, 
 pines of different sorts, and on the coast hard woods grow 
 to a great size. But the people are held in vassalage 
 under the same superstition as in Cuba. In one cathe- 
 dral, about forty miles from Mexico, the captain says there 
 is a massive silver image of the virgin Mary; — a solid 
 golden ball representing the sun, with the richest bril- 
 liants; — and one chandelier that cost one hundred and 
 sixty thousand dollars. The ornaments in all cost half a 
 million of dollars. 
 
 " Besides these, we had with us a Philadelphia captain, 
 a decent man, lately wrecked off New Providence, whose 
 brig was entirely lost. From the wreck he escaped in 
 his boat with the crew, to a barren key four miles distant, 
 where he found but one family, who notwithstanding their 
 barbarous state of living, maintained family worship. 
 
 " Charleston, Feb, 25. We arrived here to-day. I 
 cannot say till I am rested, whether my health is bene- 
 fitted by the voyage. I presume it will be however. My 
 friends say that I have gained some flesh. I hope the 
 
112 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 time and expense of the voyage will not be lost to myself, 
 and that it may be of some use to others, if God shall see 
 fit to bless my very imperfect efforts on board the ship, 
 where the passengers invited me to preach, and listened 
 with very becoming attention. 
 
 " You see my dear sir, how eagerly I embrace any 
 alleviation of the painful separation from my home and 
 business. Indeed I long to return, and think this is the 
 last sacrifice of the kind, which I shall think it my duty 
 to make to prop a tottering constitution. 
 
 "Please to give my best love to dear Mrs. Bartlet, and 
 all the circle of friends. I am as much at home here as 
 I can be away from home. Will you have the goodness 
 to send this to Mrs. Porter, as it is only a sequel to a 
 hasty one I wrote her on my outward passage. 
 
 "With sincere respect and affection, 
 
 " Yours invariably." 
 
 "Ma)-ch 18, 1822. 
 
 " My dear Wife, 
 
 " We have had several days of cold east wind, so 
 that vessels could not pass out of the harbor. 1 have 
 just received a letter from Mr. Evarts, who arrived at 
 Savannah the 1 4th, in eleven days from Boston. He says, 
 * prospects of restoration are favorable ; but I wish to stand 
 prepared for the will of God, whatever it may be.' He 
 adds, ' I must make my letters short, as my physician 
 forbids much writing and much talking.' For this painful 
 information I was prepared by your last letter. Indeed, I 
 was prepared for it by the aspect of the dear man last 
 autumn, and by the excessive labor which I knew had 
 devolved on him since the removal of Dr. Worcester, It 
 is distressing that a man occupying a station more impor- 
 tant perhaps, than any other layman in the United States, 
 should be thus prematurely broken down. So it is, that 
 
LIFE. 
 
 113 
 
 every man who is able and willing to work, is tempted to 
 work himself to death, the ' harvest is so plenteous, and 
 the laborers so few.' So be it, if God will. Blessed be 
 his name, the church is safe ; his own omnipotence will 
 protect and prosper its interests; his own truth is guarantee 
 that the work of evangelizing the world will go on, — will 
 go on by human instruments ; and let not human wisdom 
 obtrude its counsels in determining who these instruments 
 shall be. Mr. Evarts intends, if his health will permit, to 
 commence his journey homeward in April, by Brainerd 
 and Virginia, on horseback. I hope to see him this week, 
 and to assist in providing for him some one of our mission- 
 aries as a fellow traveller. 
 
 " Invariably yours." 
 " Savannah, April 29, 1822. 
 
 " My dear Wife, 
 
 " I returned six days ago from Liberty county, where 
 I had a pleasant visit. The people were originally 
 emigrants from Dorchester, near Boston, who removed 
 first to Dorchester, South Carolina, and thence to Medway, 
 Georgia. Like the Plymouth pilgrims, they brought a 
 minister with them ; and to this day, in their religious 
 and social habits, there is much of the puritan simplicity. 
 On the Sabbath they meet with great regularity and seri- 
 ousness, and in the intermission retire to their little houses, 
 prepared only for this purpose, where they take such 
 refreshments as they have brought from home ; none of 
 thera returning till the close of the afternoon service. 
 These good people made me quite at home, many of them 
 claiming to be old acquaintances with me, from my printed 
 sermons, my connection with the Education Society, &c. 
 
 " Partly on account of unfavorable weather, and partly 
 owing to my food in passing from house to house, I have 
 been much oppressed with bilious stomach for two or 
 10* 
 
114 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 three weeks, so that I have fallen off in health, and have 
 probably lost all that fine recruit of flesh to which I have 
 before alluded. You must expect therefore, if it pleases 
 God to return me to you, to see me just about as plethoric 
 a man as heretofore. But that I am not seriously ill, yoa 
 will perceive from the fact that I am now writing to you, 
 having preached in a church one hundred feet by eighly. 
 This church by a happy accident, (for no architect in our 
 country produces the effect by skill,) is one of the easiest 
 for a speaker, in the United States ; and though not the 
 most splendid, it is decidedly the most elegant building of 
 the kind that I have seen. When I look at the assemblage 
 of wealthy, worldly, fashionable hearers, who convene in 
 this house, I tremble for my young brother to whom the 
 charge of these precious souls is recently committed. O 
 what a glorious field is here for the fervor and faithfulness 
 of Baxter ! I feel a strong confidence, however, that 
 
 Mr. S is sound in faith and experience, and that his 
 
 ministry will be blessed to this interesting flock. 
 
 " During my stay in this city, I have received the 
 kindest attentions. Indeed the affectionate regard with 
 which I have been treated by so many kind friends, while 
 it will be to me a source of grateful recollections through 
 life, has done much to abate the painfulness of my tedious 
 absence. This absence I have deeply felt as an affliction 
 from my heavenly Father, and I pray that the just and 
 necessary stripes of his hand may make me a better and a 
 happier man. 
 
 " Immutably yours." 
 
 The last of May Dr. Porter returned to New England. 
 While passing through Long Island Sound, he thus notes 
 his feelings : — 
 
 "June 4, 1822. After an absence of almost seven 
 months, I see again the shore of my beloved native State, 
 
LIFE. 
 
 116 
 
 Connecticut, The sight of those hills would interest me 
 deeply, if they merely recalled the tender associations of 
 my early childhood, and the labors and enjoyments of my 
 pastoral life. The pleasure of such associations, having 
 been the standing theme of poets, is not peculiar to men 
 of any period or country, and is by no means to be iden- 
 tified with religious feeling. The love of country, like 
 other social instincts, may be as strong in the rustic or the 
 infidel, as in the philosopher or the Christian. 
 
 " But Connecticut has beauties to my eye independent 
 of its being my native State. Its political and religious 
 institutions, for two centuries, have given a character to 
 its inhabitants, distinguishing it from any other commu- 
 nity since the world began. Among no other people has 
 republicanism existed in so much purity, and for so long a 
 period. Connecticut was founded, not by the enterprise 
 of ambition or avarice, but by an inextinguishable love of 
 religion, and a steadfast attachment to the rights of con- 
 science. Hence the institutions of the Gospel have been 
 the foundation of all the institutions and habits of this 
 highly favored people. Hence the industry, frugality, 
 sobriety, simplicity, and at the same time, intelligence 
 and independence of this people. As we approach this 
 favored region, the manners of the social circle assume a 
 correspondent aspect. In the hotel, in the packet, in the 
 stage, there is a gentleness, sobriety, and decorum, which 
 are a striking contrast to the clamor, and violence, and 
 coarse profaneness that have too often afflicted my ears 
 in the steam ship, and in other methods of travelling 
 abroad." 
 
 Wearied with frequent and protracted separations from 
 his family, his colleagues, and his labors, Dr. Porter 
 resolved to commit himself into the hands of God, and 
 abide the consequences of remaining in Andover. A 
 
116 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 blessing seemed to attend this determination, and though 
 for several successive years he scarcely passed a winter with- 
 out an attack, more or less severe, of pleurisy, and though 
 he sustained a constant struggle with infirmity, he was by 
 " the good hand of his God upon him," enabled with com- 
 paratively brief interruptions, to continue the discharge of 
 official duty. During this period, his history is merely the 
 record of entire devotion to his sacred and responsible 
 work. The vacations he improved in making short jour- 
 nies ; sometimes in visiting Saratoga springs, sometimes 
 in visiting his honored father, whose advanced age ren- 
 dered it probable that death would soon terminate the 
 offices of filial affection. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Appointed President of Theological Seminary — Answer— Increase 
 of labors — Thinks of retiring from tlie Seminary — Requests 
 leave d absence— Embar a for Charleston— Letter to Mrs. P. 
 — Proceeds to St. Augustine — Letter to a friend in his family 
 — Letter to a colleague— Letter to Mrs. P.— Return to Charles- 
 ton — Thinks of goin^- to Europe— Plan for the summer — Reflec- 
 tions on leaving Charleston. 
 
 In 1827, the guardians of the Theological Seminary 
 deemed it expedient to add to the existing organi- 
 zation of its faculty, the office of President ; the 
 faculty having previously consisted of co-ordinate 
 professors, each of whom in his department of in- 
 struction, performed the duty prescribed by the statutes ; 
 and in the government of the institution bore the part 
 which his colleagues saw fit to assign him. When the 
 presidency was established, Dr. Porter was selected for 
 that station, by the guardians of the institution, with the 
 cordial approbation of his colleagues. To the acceptance 
 of the station, however, he felt very weighty objections ; 
 several of which are stated in his reply to the communi- 
 cation of the trustees, announcing his election. 
 
 " The Rev. and Hon. the Trustees of Phillips' Acadeviy. 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " At your last meeting a communication was made 
 to me, that your board had decided on the expediency of 
 
118 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 having a President, as an officer of the Theological Semi- 
 nary, and had appointed me to that office. For several 
 years my own opinion has concurred with that of my col- 
 leagues, that such an officer would be found indispensable 
 here ; but it is no affectation of delicacy to say, that both 
 my heart and my understanding incline me to shrink, with 
 very serious misgivings, from undertaking the duties of 
 this office myself 
 
 " In the first place, it must be attended with intrinsic 
 difficulties. These arise partly from the nature of the in- 
 stitution, and partly from our past habits. 
 
 " In the second place, there are difficulties connected 
 with this subject, as it regards myself. For fifteen years, 
 much of my time has been devoted to dry detail. To ex- 
 amine manuscript sermons, sentence by sentence, with a 
 critical eye ; and to do this for a whole class, as I did for 
 eight years, or for half a class, as I have done for the re- 
 maining seven years, is a work adapted to exhaust the 
 strength and spirits, in no common degree. So indispen- 
 sable to the best habits of the students is this labor, that I 
 do not mention it as a burden. It has been my duty to 
 do it, though with the unavoidable sacrifice of studies 
 which I have ardently wished to pursue ; and which I 
 have hoped from year to year that I might find opportunity 
 to pursue, under better advantages than before. It is 
 with inexpressible reluctance then, that I think of engag- 
 ing in new duties, which must consist very much in the 
 details of business, and must involve me in various and 
 multiplied interruptions and cares. This reluctance I 
 frankly confess is much increased by an apprehension that 
 my health may prove inadequate to the task proposed. 
 This leads me to say, 
 
 " In the third place, there are difficulties in making the 
 past duties expected of me compatible with an adequate 
 attention to those now proposed. It would be unwise in 
 
LIFE. 
 
 119 
 
 me to think of sustaining a greater amount of labors than 
 have belonged to me hitherto. I should be unwilling too, 
 that any considerable portion of these labors should be 
 permanently transferred to my colleagues, with the great 
 duties already resting on them. I know that the trustees 
 have the most generous feelings on this whole subject, and 
 will be ready to give necessary relief as far as circumstan- 
 ces will permit. My colleagues also, during present em- 
 barrassments, are disposed to render every aid in their 
 power ; and greatly as I have reason to confide in their 
 judgment, I cannot lightly regard the opinion and wish of 
 these brethren that I should accede to the proposed ar- 
 rangements of the trustees. 
 
 " After this frank disclosure of my views, gentlemen, I 
 wish to do, or at least try to do, my duty. To the inter- 
 ests of this sacred seminary, my heart is devoted with an 
 undivided attachment. No object on earth can supersede 
 this in my regard. If I may be instrumental in any hum- 
 ble measure of promoting the purposes of its venerable 
 founders, in aiding to raise up an able and holy ministry 
 for the church, it will be the consummation of my wishes. 
 If the trustees continue to think that I ought to engage in 
 the service assigned me, — relying on their candor, and 
 counsel, and prayers ; on the co-operation of my beloved 
 colleagues ; and above all on the blessing of Him who can 
 ' increase strength to them that have no might,' — I will doit. 
 " With great respect, I am, gentlemen, 
 
 " Yours &C. E. PuRTER." 
 
 Though the trustees very kindly afforded Dr. Porter all 
 the relief which circumstances would permit, still his re- 
 sponsibility was much augmented by his acceptance of the 
 presidency. Besides the duties of that ofhcc, he continued 
 his public lectures, and his attendance on c(!rtain other 
 exercises in his department. This increase of duties una- 
 
120 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 voidably encroached upon favorite studies, and especially 
 on the completion of lectures which he deemed indispen- 
 sable to his highest usefulness in the field of labor assign- 
 ed him — lectures, whose plan was comprehensive, and in 
 some respects original, and the execution of which, had 
 its author's life been spared to accomplish his designs, 
 would have laid the department of sacred rhetoric under 
 greatly increased obligations to his talents and industry. 
 
 In the autumn of 1829, the state of Dr. Porter's health 
 again awakened fearful apprehensions respecting the con- 
 sequences of his cf ntinuing through the winter in New 
 England. He now thought, indeed, very seriously of re- 
 signing bis connection with the seminary, fearing that his 
 continuance in office might prove injurious to its interests. 
 The expediency of his retirement he submitted to several 
 friends, from whom, especially those connected with the 
 seminary, he received the reply, that often as his labors 
 were interrupted by illness, they could not be dispensed 
 with, and he must consent to continue them. Having 
 become satisfied that he ought, at least for a season, to re- 
 main in office, he deemed it his duty once more to ask 
 leave of absence, hoping that he might again derive from 
 a southern climate, benefit similar to that he had experi- 
 enced in former years. In his communication to the 
 trustees, he says — " When I did this in 18'22, it was with 
 the settled purpose of never repeating the experiment in 
 any emergency. But viewing as the probable result of 
 that experiment all that I have been able to accomplish 
 for the last seven years, it is a serious question whether I 
 am not called to change that purpose. If I regard the 
 views of some more competent than myself to judge in the 
 case, I must think it viay be my duty. That it will be so, 
 I cannot decide till I shall have seen what influence Oc- 
 tober may have on my health. Reluctantly as I should 
 yield to the conviction that I am called to leave home, 
 
LIFE. 
 
 121 
 
 should I come to that conviction, I request that the trus- 
 tees, in addition to all their past testimonies of kindness, 
 will give me leave of absence, or authorize their commit- 
 tee to act provisionally, as the case may require." 
 
 This request of Dr. Porter the trustees readily granted; 
 and he embarked for Charleston in October. In a letter 
 to Mrs. Porter, dated Charleston, Dec, 31, 1829, we find 
 the following reflections : — 
 
 " In writing this date, two thoughts rush upon my 
 mind. One is, that it is the birth-day of her whom I ad- 
 dress, and whose interests, affections, trials, and enjoy- 
 ments, have now for thirty-two years been identified with 
 my own ; and on whom too, for many of these years, I 
 have depended for a thousand assiduous attentions to my 
 comfort under many infirmities. The other is, that this is 
 the last day of another year. Through all my severe suf- 
 ferings from sickness, amounting often, as you know, to 
 agony of pain, I have never considered myself to be near 
 my end, so as to look upon speedy death as a probable 
 event ; yet the close of a year is attended with a ^et of re- 
 flections now, to which I was a stranger at the age of 
 thirty-five. — Those whom I called fathers when I entered 
 the ministry are gone. So are many of those whom I 
 called brethren. So are many of my associates in college 
 and early boyhood; many of these too who were robust 
 men, standing strong in the vigor of unimpaired health, 
 long since I was an invalid. Indeed, of the strong and 
 healthy among my early acquaintance, quite as great a 
 proportion are dead, as of the slender and infirm. But 
 when I reflect how many who were born since myself, are 
 gone into eternity, the close of a year reminds me that my 
 remaining days cannot be many. O that they may be 
 more unreservedly devoted to God, than my past days 
 have been ! " 
 
 11 
 
122 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 After a few weeks' stay in Charleston, he proceeded to 
 St. Augustine to spend the remainder of the winter. To 
 a friend resident in his family, he wrote from the latter 
 place as follows : — 
 
 " St. Augustine, Feb. 10, 1830. 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " As some acknowledgment to a gracious Providence 
 for his kindness to me, and as a debt which I owe to your 
 goodness, I mean to write as long a letter as I can before 
 the mail closes, and if I can make out a long one, shall 
 address half of it to you and half to Mrs. Porter. I have 
 delayed this, till the weekly mail arrived, in hopes of 
 something from Andover, but received nothing except the 
 Journal of Humanity. I am not, however, so absolutely 
 at leisure here as you might suppose, since enough of my 
 old friends follow me with their kind regards, to give me 
 a pretty ample correspondence. Last week I received 
 eleven letters by one packet schooner, besides bundles, 
 small and large, of pamphlets, &c. The answers, to a 
 pretty large amount, must go by to-day's mail, making a 
 busy day, besides what I have before done, for I write 
 much longer letters here, than I could if I were at home. 
 
 " St. Augustine as a place, is perfectly unique. Its 
 ancient fortress is said to be the largest and most complete 
 work of the kind in North America. Since the exchange 
 of flags, this structure so imposing in aspect, is going to 
 decay, the few United States' troops here being quartered 
 in barracks the other side of the town. The old Spanish 
 houses with massive walls and doors, remind one of gone- 
 by ages, when feudal habits made every dwelling a military 
 castle. The orange groves, intermingled with all the 
 buildings, and really covering the whole surface, give an 
 air of enchantment to the scenery. Its vicinity to the 
 tropical regions, and the Gulf stream, are said to contribute 
 
LIFE. 
 
 133 
 
 much to the softness and uniformity of the atmosphere; 
 The soil is so absorbent, that water is seldom seen in the 
 streets, and mud never. 
 
 " I suppose that if the benefits of this climate were un- 
 derstood, some thousands of northern invalids would re- 
 sort to it in winter, provided that good accommodations 
 were furnished. A good hospital, and good private board- 
 ing houses — with some inland establishment for country 
 air, would make the place much preferable as a resort to 
 those who need a southern winter, to any thing that can 
 be found in Europe, or the West Indies. 
 
 The three first weeks of my residence here, we had one 
 rainy and one cloudy day. The rest were clear, soft, in- 
 vigorating. At the end of the fourth week, we have had 
 a storm from N. and N. E. Thermometer 46 to 56, — 
 generally it has ranged from 60 to 70. 
 
 "The population of St. Augustine, about 1,000 or 1,200, 
 is a mixed race. A few Spaniards, one half Americans, 
 and the rest Minorcans brought hither by the English as 
 colonists, while they held the country. Among the latter, 
 who again are mixed with Greek blood, you now and then 
 see, on a peasant's body, a noble Greek head. The na- 
 tives are Catholics, generally poor and ignorant. We in- 
 tend making some serious efforts this winter to break the 
 fetters of superstition in which they are bound. 
 
 " See that I hear often from the ' Sacred Hill.' 
 
 " Affectionately." 
 
 Dr. Porter's residence at St. Augustine, it would seem, 
 was beneficial even beyond his anticipations, enabling 
 him, besides preparing occasional coninmnications to the 
 senior class, for whose instruction he was yet chiefly re- 
 sponsible, to prosecute with happy results his own studies. 
 In a letter to one of his colleagues, he remarks, with refer- 
 ence to his mode of employing his time : — 
 
124 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 " The books which I brought out from my own 
 library have been a great comfort to me. Some of them 
 which have stood for several years on my shelves, I have 
 found no time to read till this winter. I am making some 
 progress too in writing. My plan of study, so far as I can 
 study, is 1st. Reading, as above. 2. Writing lectures or 
 letters to the senior class on preaching. 3. Do. on elo- 
 quence, that is, rewriting and enlarging what was 
 unfinished on the subject. 4. Making a book smaller 
 than the Analysis, on reading, &lc., for high schools and 
 academies. 5. Abridging Owen on Spiritual Mindedness. 
 My hopes are apt to outrun my capabilities, and how far I 
 may go in executing this plan, Providence will determine, 
 and time disclose. I am compelled to devote most of my 
 time to exercise, and it would amuse my old friends to see 
 mc walking with no additional clothing, even about my 
 neck, or mounted on an Indian pony, with my feet almost 
 reaching the ground." 
 
 In this connection we quote a few remarks from a com- 
 munication on this subject, subsequently made to the 
 Visitors of the seminary : — 
 
 " My plan on leaving home last autumn, was to winter 
 if possible in Carolina, and regularly send to the senior 
 class whatever I might write for their instruction. Ac- 
 cordingly I took with me a trunk of such books as I should 
 most need, many of which I had found no time to read at 
 home. After I went to St. Augustine, a measure which 
 was deemed indispensable by my medical advisers, a part 
 of my plan was frustrated. The regular and safe convey- 
 ance to Andover of letters and manuscripts was cut off. 
 Generally, however, I was enabled to spend several hours 
 a day in study ; and besides maintaining an extensive 
 correspondence, I prosecuted my professional reading to 
 
LIFE. 
 
 125 
 
 some extent, completed a course of lectures on eloquence, 
 which I had before begun, and extended my lectures on 
 preaching by writing about five new ones on the general 
 characteristics of sermons." lie adds incidentally, — " to 
 finish my whole plan of instruction on preaching, would 
 require perhaps twenty or twenty-five additional lectures." 
 
 From the subjoined remarks found in the same commu- 
 nication, it appears that Dr. Porter was still doubtful 
 whether duty did not require the dissolution of his con- 
 nection with the seminary. " On account of the broken 
 state of my health, during the past year, it has been with 
 me, gentlemen, a subject of serious consideration whether 
 it would not be best for the great interests with which I 
 am connected, and for myself, that my official relation to 
 the seminary should cease. I have concluded however, 
 for the present, to leave this question to Providence, and 
 to the guardians of these sacred interests ; wishing to be 
 expressly understood, that no consideration of personal 
 regard to myself ought materially to affect its decision ; at 
 least so as to protract my relations here beyond what is 
 required by the substantial welfare of the seminary." 
 
 To Mrs. Porter he writes from St. Augustine : — " I am 
 almost afraid to tell you that during the past week, I 
 y/xoie four lectures ; an amount of writing which I have 
 no remembrance of ever accomplishing before in so short 
 a time. The truth is, that by the influence of this genial 
 climate, and the blessing of God on my exact regimen, 
 and abundant exercise in the open air, which I am here 
 enabled to take almost without any interruption, I have 
 been increasing in health more decidedly for the last three 
 or four weeks, than at any other period since leaving 
 home. This is a subject of common remark to those 
 around me. They are ready to admire, while they admit 
 11* 
 
126 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 the fact, that my abstemious food and daily study, is 
 more conducive to health than their own habits of eating 
 and drinking every thing, and laboriously continuing to 
 kill time by doing nothing. Among seventy or eighty 
 invalids, I suppose the grand inquiry of three- fourths has 
 been, 'what shall we eat and drink?' 'how shall we 
 amuse ourselves ? ' Males and females have danced till 
 midnight, and spit blood next morning. No one of them 
 all, I presume, has been as much benefitted by the climate 
 as myself Yet I am a frail child of dust, and one week 
 of such sickness as I experienced at Charleston, would 
 make a wreck of me. For the present, however, it seems 
 plainly providential that I should have come here, where I 
 can do more, even for the time being, to serve the interests 
 of our sacred seminary, than I could in Andover, with 
 such health as I had a year ago. 
 
 " I am indeed a wonder to myself, when I look back 
 and recollect the extreme agony that I have endured from 
 rheumatism, colic, pleurisy, &,c., and the violent influenzas 
 by which my lungs have been often assailed ; and yet find 
 any stamina left, on which to build a hope that I may live 
 a little longer, and do something for the church. O that 
 I may consecrate to God alone, whatever strength it shall 
 please him to allow me. Heretofore I do not remember 
 the day, through which I was confined to my bed, in all 
 my distracted health ; but the day must come before long, 
 when this frail body must ' lie down and rise not till the 
 heavens shall be no more.' In the mean time I shall be 
 an invalid. You will recollect that for the first half of my 
 ministry at Washington, and with few exceptions for the 
 last half, though far from robust, I braved the elements in 
 the discharge of official duties, rarely turning aside for 
 rain, or snow, or tempest. But this in our rough climate, 
 I can never hope to do again, unless I abandon study and 
 public responsibilities, and betake myself wholly to the 
 
LIFE. 
 
 127 
 
 preservation of animal life; and then to what purpose 
 should 1 live?" 
 
 From St. Augustine Dr. Porter returned to Charleston 
 early in April, with health so much improved as to 
 inspire the hope, that by a more protracted suspension of 
 official labor than he at first contemplated, he might obtain 
 great, and perhaps permanent relief His views, which 
 had undergone some change as to the nature of his mala- 
 dies and the probability of lasting advantage from the use 
 of proper means, he thus expresses in a letter to Mrs. Porter. 
 " Since I left home, my infirmities have either changed, 
 or become more fully developed. Being at present satis- 
 fied that I have no fixed disease, except the prostration of 
 digestive organs, I think it worth a fair experiment whether 
 I may not surmount this, so as to labor for the church a 
 few years more. Just in proportion as I increase in health 
 before next May, I shall feel inclined durmg the summer, 
 to make efforts for a thorough restoration. As my life 
 while it may be spared, and ail my powers of usefulness 
 are dedicated to God, I wish to do his will so far as I may 
 learn it from the indications of his providence." 
 
 With the conviction above expressed, that he ought for 
 a longer period to seek the restoration of his health, two 
 plans offered themselves for his consideration : the first, to 
 spend tlie s immer in journeying in the northern States 
 and in tilling his land ; the second, to cross the Atlantic 
 and spend the summer in Europe. The former of these 
 he preferred, while his southern friends, among whom 
 were several judicious physicians, advised to the latter. To 
 Mrs. Porter he writes, — '* I have sought divine guidance 
 in this thing, and shall decide it as soon as possible. But 
 my mind strongly preponderates to the decision against 
 this long voyage. The sea, though useful to my chest, is 
 clearly injurious to my gastric organs ; and the thought of 
 
198 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 mingling for four or five months among strangers, with my 
 dyspeptic habits as to food, is repulsive. I am much 
 inclined to conclude that travelling in the north, with a 
 trial of the springs — perhaps a visit to Niagara and 
 duebec — perhaps, instead of these or besides them, 
 ploughing at Andover, may do me more substantial good 
 that a foreign voyage." In coming to tiie decision against 
 crossing the Atlantic, he afterwards felt to the close of his 
 life, that in answer to the many prayers offered in his 
 behalf, he enjoyed divine direction. The vessel on board 
 which he would have sailed, was burned by lightning on its 
 outward passage. 
 
 When Dr. Porter took leave of Charleston, he believed 
 as in 1822, that this was his final visit. His reflections, 
 contained in a l^er to Mrs. Porter, just before he left the 
 city, are presented to the reader. 
 
 " In winding up my visit to this city for the last time, 
 various reflections crowd upon my mind. Eight years ago, 
 I left it with the full persuasion that I should never see it 
 again. My settled purpose was to stay at home and trust 
 Providence, come what might. This purpose I changed 
 last autumn, most reluctantly, in compliance with the 
 decided and united advice of friends — advice which I 
 now (more fully than I did at the time) see to have been 
 judicious. While it has rescued me for a season, from the 
 cares and labors to which my strength was unequal, it has 
 saved me from northern influenza, one severe attack of 
 which would probably have finished the work of prostra- 
 tion, in my broken health. It has given me opportunity 
 too for study, which I have prosecuted as far as was best, 
 (perhaps farther,) though I have accomplished less than I 
 wished ; for in truth my love of study was never more 
 intense, at any moment of my life, than it is now. Oh 
 how much is yet unaccomplished of the work which I had 
 
LIFE. 
 
 129 
 
 assigned myself to do before I die ! God knows whether 
 it is best I should do it ; and to him I cheerfully leave all. 
 
 " His goodness to me is called up afresh to my recol- 
 lection, in preparing to leave this city. Here he has given 
 me friends, whose kind regards far exceed all my deserts. 
 In walking for exercise, I have almost daily passed across 
 the spot where a furious horse, having run away with a 
 gig, dashed me headlong on the side-walk in 18~0, and 
 then trampled me under his feet. In another part of the 
 city, I often see the well-frame, against which another 
 frightened horse dashed the chaise of Mrs. O'Neale ; and 
 where she who had been an angel of mercy in ministering 
 to me, when I had escaped from a similar disaster, found 
 her own death. Oh that He, who by His own divine 
 teaching, can enable his children to find ' sermons in 
 stones, and good in every thing,' would help my ungrateful 
 heart to receive the instruction proffered by these silent 
 ptiemorials of his goodness, and my own frailty." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Resigns professorship of Sacred Rhetoric — Embarks for Charles- 
 ton, ancornpanied by Mrs. Porter — Proceeds to Walterboro' and 
 Columbia— Delivers course of lectures in Theological Seminary 
 at C— Return to Andover — Health but little improved— Again 
 advised to go south — Resolves to remain in Andover — Sickness 
 and death of his niece— His letter to her parents— His own 
 sickness and death — Funeral — Nature of his disorder. 
 
 In pursuance of his general plan for the restoration 
 of his health, Dr. Porter spent but a small part of the 
 summer of 1830 in Andover. He performed little more 
 of official duty than to revise the preparations for anni- 
 versary belonging to the rhetorical department, and to 
 preside on that occasion. At the meeting of the trustees 
 immediately following the anniversary, he tendered his 
 resignation of the Professorship of Sacred Rhetoric. 
 
 " To the Rev. and Hon. the Board of Trustees of Phillips' 
 Academy. 
 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " Since the office of a President in the Seminary was 
 created in 1827, and I was called to undertake the dis- 
 charge of its duties, I have deemed some new arrange- 
 ment necessary as to the rhetorical department. This 
 arrangement, delayed by circumstances beyond our control, 
 
LIFE. 
 
 131 
 
 I think it indispensable should now be carried into effect. 
 My reasons, given more at length in my communication 
 of yesterday, briefly are, that the amount of duties in the 
 two offices is greater than one man in the best health can 
 adequately discharge ; and because the impaired state of 
 my health renders it especially inexpedient that I should 
 longer sustain the responsibility of both. 
 
 " The professorship of Sacred Rhetoric, therefore, I beg 
 leave to resign, and I do hereby resign, from and after the 
 time that a new professor shall be elected in this depart- 
 ment; and I farther wish to relinquish permanently, five 
 hundred dollars of my annual salary, to aid in carrying the 
 above arrangement into immediate operation. 
 
 " With great respect I am, gentlemen, yours &.c. 
 
 " E. Porter." 
 
 Sept. 23, 1830. 
 
 Notwithstanding his resignation. Dr. Porter continued 
 to sustain the responsibility of giving lectures, and direct- 
 ing the studies of the rhetorical department, with the aid 
 of temporary assistants appointed by the trustees, until 
 Oct. 1832, when the vacant chair was filled by the 
 election of Rev. Thomas H. Skinner, D. D. His pro- 
 tracted exemption indeed from official responsibilities in 
 1830, had so checked the progress of his maladies, and 
 increased his bodily vigor, that he was enabled during the 
 academical year which followed, to pursue the work of 
 giving lectures to an extent which even exceeded his own 
 expectations. In his report to the trustees in Sept. 1831, 
 he remarks, that in consequence of repeated solicitations 
 of the senior class, he had "given a greater number of 
 written lectures than in any previous year." And in his 
 report to the trustees for the year ending Sept. 1832, he 
 informs them that he had designed, after delivering one 
 course of his public lectures to the senior class in the 
 
132 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 autumn, to devote one half of his time for the residue of 
 the winter term to pastoral labor among the students, with 
 a primary reference to the promotion of their personal 
 piety. '' I was the more settled in this purpose," he 
 remarks, " from the full conviction that no other adequate 
 means can be employed to anticipate and frustrate those 
 deleterious influences, which are always liable to occur 
 among a large collection of even educated and pious 
 young men, who notwithstanding are very various in 
 
 their temper and habits." "It pleased God, however, 
 
 that my hopes should be frustrated by sickness. After 
 my lecturing was finished, the dreadful epidemic, which 
 accompanied the intense severity of the winter, and to 
 which many strong and useful men through the country, 
 had already fallen victims, made its repeated attacks on 
 me. The consequence was long continued confinement 
 to my home, and great prostration, from which 1 am still 
 but imperfectly recovered." 
 
 To Dr. Potter's friends as well as to himself, it was 
 apparent through the summer of 1832, that his health was 
 sinking; and as in former years, they now advised him to 
 try the expedient to which he had often resorted — a re- 
 moval to a southern climate. Averse to considering a 
 subject so painful to his feelings, as separation for another 
 winter from his beloved colleagues, and home, and still 
 more beloved labors, he persisted in his determination to 
 continue in Andover, until impelled to change it by the 
 conviction, that a due regard to higher interests than his 
 own demanded the sacrifice. With this conviction, hav- 
 ing made the necessary arrangements, he embarked at 
 Boston, early in October, accompanied by Mrs. Porter, 
 whose attentions his situation rendered indispensable. 
 He designed to proceed by way of Charleston to St. Au- 
 gustine. At Charleston they went on board a vessel for 
 St. Augustine, but after encountering severe head winds 
 
LIFE. 
 
 133 
 
 for several hours, were compelled to disembark ; when 
 Providence, which had thus interposed, directed their 
 course to the interior of South Carolina. In January they 
 proceeded to Walterboro'. A residence at this place, on 
 account of both its soil and atmosphere, they found highly 
 conducive to his health ; while their stay was rendered 
 doubly pleasant, by the kind attentions of pious and intel- 
 ligent friends, and by the existence of an unusually inter- 
 esting state of religious feeling. While here he wrote a 
 part of his very valuable Letters on Revivals. Having 
 been solicited to deliver a course of Lectures in his depart- 
 ment, to the students of the Theological Seminary at Co- 
 lumbia, he removed thither for that purpose. To this sub- 
 ject he thus alludes, in a letter to one of his colleagues : — 
 " As to this concern, I had as long ago as December, an 
 official request from the Directors of the Seminary to give 
 a course of Lectures, After my dread of the ocean led 
 me to decline going to Augustine, I consented to visit 
 Columbia, as soon as I could think it conducive to my pri- 
 mary object, the confirmation of my health. It seems 
 plain enough that what I can do en passant, and without 
 injury to myself, to aid in forming the habits of this infant 
 seminary ouglit to be done. All the classes attend my 
 lectures, and they are disposed to make every arrange- 
 ment, as to time, place, &c., for my accommodation. In- 
 deed I shall not go an inch beyond what is safe and con- 
 venient to myself." The delivery of the lectures was fol- 
 lowed by an urgent request for their speedy publication, 
 especially those on Homiletics — a request which somewhat 
 hastened the appearance of the volume published just be. 
 fore his decease. He left Columbia the 1st of May, re- 
 turning by way of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Saratoga 
 Springs, and reached Andover about the 1st of July. 
 Though he accomplished much during this absence for 
 the sacred cause to which his life was devoted, his health 
 12 
 
134 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 was not permanently benefitted ; owing perhaps partly, to 
 his application to study and more public duties ; but more, 
 probably, to the progress of disease. For from this period 
 the ravages of disease upon him, became more a subject 
 of apprehension and of occasional remark among his inti- 
 mate friends, than ever before. Still, without any de- 
 crease of energy perceivable except by his daily associ- 
 ates, he entered upon his official duties after his return, 
 and continued to discharge them through the summer and 
 autumn of 1833. The increased solicitude of his friends 
 respecting the effect of the approaching winter upon him, 
 induced them more urgently than formerly, to press his 
 removal to a milder atmosphere. But his final resolution 
 was adopted. To a state of exile, to which he had always 
 compared his lot in his absences, he had been submissive 
 because it was ordered by his heavenly Father. Still he 
 could not believe it to be his duty again to separate him- 
 self, for more than half a year, from his family ; nor could 
 he consent that his beloved wife should be subjected to 
 the complicated trials and anxieties she must endure, if 
 liis companion. He therefore determined to commit him- 
 self to divine protection — to remain in Andover, and abide 
 the result. That he might secure as nearly as possible 
 the advantages of a southern climate, he placed a large 
 stove in the central entry of his house, by means of which 
 about the same temperature might be preserved through- 
 out the several apartments. Some expedient of this sort, 
 in the existing state of his vital organs, was indispensable, 
 as he could not endure respiration in an atmosphere below 
 a middling temperature. This he found highly conducive 
 to his comfort, as he was enabled by it to pass from one 
 apartment to another without inconvenience. He was 
 thus carried comfortably through the winter of 1833-34, 
 and he flattered himself that he had made a discovery 
 which would supersede the necessity, of another flight 
 
LIFE. 
 
 135 
 
 from the frosts of New-England. But for some weeks pre- 
 vious to his last illness, it had been sufficiently obvious to 
 his colleagues, and to Mrs. Porter, to render it a subject 
 of remark, that he was failing. The progress of his disor- 
 der was perhaps accelerated, and his decease hastened by 
 the sickness and death of a beloved niece, who had been 
 for years a member of his family, and for months his 
 almost constant attendant. Her disorder, an inflammation 
 of the brain, from its commencement produced mental 
 alienation, and rendered her the subject of extreme, and 
 at times, of indescribable anguish. When in a few in- 
 stances Dr. Porter entered her chamber, and witnessed 
 her agony, he seemed to lose his self-possession. And her 
 shrieks, which were occasionally heard in his study, pro- 
 duced agitation of his muscular frame, the discovery of 
 which awakened anxious forebodings, lest the shock 
 should prove too powerful for his enfeebled energies. 
 These forebodings were not groundless ; for though he 
 attended to official calls, a prostration of bodily and men- 
 tal vigor ensued, which was very apparent to those who 
 daily saw him. Still he seemed to preserve his usual air 
 of cheerfulness, and to inquiries respecting his health, he 
 would answer — " much as usual." 
 
 Dr. Porter's niece referred to was Miss Lucy Irene 
 Stone, a daughter of Rev. Timothy Stone of Cornwall, 
 Connecticut. She had resided with her uncle from the 
 age of eleven years, and had been adopted by him. Her 
 intellect, under his direction, had been subjected to judi- 
 cious discipline. But her sweetness of disposition, her 
 unaffected piety, and her unwearied attentions to him, had 
 rendered her peculiarly the object of his affection. He 
 loved her as his own child. It was evident that in re- 
 moving this young lady, the Lord had taken a friend on 
 whom Dr. Porter was accustomed very much to lean. She 
 had for months assisted him in transcribing papers, which 
 
136 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 in the discharge of official duty he had occasion to pre- 
 pare. Several of his most valuable manuscript Sermons 
 are in her hand writing. She died, after two weeks' ill- 
 ness, March 12, 1834, aged nineteen years. 
 
 Dr. Porter's views of her character, and the strength of 
 his attachment are thus expressed in a letter to her 
 parents, announcing her decease. This letter, the last he 
 ever wrote, serves equally to exhibit his spirit of submis- 
 sion under severe affliction. 
 
 " Theol. Seminary, Andover, March 15, 1834. 
 " Dear Brother and Sister, 
 
 " The agony is over. — Our beloved Irene was commit- 
 ted to the grave yesterday, P. M. — 4 o'clock. Our family 
 history of thirty-seven years, has no such event recorded 
 in it before. Our house, which we have occupied twenty- 
 two years, has never been a house of mourning before. 
 Death has long shaken his dart at us, and now he has smit- 
 ten the victim that no one would have anticipated — the 
 healthiest member of the family, and almost of the neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 " Before giving the account of her sickness, I ought to 
 say, that we have had the most satisfactory evidence, for 
 some time past, that she was a real Christian. So strong 
 was our hope of this, that when the disease began to as- 
 sume the symptoms of a fatal termination, we had but one 
 point of struggle, ' how can we spare her ? ' To herself 
 we had no doubt that death would be an exchange of 
 earth for heaven. 
 
 " The general pressure of the case has been more than 
 I could have sustained under my frail health, but for the 
 delightful evidence of her piety, and the solemn and steady 
 belief that ' as for God, his way is perfect.' We bowed 
 down, day by day, and said, 'Father, let this cup pass; — 
 nevertheless, not as ive will but as thuu wilt.' While we 
 
LIFE. 
 
 137 
 
 thus gave her up to God, many recollections and associa- 
 tions respecting her were too interesting to be grouped 
 together and dwelt upon — but have been postponed to 
 come up separately and successively, as we can bear them. 
 I have repeatedly said to my wife, as an encouragement to 
 take pains with Irene in her training for usefulness — that 
 I considered her as the most promising young lady of her 
 age in my acquaintance. This estimate |is not a partial 
 one, but coincides with the sentiment of respectable people 
 around us, now and heretofore. 
 
 " During the past winter, as she has recited to me Beattie 
 on Truth, &c., I have been delighted with the clearness 
 and strength of her reasoning powers ; and her capacity 
 to repeat, in most appropriate language, every chief 
 thought, in a lesson read, or a sermon she heard preached. 
 The particulars of her sickness, which I intended to give, 
 I must now leave to Mrs. Porter and her brother, as I am 
 too much exhausted to use my pen more at present. 
 " Your afflicted brother, 
 
 " E. Porter." 
 
 The first distinct intimation which Dr. Porter's family 
 recollect, that he was conscious of an unfiivorable change 
 in his health, was given a few days after the death of his 
 niece, to one of his colleagues, wlio had called to tender 
 his sympathy. " Brother Stuart," said he, in an unusually 
 solemn tone, as the family were seated around the supper 
 table, " I have never felt before that prostration of all my 
 vital powers, which I have felt lately." Professor Stuart 
 mentioned his late affliction as a sufficient cause for his 
 depressed health. " I have known," Dr. Porter replied, 
 " what affliction was before, and know its effects upon the 
 animal system, but 1 never before was so weak that I 
 found a serious difference between the weight of a full 
 and an empty sugar bowl." As Mrs. Porter who had 
 12* 
 
138 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 been for several days confined by illness induced by 
 watching and fatigue, became able to resume the care of 
 her husband, he seemed to revive, and his friends were 
 inspired with the hope that he might regain his usual vigor. 
 But their hopes were soon cloilded. He would occasion- 
 ally ask for articles of diet, about which he had alwaya 
 been indilferent. Some little singularities in his conver- 
 sation began also to be noticed, which they feared, though 
 they were unwilling to admit, might betoken mental aber- 
 ration. His last official act, performed just a week before 
 his death, was the writing of the usual recommendatory 
 certificate for the senior class, preparatory to their receiv- 
 ing license to preach. From the commencement of his 
 illness, it was thought advisable on account of his peculiar 
 situation, that friends should be permitted to see him but 
 little. For the following particulars of the closing scene 
 of his life, the compiler is indebted to Mr. T. D. P. Stone, 
 brother of the young lady above mentioned, and an adop- 
 ted son of Dr. Porter. 
 
 " Nothing of special interest occurred in his case until 
 Thursday, April 3d, excepting that he cupped himself sev- 
 eral times, as he used to do, in attacks of pleurisy ; and 
 that he utterly refused to have a physician called. On 
 Thursday, the annual State Fast, the family physician 
 was called in, almost against Dr. Porter's will. He de- 
 scribed his symptoms well, but there was a languid indis- 
 crepancy about his conversation that produced alarm. 
 This grew worse and worse. At length lethargy came on, 
 interrupted at intervals by severe pain in his right leg, 
 which was much swollen. By request of the physician, 
 other medical counsel was sought, but his case was pro- 
 nounced utterly hopeless — he must die. For us, nothing 
 remained, but to soothe his pains, and gaze upon his 
 clear expressive countenance, soon to be pale in death. 
 Day after day we stood in awful suspense. We could 
 
LIFE. 
 
 139 
 
 not converse with him, for his mind was overwhehned 
 by disease. Yet in his wanderings tliere was ricliness 
 and eloquence — there was no littleness of thought. He 
 seemed to grasp the world. His sentences might com- 
 mence with a reference to his pains, to faculty business, 
 or to fiinily concerns, and end with the conversion of 
 the world, the safety of the republic, or the millennium, 
 which the benevolent enterprises of the day to which his 
 heart was unalterably attached, seem to harbinger. 
 
 " The Sabbath previous to his death, a barber was sent 
 for to shave him. Though he had been quite lethargic for 
 some time, and seemed unconscious of what was passing, 
 he opened his eyes as the barber was preparing to leave 
 
 the room, and said, ' Mr. , I don't know but you 
 
 have conscientious scruples about taking pay on the Sab- 
 bath — if so, just let it be, and D will call and 
 
 pay you to-morrow.' In the evening, he raised a little 
 blood, which he appeared to notice as an indication of in- 
 creasing inflammation. Soon after, as Mrs. Porter was 
 passing through the room, he called her to his couch and 
 said, ' take the watch and sit down by me' — evidently 
 wishing her to ascertain whether his pulse indicated a 
 change. His sentences were afterwards generally broken 
 off before they were completed, and gradually became mere 
 monosyllables. Dr. Woods called to see him a few hours 
 before he died, and during his stay he said 'yes' and 'no' 
 in answer to questions respecting some medicine, and never 
 spoke again. — Two or three of the last days of his life, he 
 had frequent chills, which seemed like the struggles of 
 death, and could be removed only by enveloping him in 
 hot blankets. — Mrs. Porter's voice and even her presence, 
 generally excited him so much that it was deemed pru- 
 dent for her to be away from him much of the time. But 
 during his last chill, his wonted recollection seemed to 
 return, and he could no longer be denied her presence ; 
 
140 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 and when she came at his call, and stood by him and 
 smoothed his pillow, her kind attentions were as usual re- 
 ceived with evident delight. This appearance was how- 
 ever but momentary — a dense cloud again shrouded his 
 intellect, which was not removed till dissipated by the 
 visions of eternity. Monday evening the family retired, 
 without expectation of his speedy dissolution, leaving him 
 in charge of two of his beloved pupils. They were soon 
 aroused, however, by the painful intelligence that he 
 seemed in the agonies of death. His vital energies be- 
 came exhausted, and his spirit took its flight about two 
 o'clock, Tuesday morning, April 8th, 1834." 
 
 The funeral was attended the Friday following his de- 
 cease, in the chapel of the theological seminary. Most 
 of the trustees and visitors of the institution, and a numer- 
 ous body of the clergy, united in the last tribute of respect 
 to the remains of one whom living, they loved, and dead, 
 they lamented and revered. Among those assembled, 
 and we may not doubt, among the most sincere mourners, 
 was the venerable founder of the professorship the deceas- 
 ed so long, and so usefully filled — a man whom Dr. Porter 
 had regarded from his first residence at Andover, as a 
 father, and whom he had invariably found a judicious, 
 faithful, and munificent friend. A funeral discourse was 
 preached by Rev. Dr. Woods, from John xvii. 4. — I have 
 glorified th e on the earth : I have finished the work which 
 thou gavest me to do. In accordance with his wish, 
 distinctly expressed, his body was interred in a perfectly 
 plain manner in the chapel cemetery. Over the grave, a 
 beautiful monument of white marble, in the form of an 
 obelisk, has been erected by the American Education 
 Society. 
 
 It may be proper to add, in reference to the nature of 
 Dr. Porter's disease, that a post mortem examination, in- 
 stituted at the request of the attending physician, discloaed 
 
LIFE. 
 
 141 
 
 the fact, that his lungs had to a considerable extent be- 
 come incapable of inflation. One who was present re- 
 marked, "it is matter of astonishment, that with such a 
 state of lungs, he could have breathed at all." Most of 
 his friends were surprised at the result of this examination ; 
 the more so, because very distinguished physicians in va- 
 rious parts of the country, had with great unanimity ex- 
 pressed the belief that his lungs were not the subject of 
 organic disease. Within the year previous to his decease, 
 he wrote to his wife from Saratoga Springs, that several 
 skillful physicians whom he there met, had deliberately 
 examined his case, with the best facilities known to the 
 profession, for ascertaining the state of his lungs, and Ir-d 
 unanimously pronounced them sound. Only the autumn 
 preceding his death, an eminent member of the medical 
 profession, who had long been familiar with his symptoms, 
 carefully examined his case, and confidently expressed the 
 opinion that his lungs were not diseased. They were 
 irritable, he informed him, and might in a course of years 
 become locally affected. In the opinion of his physicians 
 Dr. Porter was himself disposed to concur. It is indeed 
 surprising, when we look at the result of the post mortem 
 examination, and reflect that disease had doubtless been 
 making progress many successive years, that he should 
 have held out so long, and have accomplished so much. 
 His strict observance of dietetic rules, his peculiar cau- 
 tion respecting personal exposure, which by many of his 
 friends was attributed, if not to whim, at least to extreme 
 solicitude not demanded by the actual state of his health, 
 appear to have been only a judicious conformity of his 
 habits to the dictates of duty; appear indeed to have been 
 indispensable to his usefulness, and even to the continu- 
 ance of his life for a single year. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 INTELLECTUAL CHARACTER. 
 
 Intellectual endowments happily proportioned— Effect of infirmitieB 
 
 on his intellectual habits— Mental characteristics — Eminently 
 qualified to act as umpire in cases of difficulty — Mode of pre- 
 paring to write — Qualities as a writer — Feeling of responsibility 
 as a literary man— Letter to Robert Hall, 
 
 Single traits of intellect are often so developed as to 
 secure for their possessor the reputation of transcendent 
 genius — a reputation which he easily retains, if called 
 only into the sphere of action for which he seems espe- 
 cially formed ; but which he as easily loses in any other 
 department of exertion. It was not the predominance of 
 any one intellectual endowment which contributed chiefly 
 to the reputation of Dr. Porter. This was the result 
 rather of an harmonious assemblage of those qualities, 
 which with judicious cultivation most contribute to ex- 
 tensive and permanent usefulness. Justice requires that 
 we view his intellectual character as a whole, every part 
 of which bears minute inspection, and is contemplated 
 with pleasure. In attempting to delineate his intellectual 
 developments, therefore, the writer cannot hope for the 
 advantage, in such cases often enjoyed, of being able 
 to impart attractiveness to the portraiture, by presenting 
 
INTELLECTUAL CHARACTER. 143 
 
 certain features in bold relief. As an offset to this 
 disadvantage, however, it is grateful to know that the 
 delineation, if just in its proportions and coloring, may 
 be contemplated with as much profit, as if its charac- 
 teristics were adapted to strike us with awe, or overwhelm 
 us with astonishment. 
 
 During his course of classical and professional study, 
 Dr. Porter gave evidence of intellectual endowments 
 which augured distinguished usefulness in the sacred 
 calling to which he was devoted. The correct habits 
 of his early life were subsequently nurtured and ma- 
 tured. It ought to be said however, that his intellectual 
 character, especially while resident at Andover, was very 
 much modified by bodily frailty. While in many respects 
 his infirmities were a serious hindrance to his improve- 
 ment, they compelled him to acquire entire self-control. 
 He was obliged to gain the habit of summoning his 
 powers at pleasure, so as successfully to employ intervals 
 in study, or wholly to abandon the performance of pro- 
 fessional duty. To the effect of his infirmities in modi- 
 fying his mental habits, he thus alludes in a letter to 
 
 Mrs. Porter. " I have dismissed all thoughts of going 
 
 to Europe, after much reflection, and seeking as I trust 
 
 divine guidance. Dr. D urged my going, especially 
 
 as the crossing the Atlantic, he said, would be ' laying up 
 my mind on the shelf,' till my body should gain more 
 vigor. I told him that for twenty-five years, I had been 
 from dire necessity driven into habits of self-control, so 
 that I wind up my mind as I do my watch, and except 
 when I am sick, require it to go or stop as I please; and 
 that I should long ago have been in my grave, if I had 
 been the victim of every subject that might happen to 
 harass my thoughts. This, he said, was a power of 
 which he had no conception from his own experience; 
 and the reason that no more men attain this intellectual 
 
144 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 discipline, I presume is, that they are happily exempt 
 from that pressure of necessity by which I have been 
 schooled into it, to preserve my life, or at least to make it 
 of any account as to the ends of living." 
 
 Dr. Porter's mind was characterized by comprehen- 
 siveness. On the presentation of a subject, he seemed 
 at once to grasp its bearings and results. Says one of 
 his colleagues, " his power of entering into subjects, and 
 comjirehending their main points, was unusual." Hence 
 his forecast, which rendered his judgment highly valuable 
 respecting new plans of action, or proposed modifications 
 of plans already existing. Aware that 
 
 " We may outrun, 
 By violent swiftness, tliat which we run at, 
 And lose by over-running," 
 
 Dr. Porter was accustomed always to act with circum- 
 spection. He formed a definite idea of any object he 
 would attain ; maturely considered the means of its attain- 
 ment; and so digested his mode of operation, that while 
 he failed not through lack of effort, he thwarted not his 
 own designs and disappointed not expectation by ill-timed 
 or excessive action. 
 
 With comprehensiveness, he united quick and acute 
 discernment. Whether in argument, character, or con- 
 duct, he seemed to distinguish what was real from mere 
 pretence, as if by intuition. And though he rarely allow- 
 ed himself in passing judgment on the motives of others, 
 he gave ample evidence of ability to do it with much 
 correctness. The following catalogue of different sorts 
 of men may amuse the reader, and illustrate Dr. Porter's 
 habits of observation. To each of the classes one or more 
 names are annexed as examples of the author's meaning. 
 So far as the individuals are living, the names are of 
 course omitted. 
 
INTELLECTUAL CHARACTER. 145 
 
 "Ardent and amiable, — advantage of this as to impulse, 
 often counteracted by trips in judgment. 
 
 "Ardent, and rash, — heady, una/niable. . 
 
 Cool, steady, — Father Day.* 
 
 "Judicious, without genius, good common sense, — 
 Father Starr. 
 
 " Judicious, with genius. . 
 
 " Steady, discreet, dry, — Father Benedict. 
 
 " Witty ,—Bdickm. 
 
 " Steady, sagacious, patient, injlcxible, — S. J. Mills, 
 
 " Heavy, cold. . 
 
 " Ambitious, capricious, weak. 
 
 " Public spirited men, who are always willing to be on 
 committees ; but come to identify themselves so much 
 with the public, as to feel uneasy when burdens are put 
 on other shoulders than theirs. 
 
 " Complaining men, whose happiness consists so much 
 in finding fault, that they would not with the same temper 
 live a week, if put among perfect beings in Paradise. 
 Something must be wrong to suit their humor. If the 
 window is down, it must be up — if up, down. 
 
 "Indecisive, timid, vascillating men, who never can 
 march on, because some danger is abroad. 
 
 " Cunning, calculating men, who aim at under-currents, 
 and management; and generally end with a noose nicely 
 adjusted about their own necks. 
 
 " Double minded men, who from policy or politeness are 
 on both sides of all great and disputed subjects." 
 
 Dr. Porter's mind was vigorous and active. It is doubt- 
 less true, as remarked in a judicious sketch of his charac- 
 ter in the Quarterly Register, that " in power of profound 
 investigation on abstruse subjects, he was excelled by some 
 other men." Of this he was himself aware. Yet there 
 
 • The father of President Day. 
 13 
 
146 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 was no deficiency of mental vigor. " He mastered," con- 
 tinues the writer just quoted, " whatever he undertook." 
 
 Among his intellectual faculties, reason always presided. 
 He was thus guarded against those influences of self-inter- 
 est, of sympathy, and of caprice, which often greatly affect, 
 and sometimes shape the decisions of men. Whether 
 acting with reference to himself or others, he spontaneous- 
 ly recognized the principles of right, and cheerfully con- 
 formed his conduct to them. Few persons probably have 
 been capable of forming a more impartial estimate of the 
 talents and reasoning of men whose sentiments differed 
 widely from their own. With a mind thus constituted. 
 Dr. Porter was eminently qualified to act as umpire in 
 cases in which were involved conflicting interests. His 
 conclusions in such cases, being the obvious deductions of 
 impartiality from facts developed, were ordinarily received 
 with favor by those who were willing to yield to the dic- 
 tates of justice. The results of his deliberations would 
 bear the strictest scrutiny. " If one wanted an opinion, 
 that would be likely to abide the test of events," says one 
 of his colleagues, " of all the men whom I have known, 
 he was peculiarly the man to give such an opinion, on all 
 subjects with which he was acquainted. The secret of 
 this was the consultation of sober reason, and the refusal 
 to be dictated by mere sympathies." " It was by no means 
 uncommon," says another of his colleagues, " for those 
 who were associated with him in important public transac- 
 tions, to distrust their own opinion, as soon as they found 
 it different from his." The same endowments which 
 rendered him singularly discreet and safe as a counselor, 
 rendered him judicious and acceptable as a reprover. 
 
 The self-control which Dr. Porter acquired from the 
 discipline to which he subjected his intellectual powers, 
 he made essentially serviceable in preparing for his writ- 
 
mTELLECTUAL CHARACTER. 147 
 
 ten performances. It was his practice before lie com- 
 menced writing on any subject, fully to collect and digest 
 his materials. In doing this he made free use of his pen, 
 often sketching his trains of thought so minutely as to em- 
 brace almost every idea he wished to express. He was 
 consequently enabled to prosecute his writing when ready 
 to commence it, with much facility and despatch ; and 
 often to present the first draught with a degree of com- 
 pleteness, both as to thought and diction, which rendered 
 revision a light labor- — a remark especially true of his 
 later performances. To this practice of premeditation, 
 we ought doubtless to attribute not only much of the 
 method and perspicuity which characterise his trains of 
 reasoning, but much also of the unusual simplicity and 
 elegance of his style. These latter qualities of composi- 
 tion are often, indeed, supposed to be the result of extreme 
 labor in revision. That they are frequently and perhaps 
 generally so, may be true ; but from ample opportunity to 
 inspect the manuscripts of Dr. Porter, the writer is con- 
 vinced that these qualities in his composition, were at 
 least in an equal degree, the result of the practice above 
 alluded to, in connection with his innate power of nice 
 discrimination. In those cases where he thought it neces- 
 sary to amend his written performances, the amendments 
 far more frequently respect the sentiment than the expres- 
 sion. To simplicity and elegance, he united precision in 
 the use of words, attained by an extensive acquaintance 
 with the best models of composition, and a minute obser- 
 vation of the power of language. His style is also char- 
 acterised by vivacity, and often by strength. But its most 
 prominent characteristic is purity. His words not only 
 belong to our language, but they are conformed to its 
 idiom ; and to the standard of established usage. 
 
 The cultivation of style Dr. Porter was of course oblig- 
 ed in his official capacity, to make a subject of study. 
 
148 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 And to personal improvement in this matter, he doubtless 
 was urged to some extent by official considerations ; but 
 more, we may believe, by a desire to prevent the encroach- 
 ments upon his native tongue, of curiosity, of pedantry, 
 of caprice, and other causes which operate to vitiate a 
 language. His sentences were uniformly well arranged, 
 perspicuous, and harmonious ; and in the whole structurie 
 of his written performances, there was an obvious con- 
 formity to the rhetorical canons he had occasion to urge 
 upon others. Says the writer of the sketch of Dr. Porter's 
 character, in the Quarterly Register, already alluded to, 
 " So far as the nice balance of sentences, the harmonious 
 collocation of them, and the selection of apt and beautiful 
 words are concerned, he was rarely ever excelled. There 
 was no heterogeneous agglomeration of epithets or of sen- 
 tences, no verbiage, no confusion of metaphors. Every 
 thing was distinct, clear, finished. We have the same 
 associations respecting the perfection of his style, which we 
 have with that of Professor Playfair, Thomas Campbell, 
 and Professor Frisbie. His words fell on the ear like the 
 music of Handel. In his best discourses, the extreme 
 polish was not apparent. The order was so logical, and 
 the sentences were so accurately adjusted, that we never 
 thought of the indefatigable attention which had been be- 
 stowed on them. The sentiment was so clearly and pre- 
 cisely expressed, as to occupy the whole attention of the 
 hearer. It found a lodgment in the inmost soul." 
 
 Dr. Porter's imagination was more chaste than lively. 
 Yet passages exist, especially in his sermons, which ex- 
 hibit much power in moral painting. Whatever picture 
 his fancy delineated was justly proportioned, and correctly 
 colored. His figures were natural, appropriate, expres- 
 sive, and often striking. His illustrations were marked by 
 originality, and were employed with powerful effect. Few 
 men, indeed, have been able to impress a truth on others 
 
INTELLECTUAL CHARACTER. 149 
 
 more forcibly, by the use of apposite and striking illustra- 
 tion. His appeals to the conscience, were simple, direct, 
 and pungent ; and though by the blessing of God, they 
 often reached the heart, and caused the sinner to tremble, 
 they were so free from asperity, and so clearly dictiited by 
 benevolence, as never to inflict a wound on the most deli- 
 cate sensibility. 
 
 A reference to almost any page of Dr. Porter's later 
 publications, especially those relating to the department 
 of sacred rhetoric, will show the reader that he was ac- 
 customed, with much minuteness, to designate emphatic 
 word.*, in preparing his writings for the press. In carry- 
 ing this notation so far, he deviated from common usage ; 
 yet with obvious advantage, if not to every reader, at least 
 to those who are called to read aloud for the gratification 
 of others, 
 
 Dr. Porter felt deeply the responsibility of the relation, 
 which, in common with other literary men, he sustained 
 to the republic of letters. From this responsibility he 
 plead no exemption on the ground of nmltiplied official 
 engagements, or bodily infirmities. Whatever of personal 
 or of professional influence he could exert to chasten and 
 elevate literary taste, to improve our language, in a word 
 to enrich and adorn our national literature, he felt himself 
 imperiously bound to exert. To this feeling ought to be 
 attributed much of the peculiar concern he ever manifest- 
 ed, that his diction, his style, the whole character of his 
 literary performances, should be unexceptionable. He 
 lamented the lack of " literary patriotism" manifested by 
 many of our professed scholars. From sundry documents 
 among his papers, it would seem that there was a period 
 when he ardently desired that a permanent association of 
 the officers of our literary institutions might be formed, to 
 meet statedly, for the discussion and adc^tion of measuress 
 13* 
 
150 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER, 
 
 connected with the liighest literary interests of the coun- 
 try. The ground of this desire was the expectation that 
 such a convention would tend to benefit primary schools, 
 to elevate and render uniform the standard of literary and 
 professional education ; especially that it would tend to 
 preserve our language from innovation both in respect to 
 its structure and pronunciation. A convention was called, 
 indeed, in 1818, when an association was organized, and 
 subjects were assigned to several individuals, upon which 
 they were expected to present dissertations at the next 
 annual meeting. Dr. Porter was requested to prepare a 
 dissertation on the " Pronunciation of the English Lan- 
 guage." In pursuance of his appointment he addressed 
 the following letter to the Rev. Robert Hall. 
 
 " Reverend and respected Sir, 
 
 " In a recent letter from my friend Mr. Lord of New 
 York, he informs me that while in England, he had the 
 pleasure of an interview with you ; and that he took the 
 liberty of proposing an occasional exchange of letters be- 
 tween you and myself This proposal is highly satisfac- 
 tory to me, though indeed I liave felt some uneasiness 
 from the apprehension that your politeness may have as- 
 sented to it at the expense of your convenience ; especial- 
 ly as Mr. Lord says your health is quite imperfect. 
 
 " The truth is, that while my time and strength are in- 
 adequate to my present engagements, there are reasons 
 why I deem it important to have direct access to the best 
 sources of information on your side of the Atlantic, res- 
 pecting certain subjects in which I am interested. That 
 I may not oppress you too much at the thrcshhold, I will 
 mention but one of these subjects now, not because it de- 
 serves priority for its intrinsic weight, but because it hap- 
 pens to be urgent at this time. 
 
 " To make myself intelligible will require some preface. 
 
INTELLECTUAL CHARACTER. 
 
 151 
 
 The students of the theological seminary with which I 
 am connected, and the constitution of which Mr. Lord put 
 into your hands, are graduates from eleven different col- 
 leges in the United States. These colleges were gener- 
 ally established on Christian principles, and all but two 
 are under Evangelical influence. Some of them are hand- 
 somely endowed, and furnished with able professors, and 
 with other means of giving to the students a liberal educa- 
 tion. In several of them, I presume the classical course 
 is such as would be thought very respectable in the Brit- 
 ish Universities. But our institutions are comparatively 
 in their infancy. Only two of our colleges, Harvard and 
 Yale, are a century old, and most of the others are of re- 
 cent origin. Between these seminaries, many of them 
 hundreds of miles distant from others, there has heretofore 
 been almost no intercourse. That their requisitions for 
 the admission of students, and their classical pursuits gen- 
 erally, were very various, and in some cases very defec- 
 tive, could not fail to be perceived by us, in receiving the 
 graduates of all. For several years I have contemplated 
 as a desirable event, a meeting of the heads of these col- 
 leges, with a view to raise the standard of American litera- 
 ture ; and the last spring had the pleasure of seeing such 
 a convention formed in Boston, on the plan of a perma- 
 nent, annual meeting, which promises much utility. The 
 immediate objects of attention will be to raise our primary 
 schools to a higher literary character, to increase the 
 attainments requisite for admission of students into the 
 colleges, to produce a more uniform orthography of the 
 learned languages, and of the English ; and better edi- 
 tions of the classics. 
 
 " With reference to the next meeting of this conven- 
 tion, I wish, through the aid of some English friend, to 
 gain some information respecting the established proinin- 
 
152 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 ciation of the English language, in Great Britain. As 
 far as the pulpit is concerned, this subject, though not of 
 primary interest, is still of some importance. Since the 
 publication of Sheridan's Dictionary, and afterwards of 
 Walker's, the diversity of pronunciation among our preach- 
 ers has been so great as to render what is reputable in one 
 State or district, jieculiar in another. The body of com- 
 mon people, and of the educated too, in New-England, 
 still cleave to the habits of the last century, with a partial 
 conformity to Walker ; while a few have gone into ex- 
 tremes of innovation. Perhaps the best general rule for 
 a preacher on this subject is so to speak that his manner 
 shall not divert the attention of the hearers from his mat- 
 ter. On Christian as well as national principles, a greater 
 uniformity, than at present exists among us, is desirable. 
 
 "Now Sir, though I think it incumbent on our youth to 
 study the great models of English style, especially till we 
 shall have produced Miltons and Addisons of our own, I 
 can by no means think it becoming in a Christian minis- 
 ter to speak so as to be a barbarian at home, from a fan- 
 cied or real conformity to the usages of a London theatre. 
 Still it would seem to be both important and practicable 
 that the great family who speak the English tongue, 
 should speak it with a good degree of uniformity. 
 
 " With these views, I wish to know what general chan- 
 ges there have been on your side, in English pronuncia- 
 tion, within the last fifty years. What is the best standard 
 at present, and to what extent adopted by respectable men, 
 especially in the pulpit. I am aware that to answer inqui- 
 ries of so general a nature, and on such a subject, may be 
 unpleasant to you ; but in that case, I hope you will have 
 the goodness to name some gentleman to whom I may 
 apply for the requisite information. Or should it be con- 
 venient for you to make the request of some one, in my 
 
INTELLECTUAL CHARACTER. 
 
 153 
 
 behalf, it would still more oblige me. The purpose for 
 which I need such a communication requires that I should 
 receive it, if possible, by January next; as the subject is 
 to undergo a regular discussion in our next literary con- 
 gress. 
 
 " It would give me great satisfaction to know more than 
 I do respecting the Dissenting churches of your country ; 
 particularly, the qualifications for individual membership; 
 what bond of union exists among churches or ministers ; 
 in what manner and by whom young men are authorised 
 to preach before ordination ; where are the principal sem- 
 inaries, literary and theological ; their endowments, libra- 
 ries, number of instructors, course and period of study. 
 What proportion of the Dissenters are Unitarians, and 
 what proportion Calvinists ? 
 
 " Any information which you may at any time find it 
 convenient to give me respecting any one, or all of these 
 particulars, will confer on me a favor. 
 
 " Any things in our humble style of authorship, which 
 you would have the curiosity to read, I shall be happy to 
 forward, if you will designate any one at Liverpool or else- 
 where, to whom they shall be consigned. I could send, 
 for example, if you have not seen them. Dr. Trumbull's 
 History of Connecticut. Allen's American Biographical 
 Dictionary, and several volumes of the Panoplist, and 
 Missionary Magazine. 
 
 " Our elegant new Chapel, erected by the munificence 
 of William Bartlet, Esq., was dedicated to God last week. 
 I will send the sermon, and a catalogue of the seminary, 
 when I shall have received your direction as to the 
 medium of conveyance. 
 
 "If the aspect of this letter should not be repulsive to 
 your feelings, I shall hope to receive an answer, as soon as 
 may be consistent with your convenience. At the same 
 
154 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 time I cannot expect nor desire, that the claims of a new 
 correspondent should supersede your more important en- 
 gagements. 
 
 " With great respect for your character, permit me, 
 Reverend and dear Sir, to subscribe myself your friend 
 and brother in the holy ministry, 
 
 " E. Porter." 
 
 " The Rev. Robert Hall." 
 
CHAPTER XTL 
 
 CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 Remarks— Reason why Dr. Porter kept no diary — Resolutions — 
 Means of growth in piety— Systematic in cultivating spiritual 
 feelings — Characteristics of his piety — Faithfulness in discharg- 
 ing duty; illustrations — Qualifications as a counselor and 
 reprover — Letter — Susceptibility of enjoyment heightened by 
 piety — Testimony of his colleagues — Concluding remarks. 
 
 The most impressive exhibition of Christian character 
 is that wliich is furnished by the conduct, in the various 
 relations and circumstances of life. The heart which is 
 unaffected by the precepts of Christ, is often moved by 
 contemplating the traits of his character manifested in his 
 intercourse with men ; — liis obedience, in yielding to the 
 claims of parental authority, and of the divine law; his 
 benevolence, in labor and sacrifice for the good of his 
 enemies ; his zeal, in overcoming obstacles interposed by 
 indolence and depravity ; his faithfulness, in pointedly 
 reproving sin ; his devotional spirit, in frequent seasons of 
 communion with God ; his faith, in unwavering confidence 
 in the divine promises and government ; his humility, in 
 not seeking great things for himself ; his forgiveness, in 
 freely remitting the transgressions of the penitent offender; 
 his meekness, in mildly bearing insult and abuse; his 
 sympathy, in ministering to the distressed ; his frugality, 
 
156 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 in the use of the comforts of life ; his prudence, in avoid- 
 ing needless collision with ignorance and prejudice ; his 
 discretion, in the peculiar appositeness of his admonitions, 
 counsels, and encouragements; his self-control, in repress- 
 ing anger and other sinful feelings ; his holiness, in 
 irreproachable demeanor ; his entire devotedness, in a 
 uniform concentration of his energies on the single object 
 of glorifying his Father in the salvation of souls. For the 
 same reason that these traits of character in our Saviour 
 were peculiarly impressive, their likeness is so in his 
 followers. There is no hazard, then, in saying that no 
 exhibition of Christian character is so instructive as that 
 which is manifest in the daily deportment. It produces 
 conviction where reason and argument have spent their 
 strength in vain. Still it is often gratifying to be made 
 acquainted with the feelings of those, whose Christian 
 course has been distinguished for activity, consistency, 
 and usefulness. It is indeed commonly expected that the 
 biographer of such an individual, will be able, from the 
 record of private exercises, to inform his readers what was 
 the daily course of discipline to which that individual 
 subjected his heart, and what were his peculiar spiritual 
 trials and conquests. To many it may seem matter both 
 of surprise and regret, that no record of this kind has been 
 left by Dr. Porter, and that comparatively little illustrative 
 of his religious feelings can be gathered from his manu- 
 scripts. This is true even of his familiar letters. Though 
 they were always serious, and full of interest to those to 
 whom they were addressed, they contain but infrequent 
 and brief allusions to his own spiritual exercises. His 
 journals, while absent, were mere memoranda kept for the 
 gratification of Mrs. Porter, and for the most part, confined 
 to the narration of incidents which she would be interested 
 to know, but which could not be conveniently mentioned 
 in his letters. Yet the fact that we arc left to infer his 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 157 
 
 Christian character chiefly from his daily deportment, 
 must not be attributed to apathy, or carelessness, or indo- 
 lence. The reasons are distinctly stated by himself. To 
 Mrs. Porter, some three or four years before his death, he 
 thus writes : — 
 
 " In the letters which I have written to you, my dear 
 wife, during the protracted and painful separation which 
 I hope is now drawing to a close, probably you may have 
 thought it strange, that I have so seldom alluded to my 
 own religious enjoyments or trials. You are entitled to a 
 brief explanation from me on this subject. 
 
 " If I had any experimental knowledge of religion during 
 my college life, it was not as I now believe, till the latter 
 part of it. I had, indeed, a hope from the age of twelve, 
 but it was faint for several years, and I think was ground- 
 less. A sickness in my third summer at college, I recall 
 as the probable instrument, under God, of my first thorough 
 religious exercises. 
 
 " When I was a theological student, I kept a diary, in 
 which I noted various things respecting the spiritual con- 
 dition of my heart ; and this brief journal I continued 
 through my candidate life, and in the early stages of my 
 ministry. But all these papers I destroyed long ago ; and 
 for many years past I have not attempted any thing of the 
 kind in regular form. The truth is that the multiplication, 
 and the 'mdlscrcet puhlication of religious private journals, 
 gradually gave me a distaste for compositions of this sort. 
 Their object avowedly is, either the benefit of the writer, 
 or that of others. As to myself, the exercises of my own 
 mind, that are sufficiently pleasant or painful to be the 
 subject of record, I can and must remember without any 
 such help. The habits of my mind, not occasional frames 
 and emotions, constitute my spiritual character ; and these 
 I cannot forget while my consciousness and memory 
 14 
 
158 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 remain. Certain solemn resolutions of my own, made 
 when my heart has been most awakened and strengthened 
 by communion with God, I have found it useful to write, 
 that I might read them often. But to write all that passes 
 in my mind, for my own subsequent perusal, would be little 
 short of downright trifling. 
 
 " If the benefit of others is the object of a private journal, 
 then it seems to me a case of no small delicacy, for an 
 individual to presume that a disclosure of what passes in 
 his own bosom, will be important to his fellow men. That 
 disclosure does not profess to be complete — it cannot pre- 
 tend to this. Does it then, exhibit the best or worst traits 
 of the heart, or both in due proportion? Who can promise 
 impartiality in adjusting these proportions, when self-love 
 on one hand, or morbid melancholy on the other, holds the 
 balance ? 
 
 " Besides, however it may be with others, I cannot trust 
 my heart in detailing its own secret exercises, with a view 
 to their publication. I can preach to myself in my closet, 
 with a fidelity and impartiality, that would probably be 
 much impaired by the expectation that the sermon to 
 myself will be published. The circumstances of Brainerd, 
 and Martyn, and Samuel Pearce, form an exception to 
 general rules : and I would not willingly forego the benefit 
 which I have derived from the journals of these holy 
 men."* 
 
 In a journal of earlier date, we find the following brief 
 allusion to the same subject. — " A false taste prevails in 
 the religious journals, especially of females, a species of 
 composition, which, encouraged by a few examples of rare 
 excellence, has swelled in modern times to a tedious 
 excess. The writing of private exercises for public inspec- 
 
 • For some valuable remarks on the subject of this letter, see 
 " Spirit of the Pilgrims," vol. iv. p. 428. 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 159 
 
 lion, is a work in which few are qualified to f ngage ; and 
 where it is done, I fear the record will not often corres- 
 pond with the record of omniscience. Any appearance of 
 ostentation on this subject is so repugnant to my feelings, 
 that I have abstained from this species of composition 
 even for my own improvement ; lest some partial friend 
 should hereafter expose to the public eye, what should 
 have been confined to my own bosom." Referring to a 
 lady in connection with these remarks, he writes : — " In 
 the devotional parts of her diary which she read to me, I 
 observed such phrases as ' sweet Jesus,' ' resting on his 
 sweet bosom,' ' talking with Jesus,' &.c. — which to say the 
 least, seems to rae, a. false religious taste. The apostles 
 themselves never approached their Master with such 
 ' fondling epithets.' The longer I live, the more I esti- 
 mate a Christian by his hvmility." The reader may find 
 similar sentiments in Dr. Porter's sermon on " The Signs 
 of the Times," p. 20. 
 
 The incidental mention of his early religious exercises 
 in the letter above quoted, furnishes the only information 
 on that subject to be found among his papers ; the only 
 information, indeed, to be obtained, except what is fur- 
 nished by the following sentences from the preface to his 
 abridgment of Owen on Spiritual Mindedness. " In the 
 family of my father, under whose Christian influence it 
 was the merciful allotment of Providence, that my child- 
 hood should be spent, there was a small library consisting 
 mostly of religious books. Those not strictly religious, 
 were yet of useful tendency ; so that until the age of 
 twelve years, when my academical education began, I had 
 never seen a single had book. In this little paternal 
 library was Baxter's Saint's Rest, the reading of which, 
 on account of its simplicity, its rhetorical vivacity, its 
 Christian fervor and pungency, made an indelible impres- 
 
160 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 sion on my mind. This impression probably had more 
 efficacy in the formation of my subsequent intellectual and 
 moral habits, than any other means except parental 
 influence." 
 
 From the commencement of his Christian course, his 
 consecration to the service of God appears to have been 
 entire. To what extent religious principle modified his 
 actions in the discliarge both of secular and religious 
 duties, the reader may judge from the following resolutions, 
 which are without date, and were obviously written at 
 different times ; probably, as intimated in the foregoing 
 letter to Mrs. Porter, at times when the spiritual feelings 
 of their author were " most awakened and strengthened 
 by communion with God." 
 
 " I. The care of my heart. 
 
 "1. I will endeavor to keep the Sabbath holy. I will 
 avoid conversation on worldly topics, and will not allow 
 myself to think on any matter of common business, nor to 
 read literary or professional books on this holy day. 
 
 " 2. Special hindrances excepted, I will endeavor to 
 maintain secret devotion statedly, at least twice a day. 
 
 "3. I will recollect every day that I am mortal. 
 
 "4. When any doubtful thing is to be done, I will ask 
 myself, ' How will it bear the eye of God's omniscience? — 
 liow will it appear at the judgment?' 
 
 "o. I will endeavor to repress all undue regard to the 
 praise or censure of men, by recollecting that God is a 
 witness of all that I do or think. 
 
 " 6. I will guard against selfishness as the ' abominable 
 thing which the Lord hates.' When I detect myself in 
 being especially pleased with a good action, because it is 
 done by myself; or done by another through my advice, 
 I will condemn the littleness of such feelings as below the 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 161 
 
 dignity of Christian principles. In all such cases, I will 
 not speak of myself without some obvious reason ; first, 
 because it may cherish pride ; and secondly, because it 
 may exhibit the appearance of pride to others. 
 
 " 7. I will consider myself as sacredly accountable to 
 God for my improvement of the influence attached to my 
 station ; and will endeavor to distinguish betwixt the 
 respect which is given to my office, and that which would 
 in other circumstances be given to myself. 
 
 " II. Care of my tongue. 
 
 " 1. When I am angry I will never speak, till I have 
 taken at least as much time for reflection as Athenodorus 
 prescribed to Ca-sar.* 
 
 " 2. I will never talk to an angry man. 
 
 "3. I will not talk to a man intoxicated with strong 
 drink. 
 
 " 4. I will receive admonition from my friends with 
 candor and thankfulness; and will be careful not to make 
 a peevish reply to any one who gives me advice, though it 
 be officious or even impertinent. 
 
 "5. That I may be kept from speaking amiss of my 
 Christian brethren, I will prai/ for them. 
 
 " 6. With the exception of cases in which Christian 
 prudence requires secresy, I will consider it sinful to 
 say any thing of others privately, which I would not say 
 openly. In general, I will deal in secrets as little as 
 possible. 
 
 " 7. I will not mention the fault of another, when I 
 have not good reason to hope that some valuable end will 
 be answered by my doing so. 
 
 * This prescription was, — "Always repeat the twenty-four letters 
 of the Greek alphabet before you give way to the impulse of anger." 
 A prescription still more worthy, than that of the heathen philoso- 
 pher, to be remembered, is — " When in anger, repeat the Loid'« 
 Prayer before you give utterance to your feelings." 
 14 • 
 
162 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 " III. Self-examination. 
 
 " I will regard the Bible as the only infallible test of 
 character. With this in my hands, if I am deceived as 
 to my spiritual state, it is my own fault. 
 
 " I am satisfied that one great reason why so many real 
 Christians live doubting, and die trembling, is the neglect 
 of self-examination. 
 
 " 1. I will beware of relying upon official religion. I 
 will never take it for granted that I am a Christian be- 
 cause others consider me so ; nor because my profession 
 or station require that I should be a Christian. 
 
 "2. In judging of myself, I will make due allowance 
 for the restraints I have been under from early education 
 — from dear Christian friends, and from regard to public 
 opinion ; and will never ascribe to Christian principles 
 the absence of faults which I am under no temptation to 
 commit. 
 
 "3. In any doubtful case, where good and bad motives 
 are mingled as excitements to action, I will not conclude 
 that the good motives influence me, without the most 
 serious scrutiny. 
 
 "4. I will watch my heart under affliction. As the 
 severest strokes that I have felt hitherto, have been my 
 greatest mercies, I will not, like the perverse child that 
 attempts to resist or escape correction, try to break away 
 from the rod of my heavenly Father ; but will give him 
 my hand and beg him to repeat his strokes, when he sees 
 it necessary to purify my soul from sin. 
 
 "IV. Studies. 
 
 "1. I will read no book without the expectation of 
 real benefit; — and will consider that as lost time which 
 is spent in reading without attention and rijlection. 
 
 " 2. I will never covet the reputation of knowing every 
 thing. 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 163 
 
 " 3. I will never speak confidently when I am in doubt, 
 nor scruple to say that I am ignorant, when I am so. 
 
 " 4. Having suffered severely by late studies at night, 
 I will never pursue any serious study after 10 o'clock in 
 the evening. 
 
 " 5. I will not read any book which I should be un- 
 willing to have it knoicn that I have read ; or the reading 
 of which I shall probably recollect with regret on my 
 dying bed. 
 
 "6. Since my time for study is so much restricted by 
 frail health and various engagements, I will consider it as 
 a sacred duty to spend no time in the attitude of study, 
 without direct and vigorous application of my mind to 
 some important subject. 
 
 " 7. I will not hold myself at liberty to neglect duties 
 that are plainly devolved upon me by the providence of 
 God, even though these duties debar me from studies 
 which I earnestly wish to pursue, 
 
 " V. Prepar.IlTion for death. 
 
 "1. When I awake to the light of a new day, I will 
 endeavor to ask myself, each morning, ' Could I know 
 this to be my last day on earth, what duty that I have 
 neglected ought to be performed ? ' 
 
 "2. That I may not be surprised by death, I will 
 endeavor to carry with me the habitual recollection, that 
 it may come at any moment. 
 
 " 3. I will often reflect that this life is only preparatory 
 to eternity ; and that He who stationed me here, knows 
 how and when to call me away. 
 
 "4. As my comfort in death must depend on my hope 
 of heaven, I will often examine this hope ; because if I 
 have good reason to believe that I shall live with Christ 
 in glory, I shall have no reason for reluctance in leaving 
 this world, any more than the sentinel in being called 
 
164 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 from his post after a stormy night, or the child who has 
 been long from home, in returning to his father's house. 
 
 "5. I am satisfied from much observation, that the 
 bodily pangs of dying are much less terrible than is 
 commonly supposed, excepting in a few extreme cases. I 
 will not therefore be greatly disquieted with the anticipa- 
 tion of these pangs. 
 
 " VI. Public deportment. 
 
 •'I.I will endeavor to remember that as a minister of 
 the gospel, my office is more important than that of any 
 earthly potentate. 
 
 " 2. In my intercourse with men, I will endeavor not 
 to degrade this office by exhibiting a love of money, one 
 of the vilest and most dangerous passions that can infest 
 the heart of a minister. 
 
 " 3. I will watch against levity in conversation, a fault 
 to which I am in danger of resorting as an antidote 
 against the influence of feeble health. Yet 
 
 " 4. I will not identify in feeling, or in my conduct 
 tempt others to identify religion and melancholy ; because 
 if I were to paint a Pharisee, I should give him a sad 
 countenance ; but if an angel or my Saviour, a cheerful 
 one. The fact that painters who are strangers to vital 
 godliness, so generally, in representing Christ, give him 
 the aspect of sadness, I will endeavor to make instructive 
 to myself 
 
 " VII. Care of my health. 
 
 " The difference between that state of health which 
 amounts to bare existence, and that which admits of 
 vigorous mental action, is so great, that there is no 
 earthly blessing I so earnestly desire as health. But as 
 I am clearly destined to be an invalid while I live, 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 165 
 
 whatever I am to do for God and the church, is to be 
 accomplished by systematic care of my frail body. 
 
 " 1. I will not eat or drink any kind or quantity of 
 food, that I have good reason to believe will impair my 
 health. 
 
 " 2. I will, when not sick, take exercise daily, equiva- 
 lent to the labor of sawing and splitting wood two hours. 
 
 " 3. When in perspiration, I will not stand or sit in 
 cold air, without increase of clothing. I will not stand 
 or walk on wet ground, in a cold season, without guarding 
 my feet ; and I will shun exposure to the evening, in cold 
 or damp weather." 
 
 Appended to the preceding resolutions, are the following 
 memorandum and resolution, dated 
 
 " Dec. 4, 1822. ' The eyes of the Lord are upon the 
 righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.' In my 
 secret devotions this morning, this passage impressed my 
 mind deeply. The parent says to the child, • I cannot 
 attend to your wishes now my child, come again when I 
 am at leisure.' The teacher says to the pupil, ' I cannot 
 forego my present engagements, come again and I will 
 listen to you.' The suitor for justice finds so many cases 
 on the docket before his own, that he must wait perhaps 
 months or years before he can get access to the ear of his 
 judge. But the ear of my Father in heaven is always 
 open. He never says, ♦ Come to-morrow and I will 
 listen.' — I resolve not to forget this more than paternal 
 goodness." 
 
 Among the chosen means employed by Dr. Porter for 
 promoting his growth in grace, besides the usual exercises 
 of the closet — reading the Scriptures, meditation, self- 
 examination and prayer — he was accustomed daily to 
 read portions of devotional books, such as the writings of 
 
166 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 Baxter, Jeremy Taylor, Howe, Flavel, and Owen. " Early 
 in my ministry," he remarks, " it became my settled pur- 
 pose to read a passage daily, if it were but a single page, 
 in some spiritual writer of this class. My object was to 
 promote the spirituality of my own heart, and keep in 
 lively exercise its Christian sensibilities, in connection with 
 my private devotions, and my preparations for the pulpit. 
 I have always found, what I presume is common in the 
 experience of my brethren, that no intellectual process, 
 no degree of labor at the study table, would enable me to 
 prepare a profitable sermon, unless my heart was kept near 
 to God during its preparation. And amid the crowd of 
 various avocations to which every minister is, more or 
 less, unavoidably exposed, his heart cannot be thus kept, 
 without means specially adapted, and systematically em- 
 ployed for this purpose." Alluding to the same subject, 
 he says, in a letter to a friend, " I have learned, by the 
 experience of years, that my heart requires a more exact 
 regimen than my body. It is not sufficient for me daily to 
 read a portion of the Bible. I need the stimulus of vari- 
 ety, and I have often found a passage of some spiritual 
 writer to affect my feelings, when nothing else would 
 awaken emotion." Means which he found so useful to 
 himself he earnestly recommended to others, especially to 
 his pupils. The conviction that an increase of devotional 
 reading would exert a salutary influence on Christians 
 generally, induced him near the close of his life to prepare 
 for a publication an abridgment of Owen on Spiritual 
 Mindedness, and on the cxxx. Psalm. These abridgments 
 were prepared not by substituting, to any extent, his own 
 language for that of the author, but by merely erasing 
 pleonastic phraseology, which obscured the sense or 
 enfeebled the expression. 
 
 In the cultivation of his spiritual feelings Dr. Porter was 
 also systematic. It was a distinct part of his daily em-. 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 167 
 
 ployment. " The heart," he writes to one in whose 
 religious character he felt a lively interest, " must be 
 taken care of, or nothing is done as to the great ends of 
 immortal existence. This must be done, too, not by good 
 resolutions, but by systematic, daily resort to the Bible 
 and the closet. A watch would fulfil the purposes of its 
 maker with a broken main-spring, as well as a man whose 
 heart is not in order. But the main-spring will not make 
 it go, unless daily wound up." 
 
 A brief extract from his Lecture on the Cultivation of 
 Spiritual Habits, &c., which expresses with characteristic 
 clearness his views of the paramount importance oi regu- 
 larity in these habits, may gratify the reader. 
 
 " The man who imagines that he can perform his secret 
 devotions in the street, as well as in the closet, or as well 
 without, as with stated times for the purpose, is ignorant of 
 his own mind. Intellectual and spiritual, as well as other 
 habits, are formed on the principles of association. In 
 the regular recurrence of the thing to be done, there must 
 be identity of f/r«e, and p/rtce, and circumstances. He who 
 assigns to his closet devotions a particular season, will 
 find the return of that season bring with it the recollection 
 of the duty ; so that the omission of it at the customary 
 time, will be attended with mental uneasiness. His avo- 
 cations too, will readily become adjusted to this settled 
 order, so as not to intrude on his hours of communion 
 with God. But the man who waits for impulses, and goes 
 to his closet only at irregular times, has no advantage of 
 habit in this duty. He attends to it without constancy, 
 without preparation, and without enjoyment. He has no 
 current of spiritual feeling; other engagements thrust 
 themselves between him and God ; the day and the night 
 pass away, without any season of retirement ; he forgets 
 to pray, because he has no system in the care of his own 
 
168 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 heart. Thus perhaps, he slides into estrangement from 
 his closet, for days and weeks together. 
 
 " There is no point in Christian experience more settled 
 than this, that there is an intimate connection between 
 enjoyment in closet devotions, and their return at regular 
 seasons. The best writers on the subject say so. Devout 
 Christians, learned and unlearned, say so. Our own 
 experience says so. Several hundred students of this 
 seminary to whom, at different times I have put the 
 inquiry, in private conversations, have been agreed on this 
 point, without one exception. 
 
 " If you would form such spiritual habits, then, as shall 
 promote your progress in personal religion, draw a sacred 
 enclosure around your hallowed seasons of retirement, to 
 preserve them from interruption. To accomplish this, 
 your times of secret devotion should be so chosen, as not to 
 interfere with other duties.* 
 
 Few men have so frequent and affecting admonitions of 
 their frailty as Dr. Porter received from bodily infirmity. 
 The result was a vivid and abiding impression of eternal 
 realities, which obviously contributed to chasten, elevate, 
 and strengthen his spiritual feelings. To his trials from 
 infirmity, as oidered of God for his spiritual good, he felt 
 himself deeply indebted, and in view of them, most cor- 
 dially adopted the acknowledgment of the Psalmist, " It 
 is good for me that I have been afflicted." In the spirit 
 of this acknowledgment he remarks, in a letter to his wife, 
 " I have too much reason to confess, with a pious woman 
 of Nevvburyport, that I should never have taken one step 
 towards God, without the stripes of his correcting hand. 
 And if still heavier strokes than have yet been inflicted, 
 are necessary for my spiritual good, I desire to welcome 
 
 * See Lectures on Homiletics, &c., pp. 264 — 268. 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 169 
 
 them as the richest blessings." The subjoined letter, 
 though somewhat miscellaneous, will, in this connection, 
 be read with interest. 
 
 " My dear Wife, 
 
 " Since the autumn before I removed to Andover, 
 you will recollect I have almost yearly had an October 
 cold, more or less severe. Of late I think this has taken 
 deeper hold of my lungs, at least has produced more 
 cough than formerly, and my stomach and general system 
 have had less strength to sustain its ravages. How long 
 this struggle betwixt life and death, in my poor body, is to 
 last, is a question which I rejoice it is not for me to de- 
 termine. Yet He who made me, and sent me an agent 
 into this world, requires me to use the proper means to 
 preserve my life. 
 
 " As you, my dearest friend, have a deep interest in 
 this subject, you are entitled to know my views more dis- 
 tinctly than I have before expressed them. And perhaps 
 I cannot devote the little leisure which my present seclu- 
 sion affords to a better use. 
 
 " I regard the enjoyment and the value of life as con- 
 sisting wholly in its being devoted to the glory of God. 
 This made it desirable to the world and to themselves, 
 that Paul, and Luther, and Baxter should live. In the 
 same view, I hope my own life has not been altogether in 
 vain : though its best services to the church have been 
 performed in ' weakness, and fear, and much trembling.' 
 It is with unspeakable pleasure that I anticipate a meeting 
 with some of our dear flock at Washington, to be my 
 crown of rejoicing forever. But I have been surprised at 
 the affectionate reception among that people, of services 
 so extremely defective as mine often were. I have been 
 more surprised at the candor and fraternal kindness with 
 which my labors have been regarded, from the first, at 
 15 
 
170 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 Andover, by professors, trustees, and students. And I 
 have been not less surprised at the unremitted affection 
 and confidence of Mr. Bartlet. In truth, excepting the 
 customary routine of official duty, you know that I have 
 often been able to accomplish less as a student, in a 
 month, than in good health I might have done in one day. 
 Now I know that to one who loves books, and loves his 
 appropriate professional business as I do, here is room to 
 glorify God by submission. And if I had grace enough 
 to exhibit the Christian character in this respect, as it 
 ought to be exhibited by one in my circumstances, then I 
 could see how my life might turn to good account at An- 
 dover, though even less active and productive of positive 
 fruit, than it has been. But as the case is, I must frankly 
 say, that I have felt no subject of solicitude half so oppres- 
 sive, as the apprehension that the partial friendship of the 
 dear men with whom I have been connected, might make 
 them and me overrate the importance of my usefulness, 
 and subject our beloved seminary to injury on my ac- 
 count. 
 
 " On the subject of leaving this world, I must have 
 been something less than a Christian or a reasonable man, 
 not to have made this familiar to my thoughts, for many 
 years. During the last years of my pastoral life, I collect- 
 ed and classed a great variety of cases of dying persons, 
 with a view to my own benefit. The object was to exam- 
 ine the views of different Christians in this case, to ascer- 
 tain principles. In all my infirmities however, I have sel- 
 dom had disquieting views of death, and have in no in- 
 stance considered it to be very near. Asa specimen of 
 feeling at those times when I have thought death desira- 
 able, I send you these lines, scribbled with my pencil, in 
 my berth at sea ; after an interval of near thirty years 
 since my pen attempted a couplet in verse. 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 171 
 
 " Welcome, lonely, tranquil grave. 
 The weary pilgrim's bed ; 
 My languid limbs thy refuge crave, 
 Thy rest, my aching head. 
 
 " Restless world, that sleep will close 
 Thy scenes of grief and caie : 
 No ])ains nor conflicts, sins nor woes, 
 Invade the slumber there. 
 
 " Soul, redeemed by grace divine, 
 From chains of guilt and clay. 
 Spring from thy fetters, rise and shine, 
 In realms of endless day. 
 
 " Such feelings have most predominated, when my pros- 
 pects of usefulness to the church have been most clouded. 
 Aside from what I am to accomplish for God, I would as 
 soon be a vioh or a brick-bat as the occupant of any 
 throne in Europe." 
 
 An effect of Dr. Porter's infirmities deserving a passing 
 notice, was an increase of his natural susceptibility of 
 emotion in view of the trials of others. Of the depth and 
 tenderness of his sympathy, the reader may judge from the 
 subjoined extracts of letters to two of his earliest and most 
 beloved friends in the ministry, who had been called to 
 drink the cup of affliction. The first, written from Geor- 
 gia, in 1817, was addressed to Rev. Bezaleel Pinneo of 
 Milford, Conn. 
 
 " Brother Pinneo, 
 
 " It was in my heart to visit you in passing on to the 
 south, but I presume you have received my apology, left 
 
 with brother S . I was especially desirous to call 
 
 on you, because I was told that Mrs. P. was sick. In 
 Georgia, the afflictive intelligence has come to me that the 
 
172 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 dear woman is gone ! In this distant country, the news 
 that a woman of uncommon excellence, one whom I loved 
 for her own sake, and loved because she was the wife of 
 my friend, and was dear to others who are dear to me, 
 was a heavy stroke to my heart. How much heavier the 
 stroke to you, to your children, to her mother, and 
 brother ! 
 
 " I rejoice to be told tliat you was enabled to bear this 
 affliction in a manner becoming a minister of the gospel. 
 I say enabled, because though I am comparatively a stran- 
 ger to such affliction, as every one is who has not felt it, I 
 am satisfied there is no adequate support in such a case, 
 but that arm which is divine and almighty. In your case, 
 too, I am satisfied that such support is especially neces- 
 sary, because a husband and family can seldom be called 
 to part with so much worth and loveliness in the character 
 of a wife and mother. I write this letter not to aggravate 
 your grief ; not to instruct you on a subject where I know 
 you are much wiser than myself, but to assure you that an 
 old friend does most sincerely mourn with you. But if I 
 understand her character, she has left the best sort of evi- 
 dence that she is gone from earth to heaven, from a prison 
 to a palace, from darkness to everlasting day, from sin and 
 sinful associates to the spirits of the just made perfect; to 
 see her Saviour, and to be like him and with him forever. 
 Could we wish to recall her from such joy, to weep and 
 struggle again here ? 
 
 " But your children have no mother! God Almighty 
 bless you and them, my brother, and sustain you under 
 this loss. Surely it is time we were all prepared to die. 
 Your wife is gone. Drs. Strong, and Backus, and Dwight 
 are gone. Oh, what heavy strokes God is dealing out upon 
 the church ! In the darkness and desolations of this re- 
 gion, my heart exclaims, ' Help, Lord, for the godly man 
 ceaseth.' Ever yours." 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 178 
 
 To Rev. Zephaniah Swift of Derby, Conn., he 
 writes : — 
 
 " Brother Swift, 
 
 " I have accidentally heard of the death of your ami- 
 able and beloved daughter H . After having spent 
 
 forty-six years in this dying world, and fifteen in the min- 
 istry — and after all my personal infirmities, I am really un- 
 quaJified to sympathise with you under such a trial, be- 
 cause I have not felt it. Is it so indeed that four of your 
 family are in the grave ! and three within as many years 
 past ? Truly such a fact stamps poverty and emptiness on 
 the best satisfactions of this world. But I hope you have 
 under these repeated strokes a source of consolation which 
 death cannot impair, and which affliction only renders the 
 more invaluable. I hope you feel with the excellent 
 J. Newton, when his wife was dead in his house, that ' as 
 a sinner he had no right, and as a believer, no reason to 
 complain.' " — In a subsequent letter to the same individ- 
 ual he remarks, " I think, my dear brother, God must de- 
 sign you for great usefulness here, or great blessedness 
 hereafter, or both ; by the trials to which he calls you. 
 Much as I love you, my sympathies cannot reach the spot 
 that has so often bled in your heart. I have not felt the 
 stroke that inflicted the wound. But I know it was in- 
 flicted by one whose wisdom, and benevolent regard to 
 you, infinitely surpass my own. And if I am sure of any 
 thing by experience, I know that the severest strokes of 
 the same paternal h md, which I have felt, have been my 
 greatest mercies." 
 
 Among the developments of Dr. Porter's piety, was a 
 deep sense of his sinfulness and dependence on sovereign 
 grace. Though he was not accustomed either in his cor- 
 respondence or conversation to say much of his own feel- 
 
174 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 ings, he occasionally alluded to the native sinfulness of his 
 heart in terms which indicated the conviction that it was 
 radical and entire. An instance or two is subjoined. In 
 a letter to Mrs. Porter, after speaking of his comfortable 
 accommodations, and his freedom from anxiety, he asks, — 
 "But have I no troubles? Some. A desperately wicked 
 heart gives me more trouble than all other things." A 
 memorandum, dated Jan. 1, 1817, reads as follows. — "The 
 first time I wrote this date, it made my hand tremble. 
 Not that there is any novelty to me in a new year, for I 
 have become so familiar with the flight of time, as scarcely 
 to notice it. The first time I entered at all into the suc- 
 cession of years, as marked Anno Domini, was at the age 
 of eleven, on seeing 1783 marked on the title page of an 
 Almanac. This was the text of a serious sermon to my 
 young mind. Oh that the sensibility of my childhood, 
 which is almost extinct, were succeeded by the wisdom 
 which ought to accompany my advanced years. During 
 every hour of the past year, while awake, I have commit- 
 ted sin enough to deserve endless misery. So I have done 
 always, and shall do while I live. Truly, whoever else has 
 room to boast, or to hope on the ground of personal merit, 
 — I have none. That my heart is desperately wicked, is 
 not a matter of theory but of experience. I know it is so, 
 with the same certainty and with the same sort of evidence, 
 as I know that I exist. O my indebtedness to grace, 
 boundless, matchless grace ; pardoning grace ; preserving 
 grace! If I am to live through 1817, Lord help me to 
 live as becomes a Christian minister at the age of forty- 
 four." 
 
 His piety was equally marked by resignation and flial 
 confidence in God. " I desire" he remarks in a letter to 
 Mrs. Porter, already quoted, " to be submissive to all the 
 variety of infirmity, which it pleases God that I shall suf- 
 fer ; while I have the fullest conviction that his chastise- 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 175 
 
 ments are both just and kind— just because I deserve 
 them, and kind because I need them. I have learned that 
 my happiness ought to be, and is, in exact proportion to 
 my confidence and joy in God. — The doctrine of a univer- 
 sal Providence is one of the most practical articles of my 
 belief. Aside from a full, and I think, joyful acquiescence 
 in this, I could not be comfortable for a single day." The 
 following rebuke to an intimate and beloved brother in 
 the ministry, breathes a similar sentiment. — " Your per- 
 plexities are a severe trial to my feelings ; but I trust they 
 will soon be over. You manifestly look back too much — 
 you talk too much the language of despondence and self- 
 condemnation. You have done what you and your most 
 impartial Christian friends thought was best. Your judg- 
 ment, now clouded by too much painful solicitude, con- 
 demns the decisions of your judgment when it was clear 
 
 and vigorous. Cui bono? If you had been like 
 
 , dismissed against the advice of your best friends, 
 
 the case would be vastly different. As it is, you have 
 only to trust Providence, and march forward with a 
 cheerful heart. All will be well." 
 
 A letter from Dr. Porter to his colleagues, written in 
 1830, while he was returning from St. Augustine, presents 
 in beautiful relief the trait of his piety we are now con- 
 sidering. He had been advised by some of his friends to 
 spend the summer at sea, by others to spend it in jour- 
 neying by land, while his own feelings strongly urged him 
 to return, at least for a season, to Andover. This letter 
 was written while he was doubting which of these courses 
 to pursue. — " You cannot be aware, dear brethren, how 
 impatiently I long to meet you again, in the enjoyments 
 and labors of our beloved seminary. During my exile for 
 so many weary months, my poor heart has often throbbed 
 with painful emotions, when I have thought of my study, 
 my family, my colleagues, my neighbors — the lecture 
 
176 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 room and chapel exercises of the seminary. And then I 
 have said, ' the cup that my Father hath given me, shall 
 I not drink it ? ' ' Lie still throbbing heart ; God knows 
 what is best ; and I would not, if I could, take the dis- 
 posal of my lot from his hands into my own.' " 
 
 Another characteristic of Dr. Porter's piety was humility. 
 Naturally unassuming, he had been taught by grace, " in 
 lowliness of mind" to esteem others better than himself; 
 and in regard to his own spiritual character he had learned 
 from the same instructor, " not to think of himself more 
 highly than he ought to think." In a letter to his wife he 
 remarks, — " It is doubtless owing to my insensibility that 
 I have not been more humbled and quickened by the 
 dealings of God with me, viewed in the light of personal 
 afflictions. Considering my mercies and trials both, as a 
 means of sanctification, I look on my little attainments in 
 holiness with wonder and shame. I often mourn that the 
 teachers of my childhood were so injudicious, and so uu- 
 faithful, and so unskilful in the direction of my literary 
 pursuits : but oh, how much more reason have I to lament 
 that, with the instructions of a perfect Teacher, I have 
 been a dull pupil in the school of Christ. With the same 
 kind of discipline that made Baxter a luminary in the 
 Christian firmament, I am but an insect scarcely rendered 
 visible by emitting an occasional, feeble light amid sur- 
 rounding darkness." " Who," asks Dr. Woods, in his 
 discourse at Dr. Porter's interment, "who ever had reason 
 to suppose that he thought of himself more highly than he 
 ought to think? that in any respect he overrated his talents, 
 his influence, his services, or his piety? When and where 
 did he expect an honor which others were not ready to 
 bestow upon him, or manifest the feeling that he was not 
 held high enough among his brethren ? It was far other- 
 wise. He was so evidently unassuming and humble, that, 
 although he was always in all societies, placed among the 
 
CHRISTIAiN CHARACTER. 
 
 177 
 
 first in point of influence, no one envied him, or felt the 
 least uneasiness that his talents or services were estimated 
 so highly." 
 
 The piety of Dr. Porter was eminently of a cheerful and 
 social character. With very few exceptions, he was what 
 he resolved to be, a cheerful Christian, equally remote 
 from levity and austerity. This ought doubtless to be 
 attributed in part, to his constitutional equanimity, which 
 exempted him in an unusual degree from perturbation by 
 the ordinary occurrences of life, and enabled him so 
 effectually to repress his feelings as rarely to manifest 
 excitement. But it is attributable still more to an unwa- 
 vering trust in God, and an habitual sense of his presence. 
 In few cases perhaps, is more nearly realized the happy 
 union of filial joy and reverence, contemplated in the 
 following paragraph from Luther's " Table Talk." — " I 
 would fain see one that could make these two agree to- 
 gether, to be joieful and to be afraid. I cannot behave my- 
 self in that manner towards God, that my little son John can 
 show himself towards me ; for when I sit in my studie and 
 write or doe something else, then my boy sings me a song, 
 and when he will be too loud, then I check him a little : 
 yet nevertheless he singeth on, but with a more mild and 
 softer voice, and somewhat with fear and reverence : even 
 so would God have us to doe." The society of the people 
 of God he ardently loved. No favor is more gratefully 
 acknowledged in his correspondence. Whether on sea or 
 land, any want of accommodations, any untoward events 
 were easily borne, nay seem scarcely to have been felt, so 
 long as he was permitted to hold fellowship with Christian 
 society. On the other hand, though capable of fully 
 appreciating the attractions of intelligence, of politeness, 
 and of correct deportment ; no society, however attractive 
 in these respects, if destitute of piety, could strongly and 
 permanently engage hie affections. As expressive of his 
 
178 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 feelings, the following extract is cited from a journal, in 
 which he describes the residence, and most gratefully 
 acknowledges the hospitality of an intelligent and highly 
 respectable gentleman in one of the southern States, with 
 whom he had spent several days as a guest. " Here I 
 had perhaps as high a specimen of elegant hospitality as 
 any country can furnish. My host and his children are 
 communicants in the church ; but I fear are stran- 
 gers to piety: — not even the form of devotion is seen here! 
 So much that I am constrained to call excellence and 
 loveliness, and yet nothing that I can call piety ! Oh ! — 
 I am charmed with this spot : and yet give me all its 
 charms, united with the wealth of Croesus and the power 
 of Caesar, I would not live here ; I would not be ' smoth- 
 ered to death,' in the embraces of a smiling world. No, 
 I would rush away from such enchantment. Rather than 
 trust my wretched heart in such peril, give me my Bible, 
 and let me be the Shepherd of Salisbury Plain." 
 
 In this connection it should be observed, that the 
 meeting for religious worship was ever his chosen resort. 
 For tiie last several years of his life, indeed, he was entirely 
 prevented, by the state of his health, from attending meetings 
 abroad in the evening ; and not unfrequeutly on the Sab- 
 bath, was for the same reason detained from the sanctuary. 
 This he accounted one of the severest privations occa- 
 sioned by his frailty. The following extract of a letter to 
 Mrs. Porter in 1820, during a confinement by illness at 
 Baltimore, already alluded to, exhibits the feelings of 
 one who " longed, yea, even fainted for the courts of the 
 Lord." 
 
 " Perhaps this is my first letter dated on the Sabbath ; 
 but I trust the spirit which governs my pen, is not incon- 
 sistent with the sanctity of the Lord's day. Two dreary 
 Sabbaths I spent on the deep, without (as I suppose) one 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 179 
 
 Christian soul associated in our company. To-day and 
 yesterday, I feel more like health, than for any equal 
 period in four weeks. But my confinement renders it 
 improper to attend public worship. Still, though not per- 
 mitted to unite, as to form, in the regular duties of the 
 Sabbath, I am permitted to love, and I trust to enjoy 
 them, above thousands who mingle in its external observ- 
 ances. For example, here are one Scotch, one Presby- 
 terian, two Episcopal, and several Methodist churches, 
 whose ministers and many of whose members I suppose to 
 be children of the Most High God. I hear their bells 
 ring— I know substantially the import of their prayers. 
 Now, without disturbing any worshipper, or occupying the 
 seat of another, I can be present in spirit, with any of 
 these churches. In the same manner, I can transfer 
 myself to the Circular church in Charleston, or the beloved 
 chapel of Andover. So far as I possess the genuine spirit 
 of the Sabbath, I cannot be debarred from the communion 
 of the saints. Blessed be God that I was not born to the 
 sottish ignorance of the Hindoo ; nor to the senseless 
 levity of the Parisian rabble, where the Sabbath indeed is 
 allowed a name, while its religious rites are mingled with 
 ten thousand discordant sounds, from the chisel of the 
 ma,son, the hammer of the auctioneer, the notes of the 
 crier, the mirth of dancing parents and children, and the 
 thunder of gilded chariots in the mad whirl of dissipation. 
 Oh, the horrible guilt of those ministers of religion, who 
 have contributed to sink a nation of Christendom to such 
 debasement ! And among us Protestants, I fear there are 
 many who officially lead the devotions of others, who are 
 strangers in spirit, to the benefits and comforts of com- 
 munion with God." 
 
 Dr. Porter's piety was active. Regarding the " enjoy- 
 ment and the value of life as consisting wholly in its being 
 
180 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 devoted to the glory of God," it was the purpose of his life 
 " to glorify Him on the earth, and to finish the work which 
 was given him to do." In his accustomed sphere of labor, 
 and in his oft repeated journies, 
 
 " His care was fixed 
 
 To fill his odorous lamp with deeds of light, 
 And hope that reaps not shame." 
 
 Often in his letters to Mrs. Porter he speaks in an un- 
 ostentatious way, of some plan he was executing, or had 
 in contemplation for the good of Zion — thus manifesting 
 the spirit that prompted the exclamation, "If I forget thee, 
 O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I 
 do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of 
 my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." 
 Of his activity, and of the extent and efficiency of his 
 eflforts in connection with various benevolent associations, 
 the reader will be able to judge from the reference to this 
 subject in a subsequent part of the memoir. Probably 
 there have been few men within the last quarter of a cen- 
 tury, to whose counsels and labors the cause of Christian 
 philanthropy is more indebted. These counsels were 
 characterized by wisdom, these labors were guided by 
 Christian principle ; while the zeal from which they ema- 
 nated, was tempered by discretion. 
 
 It may be added as another feature of Dr. Porter's piety, 
 that he had acquired to an unusual extent, thcpowcr of self- 
 control. By this his actions were modified, as well in 
 respect to food, to dress, to equipage, to deportment in his 
 family, and in social intercourse generally, as in respect to 
 his sacred and responsible station as an ambassador of 
 Christ, and an instructor of candidates for the same holy 
 calling. His " resolutions" adopted in his most devotional 
 frames, were not mere expressions of feeling to be forgotten 
 or violated at pleasure ; they were practical rules, drawn 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 181 
 
 from the pages of revealed truth, to which his life from 
 day to day, was studiously conformed. As an instance of 
 the control which he exercised over himself, it is worthy 
 to be recorded, that though daily called for years to read 
 and hear as a critic the sermons of others, and on that 
 account, peculiarly exposed to become a merely intellectual 
 and captious hearer, he had, by the blessing of God on his 
 efforts, acquired the ability almost entirely to lay aside his 
 critical habits in the house of God ; like the ordinary 
 Christian, to "receive with meekness the ingrafted word," 
 and to profit by an application of it to his own heart. 
 Effectually to secure this control, he adopted the deter- 
 mination, from which he rarely deviated, that he would 
 not allow himself to remark in his family, on the perform- 
 ances of the sanctuary. 
 
 In addition to the traits of his piety already enumerated, 
 it was characterized by gentlcmss, simplicity, and godly 
 sincerity — graces which were as distinctly observable, and 
 which perhaps contributed as much to give a cast to his 
 religious character, and to promote his usefulness, as any 
 of those previously named. 
 
 As might have been expected, the Christian character 
 of Dr. Porter was distinguished for uniformity and con- 
 sistency. Few men, in these respects, could with more 
 propriety adopt the language of the apostle, when ad- 
 dressing their fellow Christians: — " Be ye followers of me, 
 even as I also am of Christ." Some allowance, indeed, 
 ought doubtless to be made in his case for constitutional 
 temperament. But uniformity and consistency were the 
 natural fruits of his regular devotional habits ; his abiding 
 sense of dependence on grace, his cordial resignation, his 
 entire consecration to the service of God, and his habits 
 of self-control. The man who employs systematically and 
 faithfully the means of spiritual culture which God has 
 appointed, we do not ordinarily expect to find shrouded in 
 16 
 
182 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. fORTER. 
 
 spiritual darkness, 'llie man who daily feels his depend^ 
 ence on sovereign grace, and cherishes a spirit of submis-' 
 sion, we do not expect to see the subject of despondency. 
 He whose consecration to the service of God is entire and 
 steady ; who has brought his passions, his desires, his 
 pursuits, " into captivity to the obedience of Christ," we 
 do not expect to see led astray by common allurements, 
 frustrated by common obstacles, daunted by common 
 opposition. 
 
 " This is the man whom storms can never make 
 Meanly complain ; nor can a flattering gale 
 Make him talk proudly : he hath no desire 
 To read his secret fate : yet unconcern'd 
 And calm, can meet his unborn destiny 
 In all its charming, or its frightful shapes." 
 
 Among the fruits of Dr. Porter's piety was uncompro- 
 mising faithfulness in the discharge of duty. He loved to 
 contemplate the character of Nehemiah. Viewing him- 
 self the servant of Christ, he wished to be thus viewed by 
 others ; and having adopted the principle of fearlessly 
 obeying God, leaving the results to his sovereign disposal, 
 he shrunk not from obvious Christian duty through fear 
 of being deemed sanctimonious or impertinent. Whed 
 associated with others even as a travelling companion, 
 the benevolence of his motives, the holiness of his conduct, ' 
 in a word, the light of his piety were so manifested, as to 
 win respect for himself, and command deference for 
 religion. Among those with whom he was to be asso- 
 ciated several days, as on a voyage at sea, he was accus- 
 tomed, if possible, to establish religious order, at least so 
 far as to have religious service at table ; and where it 
 could be done, social worship morning and evening. In 
 his efforts for this purpose he was so conciliating and 
 discreet, and at the same time so persevering, as rarely to 
 meet a repulse. And in a few instances, to which he 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 183 
 
 alludes in his letters, he was successful in similar efforts 
 under less favorable circumstances. 
 
 Once when passing through Long-Island Sound on 
 board a steam-boat, with a numerous company including 
 several clergymen, he proposed having a blessing asked, 
 and thanks returned at table. A part only even of his 
 clerical brethren thought it worth while to make the 
 attempt, as having been before made without success. 
 The captain was consulted and cordially assented to the 
 proposal. Dr. Porter then requested a military gentleman 
 to call the company to order at the table, saying at the 
 same time, " though I should much prefer to have you do 
 it, if you object, I will do it myself." When the company 
 were summoned to dinner, and had generally become 
 seated, Gen. M. rapped on the table, and observed that, 
 as several clergymen were present, he presumed no one 
 would object to having a blessing asked. Several voices 
 responded " certainly not." lie then requested Dr. Porter 
 to perform the duty. After most of the company had 
 dined, he again called to order, and requested another 
 clergyman to return thanks. This occurred in the 
 autumn. As Dr. Porter journeyed the following spring 
 through the western part of Massachusetts, he spent a 
 night in Northampton, where he learned the existence of 
 an interesting revival. After preaching in the evening to 
 an attentive audience, he was called upon by Gen. M — ., 
 who informed him that as a result of the efibrt to establish 
 religious order on board the steam-boat, one of the passen- 
 gers, a merchant of his acquaintance, was so much 
 affected, that he retired immediately to his berth for 
 reflection. For the first time he realized the attractiveness 
 and worth of piety, and the deplorablciiess of his own 
 state while destitute of it. His impressions which were 
 deepened by a domestic aifliction of subsequent occur- 
 rence, resulted in his becoming a hopeful convert — the 
 
184 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 first fruit of a revival which extended into adjacent towns, 
 and numbered several hundred subjects. 
 
 At another time when riding in a stage coach, some of 
 the company had been greatly annoyed by the profaneness 
 of a fellow-passenger, but had borne it in silence. Dr, 
 Porter resolved that he would improve the first favorable 
 moment, to administer reproof The company having 
 resumed their seats after a brief stop for the change of 
 horses, he thus addressed his companions; — "Now I pro- 
 pose, gentlemen, that we have no more swearing ; I will 
 agree not to swear, if the rest will." — The remark had the 
 desired effect. 
 
 On a certain occasion, Dr. Porter accompanied by three 
 individuals, one of them a clergyman, took lodgings at a 
 public house where they were to remain a little time for 
 the transaction of business. In accordance with his 
 usage in such cases, he proposed that they should have 
 religious service at their table ; and if practicable morning 
 and evening worship with the family ; if not that they 
 should unite in social prayer in their room. The sugges- 
 tion was not cordially received by his companions, which 
 led to a conversation on the question of duty, in such cir- 
 cumstances. They retired without even a season of social 
 prayer ; — not all of them to rest, however ; for the con- 
 science of the dissenting clergyman told him of neglected 
 duty. He arose early in the morning and informed the 
 family of the proposal which had been made the preceding 
 evening, and of the conversation respecting it. With an 
 expression of regret that it had not at the time been com- 
 municated, the landlord desired that his family, none of 
 whom were pious, might at least be called together for 
 worship in the morning. The influence of the season was 
 salutary and permanent; — one of the family soon became 
 hopefully the subject of renewing grace, 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 185 
 
 Several letters are found among his papers from dif- 
 ferent persons, expressing a grateful sense of obligation to 
 his fidelity, in reproving errors or pointing out defects of 
 character, which he was apprehensive might impair their 
 usefulness or happiness. For the discharge of these 
 duties, he was favored by the Creator with peculiar quali- 
 fications. Endued with singular delicacy of feeling, fiee 
 even from the appearance of a dictatorial spirit, and obvi- 
 ously actuated by Christian benevolence, his reproofs were 
 often welcome, where if they had been administered with 
 a different spirit they would have met disregard and re- 
 pulse. It required, indeed, uncommon jealousy and acer- 
 bity, to suspect liis motives, and repel his kind offices. 
 
 The letter which follows, written a few years after his 
 removal to Andover, presents an instance of Christian 
 fidelity, honorable to religion, and creditable alike to the 
 sensibility and the heart of its author. It was addressed 
 to a highly respectable clergyman, now deceased, and 
 was occasioned by the apprehension that he was becoming 
 addicted to an immoderate use of strong drink. 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " I will not stand to inquire whether the degree of 
 intercourse betwixt you and myself in years past, authorizes 
 the freedom of this letter. But if any apology is neces- 
 sary, I shall find it at once, in the important station you 
 hold in the church, and in the love and respect which I 
 have always entertained for you, since our first acquaint- 
 ance at college. Let me only premise that the subject of 
 this communication is and will be confined to my own 
 bosom : — should you deem it officious or impertinent, you 
 will not ascribe it to bad motives, and will just commit it 
 to the flames, assured that no evil can result from it. 
 " You are doubtless aware, my dear brother, that an 
 
 occurrence at , on a late public occasion, which 
 
 16* 
 
186 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 deeply involved your character, produced a strong excite- 
 ment abroad. The shock was deeply felt among your 
 Christian friends. But the prompt and frank confession 
 with which it was said you met the thing, induced those 
 who, conscious of their own defects, look with candor on 
 those of others, to hope that it was only such a slip as any 
 good man might, in an unguarded moment, commit. For 
 myself I can say that regarding the occurrence as inci- 
 dcntnl, and as no part of a settled habit, you was instantly 
 and fully restored to my Christian confidence. But if I 
 act the part of a Christian friend, and tell you all my 
 heart, I must tell you that at a recent interview at your 
 house, there were indications in your countenance and 
 
 conversation which alarmed me. Br. S , who felt 
 
 the same alarm, is the only human being to whom ray 
 apprehension will be known, except to yourself I was 
 the more distressed with this apprehension, because I was 
 assured that a second slip would ruin you altogether as a 
 minister. If my fears were groundless, you will, I know, 
 forgive them, and explain them consistently with the belief 
 that I am, as I profess to be, very sincerely, 
 
 " Your brother." 
 
 " Rev. ." 
 
 Dr. Porter's susceptibility of enjoyment from contem- 
 plating the works of nature and the productions of art, 
 was much increased by piety. The latter when of a useful 
 character, he was wont to encourage by such expressions 
 of his approbation as clearly evinced that he considered 
 their encouragement a part of Christian duty. And though 
 his infirmities, and his numerous avocations, forbade his 
 pursuing to any extent the study of the natural sciences, 
 still he was an interested, devoted student of nature. To 
 his eye, her scenery was rich in beauty ; to his mind was 
 replete with instruction ; to his heart was prolific in exalted, 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 187 
 
 benevolent enjoyment. " His," in the language of a writer 
 he greatly admired, 
 
 " His were the mountains, and the vallies his, 
 And the resplendent rivers. His t' enjoy 
 With a propriety lliat none can feel, 
 But who with filial confidence inspired, 
 Can smiling say, ' My Father made them all.' " 
 
 This sketch of Dr. Porter's Christian character we con- 
 clude with the following testimony from his colleagues 
 who knew him best, and most ardently loved him. Says 
 Professor Stuart, among other suggestions respecting his 
 
 character kindly furnished at the writer's request, 
 
 " His piety was of the most sober cast, but of the deepest, 
 most steady and enduring kind. Judgment and reason 
 held their place here as in every thing else ; and although 
 susceptible of powerful emotions, and often the subject of 
 them, yet his conduct was not rendered unsteady by them. 
 
 " Deeper sense of sin and ill desert ; more habitual 
 sense of dependence on God, and obligation resulting 
 from his mercies ; more entire devotedness to the interests 
 of the church, it would be difficult to find. It has not 
 been my lot to witness them in a higher degree. 
 
 " Never have I known accumulated and protracted suf- 
 ferings from ill health, more completely borne so as to 
 commend religion. Few men ever suffer so long and so 
 much ; still fewer exhibit such an example of submission 
 and filial quietude. Most men have their temper injured 
 by protracted distresses, his was visibly softened and 
 subdued." 
 
 In Dr. Woods's sermon already alluded to, we find a 
 similar though somewhat fuller view of Dr. Porter's 
 religious character. 
 
 "As to Christian character, it would be difficult to 
 name a man of more unquestionable piety than Dr. Porter. 
 
188 
 
 MEMOIR OP DR. PORTER. 
 
 The evidence he gave of this was the evidence to which 
 the sacred Scriptures attach the highest importance ; that 
 is, a life devoted to God, and regulated hy the precepts of 
 the Gospel. His pious affections had both strength and 
 ardor, though they were remarkably sedate and rational. 
 I know not whether he was more distant from extrava- 
 gance and enthusiasm, or from coldness and indifference. 
 His religion exhibited itself in a steady, active, holy prin- 
 ciple, and not as a passionate excitement. He had a 
 uniform and most hearty aversion to all ostentation and 
 display. And this, together with his humble estimation of 
 his own piety, rendered him reserved as to his own 
 religious exercises. He was indeed slow to speak of any 
 thing which related particularly to himself But there 
 were times when he unbosomed his religious feelings with 
 freedom. From his conversation at such times, from his 
 circumspect example, and the whole development, public 
 and private, which he made of his character, it was abun- 
 dantly evident that he ' walked with God,' and made it his 
 object to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Jesus 
 Christ. His enjoyments in religion, whether in health or 
 in sickness, were, as we should naturally suppose from his 
 general character, tranquil and uniform, rather than rap- 
 turous. Such was his habit of watchfulness and circum- 
 spection, such his balance of mind, his control over his 
 appetites and passions, and his maturity of religious prin- 
 ciple, and such his sense of God's all-seeing eye, that he 
 was less accessible than most Christians to the influence 
 of temptation, and more perfectly prepared for conflicts. 
 He endured his long continued infirmities, and the dis- 
 tressing diseases with which he was frequently attacked, 
 with an equanimity and patience almost unparalleled. I 
 never knew a man who accomplished so much, and 
 enjoyed so much, with health so often interrupted and 
 feeble, and with sickness so severe and exhausting." 
 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 
 
 189 
 
 Perusing the record of a life distinguished for Christian 
 virtues, we unconsciously look forward to its termination, 
 anticipating in its closing scene an exhibition of the 
 graces and consolations which are usually the consequents 
 of steady and devoted piety. We think of the feelings of 
 Paul, when he had fought the good fight, and finished his 
 course, desiring to depart and receive his crown of 
 rejoicing — of Luther, thrice saying with his expiring 
 breath, " Into thy hands I commit my spirit ; God of 
 truth thou hast redeemed me" — of Brainerd, exclaiming, 
 " I shall soon glorify God with the angels" — of Edwards, 
 bidding the weeping and desponding circle at his bedside, 
 " trust in God, and ye need not fear" — of Payson, giving 
 vent to faith and extatic joy, " peace ! peace ! victory 1 
 victory 1" — of Evarts, struggling to utter unutterable emo- 
 tions, " we cannot understand, we cannot comprehend — 
 wonderful glory ! I will praise, I will praise him ! Jesus 
 reigns." It might be deemed matter of regret that the 
 servant of God whose character we are contemplating, was 
 not permitted to leave, as a legacy to his friends and the 
 church, his dying experience of the sanctifying, sustain- 
 ing, transporting power of that Gospel to which his heart 
 was indissolubly wedded, and to whose dissemination his 
 life had been steadily devoted. But ' the Lord hath done 
 it,' and survivors may not repine. The history of his last 
 illness is little else than a detail of the progress of disease, 
 paralyzing physical energies, overpowering reason, and 
 sundering mortal ties. Reason, indeed, seemed still to 
 hover over him, as though waiting to reassert her wrested 
 prerogatives ; and sometimes for a moment the attendants 
 were cheered with the hope, that the dying man might 
 again manifest his wonted intelligence, and faith, and joy 
 in God. But the hope was disappointed. It was the 
 decree of that sovereignty of which he loved to view 
 himself the subject, that his intellectual faculties should 
 
190 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 slumber till awaked with augmented capabilities in a 
 higher and holier sphere, to purer and more elevated 
 enjoyments. Happily it may be said of Dr. Porter as it is 
 of Archbishop Leighton, — " No record is necessary of the 
 dying moments of a man, whose path had been a shining 
 light up to the moment when the shades of death closed 
 over it. God was assuredly the strength of his heart in 
 the hour of his last agony, and is now his glorious portion, 
 his exceeding and eternal great reward. It was needless 
 for himself that he should have notice of the bridegroom's 
 coming ; for his lamp was always trimmed, his loins were 
 always girded. To his surviving friends it could have 
 afforded little additional satisfaction, to have heard him 
 express on his death-bed, that faith and holy hope, of 
 which his life had been one unbroken example ; neither 
 could he have left, for the benefit of posterity, any sayings 
 more suitable to a dying believer than those he duily 
 uttered; living as he had long lived, on the confines of the 
 eternal world."* Be it our care suitably to acknowledge 
 the goodness of God, which enabled his servant so 
 eminently to exhibit the " fruits of the Spirit," and in our 
 conduct to copy the example. 
 
 * Life of Leighton, Works, vol. i. p. 76, 
 
CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 
 
 Ministerial character. Theological studies — Settlement at Wash' 
 ington — First efforts directed to improvement of the young — In- 
 structions respecting parental duties — Catechetical instruction — 
 Results — Estimate of maternal influence — Reliance on doctrinal 
 instruction — On activity in doing good to promote growth in 
 piety — Mode of preaching — Efforts in training his vocal powers 
 
 — Pastoral labors — Revival. Studies — Desire of improvement 
 
 — Observance of propriety in public religious services — Concern 
 respecting reputation — Activity — Solicitude for the purity of 
 the church — Theological views — Letters to Dr. Tyler — Extracts 
 from Letter on Revivals. 
 
 We are next to contemplate Dr. Porter as a minister of 
 the gospel, and an officer of a theological seminary. 
 
 Having pursued theological study about' a year and a 
 half with Rev. John Smalley, D. D., of Berlin, Conn., he 
 received license to preach in the autumn of 1794, when 
 but twenty-two years of age, and of appearance so youth- 
 ful, as to be deemed still younger. His performances as 
 a preacher were from the first well received, and he was 
 soon favored with flattering invitations to settle. In de- 
 ciding upon the acceptance of his call from Washington, 
 he seems to have considered the question no other than 
 whether his life should be spent among that people ; and 
 from the moment of his decision, to have regarded that as 
 
193 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 his permanent field of labor. In this he was not more 
 influenced by the usages of the times, than by the prin- 
 ciple — a principle which he retained through life — that 
 a minister should not, except for the most weighty reasons, 
 leave a parochial charge to which by Providence he had 
 been called. Few subjects caused him more solicitude in 
 after life, than the readiness, which he saw was gaining 
 prevalence both among ministers and people, to dissolve 
 the pastoral relation for reasons comparatively unimpor- 
 tant, and the facility with which the dissolution was 
 effected — an evil of daily increasing magnitude. Upon 
 the stability and permanency of the ministry, under God, 
 he rested his only hope of the prosperity of Zion. 
 
 His plan of ministerial labor, formed under the ex- 
 pectation above alluded to, was sufficiently extensive, to 
 require for its execution the diligent employment of all 
 his energies through life. 
 
 His first efforts were directed to the improvement of 
 the youth and children of his charge. He took a deep 
 interest in the schools of his. parish; considered it a 
 part of his duty to visit them regularly and often, and 
 to maintain over them a watchful supervision. He was 
 accustomed to keep a record of the teachers and scholars; 
 to note with much precision the appearance of the schools 
 at his several visits, and particularly to note the measure 
 of proficiency discoverable at the examinations, that he 
 might judge correctly of their improvement from year to 
 year. He used, also, frequently to invite the teachers to 
 assemble in his study, where a favorable opportunity was 
 afforded them for interchange of feeling and sentiment, 
 and him to make such suggestions as their deficiencies, 
 or the circumstances of their schools might demand. 
 That he might inspire the youth with a love of intelli- 
 gence, and might afford them facilities for its acquisition 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 
 
 193 
 
 which otherwise most of them could not have enjo3ed, he 
 taught, for several years, a select class composed of those 
 who had completed their pupilage in the common schools. 
 The instruction of this class afforded him a desirable 
 opportunity of inculcating religions truth, under circum- 
 stances peculiarly adapted to give it efficacy in forming 
 correct theological sentiments, and stable moral character. 
 And the best evidence of his faithfulness in improving this 
 opportunity, is found in the fact which he learned in sub- 
 sequent life, that almost all the youth whom he instructed, 
 afterwards became hopefully pious, and many of them 
 owned his instructions as the instrument. As he ad- 
 vanced in years his conviction was strengthened that 
 much of a minister's usefulness must depend on judicious 
 efforts for the improvement of the young. 
 
 A measure on which Dr. Porter placed great reliance 
 in training the youth of his charge, to correct opinions 
 and habits, was the establishment of a library, selected 
 with particular reference to their improvement. Of the 
 original selection, and of the occasional additions, he 
 wisely secured the control. As a result of this measure, 
 he was permitted to witness a most desirable transforma- 
 tion of character — attachment to frivolity succeeded by 
 fondness for reading and reflection. As the efforts he 
 employed exclusively to convey religious instruction to 
 the young, are described at length in his account of the 
 revival among his people, a specification of them here is 
 unnecessary. 
 
 Auxiliary to his designs for the moral improvement of 
 youth and children, he was careful to keep before the 
 minds of professedly pious parents their duties to their 
 baptized children. Occasional meetings were appointed 
 for the consideration of these duties, which parents were 
 urged to attend, accompanied by their children. These 
 meetings afforded a favorable opportunity for explaining 
 17 
 
194 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER, 
 
 and enforcing, under circumstances adapted to secure 
 attention, the conditions of the covenant between God 
 and his people ; the nature of the baptismal dedication, 
 and the mutual obligations of parent and child growing 
 out of it. He inculcated the doctrine of infant baptism 
 as one, the reception and practice of which are connected 
 with the richest spiritual blessings, and he had reason to 
 rejoice that the practice of the doctrine was attended with 
 such blessings to his people. The meetings alluded to, 
 were indirectly productive of good to many children 
 whose parents were not professed believers. Such parents 
 were led to inquire, and in some instances with deep 
 solicitude, " Are those children who have been dedicated 
 to God in baptism, the heirs, on account of the covenant 
 relations of their parents, of blessings which in no sense 
 belong to ours? Are we not then guilty, and may we 
 not be accounted the abettors, if not the authors of their 
 ruin?" By some parents in this state of mind, the desire 
 was signified that their children might attend the meetings. 
 Dr. Porter often expressed the conviction, as the result of 
 his observation while a pastor, that believing parents can 
 in no way more cfTectually admonish unbelievers and ex- 
 cite them to reflection, than by a due observance of the 
 duties they covenant to perform in the dedication of their 
 children in baptism. 
 
 As connected with his other efforts for the spiritual 
 benefit of the young. Dr. Porter placed a very high value 
 on systematic catechetical instruction. A quotation from 
 his Memoir of Rev. Asahel Hooker, will best exhibit his 
 views on this subject. Having alluded to the fact that 
 Rev. Dr. Bellamy, " pressed as he was with the labors of 
 the study, the care of the churches, and of students in 
 theology," was accustomed to devote the intervals between 
 divine service on the Sabbath, to catechetical instruction 
 of the children of his parish, accommodating himself to 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. I95 
 
 their capacities, and exhibiting the simplicity and kindness 
 best suited to affect their hearts, he adds, — " Let it not be 
 thought foreign to the design of these pages to say that so 
 eminent an example is worthy of imitation. Among the 
 excellent ministers that adorn the churches of our country, 
 probably there are too few, who suitably blend the labors 
 of the study with the details of pastoral duty. We have 
 deemed it more honorable to speculate than to act. We 
 have sunk the catcchist into tiie metaphi/sician. Our 
 champions have not learned the blessed art of building 
 the walls of Jerusalem with one hand, while they wield 
 the polemic pen with the other. Men of the world reverse 
 this proceeding. They rely more upon action than upon 
 speculation. The latter has its use in the affairs of hus- 
 bandry, commerce and war. But it is action that gives 
 men bread ; that builds and mans fleets ; that establishes 
 and overturns empires. Nothing but systematic and vigor- 
 ous action can repair the waste places of the church, and 
 make her comely as Jerusalem, and terrible as an army 
 with banners. If Christian ministers should unite for 
 example, in the work of catechising children and youth, 
 and carry it to its highest practicable extent, what an 
 incalculable amount of good would be accomplished ! In 
 every place almost, it would attach the hearts of old and 
 young to their pastor. It would assist him in adapting 
 the instructions of the pulpit to the capacities of his 
 hearers, and have a tendency to render his sermons 
 serious, plain and profitable. It would enable him to 
 turn to the best account his pastoral visits, and, in some 
 of those precious moments that are too often wasted, on 
 such occasions, to drop a serious remark that would fix 
 an indelible impression on the infant mind. 
 
 " The system of catechising as practised in Scotland, 
 has been productive of the most salutary consequences, 
 and probably it is not too much to say, that in this country 
 
196 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 more has been done to promote correct religious opinions, 
 by that little manual called the Assembly's Catechism, 
 than by any other mere human composition." 
 
 Since these remarks of Dr. Poiter were written, proba- 
 bly the majority of pastors in this country, have been 
 more awake than formerly, to the religious instruction of 
 the young. But their efforts have been chiefly in the way 
 of promoting Sabbath schools, and until quite recently, it 
 must be acknowledged, very much to the exclusion of the 
 Assembly's Catechism. Though many of our Sabbath 
 school books are of excellent character and tendency, it 
 is matter of devout thanksgiving that a disposition is 
 again manifesting itself, to restore this manual to the 
 place assigned to it by Bellamy, and other venerable men 
 of past generations. 
 
 Dr. Porter's labors for the benefit of children and youth 
 soon rendered him the object of their confidence and 
 affection. At the same time parents were induced by 
 the interest he manifested in their families, to seek and 
 confide in his counsel in relation to their own duties. 
 A "great door and effectual" was thus opened, which 
 a different course of conduct might have closed against 
 him. Soon after his settlement, at a time when fondness 
 for amusement was very prevalent among the youth of his 
 parish, several pious mothers sought his advice in refer- 
 ence to the best mode of counteracting this propensity in 
 their daughters. His reply was, — " Let those mothers, 
 whose daughters are often together, frequently meet 
 for prayer, and conversation respecting their duties as 
 mothers;" — thus recommending in effect, what subse- 
 quent experience has shown to be invaluable, — Maternal 
 Associations. This advice was followed, with peculiarly 
 gratifying results. The estimate which Dr. Porter was 
 accustomed to place on the value of maternal influence, 
 may be inferred from the following remarks which, in 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 197 
 
 substance, he sometimes made to his pupils when about 
 leaving the theological seminary. " You will have your 
 names often cast out as evil, your motives misrepresented, 
 your labors impeded, and disappointment often weighing 
 heavily on your spirits. But in the midst of your deepest 
 depression remember this, if you so conduct yourselves in 
 the simplicity of the gospel, as to gain the confidence of 
 the pious females of your congregations ; if you surround 
 yourselves with a shield of mothers' hearts, you will be 
 safe from all the assaults of your adversaries." 
 
 With the commencement of Dr. Porter's pastoral rela- 
 tions, began a course of effort to imbue his church with 
 systematic doctrinal instruction. On their being rooted 
 and grounded in the truth, depended entirely his hope of 
 ultimate success. He had too much native discernment, 
 and had too faithfully studied the Word of God, to anti- 
 cipate permanent union in feeling and action, without 
 union in sentiment ; or to hope that without such union, 
 the Holy Spirit would accompany his ministrations exten- 
 sively, with saving energy. On this subject his views are 
 thus expressed in a letter : — " The state of the church at 
 
 , is such as that of every church must be, when 
 
 merely associated at the communion table, without explicit 
 union in any declared articles of faith, and without any 
 explicit covenant obligations, hanging loosely together by 
 a general, undefined influence of the pulpit. Oh, it 
 grieves my heart to see such an assemblage of men and 
 women miscalled a church. I do not wonder that Gideon, 
 when going to fight Midian and Amalek, because ' the 
 people were too many,' dismissed the promiscuous multi- 
 tude, choosing to rely on three hundred true hearted men. 
 Washington would gladly have done the same thing at 
 Haerlem heights, when one half of his militia scarcely 
 knew a musket from a broom-stick. What can a minister 
 17* 
 
193 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 do, surrounded by Christians who are strangers to Chris* 
 tianity. ' The people are too many,' the church doors are 
 too wide. Too much reliance is placed on numbers, too 
 little on character. Knowledge, piety, zeal, love — not 
 numbers, give strength to a cliurch. God cannot bless a 
 church that has no fellowship of hearts, no discipline. At 
 best, the richest blessing He can bestow on it is, to send 
 His Spirit like a mighty, rushing wind, to overturn it from 
 the bottom." 
 
 Next to systematic doctrinal instruction, as a means of 
 promoting growth in piety. Dr. Porter relied on activity in 
 Christian effort. He made it, therefore, one of his first 
 objects as a pastor, to keep the energies of his church ac- 
 tively employed. A plan of a society is found among his 
 papers, evidently of an early date, from which a few 
 paragraphs are quoted, in confirmation of this remark. 
 
 " God has made every man responsible for the use or 
 abuse of his influence among his fellow men. To the 
 whole extent of that influence, he is sacredly bound to 
 promote the happiness of others, and to set his face against 
 those practices which tend to interrupt the public pros- 
 perity, or to destroy the health, reputation, or usefulness 
 of individuals. In a world overspread with depravity — 
 where sinful passions often triumph over all regard to 
 interest, conscience, reason, and religion, many have been 
 hurried on to shame and ruin, who perhaps might have 
 been saved, by a single admonition seasonably and faithfully 
 administered. Many a promising youth has been blasted 
 by a slow progress in iniquity, which might have been 
 easily checked. Many a parent's heart has bled over a 
 child betrayed by temptation, and lost to himself and the 
 world : betrayed perhaps by the example of that same 
 parent. In such a state of things, which will always, 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 199 
 
 more or less exist in this world, much good may be done 
 by a single individual of proper character. Much more 
 may be done by a society of such individuals, united upon 
 benevolent and honorable principles, actuated by a steady, 
 sound judgment, and elevated above the reproaches of 
 trifling or depraved minds. ' Vice is a cowardly thing. 
 It will soon shrink before those who boldly oppose it.' 
 Though the laws of this State against ' vice and immorality' 
 are excellent, they cannot in all cases reach the root of 
 those evils which spring up in society ; nor in any case 
 can they effectually restrain these evils, unless the sound 
 part of the community afford a vigorous support to execu- 
 tive officers. Impressed with these sentiments, a number 
 of individuals in Washington hereby associate in the form 
 of a moral society. 
 
 " At each meeting the clerk shall read over the follow- 
 ing list of inquiries to be attended to. 
 
 " Is there any case of special poverty among us ? 
 What is the cause of it? Can any remedy be devised? 
 
 " Is there any case of special affiiction ? Can any relief 
 be afforded ? 
 
 ** Is there any case of contention ? What may be done 
 to heal it ? 
 
 " Is there any special disorder in morals, or manners? 
 What may be done to suppress it? 
 
 " If mild and prudent persuasion should prove inef- 
 fectual, we will, without scruple ox ceremony inform against 
 any merchant or other person, tliat we shall know to have 
 violated the laws in relation to the sale of ardent spirits. 
 And if, upon proper representation, the society become 
 satisfied, that any merchant encourages idleness and 
 intemperance by giving away spirits promiscuously, we 
 will wholly withdraw the custom of our families from the 
 store where this is done, till there shall be good evidence 
 
200 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 of reformation ; unless in some exempt case, the society 
 shall allow a departure from this latter regulation." 
 
 Dr. Porter adopted the mode of preaching best suited to 
 impress on his hearers correct and connected views of 
 scriptural doctrine. It is the less necessary to attempt 
 an atcndcd analysis of his mode of sermonizing, since 
 in his Lectures on Preaching, he has presented at 
 length the rules which he deemed it advisable others 
 should follow. It would be injustice to him to suppose 
 that he did not conform his own practice to the rules he 
 prescribed for others. 
 
 His discourses were in sentiment decidedly evangelical ; 
 in structure simple ; in style perspicuous, chaste, and 
 vigorous; in argument candid and convincing; in spirit 
 serious, affectionate, and earnest ; in application direct, 
 pungent, powerful. Above all efforts at display, his ser- 
 mons prepared in the ordinary course of ministerial duty, 
 are marked by a clear and affecting exhibition of Christ 
 and him crucified ; often bringing to view the distinguish- 
 ing doctrines of the gospel in a manner adapted alike to 
 show the perfections of God, and the character and obli- 
 gations of moral agents. In general they will appropri- 
 ately fall into the class which, in his lectures, he has 
 chosen to denominate doctrino-practical. They were 
 generally written in full, but in the early part of his 
 ministry, in a small hand, and with numerous abbrevia- 
 tions — an error in consequence of which much of his early 
 labor was lost : and against which he used to caution his 
 pupils, advising them in preparing their sermons to employ 
 a fair hand, and an open page. He was systematic both 
 in his choice of subjects, and his mode of discussion. 
 He read and thought, to use his own expression, as a 
 preacher, and all his intellectual exercises had reference 
 to this one grand business of his life. He was accustomed 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 201 
 
 in his general reading, to keep memoranda of interesting 
 facts, in a blank book always at hand for the purpose, 
 with the view of increasing the richness and instructiveness 
 of his sermons. He once remarked to the writer, that 
 "if there was any thing attractive in his sermons, it was 
 chiefly owing, in his view, to the variety and appropriate- 
 ness of illustration which, by this process, he had acquired 
 the ability to employ" — an opinion in which most will 
 concur who enjoyed frequent opportunities of hearing his 
 pulpit performances. His sermons were occasionally 
 enlivened by the introduction of exquisite moral painting. 
 
 In this connection a fact ought perhaps to be stated, of 
 some interest in the early history of Dr. Porter's vocal 
 powers. For some time after he commenced preaching 
 he paid comparatively little attention to their cultivation, 
 the result of which was a monotony so inveterate as to 
 awaken solicitude lest through the force of habit, he might 
 loose the ability to moduJate his voice. This solicitude 
 led to the determination, that he would, whatever labor it 
 might require, break up the habits he had contracted, and 
 gain such command of his voice as he deemed indispen- 
 sable to the highest effect in public speaking. He made 
 the effort ; but found it indispensable to complete success, 
 entirely to remodel his style of writing. An additional 
 motive to persevere in this determination, was furnished 
 after a few years, by the enfeebled state of his lungs, which 
 compelled him either to relinquish public speaking, or to 
 limit with great precision the quantity of his voice in the 
 pulpit The control of his vocal powers which he eventu- 
 ally obtained, is perhaps acquired, to an equal extent, by 
 but few in any profession, though the debilitated state of 
 his system obviously much diminished the attractiveness 
 and power of his delivery. Indeed he says in reference to 
 this point, — " My animal frame has seldom been able for 
 many years, to sustain that degree of emotion which is 
 
202 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 often desirable in (he pulpit, and a sense of duty has 
 required me to restrain those feelings, on which the satis- 
 faction and success of a preacher's labors greatly depend." 
 
 Dr. Porter's parochial labors were performed with 
 system. He frequently announced from the pulpit his 
 intended visits to particular districts of his parish, that his 
 people might be in readiness to receive him, and thus 
 prevent a waste of time. On such occasions, his easy, 
 unostentatious, and uniformly kind deportment, secured 
 liim a cordial welcome as a friend, while his benevolent 
 regard for their best interests, won him their confidence 
 and affection in the more sacred character of an ambas- 
 sador from God. The passing events of Providence he 
 rarely failed to improve, to the spiritual advantage of his 
 people. The very determination that they should be thus 
 improved, exerted upon himself a salutary influence, 
 inciting him to habits of careful observation ; of wakeful- 
 ness and diligence. 
 
 The seal of divine approbation was placed on his labors 
 from the commencement of his ministry, in a gradual but 
 steady increase of his church ; especially in the improve- 
 ment of its spiritual character. It was not however, until 
 the eighth year of his ministry that his people were visited 
 with a general revival. He now felt that he was gathering 
 the fruits of protracted and anxious labor, and that no part 
 of the harvest should be lost which human instrumentality 
 could secure. During this season probably, was laid the 
 foundation of the bodily suffering, from which he was 
 scarcely allowed exemption, even for a day, to the close of 
 his life. The account of this revival written by himself, 
 and published in the Connecticut Evangelical Magazine, 
 is subjoined, as tending happily to illustrate the aspect of 
 his character we are now considering ; especially as 
 exhibiting his views, feelings, and practice, while passing 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 203 
 
 through a scene full of interest to every faithful pastor's 
 heart ; — a scene, of which as connected with similar 
 scenes in other communities, his subsequent publications 
 prove him to have been an anxious and accurate observer. 
 
 "To the Editors of the Connecticut Evangelical Magazine. 
 
 "Gentlemen, 
 
 " Want of health has hitherto prevented any com- 
 munication from me, respecting the late special work of 
 God in this place. The same cause still requires me to 
 be less particular, in the details of that work, than, in 
 other circumstances, might have been desirable. Many 
 things which, at the time, conspired to interest the heart, 
 have now lost their impression. No more than a general 
 outline can be attempted : and this, consistently with 
 our obligations to infinite mercy, cannot be withheld. 
 Though this church has enjoyed a preached gospel, with 
 very little interruption, since its formation, a period of 
 sixty-four years, nothing that could properly be termed a 
 revival of religion, had ever taken place, until the present. 
 In the vacancy, immediately preceding my ordination, 
 there was, in one part of the society, more than usual at- 
 tention ; and a number united with the church. In the 
 three succeeding years, including 1799, twenty-three 
 persons more were added. During the four next years, 
 only ten persons made a public profession of religion. 
 Death and removals were rapidly thinning our numbers ; 
 and there was room for solemn apprehension, that soon a 
 solitary few would meet at the communion table ; and our 
 Zion be left to mourn that by multitudes, her 'solemn 
 feasts and her Sabbaths were forgotten.' — Though this 
 people have long been accustomed to a decent attendance 
 on public worship, and though as free, probably, as 
 almost any other, from open immoralities ; it ought to be 
 acknowledged with humility, that, at the period above 
 
304 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 mentioned, the influence of vital religion amongst us, 
 was externally low. Many hearts were locked up in im- 
 penetrable stupidity. Many families had no altar for God. 
 Many parents seem to behold their dear offspring going 
 in the ways that lead to destruction, without uttering one 
 warning or offering one prayer, for their eternal salvation. 
 Out of the church, was to be seen a general carelessness 
 — in it, a spirit of deep slumber; want of discipline; 
 want of active, brotherly love ; want of Christian watch- 
 fulness, faithfulness, prayerfulness ; want of every thing 
 almost, but a cold, cold profession. My heart aches, at 
 the remembrance ; and trembles, under the apprehension 
 that such a season may return. 
 
 "A glimmering hope of better things was enjoyed, for 
 a short time, in the winter of 1801. A weekly church 
 conference was attended regularly, about two months; 
 when it declined, till it entirely ceased. The same un- 
 pleasant result attended every similar undertaking, the 
 winter following. After a few weeks, some other object 
 engrossed the attention, and the conference was for- 
 gotten. At a leisure season, and on one of the finest 
 evenings in the year, when it was to have been at- 
 tended at my house, not an individual came. It seemed 
 as though an offended God were about to seal us up 
 under the holy rebuke, "sleep on now and take your 
 rest." — That the only hope of self-destroying men is 
 the sovereign mercy of God, I had long believed and 
 often felt in some measure, but had never so deeply felt 
 before. Means, however, were not to be neglected. For 
 several years, previous to this, endeavors had been used 
 to interest the church in behalf of the rising generation. 
 Early in the summer of 1802, special meetings were ap- 
 pointed for the youth: but not until the express appro- 
 bation and support of the church had been engaged in 
 favor of the object : as it was foreseen that without this. 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. OqS 
 
 no permanent good would be effected. These meetings 
 were attended every other week, in the form of a theo- 
 logical school. At each meeting, a question, in the order 
 of a system, was given : accompanied with an extem- 
 porary lecture ; or with notice that a sermon would be 
 adapted to the subject, on the following Sabbath. When 
 the latter course was taken, an unusual attention was ap- 
 parent in the youth, as well as in many others. At the 
 meeting, succeeding that on which the question was 
 given, the papers that had been written by the youth, 
 were received and read publicly. After a number of 
 practical, solemn remarks on the last question, another 
 was given, in the same manner. From respect to the 
 delicacy of the writers, their papers were received so as 
 to leave the author of each one unknown to every other. 
 With the same precaution, they were returned; having 
 been reviewed at leisure, such corrections or remarks as 
 were thought necessary, being made on them in writing. 
 — These meetings, begun with faint expectations, suc- 
 ceeded to my joy and astonishment. They, in some 
 degree, substituted solid improvement for the ordinary 
 levities of young people : they excited a relish for profit- 
 able conversation, reading, and reflection : they furnished 
 the mind with useful ideas, not only increased, but ren- 
 dered the more permanent by the labor of acquiring them : 
 and what is most important of all, they opened an avenue 
 for the solemn influence of truth, by a divine blessing, to 
 reach the conscience and the heart. A respectable num- 
 ber usually attended on these occasions ; and twelve or 
 fifteen often wrote on the same question. It was surpris- 
 ing to witness the progress, made by some of these, not 
 only in correct writing, but in doctrinal knowledge. For 
 three successive summers these pleasant and profitable 
 meetings were continued ; when it was the will of an hoJ^ 
 God to suspend them, through my impaired health. To 
 18 
 
206 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 that will I desire to bow submissively, while I feel this 
 allotment as the severest trial of my life. 
 
 "Near the close of the summer 1803, things began to 
 wear a brighter aspect. Several persons became seriously 
 impressed. At the request of six or eight brethren of the 
 church, weekly conferences were revived. There was, 
 thenceforward, no more difficulty to maintain them. Dur- 
 ing the winter, the operations of the divine Spirit were 
 discernible, in a part of the society. The church, which 
 had appeared to languish, as with a wasting hectic, put 
 on the aspect of returning health. Through the next 
 spring and summer, though thirteen had been added to 
 Christ's visible family, we were still betwixt hope a:nd 
 fear. God's people longed for a revival, rather than 
 expected it. Scarcely did they dare to believe that so 
 blessed a season was already begun ; and that the day 
 had indeed dawned, which was to succeed a night of 
 more than sixty years. In the autumn, the Sun of Right- 
 eousness arose upon us, with healing and salvation in his 
 wings. As in another ' valley of the son of Hinnom,' 
 there was a great shaking. Dry bones animated by the 
 breath of the Almighty, stood up new-born believers. 
 Numbers, like the smitten Saul were ready to say : ' Lord 
 what wilt thou have us to do?' While the children of 
 Zion, beheld with overflowing hearts, and with thankful 
 tongues acknowledged, ' This is the finger of God.' 
 The work was stamped, conspicuously, with the impress 
 of its Divine Author : and its joyful effects, evinced no 
 other than the agency of omnipotence. Every Sabbath 
 exhibited the striking contrast betwixt a time of stupidity 
 and a time of attention, among a people. Many who had 
 frequented the sanctuary from custom, or curiosity, un- 
 moved by all that is joyful or alarming in the gospel ; 
 whose attention had been more occupied with a new face, 
 or a neio fashion, than with the eternal interests of their 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 207 
 
 own souls, were now in the attitude of anxious and solemn 
 inquirers, listening to the instructions of the pulpit. At 
 conferences, people collected as though awake and in earn- 
 est. Even those, whom age and infirmity might well have 
 excused, were often seen miles from home, at an evening 
 meeting. On some of these occasions, the crowd which 
 came together, reminded one of the assembly in Caper- 
 naum, when ' there was not room to receive them, no, 
 not so much as about the doors.' Before the beginning of 
 winter, the solemnity had extended to almost every part 
 of the place. So manifestly was it the work of God, that 
 opposition, however it might have rankled in the bosom of 
 individuals, was awed into silence. Many old professors, 
 amidst the majesty and glory of the scene, seemed unable 
 to contain, and equally unable to express, the wonder and 
 joy of their hearts. In them, slumber, at such a season, 
 could hardly have been less than the lethargy of death. 
 Thursday lectures, principally preached by neighboring 
 ministers, were attended for several months with great 
 solemnity and profit. A weekly prayer meeting was also 
 set up ; which is since devoted to a special remembrance 
 of the rising generation, the first week in every month. 
 During a winter, unusually severe, nothing could surpass 
 the resolution with which numbers attended to be instruct- 
 ed in the way of salvation. From the extremity of the 
 season, apprehensions were entertained for persons of 
 delicate constitutions : but the people were seldom, or 
 never more healthy. 
 
 " As the fruit of this precious and memorable season, 
 fifty-four persons have been added to the church, none of 
 whom, blessed be God, have, in their subsequent conduct, 
 been left to discredit their holy profession.* In conse- 
 
 * A valuable testimony to the importance of doctrinal instruction. 
 Dr. Porter used to mention the fact, when speaking of the lamenta- 
 ble defections of hopeful converts in more modern revivals, that 
 
208 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 quence of such an accession, the situation of the church 
 was thought to require that two new deacons should be 
 chosen. This occasion, while it exhibited a prevailing, 
 and very pleasing unanimity in the church, was rendered 
 the more interesting by a rare concurrence of circum- 
 stances. The vote of the brethren designated two young 
 men to the office, twin-brothers, very exactly resembling 
 each other, having joined the church together about ten 
 years before ; and having married sisters, who are also 
 sisters in the church. 
 
 " It would be more important to delineate, particularly, 
 the nature and fruits of this work, did it not bear so strong 
 affinity, in these respects, to the revivals once and again 
 described heretofore in your Magazine. Without an ex- 
 ception, its special subjects were calm, and silent in 
 their exercises ; and embraced that system of religious 
 sentiments commonly acknowledged and received in our 
 churches. Before this awakening, it was sometimes with 
 difficulty that we could sing a sacramental hymn. After 
 so many dear and promising youth, and among these so 
 respectable a portion of the singers, had been called into 
 the church, our next communion left impressions in many 
 bosoms, which can never, never be effaced. Cold must 
 have been the heart, on that occasion, not to have felt 
 Avhat words cannot express. The recollection of these 
 scenes excites joy ; but joy mingled with pain. Alas! that 
 any, who are perishing with a mortal disease, should 
 slight so fair an opportunity to find the great Physician, 
 and the healing balm of the gospel ! That season of 
 special mercy is past; we have too many, and too mourn- 
 ful evidences that it is past. At least a thousand precious 
 immortal souls remain, whose situation it becomes not a 
 
 during his ministry, not one, to his knowledge, whom he had 
 regarded as giving evidence of piety, ever ceased to afford that 
 evidence. 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 209 
 
 fallible fellow-creature to decide, but who, at present, do 
 not profess to have any solid grounds of hope, beyond the 
 grave. Oh, that the God of mercy may vouchsafe his 
 gracious and powerful presence to this dear flock ; and 
 that this time of solemn and sweet refreshing, may be 
 but the spring of a more prosperous summer, and a more 
 glorious harvest ! 
 
 " From the commencement of this work to its visible 
 decline, was more than eighteen months. One thing 
 which it has impressed more deeply than ever on my 
 mind, is the benefit of religious conferences. These 
 meetings, though frequent, seemed not at all to interfere 
 with nece.ssary, temporal employments. An increased 
 industry could easily redeem the time devoted to this 
 purpose, from unprofitable or foolish pursuits. Such as 
 have been the real and happy subjects of this work, and 
 have so often met to pray, and praise, and converse, when 
 they shall be numbered with the saints of the Most High, 
 in the glories of his everlasting kingdom, will doubtless 
 remember with transport, these small portions of time, 
 big with eternal joy. In days like these, lowering with 
 dark prospects over the church, and over the world, 
 Christians, especially Christians who can meet in one 
 half hour, most certainly ought not to live like strangers. 
 
 "The religious instruction of children and youth is 
 another subject, the importance of which has been render- 
 ed more strikingly apparent in this revival. Of the num- 
 ber, added to the church, about three-fourths had sprung 
 from professedly pious parents. Before this season, as is 
 mentioned above, more than ordinary attention had been 
 paid to the rising generation. Beside the meetings of the 
 young people, the church, as a church, had appointed a 
 catechising committee, to assist the pastor in teaching 
 the children. These catechisings have been since regu- 
 larly attended, during the summer season, between the 
 18* 
 
910 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 services on every other Sabbath ; the children being 
 classed according to their knowledge.* 
 
 " The period from twelve to twenty is eminently the 
 learning and the forming age. Perhaps no other equal 
 period, so often determines the character for life and the 
 state for eternity. Still this golden period is often spent 
 so as to be no better, or even worse than a blank. Little 
 is learned but what requires the labor of a life to unlearn. 
 Ought not something to be done, or at least seriously 
 attempted, for a reformation in this respect 1 While 
 infidelity is searching out every avenue for infusing its 
 deadly poison into tlie minds of the young, is it not 
 matter of concern and surprise, that their religious in- 
 struction should not have had more share in the thoughts, 
 the conversation, the prayers of God's people? Do not 
 the signs of the times summon ministers and Christians 
 generally to exertions more united, and more corres- 
 pondent with an object of such acknowledged and im- 
 mense importance? Surely it is no reason for Zion's 
 friends to count up discouragements and to fold their 
 hands in sloth, surrounded as they are with such alarming 
 proofs that Zion's foes neither slumber nor sleep. Does 
 not sin lie at the door of our churches? Is not one 
 
 " * In the full of the year there is an annual catechising, when 
 every child that has attended the stated catecliisings, through the 
 season, receives some religious tract, purchased with money drawn 
 from the church treasury, and corresponding in value with the 
 child's progress. The names of such as learn the catechism through, 
 are also entered on the church records. This is designed both as a 
 direct excitement to the children, and as a document, which may 
 be interesting at future periods of tliis church. It is found that the 
 catecliisings of the church, of families, and schools, mutually pro- 
 mote each other. From the register of the schools, in which is 
 preserved their comparative improvements in tlie various branches 
 of instruction, it appears that in six of our district schools, e.xam- 
 ined in the close of the last winter, the number of children that 
 were able to repeat the Assembly's Catechism through, was lOl" 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 211 
 
 important end of infant baptism too much forgotten ? If 
 it is a grand design of this ordinance ' to draw the cares 
 and prayers of the whole Christian church, towards the 
 rising generation and their everlasting concerns ; to hold 
 them up perpetually before our eyes, and to fix them 
 habitually upon our hearts,' I apprehend that no subject 
 of equal magnitude is so lamentably neglected. 
 
 " I am, gentlemen, very respectfully, yours &lc. 
 
 " E. Porter." 
 
 " Washington, Aug. 11, 1806." 
 
 The results of a plan of labor like that adopted by 
 Dr. Porter, it could not be expected would be fully re- 
 alized during so short a ministry as his. Much of his 
 strength was expended in the execution of the first part 
 of his plan. Had he continued his pastoral labors, his 
 hopes, by the blessing of God, would doubtless have been 
 realized in the conversion of many souls; in the formation 
 of a numerous, intelligent, stable, and active church; and 
 in the diffusion of a healthful moral influence through all 
 the relations of society. To this his efforts were obviously 
 tending. Doubtless there will be difference of opinion 
 respecting the expediency of conducting labors so much 
 with reference to ultimate results. By many this reference 
 will be thought disproportionate, since a pastor's designs 
 may be frustrated by various contingencies, which human 
 agency cannot control. However this question may be 
 decided, the recent history of some of our churches fur- 
 nishes conclusive evidence, that ministerial labor may be 
 conducted with a disproportionate reference to iinmtdiate 
 effects. 
 
 Dr. Porter possessed a native fondness for study, which 
 as a minister he felt himself bound to cherish. At his 
 settlement he told his people that as he was young he 
 
212 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 must study to be in the highest degree useful to them ; 
 and as a preliminary step, he claimed the right, and 
 secured the admission of the claim on their part, of the 
 entire control of his time. To love of study he united 
 habits of patient and persevering application, formed 
 under the determination, by divine assistance, to " show 
 himself approved unto God, a workman that needed not 
 to be ashamed." The course of study he prescribed for 
 himself was enlarged, and was pursued with correspond- 
 ing decision and industry. He tasked himself to devote 
 twelve hours a day to professional study. In performing 
 this task, he often allowed himself to encroach upon time 
 which should have been devoted to sleep, — a practice 
 which he afterwards regarded as having been very inju- 
 rious to him, and against which he was wont earnestly 
 to warn his pupils. It would seem, indeed, from a 
 resolution on a former page, that he came to view the 
 practice not merely as inexpedient, but as sinful. 
 
 His views of duty as a minister of Christ, led him also 
 to seek improvement in the society of intelligent and 
 pious men ; to be scrupulously punctual in attending 
 the meetings of his clerical brethren, and other public 
 meetings for religious or literary purposes. Of these 
 meetings he was an interested, active member, shrinking 
 from no responsibility which it was clearly the will of 
 God he should sustain. And in his frequent calls to 
 important and difficult service, his brethren sufficiently 
 evinced their confidence in his ability and Christian 
 principles. Among the means of improvement he most 
 highly prized while a pastor, was a meeting composed of 
 several brethren in the ministry, of feelings kindred to 
 his own. To the meetings of this body he often referred 
 as seasons peculiarly rich in spiritual and intellectual 
 enjoyment ; and unhesitatingly ascribed much of his 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. o|3 
 
 usefulness as a writer, a preacher, and an instructor, to 
 their influence. 
 
 The compiler has been at considerable pains to as- 
 certain definitely the e.xercises of this meeting which 
 Dr. Porter prized so highly, but has not learned that, in 
 number or character, they differed essentially from those 
 of similar meetings which clergymen have frequently 
 formed for mutual improvement. The characteristics of 
 the meeting which contributed especially to its usefulness, 
 appear to have been these : — Its recurrence was frequent — 
 once a month ; and each member was e.xpected to task his 
 powers to the utmost, in preparing for its exercises. These 
 were so arranged as fully to employ the moral as well as 
 the intellectual powers ; and each member was obligated 
 to benefit his brethren by a frank and fraternal exposure 
 of such faults as he believed would unfavorably affect their 
 growth in piety, their reputation, or usefulness. Other 
 gentlemen who have since occupied stations of much re- 
 sponsibility in the church, will doubtless unite with the 
 subject of this Memoir, in acknowledging their indebted- 
 ness to this meeting. In writing to one of them, many 
 years afterwards. Dr. Porter remarks, " It occurred to me 
 while reading your review, that your training to the pen, 
 in our old monthly meeting, had further ends than you 
 were then aware of" 
 
 A trait of Dr. Porter's ministerial character which 
 perhaps deserves to be mentioned, was a delicate sense 
 of propriety, exhibited in his performances when called 
 to take part with his brethren on public occasions; as 
 at ordinations, anniversaries, &c. Whatever the duty 
 assigned him at such times, it was rare, indeed, that his 
 matter, style, or length, furnished ground of complaint. 
 His own views of the importance of appropriateness to 
 clothe religious services with the highest interest on any 
 occasion, he labored to impress upon his church ; and that 
 
214 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 he might train them to correct habits in this respect, he 
 used in certain social meetings, to assign to individuals 
 subjects of prayer, to which their petitions were to be 
 confined, with the understanding that he would freely 
 point out their failures, and thus aid them in the work 
 of self-discipline. Of the want of appropriateness in the 
 performances of his clerical brethren, on occasions like 
 those named, he sometimes spoke in terms of decided 
 disapprobation. The insertion here of the following re- 
 marks on this subject, written for the Panoplist, but never, 
 as we believe, communicated for publication, may in some 
 degree subserve the end for which they were prepared. 
 
 To tUo Editor of the Panoplist. 
 
 " Sir, 
 
 " The ordination of a minister is one of the most 
 momentous transactions that men or angels can be called 
 to witness. Every thing pertaining to it ought to be done 
 decently and in order. I beg leave to occupy a page in 
 your useful miscellany with remarks upon certain defects 
 which 1 have sometimes observed in the method of con- 
 ducting this interesting solemnity. 
 
 " I think the religious services are often, perhaps com- 
 monly, too long. If these services were all performed by 
 one minister, he might more probably confine each to its 
 proper limits as to time and matter : but these limits are 
 apt to be forgotten when according to custom and pro- 
 priety, the several parts are assigned to different men. 
 Every speaker rises to perform his part with the same 
 general impressions of the whole subject, and yielding to 
 these impressions, is, almost of course, drawn into undue 
 length. The Jirst prayer, for example, instead of being 
 confined to the few thoughts that are appropriate at the 
 commencement of the public exercises, is sometimes 
 extended through eight or ten minutes, anticipating all 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 215 
 
 the topics that belong to the prayer of consecration. The 
 right hand of fellowship, instead of being an affectionate 
 address to the new Pastor, concisely introduced with 
 general remarks, often interferes with the province of the 
 charge, and not unfrequently includes a diffuse address to 
 the people. In many cases, the same remark as to undue 
 length, applies to the charge, and the conrludivg prayer : 
 and sometimes the sermon continues an hour, which in my 
 opinion is at least one quarter too long." 
 
 Respecting his reputation as a man, and especially as a 
 minister, Dr. Porter ever entertained a lively concern. In 
 his view it was not enough that a minister's reputation 
 should be unblemished ; it should be above suspicion. 
 The reader of the preceding narrative cannot have failed 
 to notice his solicitude to prevent unkind feelings, and evil 
 surmisings among his people, towards him as their pastor, 
 and towards those who thought it his duty to leave his 
 charge for another field of labor. Whether he remained 
 with his people or noi, he considered it equally important 
 that they should confide in the purity of his motives; since 
 a suspicion of his integrity would unavoidably impair their 
 confidence in his successor, and in the whole body of 
 ministers. For the same reason he carefully avoided 
 making such requisitions on the services of others, 
 whether just or not, as would needlessly excite their pre- 
 judices, and diminish their regard for ministerial char- 
 acter. Ilis feelings on this subject are thus expressed in 
 a letter to his wife, — " My spirit of mechanical invention, 
 which has so often stood me instead at home and abroad, 
 has of late been especially useful. For example, on 
 entering my little chamber, where a fire is made for me 
 this evening, my first care is to wedge my window-sashes, 
 so that their rattling shall not prevent my sleep, nor their 
 open crevices expose me to currents of air. My next care 
 
216 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER, 
 
 is to provide myself a wooden substitute for tongs, and 
 another for snuffers. I might indeed ask and perhaps 
 obtain these little accommodations, and my charges are 
 sufficient to justify the claim. But I never allow myself 
 to forget, on these occasions, that I am a minister of the 
 gospel ; and probably am recognized as such by my dress 
 and manners, even among strangers. This consideration 
 is always present to my mind on a journey. In one case, 
 when an ostler had administered some remedies to the 
 inflamed eye of my horse, having forgotten to remunerate 
 him, I wrote back sixty miles to a friend, to do this in my 
 behalf. Had I belonged to another profession, I should 
 not have done it. On the same principle, I consider the 
 payment of debts, little or great, more scrupulously to 
 demand my attention, than if I were a secular man." Do 
 not the principles and practice of the author of this letter 
 rebuke some of his brethren ? Have not some ministers 
 of the gospel, indulged the feeling that they are ex officio 
 privileged to expect peculiar attentions, and to disregard 
 minute things in manners, or in dealing, which are 
 acknowledged to be binding on others; and a neglect of 
 which, would in their own view, be a blemish in others ? 
 Does not this feeling sometimes manifest itself in the 
 apparent expectation, that pecuniary obligations will be 
 considered less sacredly binding on them than on men of 
 a different employment. " To the minister of the gospel," 
 Dr. Porter remarks in the conclusion of one of his ser- 
 mons, " I would say, be at all times, and on all occasions 
 a man of integrity. Beware that you do not feel ex- 
 empted by your office or employment from obligations 
 which bind all Christians and all men, to probity and 
 punctuality in the fuliilment pecuniary engagements." 
 
 Activity for the good of Zion was not a less prominent 
 trait of Dr. Porter's professional, than of his Christian 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 217 
 
 character. He was active in devising expedients to pro- 
 mote piety among his people, and equally so in executing 
 more extended plans of benevolence, whether originating 
 in his own mind, or in the counsels and the prayers of 
 others. He was happily exempt from that narrow pride 
 which induces one to attach special merit to a course of 
 action, because it bears the impress of his own wisdom or 
 zeal. Nothing was needful to secure his prayers, his 
 co-operation, and his contributions in behalf of any pro- 
 posed plan of Christian effort, except evidence that it was 
 demanded by the honor of God and the well-being of men ; 
 was wisely projected, and was feasible. The results of 
 his labors impressively teach what singleness of purpose, 
 united with untiring industry may effect, though depressed 
 by debility and suffering. The employment of preaching 
 he ardently loved, and failed not even when journeying, if 
 his health would allow, to improve every suitable oppor- 
 tunity, as Christ's ambassador to address his fellow men. 
 As disease preyed upon his vitals, and undermined his 
 constitution, he was compelled oftener to decline solicita- 
 tions to this service. So susceptible did his lungs become, 
 of impression from a change of atmosphere, that for years 
 a slight variation of temperature often entirely disqualified 
 him to officiate in public, or to speak with ease in con- 
 versation. For several years, indeed, it was with difficulty, 
 in his best state of health, that he performed without aid 
 the labors of a single public service ; and for two years 
 before his decease he rarely preached at all. His last 
 sermon was preached in the South Parish of Braintree, 
 Mass., in September 1833, from Daniel vi. 10, — a sermon 
 afterwards printed with his Lectures on Homiletics, &c. 
 It was with the utmost difficulty that he spoke at this 
 time, being unable to utter a sentence without an obvious 
 effort of the vital organs. 
 
 19 
 
218 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 To Dr. Porter's solicitude, while a pastor, for the purity 
 of his church in sentiment and practice, we have already 
 had occasion to allude. Entertaining the belief that cor- 
 rect practice can be expected only in connection with 
 correct sentiments, he attached the highest importance to 
 the general diffusion of standard, theological writings. In 
 aid of this object he cheerfully devoted his pen, his money, 
 and his influence. During the early part of his ministry, 
 his fears were awakened by an undue tendency among 
 ministers and Christians to theological speculation. This, 
 at a later period, was succeeded by an increased tendency 
 to action, which was accompanied with at least an equally 
 increased fondness for novelty and innovation. In the 
 solicitude respecting the peculiar dangers which, as the 
 result of this state of things, threatened the prosperity of 
 Zion, originated his Letters on Revivals. 
 
 The theological views of Dr. Porter were of the same 
 general character as those entertained by Edwards, and 
 Bellamy, and Smallcy, and by the ministers whose agency 
 was most conspicuous in the numerous and interesting 
 revivals about the beginning of this century. — They were 
 decidedly evangelical. These views were distinctly and 
 fearlessly expressed, and decidedly maintained, in the 
 pulpit and in conversation. Yet he was not a controver- 
 sialist. Having no predilection for controversy, and be- 
 lieving that his energies might be more profitably em- 
 ployed, he abstained almost entirely from public participa- 
 tion in it. Still he was not of the number who believe 
 that silence respecting prevailing theological errors is 
 expedient, especially when those errors are likely to gain 
 currency through respect for the Christian and profes- 
 sional character of their advocates. Did he see error clad 
 in fair disguise, followed by evil results or obviously 
 tending to such results, he deemed it his duty as a faithful 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 219 
 
 watchman, to utter the language of reproof or caution. 
 For the same reasons, he deemed it his duty to encourage 
 and sustain those who were willing, on the field of con- 
 troversy to contend for the faith once delivered to the 
 saints ; and he took a deep interest in all those contro- 
 versies in which tiie cardinal doctrines of religion were 
 brought into discussion. It cannot be disguised that in 
 this light he viewed the controversy which arose during 
 the last years of his life, respecting the system of religious 
 sentiments commonly denominated " New-Haven The- 
 ology." Though the writer is aware, as already intimated, 
 that Dr. Porter was not disposed publicly to engage in 
 this controversy, he also knows from personal acquaint- 
 ance with his views and feelings, that he felt on this sub- 
 ject a most lively solicitude, — a solicitude, not a vague 
 transient excitement; but awakened by a conviction, the 
 result of deliberate, protracted, and prayerful investigation, 
 that some of the fundamental truths of the gospel were 
 assailed, through undue attachment to favorite metaphy- 
 sical theories. On several points in this system. Dr. Por- 
 ter's views were distinctly, though briefly expressed in his 
 correspondence with Rev. Bennet Tyler, D. D., President 
 of the Theological Seminary at East Windsor, Conn., and 
 with an Association for the promotion of Revivals, at that 
 time existing in the Seminary at Andover. That the 
 statement of his views may be full and distinct, it is pre- 
 sented to the reader, as gathered from both these sources. 
 The fact that the correspondence with the Revival Asso- 
 ciation has already been published, will not, it is pre- 
 sumed, in the view of most readers, detract from the value 
 of the extracts which it is proposed here to insert. To 
 Rev, Dr. Tyler, he writes :— 
 
220 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 " Andover, October 8, 1829. 
 
 " Rev. and dear Sir, 
 
 " From some remarks which dropped when you and 
 
 brother were in my study, I have supposed that 
 
 both you and he have much the same views of Dr. Tay- 
 lor's speculative theology as I have. That he was very 
 much dissatisfied last May, I know from his strong declar- 
 ations ; and his inquietude I presume cannot have been 
 diminished by the subsequent character of the Spectator. 
 Since that time too, I know that such men as the Prince- 
 ton Professors, Dr. , Dr. Hyde of Lee, > 
 
 , &,c. &-C., are seriously dissatisfied. 
 
 " Without time to enter into particulars, my difficulty 
 is that his note to his sermon, his views of native depravity, 
 of means and regeneration, are virtually Arminian ; at 
 least that they will be so understood as to bring up a race 
 of young preachers, thoroughly anti-Calvinistic. 
 
 " Now what is to be done? Shall we sustain our Cal- 
 vinism, or see it run down to the standard of Methodists 
 and laxer men ? — It is time that a note of remonstrance 
 be struck up somewhere ; it would instantly ring through 
 the country." 
 
 « St. Augustine, Feb. 4, 1830. 
 
 " Dear Brother, 
 
 " Your pamphlet reached me two days ago, by packet 
 
 from Charleston, through the agency of brother , 
 
 who read my copy, and then forwarded it. Another copy 
 or two I expect shortly from Mrs. Porter. The spirit, the 
 sentiment, the execution of the pamphlet I like much. I 
 expected a good thing, and it is better than I expected. 
 
 " It is four or five years since I warned brother 
 
 against the spirit of speculation that was growing up in 
 Connecticut. Two years ago, I began to feel alarmed as 
 to his own theories. More recently I have had several 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 221 
 
 free conversations with him, and my fears have been 
 allayed by assurances from him that he should hereafter 
 preach the parts of Calvinism, against which the unsanc- 
 tified heart revolts, and which on mature deliberation, he 
 
 did not think it his duty to preach earlier in . I 
 
 objected to him, that Calvinism has two legs, the agency 
 of God, and the agency of man; he had made it walk on 
 one, and thus had given to it the halting gate of Ther- 
 sites, instead of the majestic march of Achilles. He ad- 
 mitted this partial exhibition and justified it, as the case 
 has been, but promised to change his course. The grand 
 
 danger of brother is too much reliance on means. 
 
 He and are both virtually in the old ' moral 
 
 suasion ' system. He plumply denies that the more the 
 unregenerate man sees of God, the more he hates his 
 character ; and objects, not so heedlessly indeed as Armi- 
 nians and infidels have done, that it must, if that were 
 true, be the worst thing we could do to preach the gospel 
 to them. 
 
 " Dr. Taylor's closing No. on Means, was a designed 
 modification of the former ones, partly on the suggestion 
 
 of . The latter told him, that he had employed 
 
 terms badly in speaking of the ' suspension of selfish- 
 ness.' All that T. means, said he to me, is that the 
 carnal mind is held in check, or does not act, not that it 
 is extinct. 'While this carnal mind is thus checked, has 
 it moral qualities?' said I. 'Doubtless.' 'Is it sinful, 
 or holy, or neither?' (Pause.) 'The man is doubtless 
 a sinner.' ' Can one, who pugnaciously and ostenta- 
 tiously maintains, that all sin consists in action, maintain 
 too that a carnal mind is sinful while all its action has 
 ceased? — (No reply.) The calmness, candor, and dis- 
 crimination of your discussion will do good. Other men 
 will now speak. Dr. T. cannot stand where he is. He 
 19* 
 
222 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 must either explain satisfactorily, or prove anew his system, 
 or retract, or go down stream. 
 
 " As to the question which you touch upon, whether un- 
 renewed sinners do use means, &.c. I have no difficulty. 
 They do nothing which God accepts as duty ; nothing to 
 which he has promised sanctifying grace. But they may 
 do many things, which as God is accustomed to work, are 
 ordinarily prerequisite to regeneration, e. g. — intellec- 
 tual light, doctrinal instruction, conviction, feeling, may 
 exist and commonly do, where God is about to sanctify 
 the heart. A man with all these, may be more guilty than 
 he was a month ago, or more than his neighbor ; and yet 
 Dr. Bellamy would say, he may be ten times or a hundred 
 times more likely to be saved, than he was, or than his 
 neighbor is. 
 
 " As to regeneration by self-love — no man or devil can 
 be more depraved than to overlook God and the universe, 
 and make himself his ultimate end. — Be of good courage, 
 brother. The strength of the church and ministry are 
 with you. The settled faitii of the country must be de- 
 fended." 
 
 " Charleston, S. C. May 1, 1830. 
 
 My dear Brother, 
 
 " A letter from brother S soon after I wrote 
 
 you from St. Augustine, had this passage, — ' Dr. Tyler 
 has published his pamphlet, a noble one too, — which has 
 made an end of the matter as to brother Taylor's " regen- 
 eration by self-love;" — a full end; there is no redemption. 
 All the fog is blown away, and we have at last a clear and 
 sheer regeneration of the natural man by himself, stimu- 
 lated by self-love, made out to be the scheme of brother 
 Taylor ; there is no getting aside of it. Brother Taylor 
 must now sing his TjaXivodrj, or go further and plunge 
 deeper. I hope for the nahvodij, but I fear the diuTiJt6rj.' 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 223 
 
 I quote this because it accords so perfectly with my own 
 
 views, and because brother S has been claimed by 
 
 Dr. T. as on his side. 
 
 " Dr. Taylor's views of self-love cannot stand inquiry. 
 His 'true benevolence' — Move to God,' ' in its most ele- 
 mentary form,' — is what ? — regard to one's own happiness. 
 Fuller in his 'Gospel its own Witness,' shows this to be 
 an infidel sentiment; and Smalley, vol. 1st of his Ser- 
 mons, shows that Satan is innoceut, if ultimate regard to 
 self is no sin. As to suspension of the selfish principle, 
 he is in real straits. He has a sinner using means, for 
 some ' definable time,' without moral qualities, and so not 
 a moral agent; — or using means no time at all, that is, not 
 iismg means ; for time is of course definable. Besides, all 
 his illustrations suppose the sinner using means, to do 
 what occupies time — considering, comparing, &,c. Did 
 such a sinner ever listen to a sermon in less than a 
 moment? What would Dr. Taylor say to an assembly of 
 unregenerate men — not using means 1 ' Keep away from 
 the sanctuary,' or 'repent?' Let him solve his own dif- 
 ficulties, and he solves mine. Indeed I have none; for 
 while I tell the sinner — ' repent' — and assure him that he 
 is guilty for every moment of impenitence — he does no 
 duty in listening to me, but he does what God may employ 
 as a means, and ordinarily as indispensably prerequisite to 
 his regeneration." 
 
 "Andover, May 2, 1832. 
 
 "Dear Brother, 
 
 "In a long letter to Mr. > just written, I say: 
 
 ' The controversy is lamentable enough, God knows ; — but 
 the responsibility be on the few men, who against many a 
 sober remonstrance, as I can bear witness, refused to let 
 alone this contention before it was meddled with. We 
 concede to them the right to impugn the faith of the 
 
224 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 Pilgrims, if they will ; and also to think and say that they 
 do not do it ; — but cannot concede to them the right to 
 think and say, for themselves and us too.' 
 
 " The review of , pushes him, either off his own 
 
 ground, or on to * self-determining power !' I should no 
 sooner have looked for the theories of our ' new men,' on 
 this point, after the demonstration of its absurdity by 
 Edwards, than that the Copernican System should be 
 assailed, or the properties of the circle and triangle, settled 
 in science for centuries, should be called in question. 
 Hold on with good courage. God calls you to speak." 
 
 " Andovtr, Aiig. 8, 1832. 
 
 *' Dear Brother, 
 
 "Why cannot Dr. T. come out honestly and say what 
 he believes as to the necessary independence of a moral 
 agent on divine influence ? The Arminian says God 
 could not secure universal holiness ' without infringing free 
 agency.' Dr. T. evidently means just so, but he is am- 
 biguous — hypothetical; — says, 'you have no proof a 
 2)riori' — and looks well to his italics as his refuge. Can 
 he prove a priori that God can secure any holiness? 
 
 "On the late hobby distinction between doctrines and 
 theory or philosophy of religion, I could write a sheet or 
 
 two. I said to , give me this door which — • 
 
 has opened, and I will bring all the churches of to 
 
 meet on one floor, as orthodox. Try the principle on the 
 Trinity, and all that is essential to the truth, is easily laid 
 aside under the head of philosophy or theory. Worse 
 
 yet as to atonement, regeneration, &c., in the 
 
 Christian Register three or four weeks ago, just followed 
 up the principle capitally, in behalf of Unitarians." 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 
 
 225 
 
 « Charleston, S. C. Dec. S, 1832. 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " I wish our editors who are correct on inahilili/, 
 would so thoroughly keep up the settled distinction as to 
 natural and moral, that Taylorites cannot misunderstand 
 them. The mischief already done by these new theories 
 is incalculable, at least in one respect. Our ministers, 
 especially of the younger class, are unsettled in their faith. 
 Too many of them, not with Taylor in sentiment, have 
 imperceptibly come to feel that nothing is too well estab- 
 lished to be called in question." 
 
 To the expression of Dr. Porter's theological views 
 contained in the preceding extracts from his correspon- 
 dence, is added the following from his concluding Letter 
 on Revivals. 
 
 " Christian preachers, wliowish their ministrations to he 
 blessed of God for the promotion of revivals, ought correct- 
 ly to understand and represent the subject of divine in- 
 fluence, in the conversion of sinners. 
 
 " This is a point concerning which God is jealous of 
 his own prerogatives. The sanctification of the human 
 heart, is so eminently the special work of his Spirit, that 
 the minister who denies o*" but half believes the truth on 
 this subject, or who substitutes for it some theory more 
 flattering to human pride, is destined to labor amid spirit- 
 ual barrenness. At any rate, he cannot see a genuine 
 revival of religion, as the proper fruit of his own labors. 
 At all periods indeed, individuals claiming to be orthodox, 
 have entertained views more or less erroneous as to the 
 work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. But, for a long 
 period, the faith of our Calvinistic churches, especially in 
 New England, has been as much settled on this subject, 
 as on any other in religion ; and it would be just as 
 reasonable at this day to revive all the debates of past ages 
 
226 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 on the doctrine of justification or atonement, as on this. 
 A spirit of bold speculation, however, has arisen in our 
 time, and advanced theories respecting regeneration, the 
 same in substance as those which have been often refuted 
 and abandoned heretofore, but which being now advanced 
 with the imposing air of novelty, are in my opinion dan- 
 gerous to the interests of evangelical and experimental 
 piety, just so far as they are embraced. 
 
 " Do you ask me to specify what I mean ? It is reason- 
 able that you should wish this ; and I will endeavor to do 
 it witli as much clearness and brevity as I am able. 
 
 " One theory then to which I refer, is that which denies 
 any direct, eUviiic infiucncc in regeneration, and ascribes 
 the change wholly to moral suasion. This is an old error 
 revived. It was familiar to my earliest theological studies; 
 and through my whole ministry, though this sentiment has 
 never had a single respectable advocate till lately, the 
 reasons why I have thought it an error, and a serious one, 
 have been the same that I shall now state. 
 
 " How does God operate on minds? Whatever range 
 we may give to our speculations, I suppose all must come 
 to this result, that it must be done by an influence either 
 mediate or immediate, and that no mode of influence 
 besides these two is conceivable. 
 
 " By mediate influence we mean that which attends the 
 employment of second causes, operating according to the 
 settled laws of mind; — as where instruction removes ig- 
 norance, argument produces conviction, and eloquence 
 awakens emotion. There is a philosophical sense, in 
 which the action of second causes on intelligent beings is 
 properly ascribed to God ; just as we say he governs the 
 animal, vegetable, and planetary worlds by laws appropri- 
 ate to each. 
 
 " By immediate influence we mean that which is direct, 
 without the intervention of second causes. Calvinistic 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 337 
 
 preachers have always ascribed the renovation of a sinner 
 in the large sense, to both these kinds of divine influence. 
 When they speak o( conversion, as including the Christian 
 graces, or denoting the commencement and progress of 
 holiness in the heart, they refer to the direct agency of the 
 Holy Spirit, and also to the instrumentality of means. 
 But when they speak of regeneration, as denoting merely 
 the commencement of sanctification, and as being an instan- 
 taneous, not a progressive work, it is the immediate agency 
 of God, and that only, to which they refer. 
 
 " You must be well aware that tiiere are religious 
 teachers now, of considerable name, who boldly aver that 
 God does not, and cannot exert any other influence on the 
 heart of a sinner than the mediate kind, which consists in 
 the power of motives. A popular preacher has been ac- 
 customed to use language like the following : ' In renew- 
 ing men, the Spirit employs means. He does not come 
 and take right hold of the heart, and perform an operation 
 upon it ; but he presents motives ; .he persuades by means 
 of truth, and the heart is overcome.' — ' To change men's 
 hearts, requires only the presentation of truth by the Spirit 
 'of God. His influence differs not at all from that of the 
 preacher, except in degree.' Doubtless you have heard 
 the sentiment maintained in the pulpit, or seen it in the- 
 ological discussions, that ' the Spirit of God changes the 
 sinners heart, just as icc change a man's purpose in any 
 case hy persuasion ; and that any direct influence, distinct 
 from moral suasion, would be inconsistent with the laws of 
 moral agency. 
 
 " To this theory I object in the Jirst place, that it con- 
 tradicts the plain declarations of the Bible. Not a twen- 
 tieth part of the evidence on which I make this statement, 
 can be or need be adduced here. ' Whose heart the Lord 
 opened, that she attended unto the things that were spoken 
 by Paul.' Ask any plain Christian to interpret this, and 
 
228 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 he will tell you here was a direct divine influence on the 
 heart of Lydia, not only distinct from the influence of 
 means, but expressly preparatory to the access of this 
 influence. 'The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord ; 
 as the rivers of water he turneth it whithersoever he will.' 
 How is this ? Suppose some one should ask, ' Does the 
 Lord come, and take right hold of the king's heart V 
 Yes, doubtless, for it is ' in his hand.' — Let such as feel a 
 difficulty in this language, search for an interpretation. If 
 there is a difficulty, common sense did not create it, and 
 need not stop to explain it. But if illustration were 
 needed, it might be found in one simple case of fact. 
 Nehemiah prayed, with great importunity and persever- 
 ance, that the king of Babylon's heart might be ' turned,' 
 to favor the rebuilding of Jerusalem. That heart was 
 barricaded by policy, pride, and prejudice against the 
 enterprize. But while no ' moral suasion' was brought to 
 bear upon it, from argument and motives, or even from a 
 knowledge of Nehemiah's prayers having been offered ; it 
 was effectually ' turned,' in answer to those prayers, by an 
 invisible influence from heaven. 
 
 " ' God, who commanded the light to shine out of dark- 
 ness, hath shined in our hearts.' How did God produce 
 light ? By the agency of Gabriel, or the instrumentality 
 of other second causes? No, but by the immediate 
 energy of his own word, ' Let there be light.' So in re- 
 generation, he shines in our hearts ; ' Let there be love to 
 God.' Call this moral suasion, and what becomes of Paul's 
 analogy, in which consists the whole significance of his 
 language ? Was light persuaded into existence, at the 
 beginning? Paul preached to the Corinthian converts, 
 but the light that shined in their hearts, was an immediate 
 influence of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 " ' Holy men spake as they were moved by the Holy 
 Ghost.' How was Isaiah moved in uttering predictions of 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 
 
 229 
 
 the Messiah ? Certainly by a direct influence of the Holy 
 Ghost, not by moral suasion. True the kind of influence 
 in-this case was very different from that employed in regen- 
 eration ; but it shows that immediate access to a human 
 mind, is not impossible to Him who made it, nor inconsis- 
 tent with the laws of moral agency. Again, 
 
 " ' Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for 
 it is God that worketh in you, to will and to do, of his 
 good pleasure.' How does God work in men's hearts, to 
 produce holy volition and action ? The theory says, by 
 motives ; — ' just as one man's mind is influenced, in any 
 case, by the persuasion of another.' But unperverted 
 Christian experience says, ' An immediate, divine influ- 
 ence is superadded to the motives of the gospel.' 
 
 " I object to the theory of moral suasion, in the second 
 place, because it subverts the scriptural doctrine of de- 
 pravity. The question is, have tlie light and motives of 
 the gospel, when exhibited to the sinner, the same powec 
 to change his heart, that argument has to influence his 
 judgment in common cases ? Suppose you state to him 
 the common argument to prove the existence of God. 
 'He is an intelligent man ; he sees the force of that argu- 
 ment fully ; his understanding is convinced. But suppose 
 you proceed, and set before this same man, with equal 
 clearness, the moral character of God ; do you, by the 
 same process, bring him to love it? If so his oppositioa 
 to God before, was not to his true character; it was 
 founded in mistake. All he needed was intellectual light 
 to correct his false views of God, and then he was pre- 
 disposed to love him ; for opposition to every false char- 
 acter of God, denotes a right, and not a criminal state of 
 heart. 
 
 " Now this is not such a sinner as the Bible any where 
 describes. Paul speaks of men who were opposed to God, 
 not merely by intellectual mistake, but ' their understand- 
 20 
 
230 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 ing was darkened, because of the blindness of their heart.' 
 The Jews rejected the Messiah, not because the means of 
 moral suasion were wanting, but in using these means, 
 'the veil was on their hearts.' And Christ speaks of them, 
 not as predisposed to love the true character of God, if 
 they had only been instructed so as to see it; 'Ye have 
 both seen and hated both me and my Father.' The doc- 
 trine of Christ, as to the guilt of men, is, that they have 
 light enough, but love darkness. The theory of moral 
 suasion is, that they have no love of darkness, but such as 
 light and motives will remove. 
 
 " I object, in the third place, to this theory, because it 
 subverts the scriptural doctrine of special grace. 
 
 " 'In regeneration,' it has been said, 'the sinner's heart 
 is changed by the influence of truth and motives, presented 
 by God ; — just as one man's mind is changed in any case, 
 by the persuasion of another.' How does the orator per- 
 suade his hearers ? By appeals to their understanding, 
 conscience, passions, interest, &,c. ; that is, by addressing 
 principles that are in the men already — principles that are 
 in all men. He operates on their minds by an objective 
 influence; by the presentation of ej/crwa? motives, adapted 
 to sway their purpose. This is all he can do. But is this 
 all that God can do ? He addresses men by the solemn 
 motives of the gospel, through preaching, and other modes 
 of presenting external means of persuasion. But is this 
 all that he can do ? Certainly not ; for besides the pre- 
 sentation of motives through the instrumentality of second 
 causes, he can exert an immediate influence on minds, 
 such as no man has the power of exerting on another man ; 
 and this is the influence which he does exert in regenera- 
 tion. To deny this is to deny special grace. For if 
 regeneration is produced by an influence the same as that 
 employed by one man on the mind of another, in common 
 persuasion, certainly it is not in any sense a supernatural 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 
 
 231 
 
 work. It takes place according to the laws of nature, in 
 the ordinary course of cause and effect. 
 
 " Why then is one sinner in an assembly regenerated, 
 rather than others, who possess the same powers and prin- 
 ciples of moral agency as he? An event occurs in this 
 case, for which, according to the theory in question, there 
 is no reason. A hundred men, of essentially the same 
 intelligence and moral character, listen to the same ser- 
 mon. God addresses them all by the voice of the preacher; 
 but only one of the hundred is savingly renewed, and he 
 by just the same influence, which is applied to all the rest 
 without effect ! On the theory of special grace, a good 
 reason, (namely, the immediate influence of the Holy 
 Spirit,) is to be assigned for this difference of result ; but 
 on the theory of moral suasion it is absolutely without any 
 reason. 
 
 "The scriptural representations of Christians as 'be- 
 gotten through the gospel,' and ' born again by the word 
 of God,' are in no measure inconsistent with the doctrine 
 of immediate, divine influence on the heart. God wrought 
 miracles ' by the rod of Moses,' and ' by the hand of Paul ; ' 
 but the instrumentality employed, surely did not supersede 
 his own supernatural agency. 
 
 " But it has been said, ' The power of God which creates 
 and governs matter, is a very different thing from that 
 which is applied to mind. One is physical, the other can 
 operate only through moral suasion.' It is very true, that 
 the laws of matter are different from those of mind; but it 
 does not follow that the power of God by which different 
 effects are produced, must be of different kinds, according 
 to the nature of those effects. ' Are we to conceive that 
 the power proper to create inanimate matter could never 
 create a thinking mind ? — that angels and the souls of men 
 were persuaded iuto being, by arguments and motives ; 
 
232 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 and that the material world was forced out of nothing, by 
 the power of attraction?'* 
 
 " Great perplexity has arisen in recent discussions as to 
 divine influence, from a very indefinite use of the term 
 physical; and from the assumption that a direct agency 
 of God upon the heart in regeneration, must be &2)hysical 
 operation. The power of one man to influence the mind 
 of another man, is solely of the mediate kind, through 
 motives. But it is neither becoming nor logical to infer, 
 as some have done, that the power of God is restricted in 
 the same manner. His access to the heart may be imme- 
 diate, and in regeneration must be so. The change in 
 this case is moral; it is wrought in a. moral agent; the 
 effects produced are moral effects. But the power pro- 
 ducing the change, or the work itself, is not moral, — it is 
 not physical, but supernatural. 
 
 " I know that there are good and respectable men, who 
 have adopted the theory of moral suasion, and still do not 
 mean to deny special grace. This latter doctrine they 
 find sanctioned by the whole current of the Bible and of 
 Christian experience. Hence they attempt to make out a 
 complex theory ; and seem to maintain that besides the 
 moral power of motives, (such as the orator brings to bear 
 on his hearers,) there is superadded, in the regeneration 
 of a sinner, a divine influence on his heart, which still is 
 not a direct influence. What is it then? Not a mediate 
 influence, through the power of truth and motives. Not 
 an iinmediate influence on the heart. What is this influ- 
 ence? Not a few, I apprehend, who have begun to slide 
 downward from the faith of our Calvinistic churches, but 
 who have been accustomed to use the current language of 
 orthodoxy, as to divine influence, and verily suppose that 
 they mean what the language imports ;— if they would look 
 
 * Smalley. 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 233 
 
 carefully at the ground on which they stand, must be con- 
 vinced that their favorite theory of moral suasion, and the 
 doctrine oi special supernatural influence in regeneration, 
 cannot both be true. I have spoken thus freely, because 
 I regard all speculations, which tend to exalt human 
 instrumentality, and diminish a humble reliance on God, 
 as fundamentally erroneous, and fatal to the spirit of 
 genuine revivals. 
 
 " Another topic, which I would class under the general 
 head of incorrect views concerning divine influence, is the 
 theory which amounts to regeneration by self-love. 
 
 " Paul says, ' the carnal mind is enmity against God.' 
 He did not mean against an imaginary and false character 
 of God, such as ought to be hated ; but against his true 
 character. How is this enmity to be removed ? Paul 
 says, by such a change in the 'carnal mind,' that it shall 
 love holiness, and become 'reconciled to God,' as he is; 
 in other word.s, by bringing up the human heart to the 
 standard of the Bible. Another mode of removing this 
 enmity, is, to bring doicn the character of God by such a 
 modification of his attributes, that the ' enmity ' of the 
 carnal mind towards it shall cease, without any radical 
 change (in this mind); that is, with no change but such 
 as will spontaneously occur in the sinner, from a change 
 in his views as to the relations and feelings of God towards 
 himself. It was by appealing to the principle of self-love, 
 and a correspondent modification of the gospel, that the 
 Romish missionaries in Eastern Asia, seemed likely to 
 convert the whole heathen world. But after a fair experi- 
 ment, it turned out that the converts were no better men 
 than before ; because ' it was one thing to Christianize 
 heathen, and quite another thing to humanize and hea- 
 thenize Christianity.' 
 
 " Paley resolved virtue into — ' doing good to mankind 
 in obedience to the will of God, ybr the sake of everlasting 
 20* 
 
234 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 happiness.' Bolingbroke, and the school of infidels to 
 which he belonged, maintained that the ' chief principle 
 of action in every man must be regard to his own interest.' 
 The same sentiment has been, at different periods, main- 
 tained by theologians, professedly of the Arminian, as 
 well as of the antinomian school. But it has been a sub- 
 ject of no small surprise to many, that the following state- 
 ment should be made by a professed Calvinist, at this 
 day : — ' This self-love or desire of happiness, is the pri- 
 mary cause or reason of all acts of preference or choice, 
 which fix supremely on any object.' Again, ' the being, 
 constituted with a capacity for happiness, desires to be 
 happy ; and knowing that he is capable of deriving hap- 
 piness from different objects, considers from which the 
 greatest happiness may be derived ; and as in this respect 
 he judges, or estimates their relative value, so he chooses, 
 or prefers the one or the other, as his chief good.' Again, 
 the feelings of the sinner under the influence of self-love, 
 are represented during a process adapted to e.xcite intense 
 interest, till at last — ' he is ivilling to fix, and does in fact 
 fix the eye of contemplation upon the object of holy affec- 
 tion, and does, with such glimpses of its glories as he may 
 obtain, feel their attractions, and summon his heart to that 
 love of God his Saviour, which is the only condition of his 
 mercy.' 
 
 " This language certainly is not so precise as one could 
 wish ; but it seems unavoidable to understand it as mean- 
 ing ; ' That regard to his own happiness is the primary 
 and proper spring of action, in every man ; that his moral 
 character is determined solely by the object of his choice, 
 or his estimate of his own interest, as correct or incorrect ; 
 that if he chooses the world as his chief good, from self- 
 love, he is an unholy man ; but if he chooses God, from 
 self-love, he is a regenerate man.' And by that voluntary 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 235 
 
 act, in which he^rst prefers God to the world from regard 
 to his own interest, he becomes regenerate. 
 
 " Now I have always supposed that where a man 
 chooses one thing for the sake of another, as when he 
 ' eats or drinks for the glory of God,' the latter is the 
 chief, and the other a subordinate object of regard. In 
 some cases the subordinate is not chosen at all for its own 
 sake, as where a bitter drug or the amputation of a limb, 
 is chosen to save life. At the most, therefore, if he who 
 loves God, does so with an ultimate regard to his own 
 happiness ; and if he ' who chooses the happiness of 
 others, does so for the happiness he expects in seeing 
 others happy,' (as the above mentioned writer believes,) 
 he makes God and his neighbor the secondary, and him- 
 self the j^rj/war^/ and cAzV/" object of his regard. 
 
 " What then is the standard of duty ? We have been 
 accustomed to answer, the divine law. What does this 
 require? 'Thou shalt love' (not thyself, but) 'the 
 Lord thy God — with all thy heart.' Say that I exercise 
 love to God, not because he requires it, not because he 
 deserves it, but from the same motive as that with which 
 I have loved wealth or worldly honor, namely, a desire of 
 my own happiness ; will God alloVv it, will common sense 
 allow it to be a fulfilment of this great command ? 
 Plainly, this would be to fix my supreme love not on God 
 but on myself. 
 
 " But is it the object, or is it the Diotivc of a voluntary 
 affection, that determines its character ? Its motive cer- 
 tainly. This is coincident with its supreme object, but not 
 with its subordinate. I might choose to be burnt at the 
 stake ; but who could say whether this subordinate choice 
 is holy or sinful, without knowing the ulterior motive ; — 
 whether it is to get honor to myself, or to do honor to 
 Christ? So if I choose God, the state of my heart is 
 determined by the governing motive : is it because I love 
 
236 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 his holy character ] Then my choice is holy. Is it be- 
 cause he can make me happy ? The ultimate regard of 
 my heart (my motive) is not to God but myself. 
 
 " But is it wrong for me to regard my own interest ? 
 No — I am commanded to do it, by Him who made me 
 the special guardian of my own life and happiness ; and 
 required of me duties to my own soul, and my immediate 
 connections, which no one else can perform. But my 
 self-love must be regulated by a proper regard to God, 
 and the interests of the universe ; and of course must not 
 be the ' primary cause ' of my moral preferences ; it must 
 not exalt myself above the creation around me, and the 
 Creator too. 
 
 "Any man may use language so as not to express his 
 meaning. But deliberately to admit that self-love must be 
 the primary ground of moral affection, is to supersede all 
 intelligent discussion about regeneration, or any of the 
 kindred doctrines of grace. This one principle sweeps 
 the whole away. There remains no radical distinction of 
 character between the saint and the sinner. The most 
 depraved individual on earth, or even among apostate 
 spirits, doubtless is the centre of his own affections. And 
 though he may have perverted views of what is his real 
 interest, he means notwithstanding to act, and does act 
 from a 'primary' regard to himself And if this is the 
 highest principle of action to a holy being, then an angel 
 and a devil stand on the same ground, as to moral char- 
 acter ; — in other words, there is no distinction between 
 holiness or sin. 
 
 " Besides, this theory would split the moral system into 
 as many jarring parts, with as many centres of 'primary' 
 affection, as it contains individuals. It would set every 
 moral agent at variance with every other moral agent, and 
 with God himself Whereas, the simple precept, ' Thou 
 shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart,' — sets up 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 037 
 
 another standard in every bosom. It establishes a common 
 centre of moral affection to the universe of moral agents ; 
 and binds the hearts of all to each other, and to the throne 
 of Jehovah. 
 
 " I intended to analyze the ' self-love theory,' in its 
 practical bearings on revivals, and its tendency to subvert 
 all correct views as to special divine influence. I intended 
 to show how easy it is for a man, who has been thoroughly 
 alarmed with fears of hell, to become persuaded that God 
 is his friend and will make him happy ; and thus to feel 
 that he loves God, when no spiritual change whatever has 
 taken place in his heart. I intended to show how easy 
 it is for such a man to mistake his ' love of happiness' 
 and his choice of heaven, for conversion, while he has no 
 'love of holiness.' But I must forbear to extend these 
 remarks." 
 
 In connection with the foregoing expression of Dr. Por- 
 ter's religious opinions, we ought perhaps to cite his 
 remarks from the same communication, respecting " a 
 few things in our theological and pulpit phraseology," 
 the tendency of which he feared was " to obscure, if 
 not to subvert, the scriptural doctrine of special divine in- 
 fluence." 
 
 " Probably there is some significance in the fact, that 
 many preachers of the younger class, often mention in 
 their sermons repentance, conversion, &c., while they 
 rarely if ever use the word regeneration. They consider 
 these words, however, as synonymous, though the authority 
 of biblical and theological usage decides otherwise. It is 
 agreed on all hands, that the sinner is under immediate 
 obligation to love God and repent ; and that the only ob- 
 stacle to his doing this, is his supreme love of sin. Now 
 when this obstacle is removed, and the love of God begins 
 in his heart, by what agency does it begin ? Is it his own 
 
238 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 agency or tliat of God, in which the change originates ? 
 The Bible ascribes it to God, and the change it calls re- 
 generalion; distinguishing by this term that beginning of 
 holy afiection in the heart by divine influence, from the 
 continuance and development of holy affection under the 
 same influence, which is called conversion, sanctification, 
 &c. Hence we say, as the Bible does, concerning a 
 man — he repented ; but the Bible never teaches us to say, 
 and we never presume to say, ' he regenerated himself.' 
 The words are no more exactly synonymous in Christian 
 experience, than in technical theology. To illustrate my 
 meaning by an analogy which is certainly imperfect, (as 
 analogies must be on this subject,) in the call, ' Lazarus 
 come forth' — the voice, the re-aniniating influence was of 
 God ; — the rising, and coming forth, was the act of Laz- 
 arus. Substantially the same difference exists between 
 regeneration and repentance. Regeneration, the work of 
 God on the heart, is done but once; repentance is needed 
 daily. God's breathing into Adam the breath of life, so 
 that he became a living soul, was done but once; Adam's 
 breathing and living was a continuous exercise of his vital 
 functions. Man is created but once, horn but once, but 
 lives and walks daily. The Christian is 'created anew' 
 and ' born again,' but once, but repents every day of his 
 life. 
 
 " The practical bearing of these remarks is this; some 
 preachers speak of the sinner's 'conversion,' ' making him- 
 self a new heart,' &c. (for regeneration, as I said, is a 
 term they avoid,) by a formal act of his own will, resolving 
 to do it. Accordingly conversion is put on a footing with 
 any common transaction in which a man changes his 
 mind. And the representations of a change of heart, as 
 being a great, and serious, and difficult thing, are treated 
 with an air of flippant severity, sometimes approaching to 
 profaneness. But this loose, indefinite mode of describing 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 239 
 
 conversion, be the preacher's motive ever so good, is cer- 
 tainly liable to great and dangerous misapprehension. 
 Regeneration, in its grave and scriptural import, may be 
 synonymous with conversion, but not with conversion as 
 thus described. It is holiness and heaven begun in the 
 soul by the Spirit of God. No regenerate man will be 
 lost. But a man may be converted from Mohammedanism 
 to Christianity, and be lost. He may be converted from 
 Unitarianism to Calvinism, and be lost ; — converted from 
 levity to thoughtfulness, and from thoughtfulness to deep 
 anxiety — and yet be lost. Nay, he may be converted 
 from perfect indifference, or violent opposition to the 
 gospel, into a joyful believer that he is an heir of salva- 
 tion, and yet be lost. 
 
 " Now when I hear a sinner told from the pulpit, that 
 'conversion is a mere volition — a mere making up of his 
 mind to embrace religion : — that the change of his heart 
 is wholly an affair of his own will,' &c., I am not sure 
 that the sentiment intended to be taught is wrong; but I 
 am quite sure that the practical tendency of such language 
 is to mislead this sinner as to his dependence on the Holy 
 Spirit, and to cherish in him a presumptuous reliance on 
 himself. Especially is it so, when, to give prominence to 
 his own voluntary agency in his conversion, the change of 
 heart is represented as a thing perfectly easy to himself, 
 but entirely beyond the reach of omnipotence, except as 
 eflFected by the spontaneous movement of his own will ; 
 God being unable to control his moral exercises, consis- 
 tently with his freedom as a moral agent. Edwards, 
 "speaking of views similar to these, says, ' Thus our own 
 holiness is from ourselves, as its determining cause, and 
 its original and highest source. — Man is not dependent on 
 God, but God is rather dependent on man in this affair; 
 for he only operates consequentially in acts, in which he 
 depends on what he sees we determine and do first. — 
 
240 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 What can more effectually encourage the sinner in present 
 delays and neglects, and embolden him to go on in sin, in 
 a presumption of having his own salvation at all times at 
 his command.' 
 
 " When it is said, ' It is as easy for a sinner to repent, 
 as to remain impenitent,' the meaning may be right, but 
 the language is not proper for the pulpit. There is no 
 difficulty for a man to choose that to which his whole 
 heart is inclined ; but is it as easy for him, to counteract 
 all the moral habits, affections and inclinations of his 
 heart, as to comply with these? The doctrine of free 
 agency is to be maintained by appeals to consciousness, 
 experience, and common sense not to absurdity. Ga- 
 briel is a free agent ; but who would think it proper to 
 illustrate his free agency, by affirming that, ' it is as easy 
 for him to blaspheme God, as to praise him ?' 
 
 " As to the expression which represents conversion as 
 consisting in ' the sinner's making up his mind to serve 
 God;' — though the preacher's meaning may be correct, 
 (as it certainly may be,) — the effect is that of a colloquial 
 caricature of a sacred, scriptural truth. I mean that such 
 is the effect, when this and other forms of expression are 
 so employed, as virtually to leave out of view the Holy 
 Spirit, and reduce the sinner's moral renovation to the 
 fiimiliar level of an ordinary transaction. During those 
 revivals which I have described, a certain minister, in a 
 sermon on the new birth, summed up his statement of the 
 doctrine thus : ' All I know concerning regeneration is, 
 for one to draw up strong resolutions to keep the com- 
 mandments of God.' This man was an avowed disbe- 
 liever in .special, divine influence. At that day no one 
 anticipated, that in thirty years, substantially the same 
 language would be employed by ' revival preachers,' to 
 describe a change of heart. 
 
 " The ample scope given to my remarks, in the forego- 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 241 
 
 ing letters, has aiisen from a deep conviction that the 
 doctrines of grace, embraced by our Pilgrim fathers, and 
 regarded as fundamental, in the churches which they es- 
 tablished, must owe their preservation and perpetuity 
 amongst us, in no small degree, to the influence of Chris- 
 tian ministers. Just so far as these doctrines are modified, 
 from a love of philosophical theories, or from conformity to 
 a vitiated taste, the sanctifying influences of the Spirit will 
 forsake our churches, and our ministrations w ill cease to 
 be the power of God unto salvation to perishing souls. 
 All who wish to see an uncorrupted Christianity handed 
 down to coming generations, should guard against open 
 attacks on its vital truths, and against equivocal forms of 
 expression by which the simplicity and power of these 
 truths may be obscured, and gradually subverted." 
 
 In the conclusion of the letter from which the pre- 
 ceding extracts are taken. Dr. Porter remarks : — 
 
 " I must however add one caution in closing these Let- 
 ters. While it has been my object to call your attention to 
 several things which I think doubtful, and to others which I 
 think decidedly wrong, in modes of preaching and conduct- 
 ing revivals ; — I would by all means advise you to avoid that 
 hesitating and paralyzing apprehension, which leads a min- 
 ister to be so much afraid of being wrong, as to do nothing. 
 Under God, the ministers of the nineteenth century have 
 a mighty work to accomplish. Our own vast country is 
 to be brought under the influence of the gospel. The 
 wide world is to be evangelized. The day of slumber is 
 past. The sacramental host of God's elect are marshal- 
 ed in arms, and wait for ministers to lead them on to vic- 
 tory. Gird on your armor then, soldiers of the cross ! 
 The Captain of salvation heads the van, having on his 
 vesture and on his thigh a name written. King of Kings, 
 AND Lord op Lords ! He has gone forth in the triumphs 
 21 
 
242 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 of his grace, conquering and to conquer. Stubborn hearts, 
 in numbers unexampled, bow before the all-subduincr in- 
 fluences of his Spirit. From the east and west, from the 
 north and south, glad voices are heard to mingle in songs 
 of salvation. " Awake O Zion, put on thy strength !" — 
 " Arise, shine, for thy light is come ; and the glory of the 
 Lord is risen upon thee !" The great battle of God Al- 
 mighty will succeed these wonderful effusions of his 
 Spirit. Wo to those inhabitants of the earth, who shall 
 withstand all the overtures of the Redeemer's mercy, and 
 be found at last, among the incorrigible despisers of his 
 grace! — whom the Lord will destroy with the breath of 
 his mouth and the brightness of his coming ! 
 
 " Affectionately, yours, 6lc. 
 
 " E. Porter." 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER COntillUcd. 
 
 Characteristics as a Teacher in a theological seminary — Views of 
 adequate training for the Christian ministry — Of the labors and 
 responsibility of his department — Disadvantages under which he 
 prosecuted study — Habits of exercise— Intercourse with hia 
 pupils — Mode of giving instruction— Estimate of a good delivery 
 — Theory respecting moral tones and inflections — Letter from 
 one of his pupils. 
 
 To the portraiture of Dr. Porter's professional charac- 
 ter, belong also his characteristics as a teacher and 
 presiding officer of a theological seminary. Among these, 
 a deep feeling of responsibility and entire devotedness to 
 his work, were prominent. 
 
 Adequate training for the Christian ministry, embraced 
 in his view, much more than correct doctrinal sentiments, 
 or ability to impart instruction to others ; — it embraced 
 the formation of a character, which should itself most 
 eloquently teach the divine requirements. " The best 
 commentary," he remarks, " on the religion taught by a 
 minister, is, that first of all it makes himself a good man. 
 His hearers do demand, and ought to demand that he shall 
 live what he preaches. ' Who would listen to a Diotrephes 
 condemning ambition ; or to a Pharisee condemning 
 hypocrisy ? ' Words are cheap : splendid professions are 
 
244 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 empty tilings. Let the man possess the love of God in his 
 own soul. This will give sanctity and weight to his life, 
 his language, his very looks." The station of a teacher 
 in any department of theological education. Dr. Porter 
 considered a place of most solemn responsibility, as ex- 
 erting a direct and extensive influence, favorable or unfa- 
 vorable in the formation of ministerial character. Of the 
 peculiar labors and responsibility of the department as- 
 signed to him, we may learn something of his views from 
 a communication to the trustees, in which he says : — 
 
 " All the attainments that are made in other depart- 
 ments, are to be exhibited in this. The public know 
 nothing of our students as to biblical or theological learn- 
 ing, except what appears in their capacity to write or 
 speak. This department is therefore, in an important 
 sense made responsible for the character and influence of 
 the seminary. It is besides attended with more intrinsic 
 difficulties than any other branch of instruction. So the 
 Creator has been pleased to arrange his gifts, that there 
 are five men capable of being distinguished in intellectual 
 studies, to one that can become conspicuous in oratory. 
 The systems of academical education in modern ages, 
 have i)eeti generally unfriendly to high attainments in this 
 art, being adapted to cultivate the understanding ; but to 
 repress rather than cherish the emotions of the youthful 
 bosom. In some of our colleges the business of taste and 
 of elocution stands on a very respectable footing ; in others, 
 it is greatly neglected ; and in none of them does it re- 
 ceive a tenth part of that attention which made the orators 
 of ancient days. Considering the state of our minor 
 academies, and the limited resources which most of our 
 colleges pos.sess, I am not disposed to find fault that no 
 more is accomplished on this subject. I only state the 
 fact as it is, and the consequence unavoidably resulting 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 
 
 245 
 
 from it, that not a few of our students come to us with 
 habits both of writing and speaking that are positively 
 bad. 
 
 " Here too, other important branches of study engross 
 the first year and the second ; so that in these, only a 
 subordinate attention can be paid to sacred rhetoric. In 
 the third year, it becomes the primary business ; but the 
 students' minds are then in a far less favorable state for 
 successful efforts, than in the commencement of their 
 course. The novelty of the place and of the system are 
 worn away ; health and spirits are in many cases ex- 
 hausted at the close of ten years' application. In some, 
 zeal for preaching, and in all, desire to make various 
 arrangements preparatory to entering on their profession 
 for life, renders the summer term nearly useless to the 
 senior class, for study. 
 
 " There is another consideration which has an impor- 
 tant bearing on this department ; namely, that while it 
 requires a system of precepts, it is to be taught as an 
 art rather than as a science. After all the use that can 
 be made of text books, and rules, and authorities, the 
 advancement of the student both in writing and delivery, 
 depends essentially on practice. It is this that constitutes 
 the endless labor in this branch of instruction. Classical 
 exercises must be maintained as in the other departments, 
 but to these must be superadded a system of individual 
 instruction, such as is not required in any other business 
 of the seminary. In regard to the more extended of these 
 exercises, such as the criticism of sermons, the attention 
 to each pupil costs more labor than is ordinarily required 
 of any professor in meeting a class. The amount of labor 
 in instructing a large class, thus collectively and separ- 
 ately, is not easily understood by one who has not made 
 the experiment." 
 
 21* 
 
246 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER, 
 
 To the preceding statements it may be added that the 
 department of labor assigned to Dr. Porter was in some 
 respects 7icw, and required that his instructions should 
 traverse a field, to a considerable extent untrodden by 
 any predecessor. Not, indeed, because the subject of 
 sacred eloquence has received no attention. Men have 
 cultivated this branch of theological learning for centu- 
 ries ; books have been published in considerable numbers, 
 many of them, however, deficient either in the character 
 or quantity of their contents : — its importance too, by a 
 few, has been duly appreciated ; while by the majority 
 even of professed scholars, labor in this department has 
 been undervalued, and by many has been accounted 
 superfluous.* In entering on an appropriate course of 
 study, the student of sacred eloquence can refer to few 
 repositories of instruction like those accessible to the 
 student of theology or biblical interpretation. Dr. Porter 
 enjoyed this advantage, however, that the studies he was 
 required to pursue, were suited to his taste and habits. 
 For them he had long cherished ardent love. With many 
 
 * A brief extract from tlio statutes of the seminary respecting the 
 course of instruction in the rlietorical department, may interest many 
 readers. Tliey require that in the department of sacred rhetoric, 
 a competent number of lectures shall be delivered, "on the im- 
 portance of oratory ; on tlie invention and disposition of topics; on 
 the several parts of a rpftular discourse; on elegance, composition 
 and dignity of style ; on pronunciation ; on the proper management 
 of the voice, and correct gesture ; on the immense importance of a 
 natural manner; on the rules to be observed in composing a ser- 
 mon, and on the adaptati(jii of tiie principles and precepts of ancient 
 ihetoric to this modern species of oration; on the qualities in the 
 speaker, in his style, and in his delivery, necessary to a finished 
 pulpit orator; on the methods of strengthening the memory, and of 
 improving in sacred eloquence; on the ciiaractor and style of the 
 most ancient divines, and the best models of imitation, their re- 
 spective beauties and excellencies in thought and expression ; and 
 above all, on the transcendent simplicity, beauty, and sublimity of 
 the sacred writings." 
 
PROFESSIOiNAL CHARACTER. 
 
 247 
 
 of his duties, moreover, as professor of sacred rhetoric, his 
 experience in giving instruction to theological students 
 while a pastor, had already rendered him familiar. It 
 required no effort on his part to summon his energies and 
 bend them to his work. To it they were devoted from 
 choice as well as by direction of Providence. He felt 
 that in calling him to this station, his divine Master had 
 opened before him a field, as well of rich enjoyment, as of 
 onerous labor and extensive usefulness. 
 
 The duties to which Dr. Porter was called as an in- 
 structor, the reader may infer from the preceding extract 
 from his communication to the trustees, were exceedingly 
 miscellaneous, and therefore unfavorable to severe appli- 
 cation to study. The brief intervals, moreover, which he 
 was enabled to snatch for study, from the endless round 
 of ever varying labors, were rendered comparatively unpro- 
 ductive by bodily suffering. Few men, we may believe, 
 in discharging professional duty and in prosecuting 
 professional study, have permanently encountered more 
 disheartening obstacles than those originating in his 
 continued and often extreme infirmity. To these ob- 
 stacles any thing short of irrepressible love for study, 
 and invincible determination to serve God to the utmost 
 of his ability, would have yielded. " His enthusiasm for 
 study," says one of his colleagues, " was exceedingly 
 great. Never have I seen a desire burn more intensely. 
 And when he saw that Providence had decided by his 
 state of health, some years ago, that he must abandon all 
 hopes of extensive reading and study, the struggle was 
 more than many deaths. I witnessed the painful contest 
 which agitated him to the very bottom of his soul. But 
 piety gained the victory. Submission to the will of 
 God was the result; and peaceful acquiescence ever 
 continued." Often he was reduced to the alternative 
 
348 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 of neglecting official duties entirely, or of discharging 
 them, especially the more private duties, while exercised 
 with pain amounting almost to agony. The writer has 
 been informed by Mrs. Porter, who, on account of her 
 husband's " often infirmities," was much occupied in 
 attentions to him, that she has frequently known him, 
 when confined by illness to his bed, pursue professional 
 reading ; and in some instances even when her assistance 
 was indispensable in holding the books he wished to 
 peruse. At other times, he would in similar circum- 
 stances employ himself in writing. The fact that under 
 such discouragements he made acquisitions so honorable 
 to himself, and so useful to others, is evidence that in 
 early life his intellectual powers had been subjected to 
 judicious discipline. When unable to meet his class at 
 the lecture room, he commonly met them in his study. 
 During his frequent absences, he usually kept up his 
 course of instruction, by addressing letters to his class 
 on the topics on which he would have lectured. 
 
 Dr. Porter's state of health rendered extreme caution 
 requisite in reference to bodily exercise. To this, as 
 indispensable to his usefulness, a portion of his time was 
 regularly and scrupulously devoted. Of walking he was 
 fond, and practiced it much when his strength would 
 allow ; but his favorite exercise was riding on the saddle. 
 To this however, his strength for some years before his 
 death was unequal, and he was obliged to employ a car- 
 riage as a substitute. Of the cultivation of his grounds, 
 especially of his garden, which always exhibited une- 
 quivocal tokens of industry and correct taste, he was 
 equally fond. To the use of mechanical tools he was 
 also strongly attached, and in this way often employed 
 much of the time devoted to exercise, whenever the state 
 of the weather forbade his taking it abroad. The furni- 
 ture of his study was mostly of his own construction ; 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 
 
 249 
 
 indeed there was hardly a room in his dwelling which 
 did not contain some product of his ingenuity, exhibiting 
 a high degree of mechanical skill. When in foul weather 
 he needed more vigorous exercise than was afforded by 
 tiie ordinary use of mechanical tools, he was accustomed 
 to resort to the saw and the axe. So essential was 
 perfect regularity in taking his exercise, that he was 
 compelled, when otherwise it would have been interrupted 
 by the severe cold, to provide for himself facilities for 
 sawing and splitting wood in a warm apartment. 
 
 Dr. Porter's mode of intercourse with his pupils, was 
 of the kind best suited to secure their confidence and 
 affection. He manifestly cherished a deep interest in 
 whatever concerned their usefulness or happiness. With 
 paternal solicitude he was ever ready to reprove the way- 
 ward ; to encourage and aid those struggling with poverty; 
 to cheer the desponding ; to lend sympathy and counsel 
 to the subjects of bodily infirmity In discharging these 
 various offices of Christian friendship, he conferred ob- 
 ligations on many of his pupils, which in numerous in- 
 stances were remembered and acknowledged with the 
 liveliest gratitude. Among those who enjoyed his special 
 friendship while at Andover, and his frequent and judi- 
 cious counsels after entering their field of labor, were many 
 missionaries to the heathen, of whom a part " remain till 
 this present, but some are fallen asleep." In the lecture 
 room, his manner was dignified and kind. None of his 
 pupils it is believed, were ever disposed to complain that 
 their opinions were not treated by their teacher with 
 candor and respect. Conscienciously refraining from 
 censorious remarks himself, he forbade them in those he 
 instructed. Both by precept and example, he encouraged 
 in them, whether remarking on each others sentiments, or 
 
250 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 Style, or utterance, the exercise of the meekness and be- 
 nevolence of the gospel. 
 
 In giving his instructions, particularly those which were 
 extemporaneous, he was not fluent. At times, there was 
 an unpleasant hesitancy in his delivery, the result of 
 habit, which probably originated in unusual cautiousness. 
 This was hardly noticed, however, by one who was ac- 
 customed daily to listen to him; or if noticed, was invol- 
 untarily overlooked in the assemblage of excellencies 
 which characterized him as a teacher. His instructions 
 were uniformly lucid and methodical, evincing a familiar 
 acquaintance with the topics he was called to discuss, 
 derived from judicious reading and mature reflection. In 
 stating facts he was scrupulously accurate ; in canvassing 
 the opinions of others, was candid and just ; in advancing 
 his positions, was deliberate and wary, never allowing 
 himself to advocate theories of suspicious tendency, or to 
 advance sentiments of whose correctness he entertained 
 doubts. Another feature of his instructions was apposite- 
 ness. His language was chaste, appropriate, often elegant, 
 and at times, peculiarly forcible. Among his qualifica- 
 tions as a teacher of sacred rhetoric, one which con- 
 tributed as much perhaps as any other to his useful- 
 ness, was an ability to point out with singular precision 
 and distinctness a fault in the structure or diction of a 
 composition ; in the enunciation, or gesticulation of a 
 speaker, united with corresponding skill in prescribing 
 correctives. 
 
 Fully convinced that much of a preacher's usefulness 
 must depend on his qualities as a speaker, Dr. Porter felt 
 that no efforts which would awaken interest on this subject 
 could be superfluous. As conducive to this end he devoted 
 much time to an exercise in elocution, attended by small 
 parties of the students, which he denominated " reading 
 clubs." In this exercise he was able to specify faults and 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 
 
 251 
 
 apply correctives, with much more ease and effect than it 
 was possible to secure in more public performances. With 
 the same end in view, he cordially lent his influence and 
 co-operation in the organization of a Rhetorical Society in 
 the seminary, whose design was directly subsidiary to his 
 labors. In the incipient measures of this society, his 
 counsel exerted a controlling influence ; and to further its 
 objects, particularly to aid in establishing a library, he 
 contributed liberally to its funds. As an expression of 
 gratitude for his judicious counsels and munificence, the 
 society voted soon after its organization to style itself the 
 ' Porter Rhetorical Society.' Its influence in improving the 
 style and elocution of its members, and their power of ex- 
 temporaneous speaking, fully equalled his anticipations. 
 
 Dr. Porter labored assiduously to impress on his pupils 
 correct precepts respecting vocal tones and injlections. 
 To the adoption of a correct theory on this subject, he 
 attached much more importance than has been usual even 
 among public speakers. Though aware that the attain- 
 ment of a good delivery must depend very much on pj-ac- 
 tice, he believed no less fully that in ordinary cases it 
 must depend equally on an adequate knowledge of princi- 
 ples — a knowledge, which may be derived from books, or 
 from the living teacher, or from a careful observation of 
 vocal exercises. In arranging his system of precepts on 
 this subject, he deserves, to a considerable extent, the 
 credit of originality : for though he eagerly availed him- 
 self of the suggestions of others, the principles he incul- 
 cated were chiefly the result of his own reflections. 
 The writer is happy in being able to furnish confirmation 
 of this fact, in the following letter from a clergyman, now 
 a Professor in a Theological Seminary, who was one of 
 Dr. Porter's pupils at the time he was preparing his 
 analysis of vocal inflections for publication, and to whom 
 
252 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 he communicated the process by which he was led to 
 adopt the principles embraced in his system, 
 
 " , ^pril 14, 1836. 
 
 " My dear Brother, 
 
 " My first recollections of Dr. Porter carry me back 
 to Andover, to the time when I was a member of the 
 junior class in the seminary, and present him before me 
 as he stood in the pulpit in the ministrations of the Sab- 
 bath. This was nearly the only spot in which I then saw 
 him, and here we almost always heard him with admira- 
 tion. There was a remarkable chastity, purity and finish 
 in his style, which gave a charm to his discourses, while 
 his manner and delivery, though they marked not the 
 orator in the common acceptation of the word, showed 
 the man of feeling, of culture, and judgment. His voice 
 was only of common strength, having no natural qualities 
 to render it peculiarly suited to the purposes of the public 
 speaker. Yet his enunciation was so distinct, and so per- 
 fectly accurate ; his emphasis was so appropriate in its 
 quality, and so justly laid ; his gesture so simple, so 
 natural, so graceful, and so exactly timed ; and his eye 
 was so piercing in its gaze, that in those days he was a 
 speaker of no ordinary merit, one who could but delight 
 and enchain the cultivated mind. I have often thought 
 of Austin's description of correct speaking, and have as 
 often regarded it as a true representation of Dr. Porter's 
 elocution in his more happy efforts. ' In just articula- 
 tion,' says he, ' the words are to be delivered out from the 
 lips as beautiful coins newly issued from the mint, deeply 
 and accurately impressed, perfectly finished, neatly struck 
 by the proper organs, distinct, in due succession, and of 
 due weight.'* 
 
 * Austin's Chironomia. 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 
 
 253 
 
 " Dr. Porter never made a false gesture nor an unne- 
 cessary one. His hand was put forth ' suiting the action 
 to the word,' just when it would produce the appropriate 
 effect, and with an ease and grace which I have witnessed 
 in the same degree in scarcely any other man. Such was 
 his speaking at this period of his life. And if at other 
 times it was less fortunate, this may be accounted for by 
 the ill health which was his constant affliction, and by the 
 many interruptions incident to his station which may have 
 prevented his usual preparation. The force which he 
 could impart to single words by the accuracy of his em- 
 phasis and inflections was the subject of remark by every 
 student who heard him. And they will not soon forget 
 the power and beauty with which he read the fine pas- 
 sages of Shakspeare, Milton, Cowper, the holy Scriptures, 
 and the psalms and hymns used in sacred worship. 
 
 " Dr. Porter in his writings on the tones and inflections 
 used in speaking, professed only to have carried out and 
 rendered more perspicuous those principles which had 
 been exhibited by Walker. Walker had published them 
 to the world before Dr. Porter appeared as an author in 
 the department of rhetoric. But Walker, if we may judge 
 from his writings, was far from having clear ideas in 
 relation to many points of his theory ; and his canons for 
 the management of the voice, besides being oftentimes 
 perfectly artificial, are sometimes also so involved and 
 obscure, that it is with the utmost difficulty any meaning 
 can be discovered in them. Dr. Porter remarked, at the 
 time he published his Analysis of Rhetorical Delivery, 
 that he had discovered the principles developed in that 
 book long before he saw the publications of Walker. 
 Sometime after he commenced his ministry, as he said, he 
 made the management of the voice a subject of most 
 attentive study. He was accustomed to note its changes 
 in conversation and in public speaking ; and as he rode 
 22 
 
254 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 from place to place in discharge of his ministerial duties, 
 to make experiments with his voice, until he discovered 
 the inflections and their use and application in speaking. 
 The rising and falling slides, and the circumflex, and the 
 use of the rising slide in tender emotion, had all been 
 ascertained by him by actual ex-periment and observation. 
 In this then he was really an inventor, and before he saw 
 Walker's writings, had a more clear and thorough idea 
 of the vocal inflections than Walker himself I mention 
 this to show that Dr. Porter in that particular branch of 
 elocution, a branch in which he excelled all other men of 
 my acquaintance, was not a mere imitator, but an original 
 thinker, and that his system of inflections was the result 
 of his own observations. 
 
 " I know that many have doubted whether any good 
 effects result to the public speaker from an attention to 
 the system of tones and inflections on the principles of 
 Dr. Porter and Walker. Whately contends that this prac- 
 tice completely fails of its object, and even produces 
 oftener than not, effects the very reverse of what is de- 
 signed.* And it must be confessed that many who 
 attempted to observe Dr. Porter's rules when we were his 
 pupils, made a very awkward and laborious business of 
 public speaking. But then, they were poor speakers at 
 best from the bad habits of early life, habits from which it 
 was exceedingly difficult to recover. A good and delicate 
 ear seems requisite in one who would successfully speak 
 on the principles of Dr. Porter, and care should be used 
 that the inflections be not made the whole of public speak- 
 ing, and that the whole matter be not overdone. They 
 appear to me to be exceedingly useful in enabling a stu- 
 dent to detect his own bad habits, and in pointing out 
 
 * Richard Whately, D. D. Elements of Rhetoric. Cambridge, 
 1832. p. 260. 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 255 
 
 their remedy. They should be used in private practice 
 and study. But when a speaker comes before the public, 
 he is to forget himself and his manner, and aim only to 
 communicate his thoughts and warm emotions to his 
 hearers. The results of private study will appear in public 
 delivery. But it will be exceedingly offensive if there is 
 any appearance in the speaker of contrivance and artifice, 
 and if he should seem to be preparing to give the falling 
 slide here, the rising there, and the circumflex there ; 
 here to speak fast, and there slow ; here soft and there 
 loud ; here to put forth a beautiful gesture, and there a 
 violent one. The ambassador of God, sent to propose a 
 reconciliation with him, and to point out to revolted men 
 the way of return, must only be occupied with this when 
 he stands up to address dying men. 
 
 " With much affection, 
 
 " Your friend and brother." 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER — Continued. 
 
 Characteristics as a presiding officer of a theological seminary — 
 Testimony of his colleague — First object to promote the growth 
 of piety in his pupils — Views of its importance — Memoranda 
 of pastoral conversations — His interests identified with those of 
 the seminary — Anxiety that theological education should be 
 thorough — Concern respecting the rights of Congregational 
 churches — Illustrations of their corporate capacity. 
 
 As a presiding officer of the theological seminary, Dr. 
 Porter was watchful over the interests committed to his 
 supervision. In his view, it was a point which admitted 
 not of discussion, that an energetic and faithful execu- 
 tion of the laws of any public institution, literary or 
 religious, is indispensable to its permanent prosperity. 
 Accordingly in enforcing the regulations of the seminary, 
 he was systematic, vigilant, decided, and impartial. In 
 vain did the delinquent expect undue favor from him on 
 any ground. Yet so manifestly equitable and benevolent 
 was his administration, that prejudice itself could rarely 
 find pretence for the slightest censure. Dr. Porter used 
 to say that he could, in most cases, predict the subsequent 
 character and success of an individual, from his habits in 
 respect to diligence and punctuality in the seminary. 
 " In his office as President," says one of his colleagues, 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 257 
 
 " we can never expect any one to excel him. Nothing 
 important was wanting. Every thing was done and well 
 done, that needed to be done." To the same qualities 
 which designated him for the executive department in the 
 seminary, we are doubtless to attribute the frequency with 
 which he was called to preside in the deliberations of 
 public bodies. 
 
 Pastoral labor in a theological seminary, has a direct 
 influence in forming the character of successive genera- 
 tions of ministers, and thus must contribute eminently in 
 giving tone to the piety and efficiency of the church. In 
 no circumstances therefore, can piety and wisdom be more 
 imperiously demanded; in none can their exercise be fol- 
 lowed by more important results. In his pastoral inter- 
 course with the students, to which in common with his 
 colleagues he was called, Dr. Porter was wont, first of all, 
 to urge upon them the cultivation of personal piety — an 
 object with a primary reference to which all his labors 
 were performed. He sometimes remarked, "I would 
 rather one of my friends should be an honest tinker, than 
 a minister without piety." Alluding to this subject in a let- 
 ter, he says, — " The junior class I understand is about sixty. 
 You know enough of my heart to be assured, that this fact 
 interests me deeply. The prosperity of our beloved semi- 
 nary will give joy to my heart, while it rejoices in any thing. 
 But still I rejoice with trembling. If the presence of God is 
 not granted in abundant measures to the seminary, the 
 augmentation of numbers w ill be a calamity to the church. 
 Far be the day, when the ambition to be fine gentlemen 
 and fine scholars shall supplant the spirit of piety in that 
 blessed spot, whose chief glory has hitherto been a suc- 
 cession of men of kindred spirit with Brainerd, Buchanan 
 and Martyn." We cannot resist the temptation to quote 
 the expression of Dr. Porter's views on this subject, from 
 22* 
 
358 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 the conclusion of one of his Lectures, which though pub- 
 lished elsewhere, probably will not be accessible to many 
 into whose hands this volume may fall. 
 
 " In all the sacrifices incident to frail health and resi- 
 dence among strangers, my heart has been exhilarated in 
 reviewing my relations to this seminary, not so much from 
 those marks of prosperity which attract public notice — 
 not so much from the elegance of its buildings, the amount 
 of its funds, or the growing number of its students, as 
 from the decided character oi piety, which I trust has 
 prevailed within its walls. It is when I think that many 
 young ministers who are burning and shining lights in our 
 own country ; it is when I look to oui; missionary stations 
 abroad, and think that many of those whom the American 
 church has sent to assault the strong holds of paganism, 
 were the sons of Andover ; it is when I recollect that 
 these men, and others of like spirit, once occupied these 
 rooms, and kneeled in these closets, which are consecrated 
 to the same sacred purposes through succeeding genera- 
 tions, that my heart cleaves with inviolable attachment to 
 tliis hill of Zion. Just so far as each successive class 
 .shall continue to furnish men of this character ; and shall 
 give new proof, from year to year, that substantial learn- 
 ing, embellishment of taste, and fervor of holy zeal may 
 be combined in the ministers of Christ ; we have a guar- 
 antee that the Simeons and Annas of our churches will 
 continue to pray for us. In different parts of this country^ 
 there are many ministers of solid sense and information, 
 who have risen by the strength of their own character to 
 distinguished usefulness and influence, and that with in- 
 ferior early advantages. These ministers, and the body of 
 intelligent Christians with whom they are connected, will 
 give us the aid of their confidence and their prayers, no 
 further than they see evidence, that literary acquisitions 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 
 
 259 
 
 are sanctified by a predomihant character of piety in out 
 students. God forbid that these churches, reared by the 
 Hookers and Mathers of former days, siiouid ever be com- 
 pelled to choose between fervid ignorance and scholastic 
 apathy in the pulpit. But rely on it, if they are not for- 
 saken by the Holy Spirit, much as they are disposed to 
 cherish theological seminaries, these churches, should we 
 drive them to that alternative, will pass by cold scholars, 
 and prefer men of moderate learning with ardent piety, 
 to be their ministers. So it will he ; and so it oi/gJtt to be. 
 And could the fathers of New England, and the departed 
 founders of this seminary, speak from amid the full light 
 which heaven reflects on the interests of the church 
 below, they would doubtless say with one voice, so let it be. 
 
 "On this subject I feel myself to be speaking as one 
 that must give account ; speaking to a family of young 
 ministers, in whom a higher stamp of personal religion 
 ought to be expected, than in any other associated circle, 
 of equal numbers, on the globe. To your instructors it 
 has been given in special charge, as their first duty, to 
 make the cultivation of your 7Jie^_y an object of unremit- 
 ted care. Importai|it stations in the church, perhaps my 
 own office, or that of my respected colleagues, may here- 
 after devolve on some of you ; and it should be our most 
 earnest endeavor to cherish in you those principles, with- 
 out which, even in the humblest sphere, we cannot hoi>e 
 to see you useful or happy. You see then, on what my 
 best anticipations as to the spirit of sacred eloquence here 
 are suspended. Could I determine how far the spirit of 
 genuine devotion prevails in your hearts ; could I see how- 
 far personal ambition is supplanted by the love of Christ 
 and of one anotlier ; could I inspect each closet, and take 
 the temperature of each man's piety from day to day, — 
 then I should be satisfied what progress to look for in that 
 eloquence, which God will approve and employ for the ad- 
 
260 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 vancement of his own cause. O could our fathers, Norris, 
 Abbot, and Spring, attend your rhetorical exercises, and 
 among the catalogue of your names, could they fix on one, 
 who aims to become an eloquent preacher, while he 
 neglects to commune with his own heart and with his 
 God, in secret, with what eyes think you would they look 
 on such a son of their seminary ! How, especially, could 
 his motives bear the inspection of that eye, which as a 
 flame of fire searches every heart !"* 
 
 From the following memoranda of Dr. Porter's pastoral 
 conversations with the students, the reader may best learn 
 his mode of ascertaining their spiritual wants and of com- 
 municating instruction. 
 
 " General Subjects of Conversation. 
 
 " 1. Can you mention any points in regard to progress 
 in piety, on which students would be most likely to be 
 benefitted by conversation with me ? 
 
 "2. What circumstances have you found favorable and 
 what unfavorable to tlie cultivation of piety here ? Have 
 you observed any difference, in different seasons of the 
 year? 
 
 "3. What books have you found most useful to promote 
 the spirit of piety? 
 
 "4. What is the influence of the religious class meet- 
 ing? 
 
 "5. The best times for secret devotion, and the best 
 manner of conducting it, as to reading, &,c. 
 
 " 6. The influence of study on devotional feeling. 
 
 " 7. The influence of devotional feeling on study. 
 
 " 8. How far has your enjoyment in secret devotion de- 
 pended on regularity in it? 
 
 " 9. Ingoing out from this place and returning, do you 
 
 * Lecture V. on Eloquence. 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 261 
 
 find the temperature of piety here higher or lower tlian 
 elsewhere ? 
 
 " March 29. Saturday evening. — Saw eight of the junior 
 class; and found special interest in remarking to them on 
 three points. 1. The importance of daily reading more or 
 less of the best dev otional books, especially the old Puritans. 
 2. The tendency among ministers to live on an old hope, 
 taking it for granted that they are Christians, so as to neg- 
 lect self-examination. 3. The danger of resting in an 
 intellectual religion; in distinction from the simple piety 
 of plain Christians, that fastens on Christ with a firmness 
 of grasp that all the skepticism of the world cannot 
 shake. 
 
 " 10. Divine guidance. 
 
 " Examples — A minister is called to remove to another 
 church ; a theological student is doubting whether he shall 
 devote his life to missions or to the pastoral work. He re- 
 members the direction, 'Commit thy way to the Lord, and 
 he shall direct thy steps.' 
 
 "How is this guidance to be sought?* 
 
 "Negatively 1. Not by casting lots. In the days of 
 miracles, this appeal to the lot, made with solemn prayer, 
 was proper ; but there is no sanction for it in the Bible, as 
 an ordinary thing, in our times. It is an appeal, either 
 
 " (a) to chance, which is atheism, or 
 
 " (b) to God, which is presumption — i. e. as commonly 
 made concerning trifles, and with levity instead of reli- 
 gious reverence. — Commonly made as to some indifferent 
 thing that must be decided, but no matter how. 
 
 " Objections to this are — (a) if it is regarded as a decision 
 from God, why not resort to it with prayer? (b) Why not 
 in great cases where duty is concerned ? (c) Why not in 
 all cases, ecclesiastical, judicial, prudential, &c. when 
 
 * A train of thought similar to this, may be found in one of John 
 Newton's Letters. 
 
262 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 we want a decision certainly right? (d) Why complain 
 of ticket venders, and lotteries on a large scale? 
 
 " 2. Not by opening at random to a text in the Bible. 
 This is another sort of lottery — is using the Bible as 
 an amulet, and is a sort of devout. Christian atheism, 
 
 " 3. We are not to expect a new revelation, a voice, a 
 dream. 
 
 "4. We are not to expect special impressions in prayer. 
 A thing may be wrong, and yet we may earnestly desire 
 it. We cannot tell whether our friend in a distant country 
 is alive or dead, from our freedom in praying for him. 
 
 " This guidance is to be sought, 
 
 "Affirmatively, — In humble prayer. It is sanctifying, 
 divine influence; freeing the mind from selfishness; ren- 
 dering it candid, and open to fair, just views of duty, as 
 learned from the Bible and providence. 
 
 "11. Things which tend to injure the temper of the 
 theological student, as to spirituality, meekness, candor. 
 
 " 1. Irritability and peevishness, contracted by severe 
 study, bad health, indigestion. — In general, when a man 
 is in this state, he sheJuld know it, and talk hut little. 
 
 " 2. Emulation ; — the habit of setting up a man's self, 
 and estimating things in relation to his own interest or 
 influence ; — aspiring to influence by party spirit, or man- 
 agement. 
 
 "3. A habit of suspecting the motives of others, and 
 speaking censoriously of their character. 
 
 " 4. Disputation, in distinction from cool discussion. 
 
 " (a) On important theological subjects. — Influence of 
 maintaining the wrong side, why bad. 
 
 " (b) On common subjects that come up in the meetings 
 of the students for business. — The expediency of multi- 
 plying such meetings, where collision and sharp debate are 
 expected. — Fraternal feeling disturbed. 
 
 "5. Colloquial habits that cherish levity and frivolity. 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 263 
 
 " (a) Why liable to exist here. 
 " (b) Why to be guarded against. 
 " 12, Love to the brethren. 
 
 " Our students must be instructed in the best way to 
 examine their own hearts ; and to instruct Christians in 
 this thing. Dr. Payson's manner is to descend from gen- 
 eral things to specific, e. g. 'I am a great sinner,' is a 
 confession any Christian can make. But it is indefinite 
 and unimpressive. To feci, I must be particular. How 
 many sins did I commit in the first five years of life ? 
 reckoning every unholy thought, <!tc. Then, how many 
 in the next five? remembering what each sin deserves. 
 
 "Or take my own relations, 1. To God as my Creator, 
 preserver, &c. 2. To fellow Christians. 3. To natural 
 relatives. 4. To the world. Ramify them with their 
 obligations, and see how many duties I have neglected, 
 and how many sins committed in respect to all these. 
 
 " Or take my own faculties : reason, memory, con- 
 science, &c. — Of body too, eyes, ears, hands. How often 
 has each been perverted ? 
 
 " Or requisitions of the divine law, as to God, my 
 neighbor, and myself The requisitions of the gospel 
 too. 
 
 " This kind of self-examination must not be hurried 
 over. Particulars must he Jixcd in the eye, and spread 
 out, till the soul is humbled, and brought to the cross. 
 By such a process a church may come profitably to renew 
 covenant, and to grow in grace by seasons of fasting and 
 prayer." 
 
 Dr. Porter's interests became identified with those of 
 the seminary. In a letter written some years before his 
 death, he remarks : — " It is enough to say of Andover, 
 that among earthly interests, that is the centre of my affec- 
 tions. I think of it with the same intense, though not with 
 
264 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 the same melancholy remembrance, as the Israelites in 
 Babylon thought of their temple and beloved city. There 
 is no reason why I should be gloomy. Though I am at 
 present in exile, my beloved city is not in ruins, but in 
 great prosperity. My own interests too for time and eter- 
 nity, are in so good hands, that I would not commit them 
 to other keeping if I could." "Of our beloved seminary, 
 my heart daily says, ' If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let 
 my right hand forget her cunning,' &c." For the sake 
 of the seminary, much more than for his own, he desired 
 the enjoyment of health ; and his infirmities occasioned 
 him solicitude mainly because they interrupted his labors, 
 and thus affected his usefulness. To Mrs. Porter he 
 writes : — " You know, my dear wife, that my greatest so- 
 licitude respecting ray frail health has arisen from the 
 apprehension that it may be the occasion of injury to the 
 interests of our beloved seminary. In this regard chiefly 
 it has been the subject of doubt and prayer with me, how 
 far the experiment should go as to my restoration ; and 
 what degree of infirmity it must be, to make the relin- 
 quishment of my office an obvious duty. I see no way to 
 dispose of this question safely, but to cast the responsibility 
 on judicious friends, attached to the seminary by the 
 strongest ties, and at the same time regarding me with an 
 affection far beyond my merits ; and thus commit the 
 whole subject to Providence. And yet I cannot but look 
 toward that hill of Zion, with mingled emotions of love 
 and anxiety ; love to my office and the dear circle with 
 whom I am associated ; anxiety lest I and my friends 
 should overrate the importance of my services to the insti- 
 tution. I am aware that besides the great responsibility 
 of any office in that seminary, there are intrinsic difficul- 
 ties peculiar to my department, difficulties which the best 
 combination of qualities in an instructor are barely suffi- 
 cient to encounter. But the degree of indulgence extended 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 265 
 
 to my defects, and of success attending my imperfect 
 labors hitherto, require me to proceed with increased 
 effort, if God is pleased to grant me strength. To Him I 
 cheerfully commit the result." 
 
 As Dr. Porter advanced in years, he felt an increasing 
 anxiety that th^ course of theological education should be 
 thorough. On this subject he spoke with emphasis in the 
 lecture room and in the pulpit.* His estimate of its im- 
 portance, formed from a deliberate and oft repeated survey 
 of ministerial relations and responsibilities, in which he 
 was perhaps the more confirmed, by frequent expressions 
 of gratitude from those who had once been members of the 
 seminary, that they had been persuaded to complete the 
 course of study prescribed by the statutes, may be inferred 
 from the following paper on the subject, communicated for 
 publication in the American Quarterly Register. 
 
 " The necessity that young men, who are preparing for 
 the ministry, should pursue a thorough course of study, 
 especially of theological study, is a subject on which I am 
 willing most fully to express my views, according to your 
 request ; and I can have no objection that these views 
 should be made public, if it is your wish to make them so, 
 through the Quarterly Register of the American Educa- 
 tion Society. I only regret that the various engagements 
 by which my time is engrossed, render it impossible for 
 me, at present, to give that attention to the subject, which 
 my conviction of its importance would, in other circum- 
 stances, induce me to bestow upon it. I have no doubt, 
 however, that your readers will be disposed to regard with 
 candor, any suggestions that I may offer on this subject ; 
 
 * For a further expression of Dr. Porter's views on this subject, 
 the reader is referred to his Sermon on the Magnitude of the 
 
 I Preacher's Work. 
 23 
 
266 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 and especially that these suggestions will be thus regarded 
 by my younger brethren in the ministry, 
 
 " If I may be allowed to speak of my own personal 
 experience, I would wish to make it admonitory to those 
 who are coming after me. I entered on professional 
 studies after a course of academical preparation, extended 
 to nearly seven years, and pursued under as good advan- 
 tages as the state of the country then allowed. This 
 preparatory course was not interrupted by school teaching, 
 a practice which most unhappily prevails of late, in some 
 of our colleges, to such an extent as virtually to reduce a 
 four years' education to less than three, especially if we 
 include the exhaustion of vital power under which a 
 student must go on in college, who has devoted all his 
 vacations to a most arduous employment. The infelicity 
 of my case was, that my theological preparation, though 
 acquired under the direction of a distinguished divine and 
 theological instructor,* and continued for a longer period 
 than was customary at the time, was much too short. 
 When I came to enter on my work in a large country 
 parish, and to learn, as I soon did, how inadequate was 
 my stock of acquired knowledge, I was driven to extremi- 
 ties. Besides the weekly writing of sermons, and the 
 endless routine of pastoral engagements, I must somehow 
 find time for that professional and general reading, which 
 I now saw to be indispensable, and lamented that I had 
 not accomplished to a greater extent, before entering on 
 my ministry. The consequence was, (and I hope others 
 may profit by the mistake,) I resorted to a course of night 
 studies, which in a few years made shipwreck of my con- 
 stitution. 
 
 " Since the period to which I have now referred, the 
 course of events has been such as to create a strong de- 
 
 * The late Rev. Dr. Smalley. 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 267 
 
 inand, and every year increases this demand, for higher 
 and higher qualifications in the ministry. The inquisi- 
 tive, and enterprising, and intelligent character of the 
 age ; the resources of learning perverted by the advocates 
 of error ; above all, the wide field of moral influence open- 
 ing in our western States, and the call for men to go to 
 the heathen, who may be safely trusted in translating the 
 Bible, and laying Christian foundations for centuries to 
 come ; — all these, and many other considerations have 
 opened on the church a new era, calling for augmented 
 resources, in the moral and intellectual furniture of minis- 
 ters. In accordance with these remarks, public senti- 
 ment has most distinctly declared itself, in the establish- 
 ment of theological seminaries, and in the patronage they 
 have received, from the most judicious men in the land. 
 Before these measures were adopted, there had long been 
 a gradual falling off from the ground occupied by the early 
 Fathers of our churches, many of whom were distin- 
 guished scholars, especially in the literature of the sacred 
 writings. 
 
 " I should think myself especially unfortunate in the 
 following remarks, if they should make the impression on 
 the mind of any good man, that I would exalt intellectual 
 furniture in ministers, at the expense of personal piety. 
 Perhaps I cannot better guard against such an impression, 
 and show the habitual feelings of my own mind on this 
 subject, than by subjoining in a note a few sentences from 
 a manuscript sermon, which I delivered in the chapel of 
 the theological seminary, in this place, some months ago.* 
 
 * " We are ander special obligations to cultivate the spirit of 
 piety in our own hearts. When 1 remember the pioneers of the 
 cross, trained up here for their sacred and self-denying work of 
 gathering churches in our new settlements; and when 1 think of 
 the missionary stations among the heathen^ occupied by the sons 
 of this seminary, I am cheered by the hope that God will bless it 
 
268 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 I hope this extract will show that it is not my habit to 
 undervalue piety in the ministry. 
 
 " In urging the necessity of an extended course of theolo- 
 gical study, one other suggestion seems proper, to guard 
 against misapprehension of my meaning. Nothing could 
 be farther from my design, than to cast any reproach on 
 those who, like myself, entered the ministry, before the 
 facilities which now exist for such a course of study, were 
 provided. It is equally remote from my purpose to say, 
 that every candidate for the ministry, without regard to his 
 
 with his own gracious presence, and make it still the instrument 
 
 of promoting his own cause. The church expects, and has a right 
 to expect, that we shall raise up devoted and holy men for her 
 service. I would not say, by any means, that all our students 
 should actually engage in missions ; but they should possess the 
 spirit of missions, or they cannot be useful, at this day, in any 
 department of the ministry. 
 
 " Let profound learning be cultivated here. Let interpreters of 
 the Bible, and theologians, and pteachers, who are able men, go 
 from these halls annually. Christian learning is the heavy artillery 
 of the ministry, against the armies of the aliens. This too the 
 church expects of us, and has a right to expect. But the church 
 will not be satisfied with this. She demands that from year to 
 year, not only learned and eloquent men, but men glowing with 
 zeal for God, and the salvation of sinners, should go from this 
 place. On this condition, the pious Simeons and Annas of the 
 land, ' praying to God alway, and waiting for the consolation of 
 Israel,' will pray for ns ; — a thousand closets will send up their 
 supplications, in a cloud of incense, that God will bless this school 
 of sacred learning. And when such men as Hall and Fisk die, 
 the church will know where to look for others to fill their places. 
 But oh, — should the day come, when such a call of heaven should 
 reach us, 'Who will go to that post of self-denial?' — and there be 
 none to answer, 'Here am I;' — should the day come, when 
 learning shall be the all absorbing business here, and personal 
 religion be understood to be a subordinate concern, (and it will be 
 so understood, if it is so,) then will the church mourn ; her con- 
 fidence in this seminary will be deservedly and irretrievably lost; 
 and the finger of heaven will write on these walls, ' The glory i$ 
 departed.' " 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 269 
 
 age, and other circumstances, should pursue a three years' 
 course of study in theology. But what I mean to say is, 
 and the time in my opinion has come to say this very dis- 
 tinctly, that henceforward, such a course of study is short 
 enough, as a general rule. If any one is providentially 
 prevented from pursuing it, that should be submitted to as 
 his calamity. I am the more confident in my opinions on 
 this subject from the fact, that during twenty-two years' 
 experience as an instructor of theological students, six- 
 teen of which have been passed in my present relations, I 
 have heard not a few young men lament their own haste 
 in entering the ministry, but not an individual have I 
 known to intimate that he had spent too much time in pre- 
 paratory studies. 
 
 " But it is time to drop this prefatory matter, and come to 
 the main point, why a thorough intellectual preparation for 
 the sacred office is necessary. 
 
 " When Paul says to Timothy that a bishop should not be 
 a novice, there is a figurative allusion in the original word, 
 that is very significant. Literally the expression is, ' not 
 an infant.' It denotes that want of knowledge or skiH, 
 which we see in a new born child, that would certainly 
 fail of success, if set to accomplish any work requiring the 
 strength and intelligence of a man. There is a secondary 
 sense too, that is scarcely less pertinent. It refers to a tree 
 or plant recently set in the earth, which has not had time 
 to become rooted, and is easily disturbed by the wind or 
 any external violence. The meaning is, that a Christian 
 minister ought not only to be mature in religious experi- 
 ence, but to have a sound, well furnished understanding. 
 Both these requisites he needs, lest being inflated with 
 pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil. That 
 stability of character which can resist temptation, and 
 qualify a man to be a guide in the church, must come from 
 fixed religious opinions, grounded on a thorough acquaint- 
 23* 
 
270 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER, 
 
 ance with divine truth. The apostle, that he might be 
 certainly understood on this subject, often exhorts Timo- 
 thy to diligence in reading, and meditation, and study of 
 the scriptures, the great store-house of divine knowledge; 
 through which the minister might become furnished for 
 his work. 
 
 " In remarking on this subject then, I would advance no 
 theories that are extravagant, none that are new — none 
 indeed that are not sanctioned by apostolic authority. Let 
 any man (if in this age of light there is any man) who ad- 
 vocates the cause of clerical ignorance, read the epistles 
 to Timothy and Titus, and then answer this plain question : 
 did a teacher of religion, who had the gift of inspiration 
 to understand the scriptures, and the gift of tongues to 
 preach; a teacher too, born amid the scenery and cus- 
 toms described in the Bible, and familiar with the language 
 in which important parts of it were written, — did he need 
 the aid of study and reading to qualify him for his work ? 
 and can a man, who has not one of all these advantages, 
 be qualified for the same work, ?o?7//o2(< study? How is 
 he to know what is in the Bible, till he has studied the 
 Bible ? and how can he study the Bible, so as to 
 have, concerning what is peculiar in its language, local 
 allusions, and usages, the knowledge requisite for a public 
 teacher, without much reading of other books? Does 
 he claim to be an inspired man ? Let him stand forth and 
 prove his inspiration by working a miracle. Just as well 
 may his hearers claim to be inspired, so as to have no need 
 of him, or of any one, as a religious teacher. 
 
 " Now the positions, which I would take to show the 
 connection between intellectual furniture and success in a 
 minister are these four ; — a man must have knoivledge him- 
 self, before he can teach others — he must have capacity 
 to learn, before he can acquire knowledge — he must have 
 time to learn — and he must have instruction. The first is 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 
 
 271 
 
 self-evident. The second admits no diversity of opinion, 
 except as to the degree of native talent, which is necessary 
 to a minister. Concerning this too, all will agree thus 
 far, that the highest powers of genius may find ample 
 scope in this work ; and that on the other hand, decided 
 weakness of intellect is a disqualification. He that stands 
 on middle ground, between these two limits — he that has 
 a fair average of native talent with other men, may with a 
 good heart, and adequate culture, be a successful minis- 
 ter. Good sense he must have; but brilliant powers are by 
 no means indispensable. 
 
 " It is self-evident too, that he must have time to learn, 
 before he can hope for success in his work. Common 
 sense decides so, in regard to all acquisitions, which are 
 to be made by study. In the first schools of Europe, es- 
 tablished for the two great professions, law and medicine, 
 the period of study is three, four, and in some cases, fve 
 years, superadded to an academical education. In the 
 sanoe departments, three years of professional study is 
 made a legal requisite, in diHerent parts of our own coun- 
 try. But is the care of men's m/wor/fl/ interests a business 
 that demands less maturity of preparation, than that of their 
 bodies or estates ? Is the interpretation of the sacred ora- 
 cles, and the preaching of the everlasting gospel, so trifling 
 an affair, that it may be safely left to any novice, who 
 chooses to undertake it? Plainly, he cannot be a suc- 
 cessful teacher in the church of God, who has not had 
 time to learn. The knowledge that he needs is to be 
 gained, not by intuition, not by inspiration, not by any 
 ' royal road,' but by patient, long continued study. Solo- 
 mon has told him all the secret of gaining this knowledge ; 
 he must dig for it, as for hidden treasures. 
 
 Need I add that he must have instruction ? The ob- 
 vious necessity of this was felt by the fathers of New Eng- 
 land, those pious and sagacious men, who founded colleges 
 
272 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 with the primary view of raising up an educated ministry 
 for their descendants. And to these wise provisions, men 
 of like spirit have added the endowment of tlieological sem- 
 inaries, that the sons of the church, instead of rushing 
 self-taught into this work, might enjoy the best advantages 
 of professional instruction. 
 
 " But it is said, ' how can a young man of ardent piety 
 spend year after year in preparatory study, while there are 
 so few religious teachers, and so many destitute churches, 
 and perishing sinners around him ? That young man 
 ought to go at once to these starving souls with tlie bread 
 of life.' So, excellent men, and even ministers have 
 argued, and often remonstrated with the pious student, 
 and perhaps have thrown him into serious perplexity as to 
 his own duty. Now to relieve this perplexity, should he 
 come to me for counsel, I would ask him — Why did 
 C/iriiit delay the commencement of his ministry till he 
 was thirty years of age ? Was he not as well qualified as 
 you to preach at twenty-five ? Were there no perishing 
 sinners around him ? Was there no lack of ministers then 
 to teach the way of God in truth ? Had you been in his place, 
 you would have begun to preach, it seems, just so soon as 
 you had happened to feel deeply the dreadful condition of 
 sinners ; and would have summoned to your aid, not twelve 
 apostles, but ticelve thousand. Are you then more wise than 
 Christ? more benevolent than Christ to the souls of men? 
 
 " Besides, is a young man of course qualified to be a 
 religious teacher, because he is ardently pious? Then 
 the wi.scst men, in every age, have been mistaken. Then 
 colleges, and theological seminaries, and education socie- 
 ties, are a useless incumbrance to the world. But if 
 preparation is necessary, God has decided that these 
 vacant churches and perishing sinners must toait, till the 
 preparation is made by study, for it is not made now by 
 miracles. And there is no hardship, on this supposition 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 273 
 
 more than on the other, if piety were all that the churches 
 should desire in ministers, still they must wait, for God to 
 make pious men. For if all such men, who hope to enter 
 the ministry, were taken from our seminaries, and colleges, 
 and academies too, and made preachers at once, the cry 
 for more laborers would still come from every corner of 
 the land. 
 
 " Still some may urge by way of objection that facts, 
 and the aspects of Providence, are against this reasoning. 
 Ministers have been very successful with but little study ; 
 and the wants of the world are so urgent, that we must 
 dispense with preparatory qualifications, except a good 
 heart and good sense. 
 
 " That such men as John Newton and Thomas Scott 
 have been a great blessing to the church, it were as idle to 
 doubt, as it is, that their usefulness would have been far 
 more eminent, with an adequate early education. But see 
 what is the result, if you try the principle assumed in the 
 objection by common sense. A man of capacity and in- 
 tegrity, is a farmer, a skillful farmer ; does it follow that, 
 with all his good sense and knowledge of husbandry, he 
 could manage a sldp in a tempest ? and if he should do it, 
 would it therefore be safe to commit all the concerns of 
 navigation to farmers ? Another man is a skillful merchant, 
 and knows the quality and price of every article he deals 
 out to his customers ; is he therefore qualified to deal out 
 medicines to the sick? Another is a skillful lawyer; but 
 give him the surgeon's knife, and call him to perform an 
 operation ; are you sure that he would do it with success? 
 I need not wait for an answer to such inquiries. Then 
 take this farmer, this merchant, this lawyer, and suppose 
 each to be ardently pious, if you please; and ask common 
 sense whether he would, of course, be a successful inter- 
 preter of the Bible, or preacher of the gospel? 
 
 " If any one demands that I should tell, more particu- 
 
274 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 larly, how deficiency in theological knowledge will hinder 
 a preacher's success, I answer, — In the first place, his 
 public instructions will fail to interest intelligent hearers. 
 Some such hearers he will have, in this age of mental 
 activity ; when reading and thinking are so customary, 
 even among common men. Should they be satisfied for 
 a few weeks or months, they will ultimately come to per- 
 ceive, that his sermons are trite and feeble in thought. 
 This result is quite certain, if he is only a common man, 
 with common efforts. 
 
 "Or, in the second place, if he aims to retrieve the 
 past deficiencies of his education, by great and special 
 efforts, in his preparations to preach, while, at the same 
 time, he sustains the great, and various, and arduous 
 duties of his office, he is a chad man ; he will sink into 
 hopeless infirmity, or a premature grave. 
 
 " Or, in the third place, if he attempts to bring up all 
 arrears, by incessant study, while he saves his life by 
 neglect of pastoral duties, though he should become a 
 tolerable preacher, he is a dead man in another respect ; 
 there will be a sad failure in the amount of his usefulness. 
 
 " Facts are full of instruction on this subject. Not a 
 few young men of bright promise, who might have become 
 champions of the truth, have been so impatient to hasten 
 into the ministry, that they have fatally blighted their 
 own prospects ; and instead of attaining to distinguished 
 success, have scarcely reached the point of mediocrity. 
 The minister now, whose maxim is to expect little things, 
 and attempt little things, mistakes the day in which he 
 lives. What was knowledge in the thirteenth century, is 
 ignorance now. What was energy then, is imbecility and 
 stupidity now. As was said in another case, it becomes 
 not our sacred profession, in this period of intellectual 
 progress, to remain like the ship that is moored to its 
 station, only to mark the rapidity of the current that is 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 
 
 275 
 
 sweeping by. Let the intelligence of the age outstrip us, 
 and leave us behind, and religion would sink, with its 
 teachers, into insignificance. Ignorance cannot wield 
 this intelligence. Give to the church a feeble ministry, 
 and the world breaks from your hold ; your main spring 
 of moral influence is gone. 
 
 " Go on then, my dear sir, in the arduous and exalted 
 work to which you are devoted. God grant you success 
 in the noble enterprise of multiplying able and holy minis- 
 ters of his truth. It is a cause for which good men have 
 prayed and will pray, without ceasing. It is a cause on 
 which God has smiled, and will smile, with approbation." 
 
 With all his solicitude, however, that the training of 
 candidates for the sacred office should be thorough, Dr. 
 Porter was scrupulously attentive to the minutiai of pro- 
 fessional character. Of this we may find illustration in 
 the subjoined letter to a young clergyman, on the use of 
 personal pronouns. 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " I am happy in the confidence I feel that you pos- 
 sess the great elementary qualifications requisite in the 
 sacred work on which you have entered. Compared with 
 these qualifications, there are numerous minor things 
 which are but as dust in the balance ; and yet ilb wise 
 preacher would wish to indulge himself in any careless 
 infelicities of language, or in blunders of any sort, even in 
 trifles, that might by any possibility impair his usefulness 
 in a holy and elevated calling. ' IIcc nuga: stria (lucent.^ 
 " My present object is, to caution you against some of 
 these nvgcB of the pulpit, the principal mischief of which 
 is, that they may raise a question in hearers of intelligence, 
 whether the preaclier who falls into them has not some- 
 thing trifling in his character. 
 
276 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 " An example of my meaning you have in the substitu- 
 tion of the plural pronoun for the singular, where the 
 preacher means himself. You may have observed this in 
 some preachers of respectable sense and scholarship; and 
 yet, if you undertake to analyze the usage, you can hardly 
 fail to lose your gravity, the thing is so ridiculous. 
 
 " In the first place, it is a gross violation of English 
 idiom, and has no authority from the first orators of the 
 language, either secular or sacred. About thirty years 
 ago, here and there a preacher in England, and in this 
 country, called himself, vie — in imitation of the French 
 idiom. The same tribe of imitators caught at the rhetor- 
 ical ah ! of the French pulpit, and the Mon Ditu ! and 
 other profane invocations of God, introduced to ornament 
 a sentence, in direct violation of Horace's canon, ' Nec 
 dens intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus incideril.' All 
 this is gone by, except the partiality for the pronoun we, 
 by which now and then a grave minister chooses to desig- 
 nate himself. 
 
 " In the next place, as this usage violates English idiom, 
 it of course leads to confusion of sense. 
 
 " All our grammarians have taught that / is a singular, 
 and we a plural pronoun. If we do away this distinction 
 by making them identical, or if we amalgamate both into 
 one, the question arises, whether that one expresses unity, 
 or pluPhlity of sense. In regal style, probably the king 
 originally said we, meaning himself and court. And 
 yet ' we, George the IV.' seems plainly to mean but 
 one man; and the attempt to make out the rest of the 
 sentence amounts to a burlesque on ' the king's English.' 
 Take an example translated from a proclamation of the 
 Russian emperor : ' We, Alexander first, autocrat of all 
 the Russias, &c., with respect to oursdf, we request all 
 our subjects to offer up fervent prayers to God, that he 
 may receive our souls into his everlasting kingdom.' Now 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 077 
 
 if a naughty tyro in grammar should ask his English 
 teacher — ' how am I to parse this sentence? how many 
 emperors does it take to make one man ? and how many 
 souls has that man ? ' he could only be told that royal 
 style is not intended to be parsed, like that of common 
 sense ; and especially that this style in foreign idiom, is 
 not subject to the laws of English grammar. 
 
 " Editors too, are a privileged class of men ; though 
 several individuals have so often been associated in this 
 class by partnership, that 7ee, as used in this case, is com- 
 monly understood to denote plurality of sense. ' We the 
 editor,' — would now sound so strangely, that perhaps this 
 word, in process of time, will come, like ' tongs,' ' bel- 
 lows,' &c., to have no singular. 
 
 " But allowing all convenient latitude to emperors and 
 editors, what occasion has the Christian preacher to con- 
 found grammar and sense, in using the personal pronoun? 
 For example, ' we shall attempt, my brethren, to establish 
 the truth of the following proposition.' Whom does the 
 preacher mean by we ? Himself and hearers ? or himself 
 and other preachers? or himself only? Neither the hear- 
 ers who are present, nor the fraternity of preachers who 
 are absent, have any thing to do in proving that proposi- 
 tion. Why then should one man speak of himself in the 
 plural, because he is in the pulpit, any more than if he 
 were talking to a tenth part of these hearers in a confer- 
 ence room, or to one of them in his study, or giving 
 instruction to his child or domestic? Again : ' We know 
 that while, as a minister of Christ, it is our duty to urge 
 you to repentance, we are a sinner before God, as well as 
 you.' That the following examples are not occasional 
 trips of haste is probable, because they are taken from 
 sermons, printed by their authors. ' And now brethren, 
 we affectionately ask, why is not this duty faithfully per- 
 formed by you all ? What is your objection ?' That the 
 
278 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER, 
 
 preacher began this address as one man, is evident, be- 
 cause he continues it in the singular — '/ know that / 
 speak to some,' &.C., and thus, for some time, / goes on 
 with the exhortation which we had begun. Again : an 
 address at an ordination has this instance, ' Wt know well 
 the anxieties that press upon your spirits at this solemn 
 hour ; for we have felt them all, and can tell you, after 
 seven years' experience, that there is just cause for them 
 all.' The obscurity of sense is cleared up by a little 
 reasoning, thus : the preacher could not mean, ' we the 
 assembly know,' &-c., for they had not been seven years 
 in the ministry ; nor ' we the ecclesiastical council,' for it 
 were marvellous that they should all have been ministers 
 just seven years ; but, ' wc the preacher know,' dec. This 
 is the correct solution, no doubt ; for a little before, this 
 plural preacher calls the candidate, ' 7ny beloved brother,' 
 and repeatedly says, ' speak not,' &c., and 'ice speak,' 
 &c., in reference to what had been said by his single self. 
 In the following quotation, I aim only at substantial, not 
 verbal exactness. ' We do not offer ourselves as a learned 
 expositor of that revelation which God has given us ; but 
 we say that he is without excuse, who rejects the testimony 
 of God, so often repeated by us, that he " gave his Son to 
 die for us.'" A revelation given to the preacher! A 
 Saviour given to die for the preacher, in distinction from 
 other men ! His incongruous use of pronouns makes him 
 say this ; but surely this is not his meaning. One more 
 instance may be added ; it is a sentence with which I 
 heard a minister begin his closing prayer after sermon. 
 ' We pray thee bless the truths which we have now dis- 
 pensed to these dying hearers.' In a petition thus ex- 
 pressed, how could the assembly unite ? The hearers had 
 not been dispensing truth. 
 
 " Now, my dear sir, if you have fallen into this solecism 
 in pulpit phraseology, just look a moment at the simple 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 279 
 
 language of Christ and the apostles, and see what a strange 
 transmutation of the New Testament would be made by 
 such a blending of personal pronouns. One example from 
 Paul must suffice. ' Let no man think us a fool. Are 
 they Hebrews? so are we. Are they Israelites? so are 
 we,' &c. ' Thrice were we beaten with rods ; once were 
 we stoned,' &,c. What a curious address must this have 
 been to the Gentile converts of Corinth ! 
 
 " But modesty offers its apology. ' Though an apostle 
 might speak of himself in the first person, this would be 
 egotism in a common man, especially a young man.' And 
 what is egotism ? Not using proper terms to express 
 proper thoughts. It consists in a spirit of ostentation 
 with which a man speaks of himself, and not in the words 
 he uses. In illustration of this point, the following anec- 
 dote was some time since related by a writer in one of our 
 periodicals. ' Among the theological pupils of the cele- 
 brated Dr. Bellamy, was a young man named B — ■ , 
 
 whose vanity was often offensive to his instructor, and 
 who was one day reading for criticism a manuscript con- 
 taining many sentences like this — " Such is 7«y opinion, 
 whatever others may think, and I am confident that my 
 opinion is correct." At the close of such a sentence, the 
 Doctor, in his peculiar, authoritative manner, said, " Stop, 
 
 B , /, /, who is this/.'"' The writer adds— 
 
 ' When I hear a preacher, who seems to be nothing more 
 than one man, saying to his hearers — " IVe, as an ambas- 
 sador of the cross, exhort you to receive the truths which 
 we have now delivered," I often feel inclined to say — 
 Stop — who is this we ? ' 
 
 " There are several other points of sagacious refinement 
 in the phraseology of the pulpit, to which I should have 
 called your attention, had I not extended the foregoing 
 remarks beyond my own intentions. One of these is, the 
 babit of some spruce young preachers, ' righteous over 
 
280 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 much ' in accuracy, who say, ' the first two and the last 
 two' verses of a psalm, instead of the two first, &c. 
 
 " Perhaps at some convenient time I may give you some 
 further hints on these 'trifles' of our profession."* 
 
 Numerous and weighty as were the duties growing out 
 of his official connections, Dr. Porter felt that other re- 
 sponsibilities also devolved upon him. In guiding, sus- 
 taining, and quickening the various movements of benev- 
 olence, he felt bound as a Christian philanthropist to lend 
 the whole weight of his influence. Appointed to watch 
 for souls as one that must give account, and occupying a 
 commanding post of observation, he was ever wakeful. 
 A subject which he regarded as having an important bear- 
 ing on the welfare of Zion, was the infringement of the 
 rights and usages of Congregational churches, especially 
 as practiced in Massachusetts under the sanction of judi- 
 cial decisions. Endued with discernment to detect, and 
 sensibility to feel the injuries inflicted on others, he 
 contemplated with the liveliest emotions, the ejectment of 
 laborious and able pastors from their pulpits ; the exile of 
 churches from sanctuaries, which in some instances they 
 had chiefly contributed in erecting ; and the perversion of 
 funds, which pious charity had given them, and an un- 
 disputed title to which they had enjoyed through succes- 
 sive generations, by the united decision of usage and 
 equity. The language of remonstrance against such 
 usurpation he frankly and frequently uttered. 
 
 In concluding this view of Dr. Porter's professional 
 character, it may be proper to subjoin the following 
 illustrations found among his MSS., of the corporate 
 capacity of Congregational churches. 
 
 " Not to dwell on the question whether churches were 
 originally corporate bodies in New England, there can be 
 
 * See Spirit of the Pilgrims, vol. ii. p. C45. 
 
PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 281 
 
 no doubt that they became so by the act of 1754, — that 
 is, the deacons were incorporated to hold property for the 
 church, under the supervision of the church. 
 " Cases supposed as examples : — 
 
 " I. A legacy of $5,000 is given to a Congregational 
 church in Massachusetts, unrestricted by any conditions ; 
 the annual income given to the absolute disposal of the 
 church. They manage it by instructions to their deacons. 
 By an unusual coincidence of things, death and removal 
 diminish the members of the parish, and at last in a mo- 
 ment of excitement, the few remaining members go off by 
 certificate to other sects ; not one voter is left. The church 
 goes on as a church, and votes yearly to give the income 
 of their fund to the minister, and record their votes in the 
 church records. 
 
 "Quere. 1. Does this church, or does it not, 'subsist, 
 without any religious community to which it is attached ? ' 
 
 " 2. If they do subsist still, that is, if a church can 
 retain its identity and its rights, though the parish has 
 withdrawn, why may it not retain the same identity and 
 rights, after it has withdrawn from the parish ? Or, 
 
 " 3. If the church loses her identity by the withdrawing 
 of the parish, then whose are her funds ? Can heirs at 
 law claim them on the ground of any moral or civil delin- 
 quency in the church ? Or by what sort of action can 
 they sue for the recovery of this property ? 
 
 "Case 2. $7,000 are given by a pious wealthy man to 
 the deacons of a church, in trust (as before) ; and $7,000 
 to the directors of a bible society in the same village, com- 
 mitted to their absolute discretion. The deacons have 
 corporate powers, no one doubts : — the directors also. 
 Both add the annual income to the principal. After five 
 years, a difficulty arises with the parish ; the church with- 
 draw with their fund. The directors (who are included in 
 the church) also withdraw, and worship together. Will an 
 24* 
 
282 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 action lie against the deacons to get the church fund for 
 the parish 1 What sort of action? Why will not a simi- 
 lar action lie also against the directors? 
 
 " Case 3. $6,000 are given to a Congregational church 
 as before ; the interest is added to the principal. The 
 parish negotiate to have it applied to the support of public 
 worship. When it has amounted to $10,000, the church 
 vote to apply the income for one year to support wor- 
 ship, or to give $600 to the parish. They vote to do 
 the same annually for five years, when the minister 
 dies. The parish call a Universalist ; and the church 
 withdraw. A new church is formed in the old house, 
 avowedly Universalist, but calling itself Congregationalist. 
 They sue the deacons for the fund. — The identity of the 
 church is predicated on the old place of worship. 
 
 Case 4. Same facts. — After seven years the meeting 
 house is burnt. There are one hundred and two voters. 
 Forty church members and ten others, fifty in all, vote to 
 rebuild in one place ; fifty two, possessing one fourth of 
 the property in the parish, and of low character, vote to 
 unite in another place. The strife is not about doctrine 
 but place. They divide — the fifty, including the whole 
 church, the intelligence and worth of the society, build a 
 handsome and spacious house : — the others an inferior 
 one, (which is the first parish ?) settles a minister and 
 forms a new church. Congregational in name, but on Uni- 
 versalist principles. By what action can they claim the 
 funds?" 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 Manners — Social qualities — Familiar letters — Principles of family 
 government — Paternal directions — Judicious management of 
 pecuniary affairs — Contributions — Habits as to personal expendi- 
 tures, equipage, &c. — Hospitality — Summary view of hia social 
 character. 
 
 The highest degree of personal enjoyment in the 
 present life, results from the union of happy social tem- 
 perament with Christian resignation. The man in whom 
 God has wrought this union, has within himself means of 
 usefulness, which others do not possess, and a source 
 of perennial enjoyment to which others are strangers. 
 Alone, he is happy in communion with himself and with 
 God ; in society, his happiness is increased by contribut- 
 ing to that of his associates. With however much of 
 plausibility the misanthrope might inquire in reference to 
 many of his species, 
 
 " Did man compute 
 Existence by enjoyment, and count o"er 
 Such hours 'gainst years of life ; — say would he name 
 Threescore ? — 
 
 the interrogatory would be impertinent in the case of such 
 an individual. With all his bodily sufferings, and his nu- 
 
284 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 merous unusual calls to practice self-denial, Dr. Porter was 
 uniformly a happy man. Though he valued life chiefly 
 as affording opportunity to glorify God in usefulness to his 
 fellow-men, he highly estimated the pleasures of social, 
 and especially those of Christian intercourse. 
 
 His manners were simple, natural, and dignified. Though 
 there was something in his demeanor that often imposed re- 
 straint on a stranger introduced to his presence ; there was 
 nothing repulsive, nothing which the stranger did not 
 spontaneously feel would be removed by slight acquaint- 
 ance. Though he was not fluent in conversation, except 
 with intimate friends, he had no appearance of studied 
 reserve, or of a willingness to keep himself aloof from 
 society. So gentle and conciliating was his mode of in- 
 tercourse with strangers, and so extensive was his know- 
 ledge derived from books, and from accurate observation 
 of human conduct in all the variety of circumstances in 
 which his professional duties and his frequent journeys 
 had placed him, that his fellow-travellers commonly con- 
 ceived for him a degree of respect which rendered it a 
 pleasure to them to do him kindnesses. So favorable was 
 the impression he usually made on all with whom he was 
 even temporarily associated, that on his journeys he rarely 
 had occasion to complain of the negligence of servants or 
 other agents of public conveyances, and still more rarely 
 of their disrespect or insolence. 
 
 Among the social qualities of Dr. Porter, frankness 
 held a prominent place. He was above disguise. He 
 was either silent or spoke the sentiments of his heart. 
 Duplicity in all its forms he abhorred. Nothing more 
 was needed to destroy his respect for an individual than 
 a single distinct exhibition of this trait of character. 
 Though he could and often did, with characteristic 
 delicacy, express to his friends a favorable opinion of 
 their character, when he thought the expression was 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 285 
 
 demanded by justice, or would subserve a useful end, 
 he rarely dealt in the language of compliment, never in 
 flattery. He was no less unwilling to receive it himself 
 than to offer it to others. " I never knew a man," he 
 once remarked to the writer, " who dealt much in flattery, 
 that was not fond of it in return." His aversion to in- 
 sincerity in language, was united with an equally strong 
 aversion to ostentation in action. In this respect he was 
 the same in every relation of life. His professions were 
 always sincere. With propriety it may be said of him, 
 as it is said of Dr. Dwight; — "It is believed, that in no 
 instance whatever was he even suspected to connect a 
 private selfish end, his own personal benefit, or the ad- 
 vancement of any member of his family, with that which 
 was avowed and ostensible. The purposes which he 
 proposed were the only purposes he had in view. To 
 accomplish them he would not stoop to management and 
 finesse. They were honorable purposes. He declared 
 them with the sincerity of truth, and pursued them with 
 the dignity of virtue. So perfectly known was his char- 
 acter in this respect, that the instance probably cannot 
 be named, in which any man ventured to approach him 
 for his assistance in a manner wljich was not direct 
 and honorable." Dr. Porter's frankness rendered him 
 unwilling to be intrusted with the secrets of others, and 
 induced him to resolve that he would " deal in secrets as 
 little as possible." Though sufficiently ready to com- 
 municate to his friends his feelings, his wishes, and his 
 designs, he rarely made disclosures which in any change 
 of circumstances could place him at their mercy. Con- 
 sequently much as he loved society, highly as he prized 
 the attachment of friends, and sincerely as he reciprocated 
 that attachment, his intimacies were very few. 
 
 Another obvious trait of Dr. Porter's social character, 
 was cheerfulness. To those who were accustomed to see 
 
286 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 him from day to day, and were aware of the nature and 
 extent of his bodily sufferings, his freedom from depres- 
 sion was a subject of admiration. There was, indeed, no 
 unusual flow of animation, no buoyancy of spirits; but a 
 steady, uniform cheerfulness, which showed that he had 
 well learned " in whatsoever state he was, therewith to be 
 content." In sickness, his remarks were often charac- 
 terized by a kind of playfulness and good humor, adapted 
 to alleviate the solicitude of his attendants, if not to render 
 their services a pleasure to themselves. In one instance, 
 having occasion to shave himself when much emaciated 
 by sickness, he playfully remarked to his attendant, " I do 
 not know but my razor and my cheek bones will have a 
 contention." Often when exercised with severe pain, he 
 attended as usual to the calls of business, or friendship ; 
 and so perfect was his control of his feelings, that no 
 indications of suffering were perceptible, excepting by 
 his intimate acquaintance. 
 
 In conversation he sometimes allowed himself in ani- 
 mated repartee, and occasionally in sallies of wit. And 
 at times he exhibited no doubtful indications of ability tq 
 employ sarcasm with powerful effect. In this, however, 
 he confined himself to the same limits he prescribed for 
 others — to indulge in it but sparingly, and only for a 
 useful end. Irony he deemed sometimes allowable ; 
 allowable even in the pulpit, employed as Christ employed 
 it. But with the use of wit in the pulpit, as generally 
 understood, he held no compromise. He discarded it 
 as utterly unbecoming the sacredness of the place; and 
 against it used to warn his pupils in unqualified terms. 
 His indulgence in wit even in conversation, was chiefly 
 confined to the relation of anecdotes for the purposes of 
 illustration, which he often did with much appositeness 
 and effect. A clergyman who was several years asso- 
 ciated with him as a director of a benevolent society, 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 287 
 
 remarked to the writer, that at the sessions of the board, 
 Dr. Porter commonly said but little, but often exerted a 
 controlling influence in their deliberations, by suggesting, 
 in his happy manner, pertinent and sometimes quaint 
 illustrations. 
 
 He was peculiarly free from irascibility. His spirit, 
 his manners, his whole appearance, certainly exempted 
 him more than most men from exposure to the assaults 
 of rudeness or impertinence ; but when thus exposed, he 
 maintained his wonted serenity and composure. We 
 have never heard of an instance where in discussion he 
 gave his adversary the advantage by an exhibition of 
 temper, or where in his intercourse with men in any 
 circumstances, he betrayed undue excitement. 
 
 Few men are more fond of society than was Dr. Porter. 
 And though he participated in the pleasures of social 
 intercourse with a high relish, his attachment to them 
 sprung not more from personal considerations, than from 
 a benevolent regard to the gratification and improvement 
 of others. His social qualities he made as much a 
 subject of study and cultivation as those of his intellect 
 and heart, from the conviction of their importance to the 
 most attractive exhibition of Christian character, and to 
 his highest usefulness as an ambassador of Christ. With 
 him it was a settled principle, that whatever would in- 
 crease his acceptableness in this capacity, demanded 
 attention. His friendships were sincere and ardent. And 
 though, even when surrounded by those he most loved and 
 confided in, he never allowed himself to forget that a 
 "little folly" is detractious in him that is in reputation 
 for wisdom and honor ; he could and did, in familiar 
 intercourse, exhibit a measure of natural kindness and 
 amiableness; a cheerful surrender of his own convenience 
 to that of others, and a lively interest in their enjoyment, 
 » which won the affections of all who were favored with his 
 
288 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 society. These features of his social character, through 
 every period of his life secured the confidence and attach- 
 ment of his associates. Yet with all his urbanity, and 
 solicitude to please, he possessed uncommon independence 
 and decision. " The man," said he to a clergyman who, 
 on a certain occasion, continued urging him to preach 
 after he had declined on account of feeble health — " the 
 man who cannot say no, and stand to it, is of little account 
 in this world." 
 
 The reader is here presented with a few of Dr. Porter's 
 letters, selected partly as specimens of his familiar cor- 
 respondence, and partly as illustrating the aspect of his 
 character now under consideration. The first was written 
 a few months after his ordination, to a brother in law. 
 
 " Washington, Jan. 3, 1797. 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 " I have an opportunity to write you a line which I 
 cannot fail to improve. I had a prosperous journey from 
 Vermont; and have enjoyed my health since. We have 
 nothing particularly important here. It is a healthy time. 
 Our winter has hitherto been severe. Since I last wrote 
 you, you have doubtless heard that I have exchanged my 
 candidate troubles, for the troubles of a minister. To be 
 serious, I am now among an agreeable people. I have the 
 benefit of a neighborhood that is improved, and a society 
 that is benevolent and kind. I trust however, that I know 
 enough of human nature, not to consider these things as 
 everlasting. But I shall keep my staff in my hand, and 
 be waiting for the word march, like my brethren the 
 prophets. Our circumstances here where societies are old 
 and well organized, are not altogether similar to those of 
 our brethren in Vermont, who have to stem the current of 
 fluctuating opinions. But we have some thorns and 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 289 
 
 t/tistles in this pleasant land. In short a minister's life is 
 far from being most eligible as to temporal considerations. 
 It has its sacrifices, which nothing but sincerity and a good 
 conscience can counterbalance. 
 
 " My best love to sister A . Tell her, to that 
 
 question which she asked me last fall, I answer yes, and 
 should have done it then, had it not been for Capt. F. If 
 she should add to her question, who, and where, and tchen ? 
 or any such little words, tell her, come and see — come next 
 winter and see. I am in haste. Remember me with 
 much affection to our Tinmouth friends at M. I am your 
 distant, but ever affectionate friend and brother. 
 
 " Tell A to send me a catalogue of her boys." 
 
 Three or four letters which follow, were addressed to an 
 intimate friend in Connecticut, who was his room-mate 
 during his whole course of classical and professional study. 
 
 "^ndover, March 12, 1812. 
 
 " Brother Swift, 
 
 " The first thought that strikes me on writing your 
 name is, that after spending twenty years in the most 
 familiar intercourse of friendship, we are at length, in 
 Providence removed from each other. But this intercourse, 
 however it may henceforward be subject to interruptions 
 for a few years, will not cease in this life, and I humbly 
 trust will neither cease nor be interrupted in the next. 
 
 "My journey hither was prosperous beyond all expecta- 
 tion. For a part of six days while I was travelling, the 
 weather was uninterruptedly good ; and the sleighing was 
 perfect. Not a foot of bare ground was to be seen through 
 the whole way, excepting one little spot in Charlestown, 
 about a rod. I have been received with great cordiality 
 by the good men in this region ; with the bad I have had 
 no intercourse. For several days I have been troubled 
 25 
 
290 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 with a cold and deafness of one ear, but my health is on 
 the whole as good as before I left Connecticut. And I 
 am pretty well satisfied that nothing but a good heart and 
 comfortable health will be requisite to make my situation 
 here very pleasant. Concerning the religious affairs of 
 this commonwealth, the moral and civil character of the 
 people, I have had no opportunity to form any new opin- 
 ions. The face of the country hereabouts, so far as I can 
 judge while it is covered with snow, is more pleasant than 
 I expected. The Foreign Mission has had an electric 
 influence on Christians in this region. It promises to 
 become the grave of their jealousies, and the central point 
 of their efforts. Attempts will be made to organize mis- 
 sionary societies in different parts of Connecticut next 
 May. Supplies of Buchanan's book and of Dr. Wood's 
 sermon, &c., will be sent on soon. I hope our brethren 
 will unite to aid the good cause. 
 
 " Now for your affairs. When I last saw you I did not 
 expect to come away so soon. I know you must be dis- 
 missed. I know you will be dismissed on Christian prin- 
 ciples and with unblemished reputation. But I wish to 
 know when, and every interesting circumstance respecting 
 the event. I do hope my old people will have wisdom 
 enough to invite you there immediately on your dismission. 
 But I have seen the subtlety of Satan, and the caprice of 
 men in so many forms, as to forbid any sanguine calcula- 
 tions on what is future. 
 
 " Write immediately. I shall be here till the first 
 Wednesday in May, and shall with leave of Providence 
 attend Hartford Election on my return. Cannot I see you 
 there ? If you have opportunity, show this to Mrs. Porter. 
 
 My love to Mrs. S and the family. 
 
 " Immutably yours." 
 My best love to the brethren." 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 291 
 
 ".Woyer, Feb. 10, 1813. 
 
 " Brother Swift, 
 
 " Your last letter of Noveuiber was a long time in 
 coming, having been missent. The reasons of my not 
 
 answering sooner were stated in a letter to brother , 
 
 which was equally intended for you. Even now I should 
 iiardly have taken my pen, were I not straitened in spirit 
 to hear from you, more than I am straitened for time to 
 write. I inferred from your last that you would probably 
 
 leave . I have since been informed, very indirectly, 
 
 that you had done so, and were preaching at ; then 
 
 again that you was not to be there through the winter ; 
 that it was very sickly there, &.c. Now, how do you think 
 I can be easy to have only broken hints about these 
 matters, when I want to know every syllable; and one 
 half hour of yours lent to me, would lighten and sweeten 
 my labors for a week. I have seen brother Backus's 
 inaugural sermon, but have not heard a word directly 
 from him. 1 think the job of moving will reduce his 
 great cheeks ; but I hope the Lord will be with him and 
 make him an instrument of much good. 
 
 " Your old brother." 
 
 ".'lndover,^pril2, 1813. 
 
 " Brother Swift, 
 
 " Your welcome letter of March 2Gth came to-day. 
 Pray never make another apology for writing often. My 
 answer must be short. Last Friday night, after a droop- 
 ing week, I had a violent attack of pleurisy. The pain in 
 my side was so intense that I felt disposed to scream at 
 every breath, and yet I could not scream for want of 
 breath. Mrs. Porter called a physician immediately, and 
 by his help, together with her judicious and constant 
 nursing, I was relieved before morning, and have been 
 slowly mending since ; so that yesterday and to-day I have 
 
292 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 ridden out ; but have done no business. With the blessing 
 of Providence, I hope a few days prudent attention may 
 restore me. I never felt myself literally near eternity 
 before last Friday night. Then for a little time it was 
 doubtful whether I could breathe for half an hour longer. 
 If, as it is not impossible, some such unexpected moment 
 should snap asunder the ties that have united me to you 
 and other Christian friends, the separation I humbly hope 
 will be but momentary ; and only preparatory to a perfect 
 union of hearts that shall be without end and without 
 interruption. 
 
 " I think you must go to . From all I know of 
 
 the case, the call I think is as clear as there was any 
 reason to expect in these ' evil times.' The first part of 
 their condition ought to be removed ; to the second I see 
 no objection, only that it is much ado about nothing. It 
 may give occasion to factious individuals to make trouble; 
 especially as connected with the first clause. If they 
 mean the last as explanatory of the first — then the first is 
 needless ; if they mean more by the first, it is a downright 
 impropriety under a fair cloak. Your sound judgment 
 will guide. 
 
 " As to , Esq., he is a strange mortal ; good pro- 
 perties are curiously blended with bad in his character, — 
 generosity, respect for ministers and old habits, with 
 roughness, pride of opinion, malignity to enemies — piety 
 
 in profession. If the ground is clear in other 
 
 respects, be not afraid of him. When he finds that you 
 are not his enemy and that you respect your duty and 
 yourself, he will respect you. If not, he cannot hurt you. 
 His tongue will be tied by necessity — it will soon be 
 tied by death. Indeed I should not be disappointed if 
 he and his son should in two years be your most ardent 
 friends. 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 293 
 
 " I have already exceeded my purpose and my strength : 
 so with best love to your dear family, 
 
 " I remain yours." 
 ""Andover, Jan. 13, 1814. 
 
 " Dear Brother, 
 
 "If it did but afford me as much satisfaction to 
 answer your letters as it does to receive them, I should 
 write at least once a week. But I have no disposition to 
 interrupt the relation which Providence has established 
 betwixt giving and receiving ; and I hope you will not 
 think me more selfish than I used to be. In truth, I have 
 delayed writing a few days, because very much occupied. 
 Mrs. Porter's health has been impaired this winter by 
 frequent attacks of erysipelas, though I hope she will soon 
 enjoy her usual health. The little boy has been quite 
 sick a few days with hooping cough and a fever, but is 
 better. My own health is slender. Mrs. H. has been 
 with us a week, and expects to stay sometime. From the 
 friendship I bear her, and the memory of her dear 
 deceased husband, I have engaged to do what I can 
 -towards preparing the volume of sermons which is to be 
 published. I have engaged also, if it should be indispen- 
 sable, to write the sketch of his character to be inserted 
 in the volume. By my suggestion she has written to Dr. 
 Dwight, to engage him to undertake it, if he will. I pre- 
 sume the subscription in your region will be liberal for the 
 sermons. 
 
 " The various topics of your letter were deeply interest- 
 ing to us. I am much rejoiced at the prosperous sale of 
 
 your property at ; because I apprehended no small 
 
 difficulty on that subject. I wish Mr. could have 
 
 had your house, but you was certainly under no obligation 
 to sustain an essential sacrifice for his accommodation. I 
 am sure that he will need your counsel and friendly offices 
 25* 
 
294 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 in many ways, and have no doubt of your disposition to 
 give him every possible aid. If I have not mistaken his 
 temper, he will receive with affection and gratitude every 
 token of your friendship. Would God that I had as much 
 comfort concerning my old people and their pastor, as you 
 
 have concerning R .* My friends at W. are silent 
 
 about their affairs, but from other sources rumors reach 
 my ears continually of very ominous import. These you 
 must know distress me. But the will of the Lord be done. 
 
 " I very much rejoice in your prospects of comfort and 
 usefulness at Derby. If God permit, I hope to see you 
 among your new people next May. You know I have as 
 much reliance on your judgment as on any man's; and 
 more probably than you have on your own. But let me 
 suggest a few hints — and if they are useless, they are 
 cheap, as they cost only a little of my time to write and 
 of yours to read. 
 
 You speak of a new meeting-house. I hope you will 
 watch the pulse of Derby, to push that point. Every 
 society consists of various sorts of men ; and every man is 
 actuated by various principles. In the absence of better 
 principles, parish pride is an excitement to certain sorts 
 of men to act well. I have no doubt that your people 
 ■will be sufficiently proud of their new minister. But they 
 will respect their minister and the Sabbath more, love one 
 another better, and on all accounts feel happier and even 
 richer, for building a meeting-house. Your own experi- 
 ence will suggest the importance of making the most of 
 circumstances. I think ministers have often erred in suf- 
 fering the first love of their people to pass away unim- 
 proved, which a proper forecast and energy might have 
 turned to great account. I hope you will insist on punc- 
 
 * Two or three persons preceded the present worthy occupant 
 of Dr. Porter's pulpit. 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 295 
 
 tual payment of salary. Do set duwn yonr foot on this 
 subject, and keep it down, unless it should seem best to 
 raise it now and then, that you may set it down again 
 more firmly. 
 
 If 1 were to be re-settled in the ministry, I would have 
 a list of each family in my parish at first, with every 
 child's name ; and note each special peculiarity of any 
 family or person, that I could fairly ascertain. I would 
 pay much attention to children and youth, and if pos- 
 sible get an ascendency over the influential youth. And 
 though if I were to commence preaching again at 
 twenty-two, I should feel it my prime duty to study — I 
 think if 1 were to enter into a new charge now, I should 
 try to make the most of prayer-meetings and religious 
 visits. Mr. Payson of Portland has done wonders in this 
 
 way, whereas Dr. • has less parochial influence than 
 
 he would have if more active. I know my dear brother 
 you need no suggestions from me. Do write me once a 
 month ; and if I cannot answer punctually, my amanuensis 
 will do it. — Do push the Panoplist into circulation." 
 
 The two following letters were addressed to a friend at 
 that time iu Europe. 
 
 "Andover, Sept. 15, 1817. 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " Your welcome favor of June 30th is received. I 
 regret that I am obliged to answer it amidst the distrac- 
 tions of preparation for our anniversary, or delay till Novem- 
 ber, when it may be too late. I rejoice that an all-mer- 
 ciful Providence has been propitious to you thus far in 
 your absence, and hope you may be returned in safety to 
 the sphere of benevolent action which you left. In the 
 mean time you may be doing much good. The hints in 
 your letter respecting a digested history of revivals in our 
 
296 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 churches are important. I know not why a subject of 
 such general interest should have slept so long, and I am 
 determined if God will to see its execution committed to 
 some able hand. I wish you while in Europe, for my 
 satisfaction, to commit to paper your remarks on the char- 
 acteristic difference betwixt the European and American 
 pulpit, as to subjects of sermons, method, length, style, 
 spirit, delivery, &c. Any remarks on preaching will be 
 interesting. Also on the English system of doing good. 
 If you can procure me the rhetorical work of Vossius, or 
 any new works on preaching, or English philology, I shall 
 esteem it a great favor. 
 
 " I received your papers in Georgia, for which I thank 
 you. On my return I attended General Assembly. Of 
 the proceedings of that body you are probably informed ; 
 but I will add a word. The first week was full of appre- 
 hension ; an explosion was on all hands expected. It was 
 clearly the policy of good and sound men to keep that 
 
 body from separation, an event which Dr. was 
 
 said to anticipate with satisfaction. About twelve chief 
 men from both sides, met silently, talked freely, explained, 
 prayed. The meeting was solemn, and put out half the 
 fire. An adjourned meeting smothered the rest. Dr. 
 
 , from excessive caution, came up by degrees to a 
 
 bold stand ; condemned the Philadelphia synodical letter 
 in a powerful speech, and the vote of the Assembly to 
 the astonishment of all was unanimous. Hopkinsianism, 
 as they call it, is to be tolerated in the Presbyterian church, 
 and the growing strength of the west will now settle the 
 majority speedily and finally. 
 
 " I returned from Georgia on horseback, with increased 
 health, till a severe cold in Philadelphia, terminating in a 
 pleurisy after I reached home, put me down for a season. 
 I am now restored to comfortable health by the kindness 
 of that Providence to whom I owe my life and its innumer- 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 297 
 
 able blessings. Our seminary has near seventy students, 
 and we expect a class of about forty to enter in November. 
 Next week I am to commence a visit to six northern 
 colleges, for public purposes, especially appertaining to 
 the means of increasing the number of good ministers. 
 
 " In great haste, truly yours." 
 
 " P. S. I have it not in my power at present to collect 
 any number of reports, &c., but hastily put together a few 
 pamphlets, which as they will be useless to yourself, you 
 may give to Rev. Legh Richmond or Mr. Burder, or any 
 one else who will accept them." 
 
 "Jl7idover, Jan. 30, 1818. 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 "Your obliging favor of October 29, is duly received. 
 I rejoice that a guardian Providence has returned you in 
 safety from your long excursion on the continent. It is 
 unpleasant again to write you in haste, but I must do so 
 or omit writing altogether. We have undertaken to new- 
 model our American Education Society, with a view to 
 extensive operations in remote States, and circumstances 
 have thrown the weight of this arduous business on my 
 hands. This is the fourth week that I have been almost 
 wholly devoted to it, and I have yet many letters and 
 packages to make up for to-morrow. You will be pleased 
 to know that we now have one hundred and twelve benefi- 
 ciaries; and that the spirit is spreading. The western 
 district of New-York have recently formed a noble 
 society. You will also be gratified to know that our 
 beloved theological seminary prospers greatly. Our new- 
 building is one of the finest in the United States, and our 
 new class, consisting of forty two members, contains many 
 ^rst rate young men. Our whole number is eighty-one. 
 One of our last class is laboring with great effect in New- 
 
298 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 York city — another is just stationed at Utica, and another 
 is to succeed Dr. Strong, at Hartford. 
 
 " On the subject of making British Christians ac- 
 quainted with our religious concerns, we all felt the 
 remarks of your letter last summer ; and I have requested 
 
 brother H , now of Pittsfield, Mass., to write a book, 
 
 exhibiting the grand movements in the kingdom of grace, 
 to be introduced with a preparatory sketch of the last fifty 
 years, and followed up with a digested view of modern 
 revivals. I wish it may be to the church what Robertson's 
 Charles Fifth is to the civil world. 
 
 " I send a few pamphlets which you will use according 
 to your discretion. The manuscript sermon of Dr. 
 Bellamy, which is enclosed, though illegible, may amuse 
 some one who knows his character. I will follow it with 
 one of President Edwards and Dr. Hopkins, if they can 
 be had. This reminds me of a favor I wish to ask. You 
 know how great a rarity it would be to show in our library, 
 a manuscript of Watts, or Doddridge, or Thomas Scott, or 
 John Newton. Some relic of any English Father would 
 be highly esteemed. 
 
 " I must finish, as the last moment of my time is gone 
 before the package must take its departure. For the 
 purpose just alluded to and for other general purposes, 
 which you can easily understand, I wish to exchange a 
 letter, say once a year, with some minister, who is intelli- 
 gent and evangelical, in London or vicinity. Will you 
 negotiate this thing for me and give me word ? I had 
 thought of Mr. Burder or Mr. Tracy, but prefer leaving 
 the thing to you. 
 
 " With inviolable regard, yours." 
 
 " P. S. Phillips Academy is smoking in ashes, having 
 been burnt down last night. 
 
 " 1 forget what pamphlets I sent before." 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 299 
 
 The following, addressed to his colleague, the present 
 Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the theologicaJ 
 seminary, is dated 
 
 ".indover, Oct. 5, 1S29. 
 
 "Rev. and dear Sir, 
 
 " Before this time, doubtless, you are officially informed 
 of your election to the Brown Professorship in our sem- 
 inary. The choice I suppose was unanimous in both 
 Boards. The importance of the seminary to the church 
 of God, in this country and others, and through all time ; — 
 and the necessity that its officers be men of substantial 
 character as to piety, judgment, sober orthodoxy, and 
 absolute devotedness to their work, in order that their 
 influence may be salutary here, and adapted to secure 
 public confidence, are things which you know already, as 
 well as I could tell you. The guardians of these sacred 
 interests have selected you to be associated in the great 
 work to be done here ; and my object in writing this hasty 
 letter, is to say, that I confidently hope you will accept the 
 appointment, and that speedily. 
 
 " Our days of peril and perplexity I hope are past. 
 Our trustees have survived the mischiefs attendant on 
 the original amalgamation aimed at in forming the insti- 
 tution. Both Boards combine as much solid excellence as 
 can be found in any similar bodies, and more than 1 know 
 in any other. 
 
 " You are aware of the general estimation in which you 
 have been held by myself; and though Dr. W. was absent 
 when the election was made, and has been since, you need 
 not have any doubt, that the faculty will welcome you as 
 a fellow-laborer, with the most perfect cordiality. I can 
 assure you that you have nothing to fear on this score. 
 Indeed nothing in the past or present state of the semi- 
 nary need to be any ground of apprehension on your part. 
 
300 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 " Presuming, as I must, that you will view this to be a 
 plain call of Providence, let me say that I hope you will 
 be satisfied to take the shortest and easiest way of de- 
 ciding the case, viz. to make known to your people and 
 to the Consociation, your judgment in favor of acceptance. 
 From settled usage in such cases, I cannot doubt that an 
 enlightened church and council would decide on your 
 dismission, without such a decision of your own ; but from 
 much observation I am quite clear that the other course is 
 best. 
 
 •* I am anxious too that you should come immediately, 
 I mean as soon as possible. The probability is that I 
 must be absent this winter, on account of broken health ; 
 and though an extra instructor of the senior class will be 
 provided, your presence here is needed, to assist in 
 preaching, and in criticising sermons, and to make all 
 convenient despatch for entering on your own more 
 special duties of instruction. 
 
 " My dear brother, lay this subject before God. Ask 
 him if the annual charge of one hundred and forty young 
 ministers is not more important than that of any parish in 
 Christendom ? — and in the light of eternity decide what 
 he ' will have you to do.' 
 
 " If you write me something on this subject immediately 
 on receipt of this, I shall feel much obliged. 
 
 "Affectionately yours." 
 
 We close this selection from Dr. P.'s familiar letters, 
 with two which were addressed to Mrs. Porter. 
 
 ".Yeiv York, July 18, 1827, 
 
 " My dear Wife, 
 
 " You know where I slept the night after leaving 
 Boston, or rather, did not sleep, for the same reason that 
 gave me so much inconvenience one night on our Connec- 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER. 301 
 
 ticut journey, and many other nights in past journeyings. 
 If I were an emperor, and obliged to travel, there is one 
 annoyance to sleep that I should dread as much as ' cares 
 of state.' Our cavalcade of coaches from 7 o'clock to 12, 
 was five in number. The one in which I was seated had 
 eight passengers, well-bred, all but an old lady whose vocal 
 organs were incessantly employed, in telling the wonders 
 she had seen, and read, and heard of in Boston. I escaped 
 any direct address by a posture of slumber. On board the 
 boat, Chancellor Livingston, were about sixty passengers, 
 two ministers besides myself At dinner the talkative old 
 lady sat next me, and soon after being seated pointed to the 
 decanter before me, and asked, ' Is that brandy ? ' I said 
 nothing. She repeated the question, ' is that brandy 1 ' I 
 said, ' it looks like it,' and said no more. ' I wish a little 
 of it,' said she, ' only a little' My difficulty in under- 
 standing her question was observed by ladies and others 
 that sat near, and produced a significant look and shrug 
 across the table. I handed the decanter at last, and ob- 
 served — ' Ladies in many places are forming temperance 
 societies.' ' I know it,' said she, ' but some people cannot 
 do without a little spirit.' This occurrence explained the 
 intolerable loquacity of the morning. I observed but one 
 other passenger use brandy, and that was a man. At tea 
 a man was near me, who, as I afterwards learned, began 
 life with a fine estate and high prospects of reputation, but 
 now talked so foolishly as to make some respectable ac- 
 quaintances at the table blush for him, because he had 
 ' let in a thief at the mouth, to steal away his brains.' At 
 II o'clock, this same wretched man awoke, having slept 
 three hours, and with two or three associates, called for 
 spirits, and set up such a clamor of tongues, that no pas- 
 senger could sleep for an hour. All this, though an un- 
 expected vexation, does not discourage me as to the 
 ultimate triumph of the temperance cause. One year 
 26 
 
302 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 more will banish decanters from all the tables of our 
 steam-boats. 
 
 " I cannot say any thing as to my return, but cheerfully 
 commit my dear wife and all the great interests of the 
 beloved seminary, to the care of a gracious Providence. 
 
 " With much love to my dear brethren and the neigh- 
 bors, I am truly and ever yours." 
 
 " Saratoga Springs, Aug. 8, 1829. 
 
 " My dear Wife, 
 
 " As to my health, it is gradually mending. Dr. 
 Mitchell of Philadelphia, and Dr.'s Ives and Willet of 
 New York, examined my chest with a stethoscope, a 
 modern instrument, to determine the state of the vital 
 organs, and the result of their investigations is I suppose 
 decisive that there is no organic disease of the lungs, that 
 has produced the cough, but that this proceeds from other 
 causes. The damp and foetid atmosphere of New York 
 deranged my bowels, as well as disturbed my lungs. But 
 for some days, I liave had no cough worthy of notice. 
 Still I am satisfied that these waters are not adapted to my 
 present state. 
 
 " Had I seen less of men than I have, the motley as- 
 semblage here, in which the aged and the young, the 
 beautiful and the deformed, the wealthy and the pennyless, 
 the pious and the profane, the intelligent and the foolish, 
 I might add, the subjects of no disease but the ' madness 
 of the heart,' and the subjects of every distressing and 
 mortal malady ' that flesh is heir to,' — strangely congre- 
 gated in this village, would fill me with curiosity and sur- 
 prise. As it is, I look on a few men and women here 
 with respect, and on the rest with an indifference that it 
 should alarm me, or a contempt that it should distress me 
 to feel towards any human being. The gay triflers I pity; 
 the riotous and profane I abhor ; and yet I am self-rebuked 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER. 303 
 
 wlien I reflect how would Brainerd feel towards these 
 immortal creatures of God, hastening onward to his bar. 
 
 "My best love to our family, and to those of our be- 
 loved circle. Truly and ever yours." 
 
 Though Dr. Porter was not a father, he was from an 
 early period after his settlement in the ministry, the head 
 of a family ; and in this relation, with scarcely a year s 
 interruption to the close of his life, he discharged the 
 duties of a father towards a succession of the children of 
 his relatives or other friends. In the administration of 
 family government he united paternal solicitude with 
 enlarged views of parental responsibility. Fully aware 
 that 
 
 " Children like oziers, take the bow, 
 And as they first are fashioned, always grow," 
 
 he felt that their mental and moral character were to be 
 shaped with an equal reference to their own well-being, 
 and to that of society. He was wont to ascribe much of 
 the regularity and sobriety of New England habits to the 
 excellent domestic discipline of past generations, and much 
 of the declension in morals observable in many communi- 
 ties, to a growing laxness in family government. The fol- 
 lowing remarks on this subject are from a letter to Mrs. 
 Porter. " This morning I took the steam-boat at half 
 past 6 o'clock. The passengers are decorous, sober 
 people in their manners, excepting one prating old man, 
 whose only defect is want of sense. The contrast between 
 
 these people and those of the boat is inconceivable 
 
 to one who has not seen the thing in reality. If I were to 
 analyze this very striking exhibition of character, I should 
 say the difference must be owing to causes, radical and 
 permanent in their operation. The simplicity and de- 
 cency of manners which I have witnessed this morning. 
 
304 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 is to be ascribed at once to the early habits of those vener- 
 able men, who peopled Massachusetts and Connecticut. 
 The vital impulse of the principles, which have been 
 diffused and perpetuated in such happy results, consists in 
 their being Christian principles. These ancestors have 
 indeed many degenerate sons, who are depraved in a high 
 degree ; and when exempt from the restraints of home, 
 arc grossly insensible to duty, to shame, and decency. 
 But the early discipline of the family, the school, and the 
 sanctuary enjoyed in New England, gives a moral char- 
 acter to its population, as different from that of some other 
 parts of our country, as light is from darkness. 
 
 " In several other respects this journey has strengthened 
 the grateful recollection, which I hope always to cherish, 
 of the obligations I am under to the restraints and exam- 
 ples of my excellent parents. I have a thousand times 
 seen the life of a man rendered a scene of perplexity and 
 vexation, through habits formed by the false tenderness of 
 parents, and extending their influence to the whole 
 character afterwards, so that the miserable subject has 
 looked for a conformity to his feelings and whims from all 
 around him, and even from the arrangements of Provi- 
 dence. A young gentleman, my fellow traveller last 
 week, in the inflammatory stage of a cold, ate immoderately 
 of solid food, with a dessert of pies, &-c., and after it gave 
 him a fever, complained grievously of his bad dinner. 
 The same sort of men are querulous in all circumstances. 
 The driver is blamed for the dust he makes. His pace is 
 too slow or too rapid. The breakfast is too late or too 
 early. The beef is too much or too little roasted. The 
 road is too level or too hilly. The habits of a people are 
 all wrong if they differ however much for the better, from 
 those to which the man has been accustomed : and a city 
 is an ugly place, if its appearance is in any sort, otherwise 
 than he expected. It is a pity that a transient inhabitant 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 305 
 
 of this world, should be all his life at war with its elements, 
 and its accommodations, because he was not taught a few 
 lessons of submission and self-denial in childhood." 
 
 Entertaining these views, Dr. Porter aimed in his in- 
 structions to children in his family, as to children in his 
 parish, to train them to early habits of self-control. In 
 discipline he was mild, uniform, and inflexible. The 
 reasonableness of his requirements was always obvious, 
 and the child was taught that compliance was indispen- 
 sable. He labored first to impress the child with a sense 
 of moral obligation ; next to train him to habits of sobriety, 
 industry, and order. Though he employed occasionally 
 direct personal address on the subject of religion, he 
 resorted to it much less frequently in his family than many 
 parents ; a fact which was also observable in his inter- 
 course with others. While his mode of government im- 
 posed restraint on all who were its subjects, it happily 
 secured their confidence and affection. This was espe- 
 cially true of his domestics, his treatment of whom was 
 uniformly mild and paternal. Each child in his house had 
 his or her duty assigned with much particularity, and for its 
 prompt and proper discharge was held responsible. In this 
 matter he carried his principles so far as to designate the 
 implements each individual should use, hoping thus to 
 prevent unhappy collisions, and to inculcate due respect 
 for the rights of others. 
 
 The following " paternal directions," wiitten near the 
 close of his life, for the use of one in whose welfare he felt 
 a father's interest, exhibit his views of a patent's duty 
 towards his son during a most important period of his life : 
 contain counsels which it is devoutly to be wished might 
 meet the eye and secure the attention of every youth, 
 leaving the domestic circle for the untried scenes and 
 temptations of a residence at college. 
 26* 
 
306 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 " 1. Let no day pass without reading the Bible, and 
 secret prayer : and if you have a pious room-mate, prayer 
 in your room. 
 
 " 2. Have a stated time daily for these devotional exer- 
 cises. 
 
 " 3. Never break a law of college, nor encourage any 
 one to do it. To be sure of this study the laws. 
 
 "4. Join no combination to resist authority. 
 
 " 5. Make conscience of it not to be marked on the 
 monitor's bill — unless you are sick. Let me know how 
 many such marks you have in a term. 
 
 "6. Next to your fZpuo</on.'!, your primary care is to 
 get your lessons. And as to the disposal of spare time 
 
 for reading, ask Mr. * what books and in what 
 
 order. 
 
 '•7. Exercise should be uniform as the sun; always be- 
 fore meals, if you can. 
 
 "8. Avoid night studies after 10 o'clock. 
 
 " 9. If your health requires it, ask good medical 
 advice. 
 
 " 10. As to boarding place, purchase of books, and 
 
 prudentials generally, take no steps without Mr. 's 
 
 advice. 
 
 "11. 1 shall send no money beforehand, for your regU' 
 lar and principal expenses. The bills must come to me 
 at vacations, that they may be paid at the beginning of 
 each new term. 
 
 " 12. As to minor expenses which must be paid at the 
 time, keep an exact account to a cent, and bring it to 
 me. 
 
 " 13. Write to me whenever there is anything special. 
 In other cases, write to me or some of the family, a journal 
 letter or letters to be sent as you have conveyance. 
 
 • A gentleman whom Dr. Porter had requested to act as guardian 
 for the individual to whom the directions were addressed. 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 307 
 
 " 14. Take care of your tongue, — especially when ex- 
 cited be silent. 
 
 " 15. Take care what and to whom you speak of others 
 characters. 
 
 " 16. Take care of your temper. — When excited stop 
 
 think think after a day or a week 
 
 act, not sooner. 
 
 " If you would have your class-mates love you, love 
 them : be benevolent. Be modest, kind, gentle. You 
 cannot force esteem ; you must win it. To do this, you 
 must deserve it, and then in the end you will have it." 
 
 As specimens of his paternal instructions given from 
 time to time, extracts from three or four of his letters to 
 the same individual, are subjoined. 
 
 " Dear D , 
 
 " The admission of our new class occupies all my 
 
 time, but I cannot fail by Mr. to write you a line. 
 
 You know that my first desire is that you take care of 
 your heart, and aim daily to grow in piety. My next de- 
 sire is that you get every lesson well, and do every duty 
 as a member of college in the best manner. For this pur- 
 pose be steady, and quiet in every thing. Be in season in 
 every thing. Guard against impatience and impetuosity. 
 When you feel anxious to do something now, acquire the 
 habit of thinking twice before you do it ; especially if you 
 get the least intimation from one whose judgment you 
 should respect, that it is a doubtful thing. You must 
 learn to wait and be quiet about trifling affairs. 
 
 " Your first duty is to be a humble growing Christian, 
 — next a good scholar, not a middling one, — next a good 
 subject of college rules, not a radical. I trust you will 
 keep such health as not to leave A. in term time. I have 
 not said to you ever, what I should have said to you 
 
308 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 before, shun social avocations, that may interfere with 
 study ; and beware of premature female attachments. Sat 
 vcrbum." 
 
 " Dear D , 
 
 " In general I shall answer your letters when they re- 
 quire an answer, soon after their receipt. But so pressed 
 as I am with engagements, you will often have my an- 
 swer only in the general shape of a letter from some one of 
 the family. I am well aware that you have good reasons to 
 be contented and happy, and I am especially glad to learn 
 that you arc so. Happiness, however, arises in all cases, 
 not so much from circumstances as from the state of the 
 mind ; and you may settle it as a general principle, that 
 just so far as you are unhappy in any case, something with- 
 in calls for repentance and amendment. Your letters in 
 the form of journal, may properly be quite particular, as 
 to your means of spiritual cultivation, I mean your daily 
 habits as to devotional reading, and seasons of secret prayer, 
 — your studies, your exercise, what and when, — your diet, 
 &c. : — as to your associates too, that is, what is useful and 
 what hurtful in the influence of others on yourself 
 
 " As to the care of your heart, it is a settled point, that 
 a healthy state of mind depends on proper means, as well 
 as health of body. If you were to eat nothing or poison, 
 your body would be sickly. If you would keep your heart 
 near to God, you must never allow irregularhy and remiss- 
 ness in reading the Bible, Baxter, &.c. — A stated season for 
 this may as well be maintained as for meals; and hurry, 
 or bustle of college engagements is no good excuse for 
 neglecting either. Better indeed forego the meals than the 
 devotional exercises. I am glad to see that you have some 
 growing convictions of the great importance of watching 
 the moral influences, which mu.st bear upon your spiritual 
 state in different circumstances. 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER 
 
 309 
 
 " My next concern is for your intellectual habits and your 
 health. The question whether you can go on at college, 
 ' simplex duntaxat et unum ' as a student, is the hinge 
 of your whole hereafter. Your success in life requires 
 that the habits of a solid, well informed man be settled 
 now ; and your safety even requires that a purpose coolly 
 settled, should not be changed under the occurrence of 
 circumstances that might readily be foreseen." 
 
 " Dear D , 
 
 " We are glad to learn from your letters that your 
 health is so good, and hope you will feel the obligation to 
 be first of all thankful to your heavenly Benefactor, and 
 next faithful in devoting to his glory all your time and tal- 
 ents, by aiming every day to gain useful knowledge, that 
 you may be prepared to serve God. You may never 
 reach the requisite age to enter into the ministry, to which 
 I suppose you consider yourself consecrated by your own 
 solemn purpose, if you shall live and be qualified for that 
 sacred profession. Philip of Macedon kept a man in pay, 
 only to repeat to him daily one sentence, ' Remember 
 Philip that thou art mortal.' 
 
 " I hope you will never think of finding any excuse, 
 (for no good one can be found,) for neglecting the regular 
 duties of the closet, viz : self examination, reading the 
 Bible, and some such book as Baxter's Saint's Rest, daili/. 
 I say regular, because all experience proves that, with- 
 out regularity as to times, secret devotion amounts to 
 nothing. 
 
 " I wish you to be, not penurious, but vigilant and 
 economical as to expense. I say this rather to form your 
 general habits aright ; otherwise you could never be a 
 minister, without endless trouble in secular affairs. Take 
 care not to buy any thing, even a goose quill or pencil, 
 that you can do without. At the same time, you must not 
 
310 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 save a cent at the expense of character ; where justice or 
 settled usage, that is consistent with good conscience, 
 constitute a fair claim on you ; such as taxes for your cus- 
 tomary classical expenses, or those of a society you have 
 deliberately joined. 
 
 " Be discreet in talking about your expenses, or any 
 other subject especially that is a subject of excitement. 
 
 If you remove from Mrs. 's after this term, be at 
 
 least a month in inquiring what will be your fare, your 
 associates, expense, &c. 
 
 "Your standing at college ought to depend and will 
 depend on your daili/ recitations, and daily punctuality 
 and regularity in your duties as a student. 
 
 " I must commit you, dear D , and the rest of 
 
 the family to God, during my expected long absence. If 
 I should never see you again, remember the counsels I 
 have given you. Probably I may not .soon write you an- 
 other letter, and to write this I postpone other pressing 
 duties." 
 
 Again he writes : — 
 
 " You know it is one of my practical maxims, ' What 
 is worth doing, is worth doing well.' I wish I could an- 
 swer all your inquiries fully, though in doing so, I should 
 little more than repeat my ^ line upon line' counsels 
 given you heretofore. I have watched the developments 
 of your character, as you know, with solicitude. The 
 rank of ultimate usefulness, to which you are destined, de- 
 pends under Providence, on the patient, steady march with 
 which you go on in the daily {daily I say) discipline of 
 your mind, and acquisition of knowledge. Hence when 
 you ask me, ' how can fixedness of purpose be obtained?' 
 instead of a long answer, I say, if you ' watch and pray ' 
 daily — the next best remedy for constitutional vacillations 
 of purpose, is to have a grand, absorbing object ahead, of 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 311 
 
 which you are not to lose sight any one day of your life. 
 The work of each day is to drive towards that object, as a 
 wise mariner does towards his port. One day he goes 
 ahead rapidly, another moderately if wind and tide oppose 
 him ; but he goes ahead, instead of turning about because 
 he hieets difficulties. Amid the thousand cross currents 
 that will assail you, hold the helm stiff, and go forward. 
 While you determine (from love to Christ as I hope) to 
 be a learned man, you must study ; must study patiently, 
 daily. Let all other cares and projects and day-dreams 
 go to the winds. Do your day's work of study, eacli day, 
 and ask no questions about hereafter. Take care of your 
 to-days, and your to-morrows will take care of themselves. 
 I will lose no time in guarding these hints against mis- 
 construction, for I presume you will construe them ac- 
 cording to common sense, and not as implying a rigid 
 disregard of the future. But if I should live to see the 
 time when you are ready to serve Christ, and he has 
 nothing for you to do, I will take all back. I cannot 
 think you mean any thing to your own purpose in saying, 
 
 ' was a dunce in college.' The inference is bad 
 
 logic. Of one hundred college drones, ninety-nine are 
 drones through life. 
 
 " As to my own plans for hereafter, I desire to folloio, 
 not to lead Providence. I would keep my eye upward, 
 then inward, then forward. On my great journey, I have 
 always been obliged to be content with seeing my path a 
 little way ahead. 
 
 " Your affectionate father." 
 
 It probably will be difficult to designate an individual, 
 whose example in the management of secular affairs may 
 more safely be regarded as a model than that of Dr. 
 Porter. He entangled not himself with the affairs of this 
 life, but by prudent forecast kept his secular matters in 
 
312 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 such train as effectually to guard against pecuniary embar- 
 rassment ; to prevent the clamor of disappointed creditors, 
 and thus avoid the reproach, which improvidence or want 
 of punctuality in the Christian minister, infallibly brings 
 on his sacred profession. Of his pecuniary concerns he 
 rarely spoke even to his most intimate friends ; the entire 
 system, indeed, with which they were conducted, rendered 
 them to himself a subject of but little thought or anxiety. 
 Equity marked all his dealings with others. The maxim 
 found no place in his code of morals, that " it is allowable 
 to procure the performance of a service on any terms 
 which are most favorable to our own interests." With 
 him the interests of others were always to be consulted 
 in connection with his own. No man whom he had 
 occasion to employ, was asked to receive a remuneration 
 less than justice would award. His scrupulousness, which 
 in this respect was extreme, resulted as much perhaps, 
 from an innate abhorrence of dishonesty, as from pious 
 principle, and enlarged views of ministerial responsibility. 
 
 His expenditures which had reference to himself and 
 his family, were confined within as narrow limits as a 
 judicious economy M'ould allow ; yet when they had refer- 
 ence to Christ's kingdom, they were limited only by his 
 ability, or by the exigencies of the case. Besides his 
 usual contributions, which were always accounted liberal, 
 he constituted himself by the payment of the requisite 
 sums, a member for life of the American Education 
 Society ; the American Home Missionary Society ; the 
 American Bible Society ; the American Tract Society ; 
 the Prison Discipline Society; the American Temperance 
 Society ; and several other benevolent associations of 
 lesser note. 
 
 To Dartmouth College, when her alumni determined 
 to raise such an accession to her funds as should exempt 
 her from the pressure of pecuniary embarrassment, and 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 313 
 
 augment her means of usefulness, Dr. Porter cheerfully 
 and liberally contributed. 
 
 In the Theological Seminary at Andover, he founded 
 two scholarships of one thousand dollars each, designed 
 to furnish a support for two indigent young men while 
 acquiring their professional education. 
 
 To the Porter Rhetorical Society in the institution, he 
 gave at its organization five hundred dollars, and after- 
 wards added the copy-right of his Analysis of Rhetorical 
 Delivery, the proceeds of which have exceeded, by several 
 times, the amount of his original donation. 
 ; Several years before his death, he founded, by the pay- 
 I ment of one thousand dollars, a permanent scholarship in 
 I the American Education Society. 
 
 j In his Will he gave the following directions respecting 
 his estate : — " Item. The other two thirds of my estate 
 1 not otherwise disposed of in this instrument, I give and 
 ' bequeath to the American Education Society, in sacred 
 trust, to be applied for the purposes of that society, ac- 
 cording to the provisions of its constitution. — Whatever 
 j shall be the amount of said bequest,* which shall actually 
 i accrue to said society, it shall be vested in productive 
 funds, and divided into scholarships of one thousand 
 dollars each, which scholarships shall be managed in all 
 i respects, according to the constitution and rules of the 
 j society, especially the rules respecting scholarships as at 
 present established." The remainder of his estate, with 
 j the exception of a few small legacies, he directed, with 
 the full approbation of his widow, should after her decease 
 be paid in equal sums to the American Bible Society ; 
 the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis- 
 sions ; the American Home Missionary Society ; and the 
 American Tract Society. 
 
 The amount of his donations for religious purposes 
 
 * It amounts to upwards of fifteen tlumsand, dollars. 
 27 
 
314 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 during his life, and at his decease, probably exceeds 
 thirty thousand dollars. Though he realized considerable 
 sums for his publications, the fact that he possessed the 
 means of doing so much, with comparatively little aid from 
 friends ; with a moderate salary during his ministry ; and 
 subjected in after life to great expense by constant in- 
 firmity, is to be attributed chiefly to his happy tact in the 
 management of his secular affairs ; to the rigid economy 
 by which his own expenditures and those of his family 
 were uniformly regulated ; and to the blessing of God on 
 the determination which he early formed to devote his 
 property after his decease to the cause of Christ. 
 
 In his apparel, his furniture, and his equipage. Dr. Por- 
 ter was studiously plain, but at an equal remove from 
 parsimony and extravagance. At his table, which was 
 always frugally spread, his friends and the friends of the 
 Redeemer met a uniform and cordial welcome. Here 
 Christian kindness and simplicity presided, banishing the 
 language of compliment and of apology. To apologies, 
 indeed, in all common cases, he entertained a decided 
 aversion. The following may be regarded as a fair 
 specimen of his apologies at table, when he thought one 
 imperiously demanded. A distinguished clergyman from 
 a remote part of the country, was once unexpectedly 
 present at his table, when, owing to the circumstances 
 of the family, it was spread with unusual plainness. 
 Serving his guest with such as was provided, he re- 
 marked, " Brother H , we do not always have as plain 
 
 a dinner as we have to-day." * The cordiality with which 
 
 • The degree of his aversion to a certain kind of semi-apologies 
 in which some persons often indulge, is very apparent from the 
 following ironical remarks in his hand-writing ; — " When you are 
 invited to a friend's table, take care to let him know once and again 
 that you have no appetite ; that you eat mechanically, not from in- 
 clination, but from a sense of duty. In this case, should it so happen 
 tliat you eat as much again as another man, all the company will 
 
SOCIAL CHARACTER. 
 
 315 
 
 he received, and the unaflFected kindness with which he 
 entertained his guests, rendered his house, especially 
 after his removal to Andover, the chosen resort of a full 
 proportion of the many friends of Zion who constantly 
 resorted thither for the transaction of business, or tempo- 
 rarily to enjoy tiie intelligence and piety which are there 
 concentrated. Towards the close of his life however, 
 he found it impracticable, in consequence of declining 
 strength, to discharge his official duties, and at the same 
 time enjoy as extensively as he had done the society of his 
 friends. In his deportment as the head of a family, and 
 especially as a minister of Christ, while he aimed daily 
 to exercise the other Christian and ministerial virtues, he 
 exhibited a signal conformity to the inspired requisition, 
 that ' a bishop must be blameless as the steward of God ; 
 not given to filthy lucre ; but a lover of hospitality, a lover 
 of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate.' 
 
 No delineation of Dr. Porter's social character can be 
 more graphic than he has himself furnished in describing 
 that of his friend.* — ' His manners, equally remote from 
 austerity and from levity, exhibited the man, simple, open, 
 amiable. In moments of relaxation, his conversation was 
 often facetious, but never frivolous ; never unbecoming 
 his sacred office, nor inconsistent with strict decorum. 
 Though he was, for many years, in habits of intimacy 
 with persons of the first respectability, he could with great 
 ease accommodate himself to the circumstances of those, 
 
 have practical demonstration that you eat from a high sense of duty. 
 Another advantage of eating freely without appetite is, that having 
 done so at one meal, you are sure of enjoying the same privilege at 
 the next ; and thus you acquire the habit of eating like a rational, 
 sober man, and not like a mere animal, from the instinct of hunger. 
 
 "Take a dyspeptic stomach for your standard as to food, kinds, 
 &c., and then measure by a shadow which varies or vanishes, while 
 joa are in the act of taking its dimensions." 
 
 * Rev. Asahel Hooker, 
 
316 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 who were in the humblest walks of life. His whole de- 
 portment was a pattern of that better sort of politeness, 
 which consists, not in a studied conformity to the usages 
 of the fashionable world, but in simplicity and godly sin- 
 cerity. He was free from that affected frankness, which 
 makes a merit of uttering every rude and unseemly thought 
 to others, and in the very act of doing a kindness, infalli- 
 bly gives offence. Yet no man could tell another of his 
 faults with greater fidelity or effect than he. The native 
 benevolence of his heart, united with habitual delicacy of 
 feeling, and sanctified by religious principle, qualified him 
 to perform the most difficult duties, in the most unexcep- 
 tionable manner." 
 
CHAPTER XVI I. 
 
 CONNECTION WITH BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Remarks — Monday evening meeting — Monthly concert — American 
 Tract Society— Christian Sabbath— Letter to Gov. Treadwell— 
 Monroe's tour — La Fayette's tour — American Education So- 
 ciety—Labors in its behalf— Letter to Tabernacle church— Letter 
 to Mr. Cornelius — Mr. C.'s reply — Letter from Rev. Dr. Cogs- 
 well — American Home Missionary Society — Letter to Mr. E. 
 Lord — Letter from Rev. Dr. Peters— Prison Discipline Society — 
 Letter from Mr. £. Lord. 
 
 The most valuable if not the most interesting part of 
 religious biography, is that which presents before us the 
 Christian engaged in active exertion for the good of others. 
 Here we have a display of that disinterested benevolence 
 which characterizes seraphim and saints before the 
 Throne. Here we are taught by living example, not only 
 that we may, but how we may live " not unto ourselves." 
 Even the brightest exhibition of the Christian graces in 
 human beings, we know may be contemplated with indif- 
 ference, by the heart which can peruse unmoved the his- 
 tory of Him, in whom dwelt " all the fulness of the God- 
 head bodily ; " but to the man of pious sensibility, the 
 exhibition is productive of invaluable benefit. It awakens 
 remissness, chides indifference, deepens penitence and 
 humility, and stimulates faith, and love, and holy zeal, 
 27* 
 
818 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 Such is the effect on the Christian, as he contemplates the 
 disinterested, self-denying, and abundant labors of the 
 apostles ; or reads the story of the humblest disciple, who 
 " according to that he hath," devotes his undivided ener- 
 gies to the same blessed work. Every period of the world 
 has furnished opportunities for the development of pious 
 benevolence in effort for the well-being of others ; but no 
 one, if we except the days of the apostles and their imme- 
 diate successors, has furnished more favorable opportuni- 
 ties than the present age. Never, certainly, have so many 
 immortal souls famishing in sin, called loudly for the bread 
 of life ; never have so ample means existed of answering 
 this call ; never so numerous facilities successfully to 
 attack the arch-enemy, and to retain securely and perma- 
 nently, every strong hold wrested from his dominion. 
 
 From Dr. Porter's settlement in the ministry, he was 
 deeply interested in every movement which had a bearing 
 on the interests of Zion. Much of the time while he 
 resided in Washington, he held in his study a meeting on 
 Monday evening of each week, attended by members of 
 his church for the purpose of promoting their own growth 
 in piety, and their usefulness to others. In ecclesiastical 
 and benevolent convocations which he deemed it proper to 
 attend, he was found laboring modestly yet decidedly, to 
 correct whatever he saw amiss, to awaken slumbering zeal 
 and energy, and guide them to the most efficient and salu- 
 tary results. In 1810, he was elected a Trustee of the 
 Connecticut Missionary Society. After his removal to 
 Andover, his influence in promoting benevolent effort, in 
 consequence of his uniformly delicate health, was for the 
 most part silent and unobserved. Though he consented 
 in a few cases, to serve as an executive officer of religious 
 and philanthropic organizations, his agency was more fre- 
 quently and more extensively exerted in personal inter- 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 319 
 
 course with the official organs of benevolent societies, in 
 the social circle, and in the closet. 
 
 A year or two previous to his resignation of his pastoral 
 charge, the movement was made by the friends of Zion 
 in Massachusetts and Connecticut which resulted in the 
 American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. 
 Though he bore no part in the formation of this society, 
 it engaged at the outset his warmest affections. In his 
 family, indeed, one of the pioneers of this cause had for 
 months resided ; there, had been nurtured the apostolic 
 disinterestedness and devotion, which led him to decline 
 without compromise the labors and enjoyments of an 
 eligible parish in Connecticut, in obedience to what he 
 deemed the call of God to the abodes of Paganism.* 
 
 * Gordon Hall. The following letter was overlooked when Dr. 
 Porter collected the other letters he had received from Mr. Hall for 
 the use of his biographer. It will interest the reader, not only be- 
 cause it exhibits its author at a most important juncture, but because 
 it contains several reminiscences of the incipient measures respect- 
 ing Foreign Missions in this country, which ought to be preserved. 
 
 " .Indorcr, July 7, 1810. 
 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " Believing from various circumstances that you have some 
 wish to know where I am, and what I expect to do, I take the liberty 
 lo write you ihis letter. After the people in Woodbury had given 
 me a call to settle with them, I took counsel of most of the clergy 
 in that vicinity, all of whom with but one exception, thought it my 
 duty to settle with that people. Though I highly venerated the 
 counsel of these ministers, though all things attendmg the call were 
 pleasing, yet such were my views of heathen missions, that I felt 
 anwilling to relinquish that desirable object; nor have I found, 
 either from the gospel, or from the comparative state of the heathen 
 world, arguments sufficient to convince me that it is my duty thus 
 to do. Feeling the subject to be solemn and important, and having 
 concentrated all the counsel which I could obtain in that place, I 
 resolved to take a journey and inquire of those, whom I knew to 
 have turned their attention more particularly to the subject of mis- 
 sions, and who consequently would be more informed and better 
 
330 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 Soon after Dr. Porter removed to Andover, a Monday 
 evening meeting was established in his study, and attended 
 by his colleagues and a few other friends of Zion, for the 
 purpose of devising ways and means of doing good — a 
 
 able to judge on the subject. Accordingly I set out, and on my way 
 attended the General Association at Ellington. While there my 
 case was incidentally mentioned, and 1 hence had occasion to con- 
 verse with a number of the clergy, most of whom avoided express- 
 ing any decided opinion. The next Monday I arrived at Andover. 
 The next day S. J. Mills accompanied me to Dr. Griffin's. While 
 in Connecticut he had by some means heard of my case, and no 
 sooner was my name mentioned, than he entered freely and feel- 
 ingly into the subject, saying: — 'The world is waking from a sleep 
 of ages.' Aller conversing a while Dr. Spring came in, and with 
 deep interest began to plead the cause of the poor heathen. The 
 forenoon being mostly spent, Dr. Griffin proposed that S. J. Mills 
 and myself and two or three of the students who before had con- 
 versed with him on the subject of missions, should meet at his house 
 at 2 o'clock, P. M., where we might expect to find all the professors 
 and Dr. Spring; who would enter more minutely into the subject. 
 Accordingly we were there at the time. The above mentioned gen- 
 tlemen were present, and as Providence would have it, soon clergy- 
 men came in and increased the number to thirteen. Dr. Griffin 
 mentioned the business, and the meeting opened with prayer. The 
 occasion was solemn. Two questions were submitted by the young 
 men. ' 1. Ought a heathen mission to be attempted by men in this 
 country .'' Without putting the question round, this was declaied 
 to be beyond all doubt. ' 2. Which is the most promising region, 
 our own continent or Asia.'' On this question they were not 
 unanimous. The weight of counsel, however, was in favor of the 
 latter. In the third place, we who contemplated the subject were 
 severally questioned concerning the origin and progress of our feel- 
 ings and views. Knowing my situation, they fourthly requested roe 
 to state my relation to Woodbury. This I did as fairly as 1 could. 
 Then they were good enough to offi?r their Christian counsel. Says 
 Mr. Stuart in accordance with almost all present, ' 1 should not dare 
 to place any parish in Christendom, in competition with a heathen 
 mission.' Said Dr. Griffin, in nearly the following words : — ' Until 
 three quarters of the settled ministers leave their parishes and go to 
 the heathen, let no one discourage missionaries, but rather bid them 
 God speed. This missionary spirit which appears in the college, 
 [theological seminary,] above every thing else, stamps upon it the 
 ■eal of Heaven.' 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 321 
 
 meeting to which may be traced several streams of Chris- 
 tian beneficence, which are conveying spiritual health and 
 gladness to the nations. It would seem that by recom- 
 mendation of this meeting, a concert of prayer, which 
 
 " All present seemed highly gratified with what they heard and 
 saw. Dr. Spring pro{)osed that the next day the subject should be 
 laid before the General Association. Accordingly it was, in nearly 
 the same form, excepting my own case which was" omitted. It ex- 
 cited a deep interest. The subject after some questions were asked 
 was referred to a committee, who the next day reported tliat nine 
 commissioners, five in tliis State, and four in Connecticut, be 
 chosen, to meet as soon as convenient and consult on the subject. 
 The commissioners are Dr. Spring, Dr. Lyman, Rev. Samuel Wor- 
 cester, William Bzirtlet, Esq., Newburyport, Samuel H. Walley, 
 Esq., Boston, Mass., Dr. Dwight, Gov. Treadwell, Gen. Hun- 
 tington, New London, and Rev. Calvin Chapin, Conn. 
 
 " Things in this quarter favor a heathen mission beyond the most 
 sanguine expectations. It can hardly be doubted that God is open- 
 ing the way for the blessed gospel to go forth from these American 
 churches, to distant and heathen lands where Jesus is not known. 
 My prayer is that if agreeable to his will, God would employ me in 
 this great and good work. By this time you will conclude that I 
 have made up my mind with respect to a settlement in the ministry. 
 I have. And I have sent the people in Woodbury a negative reply 
 to their call. I have done this with the full approbation of my con- 
 science. I cannot but wonder that I so long hesitated. It must 
 have been through want of a contemplative and feeling sense 
 of the preciousness of gospel grace, and the deplorable state of my 
 poor heathen brethren. I have given up all expectation of settling 
 in ray own country, and if God will accept of me, I do consider my 
 life as solemnly devoted to the heathen. You know, sir, from what 
 you have heard me say, that this is not the impulse of a moment. I 
 humbly trust that it is the result of long, habitual, prayerful reflec- 
 tion. I have joined the theological college, with a view of making 
 some necessary preparations, and here obtaining that information 
 on the subject of missions, which elsewhere cannot be so well ob- 
 tained. I expect to see you in the course of ten or twelve weeks, 
 as I must be at Woodbury about that time. I am anxious to know 
 what effect my refusal will have upon that people. I could wish to 
 be on the ground, that I might meet all the objections which may 
 be brought against the propriety of my proceedmgs. I expect that 
 my character will labor in tliat region which is so unfriendly to the 
 
322 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 afterwards became the monthly concert as it now exists, 
 was first observed in this country.* The facts are these : 
 In 1814, when a convention of delegates from various 
 parts of New England, was contemplated at Hartford, 
 one of Dr. Porter's correspondents. Rev. Zephaniah Swift, 
 thus alludes to that subject: — "The prospects of our 
 country are darkening. The people have become so 
 demoralized, and adhere so strongly to our corrupt ad- 
 ministration, that it appears God must send judgments 
 upon us. The proposed congress for New England affords 
 the only gleam of light that appears in the midst of dark- 
 ness, and this is an unhappy and alarming resort. Ought 
 there not to be a concert of prayer among all Christians 
 in New England for that congress. If help comes it must 
 be from the Lord. It is hopeful that before our Tread- 
 wells and Strongs go into their graves, we may have some- 
 thing done for our relief." On the margin of this extract, 
 Dr. Porter afterwards wrote : — " Mr. Swift's hint, from 
 which came the present monthly concert." The expedi- 
 ency of a concert was discussed in the " Monday evening 
 meeting," and the result was a determination to address 
 
 subject of heathen missions. Jesus is king in Zion. God rules in 
 righteousness, forever blessed be his name. 
 
 " If, sir, you would be at the trouble of writing to me in the 
 course of two or three weeks, and mentioning the state of things in 
 Woodbury, and expressing your view of my conduct, I should con- 
 sider it as a very great kindness. 
 
 " I am your unworthy servant, 
 
 " Gordon Hall." 
 
 * The writer is aware that there may be difference of opinion in 
 regard to the origin of the Monthly Concert in this country. But 
 as the subject is one on which correct information is desirable, he 
 cannot persuade himself to suppress the facts developed by an ex- 
 amination of Dr. Porter's correspondence. They are certainly of 
 moment as historical facts, and should their insertion here serve to 
 elicit fuller infoimation on the subject, it will not be in vain. 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 333 
 
 a circular to ministers and others in various places, of 
 which the following is a copy. 
 
 " Andover, JVov. 5, 1814. 
 
 " In times of such distress as now pervades our country, 
 it becomes Christians to unite in humble and fervent sup- 
 plication for help from above. 
 
 " As our civil rulers have proposed a convention of 
 delegates from the New England States, it is important 
 that the prayers of pious people should be offered up, that 
 this convention may be so enlightened and guided, as to 
 adopt the best means for the removal of our public calami- 
 ties. It is proposed by Christians in different places to 
 observe Thursday evening, between the hours of 7 and 8 
 o'clock of each week, until the loth of December, when 
 the convention is to assemble, as a season of special prayer 
 in reference to this object, either in a social manner or in 
 the closet, as circumstances may render it expedient; and 
 that Dec. I5th be observed as a day of fasting and prayer 
 in a social or private manner. 
 
 " I hope this proposal will meet your approbation, and 
 that you will communicate the knowledge of it as speedily 
 and extensively as possible, that there may be a general 
 concert in the measure, among all serious people in New 
 England." 
 
 To this circular, a copy of which Dr. Porter enclosed 
 to Mr. Swift, he subjoined : — " The above is a copy of a 
 circular agreed upon in our Monday evening meeting, in 
 consequence of a hint contained in your last letter. ' Be- 
 hold how great a matter a little fire kindleth.' Measures 
 are put in operation to spread this thing over New England 
 by means of pens and tongues, without the parade of 
 printed notifications. I doubt not you will help it on." 
 
824 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 Dr. Porter soon after received a letter from a distin- 
 guished clergyman now living, dated Litchfield, (Conn.) 
 Dec. 12, 1814, from which the following is taken. 
 
 " My dear Brother, 
 
 " Yours giving an account of the proposed Concert 
 was duly received and communicated to all in this region, 
 and meets the approbation not only of the pious, but of 
 some others who would not venture into a conference 
 meeting to pray for their souls. We keep Thursday next 
 as a day of prayer and fasting according to each person or 
 family's discretion. But why, brother, should such a 
 concert begin and end with the emergency which occa- 
 sioned it? Brother S of New York, has written to 
 
 me with some earnestness on the subject of a general 
 Concert of Prayer in all the churches in the nation. 
 Why cannot such a concert be established once a month? 
 I believe the public mind is prepared for it, and that the 
 providence of God demands special union of good people 
 in supplication, not only for our wicked country, but for 
 the revival of religion and the spread of the gospel. Make 
 this one of your subjects of deliberation iu your meetings 
 to do good, and let me know what is the result. We may 
 I should imagine, begin and extend the thing considerably 
 very soon ; and next spring and summer by means of 
 ecclesiastical bodies, extend it over the Union and render 
 it permanent. There certainly ought to be a general 
 prayer-meeting in every church once a month, and this in 
 all the churches might be on the same day." 
 
 About this time, it would seem, a general concert of 
 prayer had become somewhat extensively a subject of 
 interest, of correspondence and conversation among many 
 of the friends of Zion, among whom the late Rev. Samuel 
 Worcester, D. D., and Jeremiah Evarts, held a distin- 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 325 
 
 guished place. Of the result of the deliberations on this 
 subject, Dr. Porter wrote to Mr. Swift, Jan. 17, 1815, as 
 follows : — "The concert which began by a hint from you, 
 is in a train to be made general and permanent. Only it 
 is contemplated to carry it on to the first Monday evening 
 of each month, which is now a season of prayer extensively 
 among Christians in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Shall we 
 join this concert of Christendom and help on the dawn of 
 the millennium ?" Dr. Porter received communications 
 of a few weeks later date, from the authors of the letters 
 above quoted, slating that the proposed Monthly Concert 
 was established in their churches, and in others in the 
 vicinity. 
 
 The compiler desirous of obtaining, if possible, authentic 
 information respecting the origin of the Monthly Concert 
 in this country, requested the Rev. Mr. Swift to communi- 
 cate any facts in his possession relative to the subject; and 
 in reply received the following : — 
 
 " As to the origin of the Monthly Concert of Prayer, I 
 recollect that at one time when brother Porter and wife 
 were here on a visit, Mrs. P. remarked that I was the 
 'first means or mover in establishing the Monthly Concert.' 
 It struck me with surprise, for I did not remember that I 
 could have had any particular agency in it. I think I 
 replied to them, that I did not know how I could have been 
 the first mover of that important meeting. I cannot now 
 remember the explanation they gave, but have considered 
 that so far as I had any instrumentality, it must have been 
 in the following manner. In A. D. 1814, in consequence 
 of our war with Great Britain, the prospects of our nation 
 were exceedingly dark and alarming, not only to Christians 
 but to the soundest and most discerning politicians in our 
 country and particularly in New England. The war 
 commenced in 1812, and was considered by many not 
 28 
 
326 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 only unnecessary but very needless and wicked. The 
 commerce of our country was destroyed by an embargo, a 
 vast national debt was fast accumulating and the constitu- 
 tion of our nation, the charter of our liberties, was by many 
 considered to be broken. At this time a convention of 
 delegates from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, 
 two counties in New Hampshire, and one in Vermont, 
 were to assemble at Hartford, Dec. 15,1814, to deliberate 
 on the interests of the country and adopt measures if 
 possible to rescue it from impending destruction. After 
 notice was given of the appointed meeting of the conven- 
 tion, I wrote to brother Porter expressing my great concern 
 for the safety of our country ; that the salvation of it 
 appeared to be connected with the meeting of the conven- 
 tion, and that if saved it would probably be in answer to 
 the prayers of God's children. So far as I can remember, 
 I suggested the importance of having a stated concert of 
 prayer agreed upon and notified in reference to the state of 
 the country and the meeting of the convention. I should 
 think I stated that Andover, where was the only theolo- 
 gical institution in New England, if not in our country, 
 was the most suitable place for originating such a concert 
 of prayer and circulating the notice of it through the 
 nation. From this suggestion of establishing a concert of 
 prayer for the salvation of our nation, I have supposed 
 that brother Porter, in his more extensive wisdom and 
 philanthropy greatly improved upon it and turned it into a 
 concert of prayer not for the salvation of a nation, but for 
 the spiritual salvation of the whole world. My impression 
 is that the Monthly Concert of Prayer for the spread of the 
 gospel and the conversion of the world commenced, in this 
 country, at Andover, in the fall of 1814, by the agency of 
 brother Porter, and that he was active and influential in 
 spreading it over the country. Thus I consider the origin 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 327 
 
 of it can with far more propriety be ascribed to him than 
 to myself" 
 
 In the preface to the " Proceedings of the first ten years 
 of the American Tract Society," the history of its rise is 
 thus related : — " The origin of the American Tract Society 
 may be traced to a little meeting of half a dozen individ- 
 uals, assembled to enjoy the advantages of Christian inter- 
 course, and to consult upon the interests of the Redeemer's 
 kingdom. A circumstance in itself unimportant had 
 suggested to one of them the thought, that a few choice 
 tracts, printed in large editions, might be afforded to be- 
 nevolent individuals in the neighborhood, at much less 
 expense, than the little books which they were frequently 
 purchasing for gratuitous distribution. The idea was 
 suggested to his brethren, and excited so much interest as 
 to be made the subject of conversation and serious reflec- 
 tion, which soon led to a proposition for forming a small 
 Tract Society to put the design in execution. As the 
 subject was contemplated, it grew in importance, and 
 though perhaps no one at the time anticipated that the 
 society they were about to form, would extend through the 
 United States, yet it was seen that the subject demanded 
 more mature consideration, and fervent prayer to the 
 Father of mercies for his guidance and blessing." 
 
 The " little meeting" alluded to in this extract was the 
 "Monday evening meeting;" the individual. Dr. Porter; 
 and the " circumstance " the following: — He called one 
 morning at a book-store in Andover, to purchase a few 
 small books for distribution. He took up one and inquired 
 the price, and was answered eight cents." The thought 
 occurred to him that books of that size might be printed 
 for three cents, if benevolent individuals would unite to 
 publish them in a cheap form and in large quantities. 
 This thought, which awakened deep interest in his own 
 
328 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 bosom, he communicated to his brethren, in the manner 
 and with the results above stated. Several members of 
 the meeting at once offered liberal pecuniary contributions, 
 and engaged in prosecuting the plan suggested with a 
 degree of Christian enterprise which speedily sought a more 
 enlarged field of operations.* 
 
 The constitution adopted by this incipient society, was 
 substantially the same which the following spring, (May, 
 1814,) was adopted at the formation of the New England 
 Tract Society — an institution which in 1823 assumed the 
 more comprehensive appellation of American Tract 
 Society, and which in 1825 consented to assume the 
 relation of an Auxiliary to a society of the same name, 
 which was organized at New- York on a still more extended 
 plan ; and which fixed its seat of operations in that city, 
 for the sake of enjoying greater facilities in effecting its 
 benevolent designs. 
 
 There was no subject perhaps, in which those united in 
 the "Monday evening meeting," felt a more affecting 
 interest, than the disregard of the holy Sabbath which 
 they were compelled to witness to some extent, and which 
 
 * It is true that associations for similar purposes had existed for 
 many years in Great Britain, and for a considerable period, in other 
 parts of Europe and in this country. The society in England for 
 Promoting Christian Knowledge by means of religious books and 
 tracts, was incorporated by the British Parliament as early as 1647. 
 Previous to 1814, other Tract Societies to a limited extent, were 
 formed by different denominations of Christians in Great Britain. 
 Efforts had also been made, chiefly through the agency of Rev. Drs. 
 Paterson, and Henderson,^for the distribution of religious tracts in 
 the northern countries of Europe. The first association in the 
 United States for disseminating religious tracts and books, was the 
 Massachusetts Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, formed 
 in 1803. Between this period and the institution of the American 
 Tract Society, several associations on a limited scale were formed for 
 kindred purposes in different places in New England and in New 
 Yoik.— Proceedings of first ten years of American Tract Society. 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 329 
 
 tliey knew was fearfully prevalent through our country. 
 The temptations to this sin, which to irreligious men are 
 always sufficiently numerous and powerful, were in both 
 these respects greatly increased by the war between this 
 country and Great Britain, which commenced in 1812; 
 and their influence was scarcely diminished even after the 
 termination of that contest. This circle of Christian 
 brethren earnestly inquired, cannot something be done, to 
 rescue the Sabbath from reproach, and to perpetuate its 
 invaluable influence to our institutions and to religion? 
 
 The number and character of Dr. Porter's early sermons 
 on the Sabbath, clearly indicate that from the commence- 
 ment of his ministry, he viewed this subject with the 
 liveliest interest, and with much frequency and power 
 urged it on his people. He was among the first, if not the 
 first, publicly to remonstrate against the law which requires 
 the transmission and opening of the mail on the S."»bbath, 
 and to petition for its repeal. This enactment was passed 
 in ISIO. In 1811, the subjoined paper in his hand 
 writing, to which in connection with his own name, is 
 affixed that of a distinguished clergyman still living, was 
 addressed to His Excellency Gov. Treadwell, of Connecti' 
 cut. On the copy of this paper which Dr. Porter retain- 
 ed, he inscribed this memorandum : — " Writte7i in 1811. — 
 Thejirst movement of the kind in the United States. " 
 
 "Sir, 
 
 " You will excuse the freedom with which we address 
 you on a subject, which we know lies near your heart. 
 We have seen with grief and solicitude, that disregard of 
 the Lord's day, which has for some years been increasing 
 in our country, with a steady progress. We have seen the 
 profanation of this sacred day, not only by the post-offices 
 and mails, but by the first officers of our government, and 
 by our National Legislature. We tremble for our country, 
 28* 
 
330 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 that an institution of Heaven as old as creation, should be 
 thus trampled upon by those who ought to be guardians of 
 the public welfare, and examples of public morals. The 
 Christian Sabbath alone is unquestionably a greater 
 bulwark against vice, and a better shield to the vital inter- 
 ests of community, than the best system of penal statutes 
 that can be framed. While the obligations of the Sabbath 
 are recognized in the laws of this State and many other of 
 the United States, we fear that the gradual and systematic 
 encroachments which are made upon it, even by men in 
 high station, will become habitual and incurable. We 
 lament that while adequate provision is made against pe«y 
 crimes, affecting individual interest, practices which tend 
 to the prostration of all moral principles, should find 
 a refuge in that very depravity from which they spring. 
 The man who steals a shilling is consigned to infamy, 
 while he who breaks the Sabbath suffers no abatement of 
 reputation as a gentleman or a statesman. To such 
 causes we attribute the miseries which have overtaken the 
 nations of continental Europe. To similar causes we 
 attribute the calamities which arc felt and feared in this 
 nation. If the Sabbath must fall, ' it will fall like a strong 
 man; it will pull down the pillars of government, and 
 bury our country in the ruins.' With these impressions, 
 the minister's meeting in this vicinity have appointed us a 
 committee, to enter upon .some preparatory steps, relative 
 to this subject. 
 
 " We think that good men have been held in awe too 
 long by the jealousies and recriminations of political 
 parties. It is time that they should wake up, and look at 
 the flood of licentiousness which is sweeping away the 
 institutions of Christianity, and the landmarks of oui 
 fathers. It is high time that they who have wept in secret 
 places for these growing impieties, should speak out, with 
 the courage of men and Christians; and should unite in a 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 331 
 
 firm and honest effort to strengthen the things that remain, 
 and that are ready to die. 
 
 " The object of this letter, Sir, is to ask the aid of your 
 wisdom and your pen in this business. We want a me- 
 morial to Congress that shall be the result of sound delib- 
 eration, and shall combine the momentous considerations 
 that belong to the subject, couched in the language of 
 deep conviction and feeling. We beg that you will favor 
 us with the draught of such an instrument. Our plan is 
 to carry this subject from the South Consociation of Litch- 
 field county to General Association : and should it meet 
 the countenance of that body, to the correspondent eccle- 
 siastical bodies of New England and the Presbyterian 
 church. We doubt not that at least the whole clergy of 
 the country, will be united in this thing. On every branch 
 of the subject, especially the mails, we wish to weigh our 
 words well. Should such a paper be treated with con- 
 tempt by the government, still it can hardly fail to produce 
 a salutary influence on community. At any rate, we shall 
 know where we are. 
 
 " With sentiments of great respect, 
 
 " We are. Sir, cordially yours, 
 
 *' Lyman Beecher." 
 
 Whether all the memorials to Congress on this subject, 
 of which a considerable number were presented in 1811, 
 originated from this " movement," is unknown to the 
 writer. The same conviction of duty which induced Dr. 
 Porter to engage in this work at this time, induced him 
 with his characteristic decision and energy, to bear an 
 active part in the measures of the multitude of all ranks 
 in society, who in 1828-9, and succeeding years, uttered 
 with united voice their remonstrance against tlie oppres- 
 sive enactment, wliich in fact disfranchises a class of our 
 
332 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 citizens, by compelling them to decline official trust under 
 the post-office department, or to violate the law of God 
 in discharging their duties. While he lent his name to 
 swell the list of petitioners, he fearlessly uttered his senti- 
 ments in conversation, in the pulpit, and by the press.* 
 His heart was especially pained by the disregard, and fre- 
 quent open violation of the Sabbath by men, who, in high 
 political stations, enjoyed the confidence of the commu- 
 nity. The disastrous influence which such examples were 
 known to have exerted, and which, if unreproved, they 
 would continue to exert, drew from his pen the following 
 strictures. Tlie first paper was written during the tour 
 of President Monroe through the Middle and Northern 
 States, in the summer of 1817; but was not published 
 until subsequent violations of the Sabbath during the visit 
 of Lafayette to this country, furnished a new call for its 
 publication. Tlie circumstances attending the prepara- 
 tion and publication of the latter are sufficiently explained 
 by itself Both these papers, as illustrating their author's 
 character, ought in this connection, to be presented to 
 the reader. 
 
 "President's Tour. 
 " The writer of this article professes to be a sober man, 
 influenced by principles as remote from the narrowness of 
 religious bigotry, as from the pertinacity of political pre- 
 judice. That the chief magistrate of the United States 
 should propose to make himself personally acquainted 
 with different parts of the extensive country over which he 
 is called to preside, was so manifestly proper, that from 
 the moment the design was known it met with universal 
 approbation. That he has thus far on his excursion, 
 received the most respectful civilities from all classes of 
 
 "See note F. to the last Sermons he published, entitled, "The 
 Duty of Praying for Rulers." 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 333 
 
 our citizens, is doubtless a source of real satisfaction to 
 every patriotic and philanthropic heart. 
 
 " To men of sound reflection who have witnessed the 
 baleful ravages of party spirit, while, for the 'last twenty 
 years, it has spread like a conflagration over the land, 
 there is a charm even in the faintest hope that they may 
 see a termination to the prevalence of these hateful pas- 
 sions. The spirit of conciliation, therefore, which has 
 been recently manifested, is hailed by thousands as denot- 
 ing the commencement of a more auspicious day. In a 
 conjuncture of so much interest and delicacy, every good 
 man must wish to abstain from uttering sentiments that 
 may mar the joy of such anticipations, or, by any possi- 
 bility awaken the frenzy of past times. Still there are 
 considerations appertaining to this subject, which must 
 have attracted public observation, and which in this free 
 country, one might hope, may be made the topic of 
 candid animadversion, without danger of exciting in any 
 bosom, the rancor of party animosity. 
 •; " To speak plainly then, thousands of our best citizens, 
 who were anticipating the most salutary results from the 
 President's journey, were disappointed, and grieved, and 
 surprised, that the chief magistrate of a Christian people 
 should have commenced this journey on the Christian 
 Sabbath. A Baltimore paper of Monday, June 2d, con- 
 tained the following notice : — ' The President of the 
 United States arrived in town yesterday afternoon at 2 
 o'clock, escorted by a troop of horse, the first Baltimore 
 Huzzars, commanded by Capt. Sterret, accompanied by 
 about two hundred citizens on horseback. After dining, 
 he attended divine service at the Rev. Dr. Inglis's Pres- 
 byterian church.' 
 
 " I should be predisposed to admit almost any thing in 
 the form of evidence that there was some special and ade- 
 quate reason for this occurrence. But as no such reason 
 
334 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 has been suggested,* and as this was the day on which 
 the President left his family, apparently without any extra- 
 ordinary stress of circumstances, the conclusion seems 
 almost unavoidable that no such reason did exist. At any 
 rate this will be the conclusion of the public. 
 
 " Now every plain man, who thinks for himself, will 
 say, if it was proper for the chief magistrate of the United 
 States, without special reasons, to devote one half of the 
 Sabbath to travelling, and receiving military honors, it 
 must have been equally proper to devote the whole day to 
 the same objects : and if proper for him, beyond a doubt, 
 it must be equally proper for every subordinate magistrate 
 and every citizen of the country to spend this sacred day 
 in amusement, or in secular pursuits. In other words, it 
 iimst be proper that the institution of public, divine wor- 
 ship should utterly cease in the land, or be made subordi- 
 nate to the convenience or caprice of its inhabitants. In 
 one or two other instances, the statements of the news- 
 papers respecting the President's tour seem to imply in 
 liim a want of strict regard to the sanctity of the Sabbath. 
 These statements however, are so general, and so liable 
 to have been more or less founded in mistake, that they 
 cannot deserve a separate mention in these remarks. 
 
 "If the obligations of the Sabbath were not enforced 
 by Divine authority, it must be presumed that the good 
 sense and urbanity of Mr. Munroe, would preserve him 
 from any designed outrage on the feelings of those who 
 view the Sabbath as a sacred day. But he has a right to 
 know that the conscientious Christians of the land, gen- 
 erally regard the obligations of the Sabbath as resulting 
 not from human opinion or usage, but from divine author- 
 ity ; and that in New England, (for of this the writer can 
 speak with the confidence of personal knowledge,) the 
 
 * That the commencement of this journey had been unexpectedly 
 delayed, is clearly not a reason worthy to be named in this case. 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 335 
 
 best citizens look with deep solicitude at the consequences 
 which may result from incorrect example, on a subject so 
 momentous, and from an individual of so commanding in- 
 fluence as the President of the United States. He has a 
 right to know that by the great body of respectable men, 
 in this community, our Christian institutions are considered 
 as the most precious inheritance derived from our ances- 
 tors ; and that whatever of order, of sobriety, of industry, 
 and of social happiness has attracted his approbation in 
 passing through our towns and villages, it is to be ascribed 
 pre-eminently to the influence of these institutions. 
 
 " So deeply is this sentiment inwrought into the habits 
 and hearts of thousands, and those too the most intelli- 
 gent and worthy inhabitants of New England, that it can 
 never be eff'aced. We owe it to the memory of our 
 fathers, we owe it to the spirit of high independence, 
 which we profess to have inherited as their descendants, 
 we owe it to our principles as freemen and citizens of a 
 I Christian community, to cherish this sentiment, and to 
 ! declare it, with mildness and decency indeed, but with 
 I unhesitating firmness. 
 
 i " Under impressions like these, one of the most respect- 
 j able men in Massachusetts, when requested to act on a 
 
 committee of arrangements to receive the President, gave 
 I this reluctant but decisive reply : — ' I must be excused 
 
 from publicly honoring a man, who publicly dishonors his 
 
 Maker. ' 
 
 "Had our editors seen fit to be less minute in their 
 details, the writer of these remarks had been spared the 
 pain which the task has inflicted on his own bosom. But 
 the facts alluded to have been published, so as to have 
 their influence on every family in the land. They must 
 be known in Europe. They must be known to posterity. 
 It ought to be known, then, in justice to the character of 
 this great and growing country, that it contains multitudes. 
 
336 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 who, in this one respect, can neither imitate nor approve 
 the example of their President. Mr. Munroe commences 
 his official duties under circumstances, which perhaps, 
 give him the opportunity of becoming a greater benefactor 
 to his country, than any man has been, with the single 
 exception of Washington. But one thing is certain ; if 
 he is destined to attain this exalted character, he will not 
 be indifferent to the obligations of religion ; nor regard 
 with fastidiousness, should his eye chance to meet these 
 remarks, the honest suggestions of one who devoutly 
 wishes that every personal and public blessing may attend 
 him in his administration. " 
 
 " Lafayette's Tour. 
 " Messrs. Editors, — As the paper which I sent you on 
 the tour of President Monroe, has appeared in the Tele- 
 graph, I submit to your disposal some remarks on the vio- 
 lations of the Christian Sabbath, as connected with the 
 tour of Gen. Lafayette. On this subject I am especially 
 anxious not to be misunderstood, nor to seem for a moment 
 to have forgotten what is due to those delicate sensibili- 
 ties, that are associated with this honored name, in every 
 bosom not a stranger to generous emotions. In the history 
 of this age, it will be an instructive and splendid chapter 
 that shall record the visit of this illustrious benefactor to 
 our country, after an absence of almost half a century ; 
 the echo of spontaneous joy from every corner of the land, 
 on his reaching our shores ; and the gladness with which 
 grateful thousands pressed upon his steps wherever he 
 went, to greet him with their welcome. Any man, ambi- 
 tious of fame, might well be satisfied with the honors paid 
 to Lafayette. The thing speaks for itself It is not the 
 homage of constraint ; not the momentary acclamation 
 that prosperous guilt and worthlessness may sometimes 
 extort from the multitude. It is a burst of public scnti- 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 337 
 
 ment ; a sober, manly joy, flowing from the hearts of free- 
 men ; an example, in all the circumstances of the case, 
 without a parallel in the annals of time. It speaks a lan- 
 guage which will not fail to be understood in Europe, and 
 to be remembered by the coming generations of the world. 
 
 . " But there are not a few that have felt in its full 
 measure this rapture of national feeling, who nevertheless 
 regret, most deeply regret, that these deserved honors to 
 Lafayette, should have been made the occasion of violating 
 one of the most sacred institutions of religion. • 
 ^"The New England Palladium of August 31, contains 
 an account, taken from the newspapers of New London 
 and Norwich, of the General's hasty passage through that 
 part of Connecticut, on his way to Boston. The details 
 of this account I pass over, extracting only a few sen- 
 tences. 
 
 " ' On Sunday morning the General left Saybrook, and having 
 taken breakfast under the hospitable roof of Richard M'Curdy, Esq. 
 in Lyme, he proceeded on his way to New London ; and being met 
 by tlie committee and a few citizens in Waterford, he was escorted 
 to tlie mansion of Judge Perkins, where, with the spontaneous 
 acclamations of a great body of citizens, and with heartfelt gratula- 
 tions, he was received under a national salute of 24 guns, from Fort 
 Trumbull.' 
 
 " Then follows an account of invitations to the General, 
 from Norwich and Stonington, to visit those towns ; intro- 
 duction to citizens ; attendance on public worship, at the 
 church of Mr. McEwen and of Mr. Judd, both, it would 
 seem from the statement, during the morning service ; 
 calls on several families; salutations of ladies and gentle- 
 men received at his quarters ; and, after dinner, a public 
 escort attended him to Norwich. His arrival at the latter 
 place in the afternoon, was announced, as at New Lon- 
 don, by a salute of cannon, and so was his departure in 
 the evening, and also by ringing of bells. The interme- 
 diate time was filled up with the same demonstrations of 
 29 
 
33S 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 eager curiosity, which have been manifested by the im- 
 mense crowds assembled in other places, wherever the 
 General was expected to pass. 
 
 " On reading the foregoing statement, my heart sunk 
 within me, and I exclaimed — Is it possible that this is 
 Connecticut, where for two centuries the Sabbath has been 
 regarded as a sacred day ! I read the statement again, 
 and in spite of my incredulity, it was so; — these things 
 did really occur on the Sabbath. But this is not all. The 
 same number of the Palladium mentioned above, contains 
 the following statement respecting the Sabbath spent by 
 the General in Boston. It is thought unnecessary to 
 refer to more recent occurrences of the same sort. 
 
 "'On Sunday he attended divine worship at the meeting house in 
 Brattle-street, in the forenoon; and in the afternoon visited Presi- 
 dent Adams, at Quincy, accompanied by His Excellency, and the 
 Mayor. They were greeted by the citizens of Dorchester, Quincy, 
 Milton, &c., on g'oing and returning. ' 
 
 " The splendid military review, it will also be remem- 
 bered, which was holden on Monday, was appointed at so 
 early an hour, by order of his Excellency, that not a few 
 who were summoned for the occasion, were absolutely 
 compelled either to disobey the order, or to consume the 
 Sabbath in preparatory arrangements ; — a fact, I suspect, 
 which, in time of peace, is without a parallel in this 
 Christian commonwealth. 
 
 " I am aware of all that can be said as to these transac- 
 tions, respecting the urgency of circumstances, amounting 
 to necessity; and I would reply to it all, in the single 
 remark, that the authority of the Supreme Lawgiver 
 cannot be superseded by a necessity of our own creating — 
 a necessity so voluntary, and so unnecessary, that to admit 
 the principle in morals, on which its claims must be pre- 
 dicated in the present case, would sweep away not the 
 Sabbath only, but the whole decalogue. 
 
BENEVOI.ENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 339 
 
 " Is no apology then to be admitted, in regard to trans- 
 actions in which many respectable individuals have been 
 concerned ? As to the beloved and venerated Lafayette, 
 several things certainly should be considered. First, his 
 habits have been formed in a Catholic country, where no 
 sanctity is attached to the Sabbath, e.xcept during the time 
 of public worship. Secondly, that his former acquaintance 
 with our religious institutions was short, and that, only as 
 a military officer, in a time of war, and when the ordinary 
 restraints of the Sabbath were often set aside by a real 
 necessity. Thirdly, that, on his present visit to the United 
 States, it was almost a matter of course, that he should 
 give himself up by courtesy to the direction of friends, 
 who tendered him every office of respect; and who, he 
 had every reason to believe, were well acquainted with the 
 institutions and usages of their own country. 
 
 " As to the gentlemen who are in this sense accounta- 
 ble for the General's arrangements, some apology too is to 
 be admitted, as well as for the crowds of people who forgot 
 the Sabbath, amid the enthusiasm of affection and curi- 
 osity to see this distinguished man. It was certainly 
 desirable that his eastern tour should be finished with so 
 much despatch as not to frustrate other engagements 
 which he wished to fulfil. But when the excitement of 
 the moment shall have passed away, who, that reflects at 
 all, will say that such a consideration is important enough 
 to be placed in competition with the moral and religious 
 habits of a country? To repel an invasion, or to raise a 
 siege, may require a military chief to travel night and day, 
 to weather the storm, and to forego regular sleep and food. 
 In the present case, however, there really seems to have 
 been no adequate reason for such extremities. Indeed, 
 from the effect which a few weeks have had in cool- 
 ing my own ardor, I suspect that hereafter I may come to 
 
340 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 question even the sobriety and dignity of these transac- 
 tions, aside from higher considerations. 
 
 " But to satisfy you, Messrs. Editors, that my disquietude 
 on this subject arises not from a querulous temper, but 
 from what I deem important public principles, indulge me 
 in some additional remarks. 
 
 {"In our republic, with advantages which are unexam- 
 pled in the history of nations, a great experiment is to be 
 tried, in the face of the world, whether it is practicable or 
 not, to maintain free institutions over a vast continent, by 
 the force of public opinion. The possibility of success to 
 this experiment, depends absolutely on the extent of intelli- 
 gence, and the elevation of moral principle among the 
 people. We congratulate ourselves on our emancipation 
 from that alliance between the throne and hierarchy, 
 which for ages held the noblest faculties of man in chains, 
 and shrouded the world in night. But in the paroxysm of 
 our exultation we are falling into another extreme ; and 
 both good men and bad seem to be uniting in the opinion, 
 that religion and politics should have no connection. The 
 religious man, doubtless, should stand aloof from the 
 spirit of faction, and from the rancorous passions engen- 
 dered by party politics. But he is a man, a moral agent, 
 a citizen. Can he withdraw all the powers of his under- 
 standing, and the sensibilities of his heart, from the best 
 interests of his country ? With these interests, his own, 
 and those of his family are identified. When it shall be 
 shown that it is no concern of his, whether the rights of 
 property, of personal safety, of conscience, shall be pro- 
 tected or sacrificed; then will it be a point of indifference 
 to him, under what sort of government he shall live, and 
 by what sort of men it shall be administered. Christianity 
 can exist without protection, nay, in spite of opposition 
 from any human government. The proof is seen in her 
 triumphant march, amid the ruins of mighty empires that 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 341 
 
 leagued to oppose her progress. It is seen in the cliarter 
 of the church, that places her safety under the guaranty 
 of Omnipotence. But can government exist and prosper 
 without religion ? Look on the page of history and see. 
 Communities that have tried the experiment, have per- 
 ished in their folly, or been chastised into wisdom with a 
 whip of scorpions. Should heaven, in its wrath, leave our 
 own country to try the same experiment, we shall indeed 
 travel the broad highway of nations, but shall find its every 
 footstep marked with calamity and blood. It is the fashion 
 of New England to glory in her profusion of blessings ; 
 but the source of all this prosperity (forgotten as it often 
 is in our halls of legislation, and on our political anniver- 
 saries) lies in one fact — Our Ancestors were Chuis- 
 Ti.-vNs. Wo to that generation, in which their institutions 
 and principles shall become the scorn of their degenerate 
 sons. 
 
 "A state religion is a deformity which I hope never 
 to see in our Republic; — but I can never expect a state 
 without religion to be prosperous, till I shall be satisfied 
 that moral madness is political wisdom. The tendency, 
 then, which has been apparent among u.-<, within the last 
 twenty years, to cast into the back ground the dependence 
 of government on religion, and to except political men, as 
 such, from the obligations of Christian principles, is the 
 most ominous feature in the aspect of the times. If we 
 shall continue to diverge, a few years more, from the 
 maxims of our Puritan fathers, I fear it will be regarded as 
 an offence against civil rights to say a word in favor of 
 religion as a qualification in rulers ; and that a fastidious 
 party spirit will point the finger of reproach at hiui, wiio 
 shall maintain the antiquated doctrine, that the best prin- 
 ciple of political integrity is the fear of God. 
 
 " While the writer of this article has nothing to seek or 
 to dread from the caprice of popular opinion, he hardly 
 29* 
 
342 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 dares to hope that his feeble remonstrance will avail any 
 thing against a downward current which already seems to 
 be overwhelming. Ten years ago, the people of this 
 commonwealth, alarmed at the growing profanation of the 
 Sabbath, were aroused to measures of energy in executing 
 the laws against violators of this sacred day ; and poured 
 in petitions to the General Court, that these laws might 
 be made more perfectly to meet the exigencies of the case. 
 But our highest judicial tribunal set its foot on these last 
 strugglings of attachment to habits sanctioned by the wis- 
 dom of two centuries ; and since then, who can tell an 
 instance, in which any Sabbath-breaker has been punished 
 or molested, in Massachusetts? What drover, or wag- 
 goner, or traveller of any sort, does not pursue his journey, 
 if he pleases, on the Sabbath ? What inn-keeper or toll- 
 gatherer, on our great roads, has any respite from his 
 ordinary vocation on this day ? The ship in full sail 
 keeps on her way for a short distance after her canvass is 
 taken in ; but if the propelling power is not renewed, she 
 moves slowly, then stops, and then is drifted backward by 
 the tide. There are certain outrages on the Sabbath, 
 which are still coerced by the influence of public habit, 
 and which no man will commit, who wishes for the votes 
 of his fellow-citizens, or even their good opinion. But 
 should the future resemble the past in the progress of 
 declension, who can undertake to say, that, within fifty 
 years, the ploughman will not prosecute his labor on the 
 Sabbath, and under the very windows of the sanctuary ; 
 and the voice of devotion be stifled by the clamorous 
 revelry of the tavern and the shooting-match? 
 
 " These remarks, occasioned by those violations of the 
 Sabbath connected with the tour of General Lafayette, 
 have been thus extended, because every new example of 
 this sort, from men of eminent respectability and influ- 
 ence, gives strength to the current that threatens to sweep 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 343 
 
 away our Christian institutions. It is time for reflecting 
 men, especially for the official guardians of religion, to 
 awake on this subject. It is time that, from our pulpits at 
 least, not an occasional and faint admonition, but a note 
 of remonstrance, loud, united and reiterated, should be 
 heard. If our Bible and our statute-book recognize the 
 Sabbath as a day of sacred rest from common business 
 and recreations, let us decide whether we will regard it as 
 such, or relinquish the name of a Christian people. If we 
 will maintain before the world, tliat we are the most free 
 and enlightened community on the globe, let us show that 
 we have wisdom enough to understand, and freedom 
 enough to assert, our own interests and rights in the most 
 important of all concerns. On this subject, I confess that 
 I have been put to shame by the manly independence 
 with which British Christians rebuke the transgressions 
 of nobility and majesty itself. 
 
 *' When George IV. was Prince of Wales, the Bishop 
 of London waited on him in person, to expostulate with 
 him on the mischievous influence of his example, in 
 attending a military dinner on the Sabbath. The Prince 
 received the admonition very courteously, and gave orders 
 that the entertainment should be changed to another day. 
 After the Prince came to the throne, he nominated Dr. 
 Pearson to be one of his chaplains, who very promptly 
 declined the honor, saying, ' It would require me to vio- 
 late my conscience, by attending your majesty's parties of 
 pleasure on the Sabbath.' The king honored this Chris- 
 tian magnanimity with new testimonies of his favor. 
 
 " In a public journal of 1813, I find the same personage 
 thus vmceremoniously arraigned : — ' Last Sunday, while I 
 rested during a journey, at a large country town, the 
 Prince Regent and his suite passed through the town in 
 one direction, and a judge of the circuit in another; both 
 travelling rapidly, and communicating abundant activity 
 
344 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 to the inns and stable yards where they had occasion to 
 stop. But this was not the only evil. Public curiosity 
 was awake to see the Prince Regent. Instead of the 
 crowded church, or the quiet family circle, all was bustle, 
 and confusion, and clamor. The streets through which 
 he had to pass, were filled with spectators ; and the grave 
 aspect of the Sabbath, was changed for the levity and 
 frivolity of a fair or a race course.' The writer proceeds 
 with a strain of dignified but severe animadversion on 
 these facts. Now it looks something like a paradox, that 
 the subject of a monarchy should be able to look his king 
 in the face, and tell him his fault ; and yet, among us 
 republicans, where the highest officer is subject to law, 
 and dependent on public opinion for his office, he may, in 
 respect to our most sacred institutions, put at defiance 
 law, and usage, and public opinion, on the presumption 
 that every man in the community will have too much deli- 
 cacy, and too much respect for a public officer, to speak 
 of his fault, at least to speak of it aloud, and with decided 
 disapprobation. 
 
 " Before I dismiss this subject, permit me to add, that, on 
 the general tendency of remissness in observing the 
 Sabbath, the views now expressed, so far from being orig- 
 inal or peculiar, have been, for ages, the views of the wisest 
 statesmen and jurists in Christendom. Judge Blackstone 
 says: — 'Besides the notorious indecency and scandal of 
 permitting any secular business to be publicly transacted 
 on that day, in a country professing Christianity, and the 
 corruption of morals which usually follows its profanation; 
 the keeping of one day in seven holy, as a time of relaxa- 
 tion and refreshment, as well as for public worship, is of 
 admirable service to to a state, considered merely as a civil 
 institution. It humanizes the manners of the lower 
 classes, which would otherwise degenerate into a sordid 
 ferocity and savage selfishness of spirit; it imprints on the 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 345 
 
 minds of the people that sense of their duty to God, so 
 necessary to make them good citizens, but which yet 
 would be worn out and defaced, without stated times of 
 recalling them to the worship of their Maker.' 
 
 " The sentiments of W.\shington, as contained in his 
 valedictory address, are so familiar, that I quote only a 
 few sentences : — ' Of all the dispositions and habits which 
 lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indis- 
 pensable supports. The mere politician, equally with the 
 pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. And 
 let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality 
 can be maintained without religion; — reason and experi- 
 ence both forbid us to expect that national morality can 
 prevail, in exclu.sion of religious principle.' These 
 remarks do not indeed refer expressly to the Sabbath : but 
 that they are capable of such an application, may be seen 
 from a single fact in the example of the same great and 
 excellent man. The anecdote is one which was com- 
 municated to me, on what I supposed unquestionable 
 
 authority. In the town of A , in Connecticut, where 
 
 the roads were extremely rough, Washington was over- 
 taken by night on Saturday, not having been able to reach 
 the village where he designed to rest on the Sabbath. 
 Next morning, about sunrise, his coach was harnessed, and 
 he was proceeding forward to an inn, near the place of 
 worship which he proposed to attend. A plain man, who 
 was an informing officer, came from a cottage, and 
 inquired of the coachman, whether there was any urgent 
 reason for his travelling on the Lord's day. The General, 
 instead of resenting this as impertinent rudeness, ordered 
 the coachman to stop, with great civility explained the 
 circumstances to the officer, commended him for his 
 fidelity, and assured him that nothing was farther from his 
 intention, than to treat with disrespect the laws and usages 
 of Connecticut relative to the Sabbath, which met his 
 
346 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 most cordial approbation. How many admirers of Wash- 
 ington might receive instruction and reproof from his 
 example ! New Englander." 
 
 In 1828 the 'General Union for Promoting the Obser- 
 vance of the Christian Sabbath ' was organized, and fixed 
 its centre of operations in the city of New York. In 
 its formation Dr. Porter greatly rejoiced ; and to its opera- 
 tions and influence looked forward with cheering ex- 
 pectations. In one of his letters to Lewis Tappan, Esq., 
 the corresponding secretary of the Union, he writes : — 
 " There should be more general, continuous, systematic 
 effort on the part of ministers, to instruct their hearers as 
 to the perpetuity and moral obligation of the fourth com- 
 mandment. Here we stand on firm and high ground, 
 which we can maintain, and must maintain, or nothing is 
 done. The civil bearings of the subject are all important 
 too, but secondary. The press, as well as the pulpit, 
 should speak ably, loudly, and often, on this momentous 
 subject. The first talents of the church should be enlisted 
 in discussing the most prominent parts of it, in our peri- 
 odicals and newspapers ; I do not say religious papers, but 
 all papers into which such discussions will be admitted. 
 Distinguished men, especi.ally in cities, should combine 
 their efforts to persuade stage and steamboat owners to 
 respect the Lord's day ; and make them feel that it is their 
 interest to do so. 
 
 "More than all, the enterprise demands a. prime man, 
 devoted to it. Can it be that God intends to frustrate all 
 measures to obtain such a man ? I cannot believe it, be- 
 cause I cannot believe that he intends to leave this great 
 country without a Sabbath. 
 
 " I wish much to be with you, but cannot. My heart 
 is with you, if you push forward. 
 
 " Ever yours, &c,'' 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 347 
 
 A plan for promoting the observance of the Sabbath, 
 which, towards the close of his life deeply interested Dr. 
 Porter, was the formation of associations similar in prin- 
 ciple to those which have so effectually checked the ravages 
 of intemperance in our country. He desired to see the 
 friends of the Sabbath pledged to abstain from its viola- 
 tion. This plan he was active in bringing before the Pas- 
 toral Association of Massachusetts, and was the chairman 
 of a committee appointed by that body in May, 1831, to 
 consider the subject, to devise some system of operations, 
 and to report at a subsequent meeting. In behalf of the 
 committee, he drew up the following statement and reso- 
 lutions, which in pursuance of the object of their ap- 
 pointment, were submitted to the General Association, at 
 its meeting in June following. These as amended and 
 unanimously adopted by the Association, are inserted 
 as the best expression that can be furnished the reader, of 
 Dr. Porter's views on a subject which he considered of 
 the highest importance. 
 
 " The committee of the Pastoral Association, appointed 
 to consult with others, and to adopt such measures as they 
 may deem expedient to promote the due observance of the 
 Sabbath, have endeavored, with humble dependence on 
 God, to enter upon the discharge of the duties assigned 
 them. They have done this under the solemn conviction 
 that for the last thirty, and especially for the last ten years, 
 a gradual and growing indifference to the obligation of 
 keeping the Sabbath has been coming in upon our com- 
 munity at large, and even upon our churches ; and that 
 unless good men speedily awake from this apathy, and 
 unite in some efficient measures on the subject, it will be 
 too late to arrest the tide of desolation, which threatens to 
 sweep away all that remains of our invaluable institutions. 
 With these impressions, the committee have inquired what 
 
348 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 is to be done ? Can we rely on petitions to Congress to re- 
 form the abuses of the national post-office? Greatly as 
 such a reformation is needed, if attained, it would reach 
 but one of the thousand forms in which the Sabbath is 
 profaned : and the attainment of it is nearly hopeless, 
 while as yet the necessary reformation is scarcely begun 
 in our own families and neighborhoods. Can we rely on 
 the influence of the General Sabbath Union? For three 
 years, we have been looking with high hopes to that in- 
 stitution, so auspiciously begun, but it can never fulfil 
 these hopes without a much more efficient co-operation, 
 than has hitherto been given to it from any part of the 
 country. In the mean time, the profanations of the Sab- 
 bath continue and increase, from week to week, while 
 good men are imperceptibly carried downward by the 
 current, and their slumber over the danger is becoming 
 more profound. 
 
 " The committee believe, notwithstanding, that the spirit 
 of our fathers has still hold enough on this community to 
 redeem us from our backslidings, if proper measures for 
 this purpose are taken, without more delay. And we 
 think that the grand effort now demanded, should begin, 
 where it ought to have begun long ago, in the reformation 
 of ourselves. 
 
 " With these views, the committee propose that all the 
 friends of the Sabbath, who are willing to do so, should 
 organize themselves into local Sabbath Associations, by 
 subscribing the following agreement, viz : — 
 
 "'Believing that all worldly business and travelling 
 on the Christian Sabbath, except for purposes of piety, 
 necessity, and mercy, and all worldly visiting and amuse- 
 ments on that day, are contrary to the divine will, and 
 injurious to the social, civil, and religious interests of men; 
 we, the subscribers, agree that we will abstain from any 
 such violations of the Sabbath, and that we will use our 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 349 
 
 influence to persuade our own families and others to do 
 the same.' 
 
 " The committee request the General Association to pass 
 the following resolutions : — 
 
 "1. That we approve of the foregoing plan of agree- 
 ment, and recommend to ministers and churches, through- 
 out the commonwealth, to form local Sabbath Associations 
 according to it. 
 
 " 2. That we recommend to ministers in all our congre- 
 gations to preach on this subject, on one or both of the 
 two last Sabbaths in September, unless it shall have been 
 done previously ; and that within two weeks after this 
 presentation of the subject, in each congregation there 
 be an enrolment of names, under this general agreement, 
 and a return of the result made by each minister to the 
 General Agent. 
 
 " 3. We recommend that a General Agent be procured, 
 whose time shall be devoted, so long as may be necessary, 
 to superintend and carry into full effect, the proposed or- 
 ganization over the State. 
 
 "All which is respectfully submitted. 
 
 " In behalf of the committee of Pastoral Association, 
 "E. Porter, Chairman." 
 
 To the preceding statement and resolutions, the remarks 
 which follow were appended : — 
 
 "To avoid an inconvenience arising from multiplication 
 of officers and public meetings, the committee propose 
 that each local association should append to the pledge 
 above written a provision like the following : — ' Should it 
 be necessary hereafter for this Sabbath Association to meet 
 for the transaction of any business, seasonable public no- 
 tice of such meeting shall be given. In the mean time, 
 
 are requested to act as our executive com- 
 
 oaittee in promoting here and elsewhere the objects of this 
 30 
 
350 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 association ; and, until others shall be appointed in their 
 stead, they are authorized to fill any vacancies that may 
 occur, in their own number ; and to adopt such measures 
 as circumstances may require to accomplish the ends pro- 
 posed.' 
 
 " The committee think too that each religious congre- 
 gation should have a separate organization, and that (as 
 in the temperance cause) friends of the Sabbath, male and 
 female, of sufficient age to act intelligently, should be en- 
 rolled. The decided approbation, with which the above 
 simple plan of measures has been regarded, by those who 
 feel the deepest interest in the subject, is altogether grati- 
 fying and encouraging. And the committee confidently 
 trust that it will be carried into prompt and spontaneous 
 execution, in nearly all parts of the State, by the efforts of 
 ministers in their own congregations. For the purpose, 
 however, of correspondence, and of efficiency in these ar- 
 rangements, a General Agent will probably be appointed 
 for a short time, whose name will be publicly announced. 
 In the mean time, should Sabbath Associations be formed 
 speedily, as doubtless they will be in some places, returns 
 may be made to the Editor, either of the Recorder or the 
 Journal of Humanity." 
 
 The report of this committee, also prepared by Dr. Por- 
 ter, and presented to the Pastoral Association in May, 
 1832, contained besides the documents above quoted, a 
 statement of the labors, hopes, and disappointments of the 
 committee during the year ; of their efforts to secure the 
 services of an efficient General Agent ; of the temporary 
 appointment of an individual to this station ; and of the 
 results of his agency. The report concludes with the fol- 
 lowing recommendations and postscript : — 
 
 " 1. That a general effort be made to have a recog- 
 nition of the Sabbath as a divine institution, inserted in 
 the covenants of our churches, with a pledge to observe it 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 351 
 
 as such ; the violation of which pledge shall be matter of 
 discipline. 
 
 "2. That the pledge adopted last year be re-examined, 
 and if necessary, amended ; — and that a General Agent 
 be sent through the State to see it executed. 
 
 " 3. That a Sabbath Association be organized for the 
 State, with proper officers, and with auxiliaries in each 
 county and town. 
 
 " 4. That this Sabbath Association have an anniversary 
 in Boston, with a sermon or public addresses, and a gen- 
 eral report, on the week in May. 
 
 " All which is respectfully submitted, in behalf of the 
 committee. 
 
 " P. S. To this report, the committee will add one state- 
 ment by way of encouragement to new efforts. No sooner 
 was it known abroad, that the Sabbath cause was about to 
 be taken up anew in Massachusetts, than the eyes of good 
 men in sister States, were fixed on our movements with 
 intense interest. Letters froni a distance were addressed 
 to your committee, either to express the most cordial ap- 
 probation of our plan, or to obtain more ample informa- 
 tion respecting it." 
 
 The measures recommended in the foregoing documents, 
 Dr. Porter continued to regard as adapted above all others, 
 to rescue the Sabbath from desecration, and secure its 
 due observance. And while his consciousness remained, 
 it was his heart's desire and prayer to God, that in hum- 
 ble dependence on Almighty power, they might be prose- 
 cuted with zeal and energy corresponding with the 
 inestimably important ends they were designed to promote. 
 Mrs. Porter remarks that she does not remember ever to 
 have seen him so dejected on any other occasion, as once 
 when he had just returned from a meeting in Boston, 
 appointed to confer on this subject. " There is," said he, 
 " such a lack of interest, so much coldness and indiffer- 
 
352 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 ence, that I know not what will become of our country 
 and of Zion ! " 
 
 For many years Dr. Porter's thoughts had been much 
 exercised in regard to the education of pious and indigent 
 youth for the Christian ministry. A year or two previous 
 to the formation of the American Education Society, he 
 thus wrote : — " If the friends of the Redeemer were but 
 properly awake to the duty of searching out indigent 
 young men, of promising piety and genius to be educated 
 for the ministry, doubtless many would be found, who 
 would be an inestimable acquisition to the church. The 
 public and systematic attention given, to this subject within 
 the last ten years, will form an era in the ecclesiastical 
 concerns of this country. These noble and auspicious 
 beginnings, it is devoutly to be hoped, will be followed up 
 with efibrls correspondent to the magnitude of the object, 
 till every evangelical college in the country shall be fur- 
 nished with a respectable fund, appropriated to this purpose. 
 Most certainly, unless the solemn attention of Christians 
 can be drawn to this object, and the united prayers and 
 labors of the church can be directed to its accomplishment, 
 the number of ministers must continue to be altogether 
 inadequate to the demand for their labors. For the want 
 of pious, orthodox, able preachers, many of our ancient 
 and once respectable congregations will inevitably fall a 
 prey to sectarian and heretical opinions ; or sink into the 
 darkness and licentiousness of heathenism. Still more 
 deplorable is the condition of our new settlements. Amidst 
 the wide spreading population of these extensive regions, 
 churches are rapidly forming ; but where can pastors be 
 found to supply them 1 They look to the churches and 
 seminaries in the older districts of the country, and cry, 
 ' Send us Christian pastors : give us the bread of life.' 
 Must we close our ears to this call : or instead of bread, 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 363 
 
 give them a stone or a serpent ? Alas, * the harvest is 
 plenteous, but the laborers are few.' " With these views he 
 was prepared cheerfully to co-operate with any association 
 formed for this purpose, on judicious principles. He took 
 an active part in the measures proposed for this end by the 
 consociation, of which he was a member in Connecticut. 
 He also constituted himself a life member of the Middle- 
 bury college Charitable Society, organized for this purpose, 
 in 1813. He was prepared, especially, most cordially to 
 unite in the formation of the American Education Society, 
 and to sustain any responsibility in conducting its opera- 
 tions, which duty seemed to devolve upon him. Though 
 he liberally aided by his influence and money, other 
 modes of benevolent eflbrt, this appeared his favorite 
 object. His peculiar attachment to the Education Society, 
 and his cheerful devotion of himself to its advancement, 
 is to be attributed in part to the views above expressed, 
 but more to the following considerations : first, that this 
 society cannot, from its nature, be expected to awaken as 
 lively an interest in all classes of the community, and call 
 forth as liberal contributions as most other plans of 
 Christian enterprize ; and secondly, that the ultimate 
 success of every other association for the moral improve- 
 ment of our race, must depend on a ministry of elevated 
 intellectual and moral qualifications, and sufficiently nu- 
 merous to meet the wants of the world. 
 
 At the formation of the American Education Society, 
 the deep interest in its object which Dr. Porter had previ- 
 ously manifested, together with other circumstances, threw 
 upon him much labor and responsibility. In a letter to a 
 friend in Connecticut, dated Feb. 12, 1816, he says . 
 " For four or five weeks past, I have been taken up in 
 addition to common business, with organizing our Educa- 
 tion Society, the papers of which I send you. The whole 
 of the last week, almost, I devoted to this in Boston, where 
 30* 
 
354 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 the directors met. Berkshire, Hampshire, and Hampden 
 counties, in Massachusetts, were committed to me, and to 
 avail myself of opportunities by gentlemen of the General 
 Court, I with the help of friend T., made up nearly half a 
 bushel of letters. Our funds are yet but about three 
 thousand, but we have hardly begun." In a letter already 
 quoted, under date of Jan. 30, 1818, we find these 
 sentences : " We have undertaken to remodel our Ameri- 
 can Education Society, with a view to extensive operations 
 in remote States, and circumstances have thrown the 
 weight of this arduous business on my hands. This is 
 the fourth week that I have been almost wholly devoted 
 to it, and I have yet many letters and packages to make 
 up for to-morrow." His labor and responsibility in con- 
 ducting the operations of this society continued and 
 increased, until the appointment of the Rev. Elias Corne- 
 lius to the secretaryship of the institution — an appointment 
 which Dr. Porter urged, from a settled conviction of its 
 importance to the interests of the society and the cause ot 
 Zion. As one of a committee appointed by the directors 
 of the society, to address Mr. Cornelius's church on the 
 subject of resigning their pastor for this service, Dr. Porter 
 prepared the letter which follows. 
 
 " To the members of the Tabernacle Cliurch, Salem. 
 
 " Dear Christian Brethren, 
 
 " It has become our duty, by direction of divine 
 Providence, to address you on a subject deeply interesting 
 to the kingdom of Christ. As members of the great com- 
 munity of Christians descended from the Puritans, and 
 inheriting their principles, we know that you have been 
 accustomed to cherish that spirit of expansive regard to 
 the welfare of the church, which is the glory of this age. 
 Actuated as we trust by the same principles, the directors 
 of the American Education Society are endeavoring to 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 355 
 
 carry forward the great department of benevolent enter- 
 prize, which is specially confided to their hands. The 
 period is auspicious. The friends of religion are awaking 
 to a new system of efforts, for the purpose of augmenting 
 the number of able and devoted ministers of the cross. 
 God smiles on these efforts by various tokens of his special 
 favor, and peculiarly by the gracious effusion of his Spirit 
 on our churches and colleges. ! While the day of Zion's 
 enlargement and glory is thus drawing on, we desire the 
 honor and happiness of joining with all those who love the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, in advancing the prosperity of his 
 church. 
 
 " As the chief instrument of accomplishing that part of 
 the momentous work which the American Education So- 
 ciety has undertaken, the directors of that society have 
 fixed their choice upon your reverend and beloved pastor. 
 In this measure we well know there is to a great extent a 
 spontaneous concurrence of feeling in the Christian com- 
 munity. We were called indeed, to make this choice by 
 the prevalence of such a sentiment among the most 
 enlightened and pious men in various parts of New Eng- 
 land, and beyond its bounds. We felt ourselves called to 
 it by the voice of God, and the most sacred obligations of 
 duty ; and we hope, dear brethren, that the same sacred 
 and powerful motive will induce you cheerfully to acquiesce 
 in this measure, painful as we know it must be to your 
 feelings. 
 
 " To you, who have had the best means of information ; 
 to you, who have given abundant proofs that you feel its 
 importance, by the sacrifices you have made to promote it ; 
 we need not describe the magnitude of the object for 
 which we ask you to make another great sacrifice. When 
 you gave up a former beloved pastor for the sake of pro- 
 moting the salvation of the heathen, you set an example 
 to Christians, which is remembered with approbation by 
 
356 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 the friends of Zion ; which we doubt not is remembered in 
 heaven ; and which we trust has been and will be rewarded 
 in rich blessings on yourselves and your children. It is 
 then, with the confidence, and at the same time, with the 
 sympathies of fraternal feeling, that we come, dear breth- 
 ren, in the name of your Lord and ours, and ask you to 
 part with your respected pastor, that he may devote the 
 talents with which God has blessed him peculiarly for this 
 work, to the momentous undertaking of raising up hun- 
 dreds, and we hope thousands of ministers to preach the 
 everlasting gospel. We ask you to make the sacrifice 
 solely for the honor of your Redeemer, and in reliance on 
 him for your reward. To your serious and devout con- 
 sideration we commit this interesting subject. And may 
 the spirit of the dying and risen Saviour guide you, and 
 comfort your hearts with that peace of God which passeth 
 all understanding. 
 
 " With sincere affection we are your brethren." 
 ''Aug. 17, 1826." 
 
 The day following the receipt of this letter, Mr. Cor- 
 nelius wrote: — " Your letter to the church is just what I 
 wanted it to be ; and, I must think, just what it should be. 
 I have nothing to add, and nothing to take away. If I 
 may speak my whole heart, it is a precious letter, and 
 breathes a spirit which I hope I love to inhale also, and 
 which I desire to cherish in my dying hour. I have full 
 confidence that it will have a good effect on the church 
 when it is read." In the conclusion of the letter from 
 which the above is taken, Mr. Cornelius adds : — " I have 
 not been insensible to the heavy load of cares with which 
 the Education Society has long pressed you ; and I have 
 not been an indifferent or unsympathising spectator, though 
 I myself may in some instances have increased those cares. 
 But if you rightly interpret the present movements of 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 357 
 
 Providence, you may, I hope, console yourself with the 
 prospect of ere long having that load in part, at least, taken 
 off; — and though like a parent who has long anxiously 
 toiled to support his child, you can never cease to care for 
 its prosperity and to be deeply interested in its future pro- 
 gress and success, the immediate burden of providing for 
 its wants will be removed." 
 
 In two or three instances when visiting the southern 
 States for his health, Dr. Porter took a commission as 
 agent of the society with the view of raising funds, or 
 otherwise promoting its objects. At its meetings, espe- 
 cially the meetings of its board of directors, he was ever 
 active and influential. One who was for several years 
 associated with him on these occasions, has informed the 
 writer that, owing to his deep interest, his liberal views, 
 his prudence and forecast, his suggestions were rarely 
 thought to need amendment. In preparing the consti- 
 tution and rules of the society, his counsels exerted a 
 controlling influence. Of the plan of scholarships adopted 
 some years before his death, he ought doubtless to be 
 considered the originator. One of his letters is in the 
 hands of the compiler, which distinctly prescribes the 
 plan of proceeding by which the establishment of the 
 first permanent scholarships was attempted and accom- 
 plished. The proposal to remove the society's seat of 
 operations from Boston to New York, was one in which 
 he felt much interest. On this subject he wrote to 
 Mr. Cornelius as follows in 1830, while returning from 
 South Carolina. 
 
 " Washington, Conn., Junt 15, 1830. 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " Brother in New York told me he should see 
 
 you, and would endeavor to call with you at my lodgings ; 
 
358 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 but I suppose you returned some other way. He also told 
 me that a meeting of the directors of the American Edu- 
 cation Society was to be held in Boston about the 20th, to 
 receive propositions from the branch at New York relative 
 to a removal of the seat of operations to that city ; and 
 that the day was fixed so late, in the expectation that I 
 might be in Boston. The depression of health that I have 
 sustained since commencing my movements northward, 
 I hope is temporary, but it will delay my return home, 
 beyond the day of that meeting. 
 
 "In this state of the case, I feel it to be my duty to 
 give you my thoughts on the main question, wishing you 
 to make all reasonable allowance for the limited views 
 that I must take of it, having only a partial knowledge of 
 the grounds on which the above measure may be urged. 
 
 " They who know me well, know that I have no narrow 
 prejudices against Presbyterianism. It would give me no 
 pain to see New England en masse, Presbyterian in one 
 year. Nor need I make any protestations of confidence 
 in the men who would have the management of the so- 
 ciety's interests, if the seat of its operations were removed 
 to New York. 
 
 " I can only hint at the reasons why I object to such a 
 removal, but this I will do with no reserve. 
 
 "1. The local advantages of New York as the seat of 
 operations in regard to Bibles, tracts, and home missions, 
 do not apply to the Education Society. All facilities 
 needed for this object from banks, or mails, or commercial 
 guarantees, or transmission of packages and papers, may 
 be had as well, or nearly as well in Boston as New York. 
 
 " 2. New England was the mother of the society, and 
 for fifteen years has been its faithful nurse. While I was 
 best acquainted with its interior affairs, nineteen-twen- 
 tieths I suppose of its funds were from New England. 
 You can tell better how it is now. But I fear the analogy 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 359 
 
 of good old Jacob and Benjamin would not hold. If you 
 take away this child, my apprehension is, not that the 
 mother, but that the ' child will die.' 
 
 "3. New England on many accounts, is the natural 
 domicile of this society. Where are the academies and 
 colleges, that are the oldest, the ablest, the cheapest, the 
 safest for beneficiaries? Look, — and answer. Where 
 are the churches that have been most blest with revivals, 
 and have furnished most pious young men for home and 
 foreign missions? God in his wrath may forsake these 
 churches, and give them over to the blighting influence 
 of theological speculations. But to act on the presumption 
 of such a calamity, in our greatest movements, would be 
 at least premature. 
 
 " 4. New York has now as many great things on hand, 
 as all its talent, and piety, and energy, great as they un- 
 questionably are, can manage well. To superadd the 
 Education and Foreign Missionary Societies, would be 
 unreasonably to burden those excellent brethren. 
 
 "5. My heaviest objection arises from the present 
 condition of the Presbyterian church. I know well the 
 generous enlargement of soul that has been enlisted with 
 us in New York. But that generosity has stubborn diffi- 
 culties to contend with. 
 
 "Is it said, we would remove only the secretary, not 
 the society 1 Answer. I object to any arrangement that 
 would amount to a virtual removal, or a fatal embarrass- 
 ment in operations. 
 
 " ' But New York can and New England cannot sup- 
 port the secretary.' If we cannot and do not, I have 
 nothing to say ; only, let us give up the concern to better 
 bands. 
 
 " Your brother, 
 
 " E. Porter." 
 
360 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 In 1831, Dr. Porter felt that his augmented cares, and 
 increasing infirmities, might render it his duty to resign 
 his place as director of the Education Society. This con- 
 viction he thus intimated in a letter to Mr. Cornelius : — 
 " I improve this opportunity of saying to you, what I have 
 intended for some time to say, that I have doubts about 
 remaining a director of the American Education Society. 
 You need no assurance of my undiminished interest in 
 the cause — an interest which will cleave to my heart to 
 its last pulsation. But the machinery committed to our 
 trust at Andover, is the greatest that God has put in 
 operation on our globe. It demands our undivided labors. 
 The seat of operations for the Education Society is now 
 in Boston, and the question is whether a man there, young, 
 and hardy, and less occupied than I am, could not help 
 the board of directors in their great work better than 
 myself. I have indeed studiously kept myself, for some 
 time, free from every public engagement except this one, 
 as being virtually identical with the main business of my 
 life. And this one I can help, and must help, (at least 
 in examining candidates, making out schedules, directing 
 applicants for aid, (Sec.) whether I am a director or not. 
 I suppose too, that ordinarily I might attend the quarterly 
 meetings, except that in January. Think on this, and 
 then tell me your thoughts. 
 
 " Affectionately yours." 
 
 In reply to the above, Dr. Porter received an expression 
 of feeling clearly indicative of the estimation in which his 
 services were held by Mr. Cornelius. — " I fully appreciate 
 all your remarks upon the topic which you mention in 
 your letter. But whoever else may feel it to be his duty 
 to retire from the board of the American Education 
 Society, I sincerely hope that you will not. So intimate, 
 and I will add so parental is your knowledge of the 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS 361 
 
 society, and of all its interests from the beginning of its 
 operations till now, that your place cannot be supplied, 
 even though you should be able to attend only occa- 
 sionally. If there is a man to whom I have uniformly 
 felt as though I could go, and tell all that is in my heart 
 respecting the society or its interests, you, my dear sir, 
 are that man ; and I fear if you were now to resign, the 
 child which you have so long watched, would have less of 
 your fostering care and solicitude. 
 
 "With sincere, and I hope you will forgive me if I say, 
 vpith filial affection and confidence, yours in the gospel, 
 " E. Cornelius." 
 
 We close the account of Dr. Porter's connection with 
 the Education Society, with the following summary of hi.s 
 services, kindly furnished by the present corresponding 
 secretary. 
 
 " Rooms of the Jlmerican Education Society. 
 " Rev. and Dear Sir, 
 
 " In compliance with your request, I am happy to 
 furnish you with some particulars respecting the services 
 of the late Dr. Porter of Andover, in connection with 
 the American Education Society. In this important 
 institution, he took a lively interest from its commence- 
 ment. He was prepared to do this, from the circum- 
 stance that, for some years, his mind had been particularly 
 turned to the instruction of young men for the ministry. 
 He was present, I think, at the first meeting which was 
 held in reference to the formation of the society, and its 
 records show, that he was one of a committee appointed 
 to prepare and report a constitution to be adopted at an 
 adjourned meeting. At the time of the organization of 
 the society, he was elected one of its directors, and he 
 continued to officiate in that capacity until his decease. 
 31 
 
362 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 The society engrossed much of his affection, and occupied 
 much of his time. He became even enthusiastic in car- 
 rying forward its plans and operations. Seldom did he 
 fail to attend the stated meetings of the society and of 
 the board of directors, when his health and duties would 
 permit. Rarely was there a committee of importance 
 appointed, of which he was not a member. His name 
 appears on the book of records two hundred and forty-four 
 times. In preparing the constitution of the society, and 
 the rules of the directors, his accurate, judicious and well 
 balanced mind was actively employed. Indeed, it may 
 with propriety be said, that he was, almost exclusively, 
 the framer of the excellent system of rules now in use. 
 On all difficult or important subjects in relation to this 
 institution, he was consulted and his opinion was ever 
 highly estimated. 
 
 " The third annual report of the directors, which con- 
 tains a great variety of valuable facts and instructions, was 
 written by him. On the fifth anniversary of the society, 
 he delivered a sermon, which bears the characteristic 
 marks of his mind, and breathes the spirit which the 
 Saviour manifested, when he enjoined upon his disciples, 
 ' Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every 
 creature.' 
 
 "In the winter of 181G — 17, Dr. Porter performed an 
 agency for the society in the southern States which re- 
 sulted in the collection of some thousands of dollars, and 
 subsequently, whenever he visited the South, he exerted a 
 happy influence on its behalf. In the last interview I had 
 with him, which was only a short time before his death, 
 some of his remarks were respecting the American Edu- 
 cation Society. As he spoke, his countenance glowed 
 with animation. With an emphasis which I shall never 
 forget, he expressed himself to this effect. The Educa- 
 tion Society must be sustained, for without the Christian 
 ministry, little can be done for the conversion of this world 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 363 
 
 to Jesus Christ; but with it, by the blessing of God, every 
 thing can be achieved. This society, therefore, must be 
 viewed as fundamental — as lying at the foundation of 
 every benevolent enterprise. And yet the community do 
 not consider it in this light. Other societies, such as the 
 Bible, Home and Foreign Missionary, Tract and Sabbath 
 School Societies, are imposing in their operations. All 
 tliey do is seen and felt ; but the Education Society acts 
 unseen. Its operations and results are known only to a 
 few, and this, in a great measure, will ever be the case. 
 The community, consetiuently, will never fully realize its 
 vast importance, nor the extent of its influence, nor act in 
 relation to it as the cause demands. Those, therefore, 
 who can understand its operations and results, are bound 
 to sustain it. It was, no doubt, in consequence of such 
 views, that he gave to the institution, in 182G, one thousand 
 dollars to establish a permanent scholarship, and, at his 
 decease, more than fifteen thousand dollars as a bequest. 
 
 " Such were the sentiments and services of your ven- 
 erable uncle in respect to the American Education So- 
 ciety, of whom more than of any other individual, it may 
 truly be said, he was its founder, and its uniform and 
 most liberal patron. And though he now rests from his 
 labors, yet will his holy influence continue to operate on 
 earth until that glorious period shall arrive, when great 
 will be the company of those who publish the gospel of 
 Christ. 
 
 " In closing this communication, permit me to express 
 my high esteem of Dr. Porter as a man, a Christian, a 
 minister, and a theological instructor. In each of these 
 respects, he possessed uncommon excellence, and ju.stly 
 merited the love and admiration which he received from 
 all who knew him. ' Mark the perfect man and behold 
 the upright ; for the end of that man is peace.' 
 
 " I am, dear sir, truly and affectionately yours, 
 
 " William Cogswell." 
 
364 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 Dr. Porter's frequent journeys to the South had awaken- 
 ed in his bosom anxious solicitude respecting the defi- 
 ciency of well educated ministers, which he was compelled 
 to witness — a deficiency attributable in his view, in part 
 to the want of a competent number of ministers of this 
 character in our country ; and in part to the want 
 of adequate means of support. Impressed with this 
 deficiency on his first visit to the southern States, in 
 1816 — 17, he felt the importance of devising some way 
 of affording competent support to those who might be 
 willing to enter that field of labor. To Mrs. Porter he 
 wrote during this absence : — " I have endeavored to per- 
 suade the ladies of Savannah and Augusta to form mis- 
 sionary societies for domestic operations. Oh my heart 
 aches for Georgia, and most of all, because Georgia's 
 heart does not ache for itself" Having the subject thus 
 providentially urged on his attention, he was prepared 
 most cordially to welcome the first intimation respecting 
 a national domestic missionary society. Under date of 
 Feb. 4, 1825, he writes from Andover to Eleazer Lord, Esq. 
 of New York, as follows. 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " Yours of Jan. 25th is just received, and though I 
 have not a moment to devote to such a purpose, I cannot 
 resist the inclination I have felt for several months to open 
 my heart to you briefly respecting the great results which 
 I hope may stand connected with your operations as a 
 Domestic Missionary Society. The plan as first exhibited, 
 and more fully developed in your reports, has seemed to 
 promise much. What I wish is to see it become in name 
 and in fact a great national institution. Suppose then 
 you should invite, say next May, societies already formed 
 for domestic missions, in different States, to send delegates 
 to a meeting for consultation in New York. Suppose six 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS 
 
 365 
 
 or more comply with the invitation ; and your constitution 
 should receive such modifications as may be necessary to 
 make it a national society ;— then let a Board be designat- 
 ed, with ample powers to compass the objects in view. 
 Perhaps the State Societies already formed and others to 
 be formed might be regarded as branches, and be inde- 
 pendent in their local operations at home, — expecting to 
 contribute surplus funds to a general treasury, for general 
 measures — expecting also to unite in counsel once a year 
 as to such measures, and to receive the general reports, 
 which should embody a complete view of domestic missions 
 for the whole country. 
 
 " The general advantage of such a combined operation 
 would be to make our religious, more analagous to our po- 
 litical organization—' E pkiribus unum.' 
 
 " 1. The reports of such a society, operating on a grand 
 scale, would have ten times as much power as those of 
 any small society. 
 
 " 2. The hearts of Christians would be expanded and 
 gradually turned towards our zcorld at the west, as an ob- 
 ject of common interest. 
 
 "3. Under the impulse of so general an excitement, South 
 Carolina, for example, would do as much again for its own 
 missionary objects, and besides contribute handsomely 
 (that is it might do so) to evangelize Illinois, and Mis- 
 souri, and Louisiana. 
 
 "4. Such a society might have resources to furnish a 
 permanent reliance for young preachers of proper char- 
 acter, but who are destitute of means to go on to the west, 
 and who cannot go, and therefore will not in any snfficient 
 number calculate on going, till a new system is adopted. 
 
 " 5. Consistency, efficiency, and economy in missionary 
 operations would be promoted. Small unconnected soci- 
 eties, without adequate information or means, without 
 concert in measure, and without system even in their par- 
 31* 
 
366 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 tial movements, cannot do the great work that is to be 
 done. 
 
 " These crude thoughts you will regard only as hints. 
 I presume there has no class left us these ten years, in 
 which there was not say six men who would cheerfully 
 have gone out as a company of evangelists to the west, to 
 cast in their lot together in transforming the wilderness, 
 — had they been told by any strong society, ' Go, and we 
 will help you till you can do without our aid.' There is 
 at this moment no want of men in all respects competent 
 to enlist in such an enterprise, if the door were not barred 
 against them, by the absolute want of resources." 
 
 On the margin of the foregoing letter, Mr. Lord wrote 
 when he transmitted it for the use of the compiler : — " The 
 hints contained in this letter had an important influence 
 on the measures which resulted in the organization of the 
 American Home Missionary Society." 
 
 With the hope of obtaining a connected and authentic 
 account of Dr. Porter's efforts in behalf of this object, 
 the compiler addressed a note to the corresponding secre- 
 tary of the Home Missionary Society, requesting the trans- 
 mission of any facts which their records might furnish on 
 the subject. His reply, which as a historical document 
 will be permanently interesting to the friends of Christian 
 benevolence, is subjoined 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 " The late Dr. Porter, of Andover, was undoubtedly 
 one of the earliest movers of the measures which resulted 
 in the formation of the American Home Missionary So- 
 ciety. I cannot say that the project originated with him. 
 It is quite doubtful who first conceived the idea of such 
 an institution to extend its benefits to all the destitute and 
 needy in the United States and its territories. As early 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 367 
 
 as May, 1822, when the United Domestic Missionary So- 
 ciety was formed, in this city, an enlargement of plan, 
 which would make the society national in its character, 
 was suggested and talked of as a result to which the 
 friends of domestic missions ought to aim. Some breth- 
 ren in the western part of this State were perhaps equally 
 early in their conceptions of the practicability and need of 
 such an organization. I have heard also, incidentally, 
 that, as early as 1624, a few students in the seminary at 
 Andover, had their attention drawn especially to the wants 
 our own country. There, Mills and others had been train- 
 ed for the work of foreign missions, and these younger 
 brethren were delighted with the increasing interest of the 
 American churches in the condition of the heathen. But 
 no adequate provision seemed to be made or contemplated 
 for the supply of the destitute at home. They conferred 
 together on the practicability of forming a Board of Do- 
 mestic Missions, on a plan similar to that of the American 
 Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. They 
 had stated seasons of prayer for divine direction, and took 
 counsel with the Professors, of whom Dr. Porter was one, 
 as to their own duty. They were encouraged to expect 
 such a result. A correspondence was opened with the 
 Secretary of the United Domestic Missionary Society 
 at New York. The result was that three of the young 
 men before referred to were ordained at Boston, as evan- 
 gelists, in September, 1825, and were sent forth, by the 
 above society, as missionaries to the States of Illinois and 
 Missouri. Dr. Porter was present at these solemnities in 
 Boston, and was perhaps the first to suggest the discus- 
 sion, at that time, of the expediency of forming a national 
 Domestic Missionary Society. Several gentlemen accord- 
 ingly, from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and 
 South Carolina, were convened at the house of Dr. Wis- 
 ner, where the first systematic measures were adopted, 
 
368 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 which resulted in the formation of the American Home 
 Missionary Society. Dr. Porter was chairman of the com- 
 mittee of correspondence appointed at that time ; was also 
 chairman of the preparatory meeting held in Boston in 
 January, 1826, and was a member of the convention in 
 New York, on the 6th of May following, when the society 
 was formed. In all these measures he bore an active and 
 conspicuous part, and no one, at that time, appeared to 
 embrace, with more ardent zeal and larger expectations, 
 the object to be attained. 
 
 "In view of this brief sketch, the origin of the American 
 Home Missionary Society cannot be attributed to any one 
 individual, but must be traced to a simultaneous influence 
 which moved the hearts of numbers in different States, and 
 prepared the way for the measures which were devised and 
 prosecuted with so much vigor and success by Dr. Porter and 
 others. His counsel was especially sought and highly valu- 
 ed by the executive committee in the early stages of their 
 operations. There remain on the files of the society many 
 of his brief and business-like letters in answer to inquiries 
 from the secretary and others, in all of which there are 
 many incidental expressions of the lively interest which 
 he cherished in the cause. Under date of March 21st, 
 1826, he says, * I hope from four to six of our senior class 
 may be engaged for your society, provided they can be 
 assured soon that they will be wanted.' — In another 
 communication, dated the 28th of the same month, he re- 
 marks, in relation to the proposed convention in New 
 York, to form a national society for Home Missions, 'no 
 branch of the benevolent enterprises of the day has of 
 late taken so strong a hold of my heart as the one in ques- 
 tion.' In a letter of June 6, 1826, he says, ' After what 
 you know of my opinions and feelings respecting the 
 American Home Missionary Society, I need give you no 
 assurances that I shall think it my honor and happiness 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 369 
 
 to promote its interests by all means in my power.' From 
 a letter dated Jan. 25th, 1327, and addressed to the cor- 
 responding secretary, then in Boston, I make the following 
 extract. ' If you could find fifty missionaries such as 
 those on your list here, I should think it best to engage 
 them at once, and then, in faith and hope, call for money. 
 The churches will give largely, if they see large measures 
 in hand and boldly undertaken. 1 wish your society 
 could next fall have an ordination in Boston or New York, 
 which would make a strong impression over the land. 
 This I wished to see done before, but thought it best that 
 the national society be first formed, and, if possible, from 
 ten to twenty men ordained at once. Now is your time to 
 secure men : you must come back and follow up the im- 
 pression made last evening in conversation, &,c. As it 
 regards the getting of funds, at least in New England, you 
 may do more in one hour employed in enlisting some of 
 these prime men, than you can do ill a month elsewhere. 
 The committee of Home Missions in the seminary have 
 a report ready, which is to be read Tuesday evening next. 
 If you can come that day, I will then give you the particu- 
 lar information you desired in your note to Brother Woods, 
 and also my own subscription to your society, which I fail- 
 ed of an opportunity to do, by not seeing you again while 
 here.' 
 
 " It should be remembered that at the date of the commu- 
 nications from which the above remarks are taken, it was 
 'a day of small things' with the American Home Mission- 
 ary Society. It had just begun its operations under its new 
 and enlarged form. The experiment of its enterprise was 
 yet to be tried, and its mighty work was all before it. Dr. 
 Porter was one of the boldest, as well as most judicious and 
 enlightened of its projectors, and his confidence in its rapid 
 and enlarged success was in advance of most of his coadju- 
 tors in giving shape to its organization, and energy to the 
 
370 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 beginning of its operations. To the day of his death he con- 
 tinued to be an interesting and deeply interested correspon- 
 dent of the committee, and the counsel of no one was more 
 highly valued. We deeply lament his loss, in common 
 with the friends of all the benevolent institutions of the day. 
 We knew him well and loved him much. Few men have 
 risen up in our churches to so high an eminence, and yet 
 'remained so void of guile, so enlightened in their views, 
 so expansive in their benevolence, so wise in counsel, so 
 humble in spirit, so single hearted, steady and uniform in 
 the great purpose of their life and labors. When such men 
 (lie, the church, the whole church, has cause to mourn, for 
 there are few left to fill their places. May the Lord of the 
 harvest thrust forth many laborers like him, and spare them 
 long to adorn the doctrines of our God and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ, and extend the saving health of his gospel to the 
 ends of the earth. 
 
 " With affectionate regard, I remain, dear Sir, 
 
 " Yours in the bonds of the gospel, 
 
 "Absalom Peters." 
 
 Of the Prison Discipline Society Dr. Porter was also an 
 early and active friend. His agency in connection with 
 this unpretending, but truly noble department of Christian 
 philanthropy, is thus alluded to by the devoted and worthy 
 secretary of the society, in the beautiful tribute to his 
 memory, contained in the ninth annual report. " Before 
 this society was formed, and even before its formation was 
 distinctly contemplated, Dr, Porter, Mr. Evarts, and a 
 venerable friend still living, signed the credentials of an 
 individual, introducing him to the American Bible Society, 
 as a suitable person to examine the prisons in the United 
 States, for the purpose of ascertaining their condition. 
 This society had its origin in that examination ; and this 
 is only one among many facts which might be mentioned, 
 
BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 371 
 
 to show liow nearly connected is the name of Ebenezer 
 PoRTEK witli the first movements in favor of a benevolent 
 object. Notwithstanding his feeble health, and arduous 
 official duties, it admits of a question, whether we have a 
 friend among the living, who has done more for the cause 
 of benevolence, by his spirit of counsel, and wisdom, and 
 understanding; by his benevolence, and constancy, and 
 truth ; by his self-denial, perseverance and faith. On his 
 bosom, feeble as it was, many a traveller in the service of 
 Christ has rested his weary head, and many strong men, 
 in hours of despondency, because their way seemed dark 
 and gloomy, have gone to his immortal spirit, that dwelt 
 in a tabernacle too feeble for its powerful action, and had 
 their way made plain and liglit before them. There are 
 hundreds, who know from their own experience, what this 
 means. He was a beloved and honored father in the 
 church," 
 
 The compiler cannot persuade himself to close this 
 account of Dr. Porter's connection with the cause of be- 
 nevolence, without ' presenting the following voluntary 
 testimony from one who was honored with his confidence, 
 and was often associated with him in Christian action. 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 " I some days since received your letter, requesting 
 any letters I might have from the late Rev. Dr. Porter, 
 which might be of use in the preparation of a Memoir of 
 that distinguished and excellent person. 
 
 ",It would gratify me very much to assist in any manner, 
 to illustrate the character and doings of one, whom I so 
 highly esteemed, admired, and loved, whose heart, the 
 abode of the best affections, was alive to every good work, 
 and whose agency and influence were unceasingly em- 
 ployed in promoting all good objects, encouraging good 
 
372 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 men, and devising plans of benevolent effort for every part 
 of his native land and of the world. 
 
 " I regret however, that I am now able to lay my hand on 
 a few only of the numerous letters with which I was favored 
 by my lamented friend. Of those which I find I forward 
 three, which seem to me most likely to be desirable to you. 
 They do but partially exhibit the deep interest he took in 
 home missions, education, and all our benevolent objects. 
 Since my first intimacy with him in relation to these 
 objects, and since my constant residence here, (constant 
 with the exception of near two years that I was in Europe,) 
 all our benevolent societies, and most of our theological 
 and kindred institutions have been constituted ; and I can 
 bear witness that, in respect to most of them, his wisdom, 
 zeal, and personal exertion and influence were beneficially 
 and effectively employed. In the origin and in surmounting 
 the early difficulties of some of the most important, his 
 was the master spirit. By the maturity, superiority, and 
 energy of his character, by the guilelessness of his spirit, the 
 sweetness of his temper, the amiableness of his manners, 
 and above all, by the stability of his religious principles, 
 the constancy of his affections, and the steadiness and 
 warmth of his piety, he inspired confidence, reconciled 
 opinions, stimulated zeal, encouraged hope, and promoted 
 faith, prayer, effort, and success. He was alike extensively 
 known and beloved, and 1 trust that your Memoir of him 
 will enlarge, and greatly prolong the influence of his ines- 
 timable character. 
 
 " I am Sir, very respectfully, 
 
 " Your ob't serv't, 
 
 " E. Lord." 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Sermons — Preacher's Manual — Analysis of Rhetorical Delivery- 
 Rhetorical Reader — Lectures — Owen on Spiritual Mindedness — 
 Do. on cxxx. Psalin — Miscellaneous writings. 
 
 During his ministry, and mostly after his removal 
 to Andover, Dr. Porter published sixteen sermons, besides 
 several in connection with his Lectures on Preaching. 
 The former were chiefly occasional sermons, and were 
 published at the request of those to whom they were ad- 
 dressed. Their titles are subjoined. 
 
 1. Love to Christ, from John xxi. 17. This discourse 
 was incorporated into a volume of original sermons, pub- 
 lished in 1808, and entitled the Columbian Preacher. 
 
 2. A Sermon from Matt. vi. 10 — preached at Hartford, 
 May 1810; at the request of the Trustees of the Connec- 
 ticut Missionary Society. 
 
 3. The Fatal Effects of Ardent Spirits, from Isa. v. 11. 
 This sermon was first preached in the winter of 1805, to 
 the author's pastoral charge ; and was occasioned by the 
 death of a transient person in Washington, who was found 
 frozen, with a bottle of spirits at his side. Though it was 
 not given to the public till several years after it was written, 
 it was, so far as was known to Dr. Porter, the first sermon 
 
 32 
 
374 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 on the subject ever published in tliis country. Its appear- 
 ance was joyfully greeted by many whose hearts were 
 pained by the increasing desolations of intemperance. It 
 was afterwards adopted as a tract, by the American Trffct 
 Society, and exerted an extensive influence in preparing 
 the way for the reformation in tlie use of ardent spirits, 
 which distinguishes the present generation. 
 
 4. Great Effects result from Little Causes; from James 
 iii. 5. This sermon was also written at Washington ; and 
 its history happily illustrates the truth contained in its 
 title. It originated as follows : — Dr. Porter had on a cer- 
 tain occasion made an engagement of some importance 
 which he was expected to fulfil at a specified time, soon 
 after dinner. A slight incident at the table delayed the 
 meal a few moments, and thus deranged his plans, and 
 disappointed the expectations of those he was to meet. 
 As he rode towards the place of his appointment, the 
 words were suggested to him, " how great a matter a little 
 fire kindleth; " and at once the train of thought embraced 
 in this sermon flashed upon his mind. This was Friday. 
 He could find no time to write, however, till the afternoon 
 of the day following. He then addressed himself to the 
 execution of his plan, and by bed time, the discourse was 
 completed. He valued it but little at the time, and first 
 preached it as an address to the youth of his parish. He 
 afterwards preached it in 1815, before the Moral Society 
 of Andover, and at their urgent request, consented to its 
 publication. This discourse somewhat abridged, was also 
 adopted and published by the American Tract Society. 
 Subsequently it was translated into French, and reprinted 
 in France. When a copy of it in French was presented 
 to Dr. Porter, he remarked with a smile, " that would 
 never have been translated into French, if I had not 
 omitted the allusions to Napoleon which it contained when 
 it was first preached." An edition of this sermon was pub- 
 
PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 375 
 
 lished, as original, at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1824, with many 
 additions, and mutilations of its style and sentiments. 
 
 5. The Magnitude of the Preacher's Work, from 2 Cor. 
 ii. 16. This discourse was preached at the ordination of 
 Rev. Israel W. Putnam, and Rev, Alfred Mitchell, and 
 published in 1815. 
 
 6. Character of Nehemiuh, or Jerusalem built up, from 
 Neh. ii. 17. This sermon was preached on the State Fast 
 in 1816, in the chapel of the theological seminary. 
 
 7. Sermon from Psalm cxxvii. 1 — preached in 1818, at 
 the dedication of the chapel erected for the use of the 
 seminary, by the munificence of William Bartlet, Esq. 
 
 8. Sermon from Hebrews v. 12 — preached in 1819, at 
 the ordination of Rev. Thomas J. Murdock. 
 
 9. Sermon from Mark xvi. 15 — preached in Boston, 
 October 1820, at the Anniversary of the American Edu- 
 cation Society. 
 
 10. Signs of the Times, from Matthew xvi. 3 — preached 
 in the chapel of the seminary, on the Public Fast in 1823, 
 and published by the Society of Inquiry in the institution. 
 
 11. Unity of 31inisterial Influence, from 1 Cor, iii. 9 — 
 preached in Boston, May 1827, before the Pastoral Asso- 
 ciation of Massachusetts. 
 
 12. The Duty of Christians to Pray for the Mission- 
 ary Cause, from Colossians iv. 3 — preached in Boston, 
 November 1827, before the Society for Propagating the 
 Gospel among the Indians and others in North America. 
 
 13. The Presumption of skeptical men, and careless 
 contemners of Religion, from 2 Peter iii. 4 — preached 
 November 1828, in the South Parish of Andover. 
 
 14. The Immortality of God, fiom Exodus iii. 14 — 
 published April 1829, in the American National Preacher. 
 
 15. The Duty of Praying for Pulers, from 1 Tim. ii. 
 1, 2 — preached on the State Fast, April 1831, in the 
 chapel of the seminary. 
 
376 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 16. Sermon second, on the same subject. These ser- 
 mons appeared both in a neat pamphlet form, and in the 
 National Preacher. 
 
 Dr. Porter's sermons published in connection with his 
 Lectures on Preaching, were designed chiefly to illustrate 
 the principles there advanced. Contemplated as models, 
 the selection does credit to his judgment. But aside from 
 their merit as models, they are pervaded by a spirit of 
 piety, which rendered them highly useful during the life 
 of their author, and entitles them to a rank among his 
 best compositions. They are five in number. 
 
 The first, from Matthew xxii. 37, 38, on Love to God, 
 was introduced to illustrate the author's views of the 
 proper structure of a doctrinal discourse. 
 
 The second, denominated doctrino-practical, is a con- 
 tinuation of the same subject. 
 
 The third, entitled Foresight of Futurity, from Jere- 
 miah viii. 7, is denominated ethical. 
 
 The fourth, on Religious Decision, from Daniel vi. 10, 
 is intended as a specimen of historical preaching. 
 
 The fifth, entitled The Careless Sinner Warned, from 
 Isaiah i. 18, illustrates its author's views of the proper 
 structure of a hortatory sermon. 
 
 Dr. Porter published several works, selected and orig- 
 inal, which grew out of his oflicial labors. Though there 
 were books before the community designed to aid in the 
 formation of ministerial character, there were none which 
 discussed the great principles of preaching, in a manner 
 and to an extent, adapted to the wants of his pupils. His 
 duties, rendered more laborious and exhausting by 
 bodily infirmity, forbade on his part the expectation of 
 supplying the deficiency, from his own resources. With 
 the hope of doing it in some measure, he resorted to a 
 compilation which embodied those treatises on the subject 
 whose precepts are most worthy of regard. This compi- 
 
PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 377 
 
 lation, entitled The Young Preacher's Manual, has passed 
 through two editions. The second edition, enlarged by the 
 addition of several notes, and by the substitution of Bax- 
 ter's invaluable treatise the Reformed Pastor, for Brown's 
 Address to Students in Divinity, was published in 1829. 
 
 In performing his professional labors. Dr. Porter had 
 occasion to bestow much attention on the subject of Rhe- 
 torical Inflections. As it became his duty to investigate 
 the current theories on the subject, he was convinced that 
 the treatise of Walker, then used as a text-book in the 
 seminary, in some of its principles needed correction ; and 
 that at least a more simple and intelligible classification of 
 the main principles of the whole work, would greatly con- 
 tribute to its usefulness. In the discharge of official duty 
 he prepared a Lecture on Vocal Inflections, embracing 
 those principles of Walker which he deemed most impor- 
 tant, together with such modifications as he thought need- 
 ful. This lecture, at the request of his pupils, was printed, 
 in 1824, for their use ; but contrary to the expectation ol 
 its author, found its way into soine of our colleges and 
 other literary institutions. Several requests soon followed 
 from officers of these institutions and others engaged in 
 giving instruction in elocution, that he would prepare a 
 book embodying, in addition to the same principles, a 
 sufficient number of examples for illustration. To these 
 requests he yielded. The book, which was first published 
 in 1827, he entitled, Analysis of the Principles of Rhe- 
 torical Delivery, as applied in Reading and Speaking 
 It was immediately adopted extensively as a text-book, 
 and supplied as was anticipated, an important deficiency 
 in the facilities for instruction in elocution. The estima- 
 tion in which it was held, was unequivocally testified 
 during the life of its author, by the rapid sale of several 
 large editions. 
 
 32* 
 
378 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 So obvious was the utility of this work, that Dr. Porter 
 was solicited to prepare a smaller work of tlie same charac- 
 ter, adapted to the wants of academies and common schools. 
 To this solicitation he also yielded ; and in 1831 presented 
 the public with his Rhetorical Reader. In preparing 
 these works for the press, he felt that if he was temporarily 
 deviating from the path of official duty, he was not turning 
 aside from the great purpose to which his life was devoted. 
 " I have been the more cheerful in this undertaking," he 
 remarks, " from a full conviction that whatever is accom- 
 plished on this subject in classical schools, is clear gain 
 to professional education for the pulpit. To no possible 
 case, more than to this, is the maxim applicable, ' Pre- 
 vention is easier than cure.' Faults which almost defy 
 correction, might easily have been avoided by skill and 
 pains in forming the early habits." 
 
 In pursuance of the same general purpose, Dr. Porter 
 had commenced the preparation of a work, to be composed 
 solely of selections from the Bible, with Rhetorical Nota- 
 tion so applied as to enable the reader to apply in perusing 
 the Scriptures the principles developed in the preceding 
 works. This work has since been completed and pub- 
 lished under tiic superintendence of Mr. T. D. P. Stone. 
 
 The completion of his Lectures connected with the 
 subject of preaching, was during the last years of Dr. 
 Porter's life, more than any other, an object of his solici- 
 tude. He dared not hope, indeed, that he should be able 
 fully to execute the plan he had formed. This, besides 
 several additional lectures on the Characteristics of Ser- 
 mons, would have embraced a much wider range of 
 subjects; — as the faults most likely to occur in doctrinal 
 sermons ; — the characteristics of a good preacher, such as 
 the influence of decided and elevated personal piety on 
 his doctrinal sentiments, his motives, his personal enjoy- 
 
PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 379 
 
 nients, his fidelity and success; — the value of genius to a 
 preacher, of acquired knowledge, of judgment and skill 
 in the adaptation of his discourses ; — his spiritual, intel- 
 lectual, and professional habits; his closet, his study, his 
 preparation for the pulpit ; — originality and plagiarism ; — 
 preaching memoriter, extempore, and reading notes ; — the 
 advantages of expository discourses, and the best mode of 
 conducting them. His desire in reference to the comple- 
 tion of his lectures was so far gratified, that he was per- 
 mitted about three months before his decease to present to 
 the public the volume entitled. Lectures on Homilctics, 
 Preaching, and Public Prayer. 
 
 Probably few men in the same profession, differ from 
 the author of these lectures in respect to the desirableness 
 of a work of this character — a work embodying in some- 
 thing like a system, the great principles of preaching, 
 which if accessible at all to the English student, are found 
 chiefly in brief treatises borrowed from other languages, 
 or in summary discussions in occasional sermons, or on 
 the pages of our periodicals. Dr. Porter himself deeply 
 regretted that he could not so nearly have executed his 
 plans, that his work might merit the appellation of a sys- 
 tem. But he did what he could ; and in accomplishing so 
 much, more than realized his own expectations. However 
 deficient this work may appear when viewed as a system, 
 it must be regarded, when we consider the embarrassments 
 from ill health, under which the author was obliged to 
 pursue his studies, a monument of his industry, correct 
 taste, and professional ability. It bears the distinct 
 impress of his intellectual and moral characteristics. For 
 its perspicuity both in style and arrangement, for its candid 
 and judicious criticism, for its logical and manly discus- 
 sion, and for the amount of important information it 
 embodies, it can hardly fail to be regarded as a standard 
 work of the class to which it belongs, even though future 
 
380 
 
 MEMOIRS OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 researches in the department, should furnish a system of 
 instruction more fully adequate to the wants of the student 
 of sacred eloquence. "The book," says a judicious 
 review, " is in our judgment worth more to the student of 
 sacred rhetoric, than all we have been able to find on the 
 art of preaching in any language. It is refined gold, and 
 ought to be studied not only by every candidate for the 
 Christian ministry, but by every preacher who is neither 
 too wise to learn, nor too old to improve. We may be 
 somewhat partial to a book in which we recognize on every 
 page tlie impress of a revered instructor ; but after search- 
 ing through libraries for something to guide us in the sa- 
 cred and momentous work of preaching the gospel, we are 
 constrained to regard these Lectures as the best treatise we 
 have been able to find on the eloquence of the pulpit."* 
 
 Dr. Porter left in manuscript, brief courses of Lectures 
 on Eloquence and Style, which have since been published. 
 His discussion of these subjects was designedly adapted 
 to the wants of candidates for the sacred office. 
 
 Near the close of his life he saw fit to offer the Christian 
 community an abridgment of the excellent treatise of 
 " Owen on Spiritual Mindedness." Of the manner in 
 which tills abridgment was executed the following extract 
 of a letter to one of his colleagues, will inform the reader. 
 "The savor of godliness in Owen is as great perhaps as 
 in Baxter, but his rhetorical power as a writer is incom- 
 parably inferior. Lideed so languid is the style of Owen 
 that he never will be read, in this day when religious com- 
 positions arc coming to be tolerably free from the endless 
 pleonasms of his time. Until I read Owen I never knew 
 whence the tautologies and other defects in style of our 
 great Edwards, were derived, and transmitted from him 
 and Hopkins to our ministry, so as to become a general 
 
 *Axn. Quart. Observer, April, 1834, p. 328. 
 
PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 3S1 
 
 characteristic of our theological writings, till within the 
 last twenty years. I read the above work of Owen, I 
 hope with benefit ; but read with my pen in hand, blotting 
 out from one word to half a page, as I go on. If on 
 review it shall seem best, I may offer it as an abridgment 
 for the benefit of others ; the thoughts being rich and 
 strong, as every thing of Owen's is." 
 
 A desire to secure a perusal for productions of so much 
 excellence, and through them to draw attention to the 
 writings of other distinguished divines who were cotom- 
 porary with Owen, induced Dr. Porter about a year after 
 the publication of the preceding work, to offer an abridg- 
 ment of the same author on the cxxx. Psalm. As in 
 the former case the abridgment was made chiefly by 
 omissions. "The reader," he remarks in his Prefiice, 
 " will understand that in the following pages, he will find 
 no other scntimenls than thoso of Owen. These he will 
 find also in the words of Owen, excepting that the process 
 of blotting has often lefl a part of his words to represent 
 the whole ; and in a small proportion of sentences, the 
 change of a word or two has been deemed indispensable." 
 
 Dr. Porter commenced a similar abridgment of Owen 
 on Indwelling Sin, though he proceeded only a few pages. 
 
 Admitting the correctness of the principle on which 
 these abridgments were made, it will readily be acknowl- 
 edged that in preparing them Dr. Porter has rendered an 
 essential service to the community. Few men certainly 
 are better qualified for such an undertaking. To few 
 could it be committed with more certainty that the mode 
 of its accomplishment would do entire justice to an author. 
 But the danger in admitting this principle lies in its ex- 
 treme liability to abuse; — in the fact that men of a polemic 
 turn, biased by party zeal, may be induced to pervert the 
 sentiments of the great and tlie good for party purposes ; 
 or that mercenary and ambitious men, devoid of original 
 
382 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 power, yet anxious to shine even in borrowed attire, may 
 attempt to acquire distinction by clothing the thoughts of 
 others in a garb of their own fitting. Though abridgments 
 of several didactic and devotional treatises may be 
 named, which have certainly contributed much to their 
 usefulness, the writer ventures to suggest a doubt whether 
 the extensive adoption of this principle, however salutary 
 in bands like those of Dr. Porter, may not eventually be 
 followed by consequences which the friends of vital god- 
 liness will deplore. 
 
 The miscellaneous compositions of Dr. Porter are not 
 numerous. That they are so few is to be attributed to the 
 fact that his frequent interruptions from disease, left hira 
 but little leisure for pursuits not directly connected with 
 official duties. He never used his pen, indeed, merely for 
 his ow n amusement, or for that of others. His miscella- 
 neous productions were designed to correct existing evils, 
 or to call attention to sentiments or measures which he 
 deemed important to the best interests of the community, 
 and were dictated by the ruling desire of his heart — the 
 desire of being useful. Hence, did our limits allow, they 
 mitrht with propriety be inserted in his Memoir, as illustra- 
 tive of character. The following are all, of any impor- 
 tance, with which the writer is acquainted. 
 
 We find his name in connection with those of two or 
 three others affi.xed to a valuable Essay on the Moral and 
 Religious Education of the Young ; prepared and pub- 
 lished by direction of the South Consociation of Litch- 
 field county, Conn., while he resided at Washington. 
 What part he bore in its preparation does not appear. 
 
 Soon after his removal to Andover, Dr. Porter wrote 
 a biographical sketch of Rev. Asahel Hooker, who died 
 April 19, 1813. Mr. Hooker was for several years the 
 minister of Goshen, Conn., which charge he resigned on 
 
PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 383 
 
 account of ill health, and was afterward settled at Nor- 
 wich in the same State. In preparing this Memoir, Dr. 
 Porter delineated the character of a Christian friend, 
 whom protracted and intimate acquaintance had shown to 
 be possessed of uncommon excellence. The delineation, 
 though brief, is interspersed with instructive remarks, and 
 does equal credit to its subject and its author. It was 
 intended to be published in connection with a volume of 
 Sermons, but finally appeared in the Panoplist for Febru- 
 ary, March, and April, 1815. 
 
 Dr. Porter prepared the Third Annual Report of the 
 American Education Society — a document which indi- 
 cates extended and careful observation of the spiritual 
 wants of our country and the world, and a deep sense of 
 responsibility to supply tliose wants. It indicates no less 
 clearly a familiar acquaintance with the structure and 
 measures of the society ; a distinct foresight of the objec- 
 tions it would meet, and the obstacles it would be called 
 to encounter. Most of the society's Rules are also pro- 
 ductions of his pen. 
 
 In the Quarterly Register and Journal of the American 
 Education Society, for May, 1830, may be found an in- 
 teresting paper from Dr. Porter's pen, entitled " Recollec- 
 tions of Gordon Hall." 
 
 About the same time, at the request of one of his medical 
 friends, he published his views of the climate and the 
 characteristics of St. Augustine as a residence for invalids. 
 
 During the years 1832-33, appeared Dr. Porter's Let- 
 ters on Revivals. An association had been formed in the 
 theological seminary, for the purpose of collecting and 
 diffusing information on this subject. The object of the 
 association, in whose formation and incipient measures 
 he took a deep interest, and cordially lent his counsels 
 and influence, was suggested by an obviously growing dis- 
 position in the religious community to employ means for 
 promoting revivals, at best of questionable utility, and in 
 
384 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 view of many intelligent and discerning Christians, of 
 decidedly injurious tendency. It was proposed to frame 
 a system of interrogatories touching the most important 
 points in the history of revivals from the earliest periods 
 of the church. These interrogatories were to be addressed 
 to ministers in various parts of the country, whose pursuits 
 or local circumstances might be supposed to qualify them 
 to furnish authentic and instructive replies. It was hoped 
 that in this way, errors in relation to revivals, into which 
 the friends of piety have fallen in past ages, might be 
 exposed ; that admonitions and counsel might be given to 
 the churches ; and that thus the purity and frequency of 
 these "times of refreshing" might be increased. The 
 topic assigned to Dr. Porter was, The Religious Revivals 
 wJiich prevailed about the beginning of the present century. 
 For the discussion of this he was peculiarly qualified, by 
 his habits of accurate observation, and by personal ac- 
 quaintance with many active agents, and with the meas- 
 ures employed in promoting these revivals. His attention, 
 moreover, had been for some years directed to this sub- 
 ject ; he had contemplated the comparative characteristics 
 of these and more modern revivals ; with deep solicitude 
 had noted the comparative results ; and he was prepared to 
 speak the more frankly and decidedly by the conviction 
 that the purity, and consequently the dearest interests of 
 the church were in peril. He had previously urged some 
 of his brethren in the ministry, whose circumstances he 
 thought more favorable than his own, to the undertaking, 
 to furnish the community with an account of these revi- 
 vals ; and several years before the appearance of these 
 letters, he expressed to the writer his determination, as no 
 one undertook the work, to perform it himself. The for- 
 mation of the Revival Association in the seminary, fur- 
 nished an opportunity for the expression of his views, 
 which he felt himself bound to improve. These letters 
 first appeared in the Spirit of the Pilgrims, and were 
 
PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 385 
 
 copied extensively into otlier religious periodicals through 
 the country ; exerting a happy influence in checking the 
 growth and prevalence of the evils which had awakened 
 his solicitude. In these letters, " being dead, he yet 
 speaketh" — the language of warning against reliance on 
 means to effect what God has declared is effected, not by 
 might, nor by power, but by his Spirit ; of remon- 
 strance against the substitution of human devices for the 
 simple yet efficacious mode of securing the salvation of 
 souls prescribed by the Holy Ghost. 
 
 At the request of the venerable Mr. Bartlet of Nevvbu- 
 ryport, when about to erect a monument to the memory of 
 Whitefield, in the church in that place beneath which his 
 remains are interred, Dr. Porter wrote the following 
 epitaph, the insertion of which in this place may be grati- 
 fying to many readers, both from a regard to its subject 
 and its author. 
 
 This Cenotaph 
 is erected, with affectionate veneration, 
 to the memory of 
 the Rev. George Whitefield, 
 born at Gloucester, Eng., Dec. IG, 1714 ; 
 educated at Oxford University ; ordained 1736. 
 In a ministry of 34 years, 
 he crossed the Atlantic 13 times, 
 and preached more than 18,000 sermons. 
 As a soldier of the cross, humble, devout, ardent, he put on the 
 whole armor of God, preferring the honor of Christ to his own 
 interest, repose, reputation or life. As a Christian orator, his deep 
 piety, disinterested zeal, and vivid imagination, gave unexampled 
 energy to his look, action, and utterance. Bold, fervent, pungent, 
 and popular in his eloquence, no other uninspired man ever preached 
 to so large assemblies, or enforced the simple truths of the Gospel 
 by motives so persuasive and awful, and with an influence so pow- 
 erful on the hearts of the hearers. 
 
 He died of asthma, Sept. 30, 1770 ; 
 suddenly exchanging his life of unparalleled labors 
 for his eternal rest. 
 
 33 
 
386 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 In the summer of 1833, Dr. Porter saw fit to commu- 
 nicate for publication, his views on the subject of slavery, 
 and the proposed plans for its removal from our country. 
 It seems but justice to his memory that his views on this 
 as on other important subjects, respecting which the senti- 
 ments of intelligent and conscientious men differ, should 
 be distinctly presented to the reader. By all it must be 
 admitted that his intimate acquaintance with southern 
 institutions and manners, qualified him to form correct 
 opinions on this subject ; and his known benevolence and 
 integrity, as well as his assertions, forbid the suspicion of 
 apathy on his part, or of unwillingness frankly to utter the 
 feelings of his heart. The expression of his views, was 
 addressed to a committee of the students in the theological 
 seminary. It is subjoined. 
 
 " To tlie Secretary of the Committee on Colonization. 
 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 "I should have given an earlier reply to your note, 
 but for unavoidable engagements, incident to my late 
 absence from home. The same engagements will require 
 the reply which I now give to be briefer than the im- 
 portance of the subject may seem to demand. In all my 
 intercourse with the South, I have rather avoided than 
 invited discussion on the subject of slavery, because the 
 intrinsic difficulties of the subject are great, and because 
 the interference of northern or of any foreign influence, 
 respecting it, is attended with peculiar delicacy. Yet I 
 have settled opinions on all the points which you mention, 
 and am not aware of any good reason why I should 
 scruple to express these opinions in compliance with your 
 request. 
 
 "In accordance with what I suppose to be the universal 
 sentiment of enlightened men in the northern States, and 
 to no small extent in the southern too, I think slavery a 
 
PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 387 
 
 very great national evil. The reasons why I think so, 
 are too many to be exhibited at large, or even to be 
 mentioned in this note. But I cannot doubt that the 
 deleterious influence of slavery on the moral, intellectual, 
 social, political, and pecuniary interests of every com- 
 munity where the system prevails, must, at no distant 
 day, be so unquestionable, and so appalling, that there 
 can be but one opinion on the subject in every quarter of 
 the country. 
 
 " But you inquire, ' W/iat would be the probable effect 
 of the immediate emancipation of the slaves at the South ?' 
 
 " As I understand the phrase 'immediate emancipation,' 
 the thing is not inexpedient merely, but impossible. This 
 any man must know, who has been personally conversant 
 with the subject. 
 
 " Will it be said that Congress, by a sweeping enact- 
 ment, might abolish slavery in one month through the 
 United States ? Congress will not do this. They have 
 distinctly and often disclaimed their right to do it. 
 
 " Will it be said that the slave-holding States must, 
 each for itself, forthwith abolish by law its own system of 
 slavery? Who will execute this law, or who will make it, 
 while the great majority of its citizens are opposed to the 
 measure ? Will it be said, the public sentiment of its 
 citizens ought to be corrected ? But while it remains 
 as it is, how is the immediate abolition of slavery to be 
 effected ? 
 
 "Still some may inquire, Suppose the thing to be 
 actually done, either with or without the consent of the 
 masters, so that in one month all the slaves in the country 
 1 should be free, what would be the consequence? To 
 ' predict this with certainty, is beyond the province of 
 human foresight. No event analogous to this has occurred 
 since the world began ; and therefore no page of its history 
 ' sheds on the subject the light of experience. The most 
 
388 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 sober and industrious part of these manumitted slaves, 
 doubtless might be employed as the laboring peasantry 
 of the country. Others, through indolence and intem- 
 perance, would die and putrify, like the frogs of Egypt. 
 Others would betake themselves to forests and fastnesses, 
 and live by plunder. These would be hunted, and mana- 
 cled, and shot, by white men, in self-defence ; till the 
 bolder spirits among thera, ripe for treason and violence, 
 would organize an army of outlaws daring enough to 
 execute purposes of desperate villany, at the thought of 
 which the heart shudders. 
 
 " A general emancipation of slaves, therefore, to be 
 consistent with such a regard to their good, and the 
 public good, as humanity and religion demand, must 
 plainly be a work of time. It must be accomplished by 
 a wise system of moral influence, and of prospective 
 legislation, and must allow opportunity for a preparatory 
 change in the habits of a whole community. 
 
 " Your next inquiry respects, ' The itifiuence on the 
 South, of efforts in this quarter, hy means of anti-slavery 
 societies, imblications, S^'c, to jjromote the abolition of 
 slavery, — jiarticularly the effect of these efforts on the 
 slave jiopulation.' 
 
 " Intelligent men in the South, do not deny to the 
 people of non-slaveholding States, the right to think for 
 themselves on this subject. But they say, We did not 
 create slavery. It came down to us as a colonial in- 
 heritance from the mother country ; and the cupidity of 
 slave-dealers in the North, contributed to fasten it upon 
 us. Here it is, an incubus, as you think, and as many of 
 us think, on the energies and enterprise of our people; 
 but the system is so interwoven with all our habits, that 
 immediate abolition of it would tear up the foundations of 
 society. We cannot, therefore, think it consistent with 
 those obligations of kindness and generosity and good 
 
PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 389 
 
 neighborhood, which citizens of the same country owe to 
 each other, for men who are as ignorant of the intrinsic 
 delicacies of this subject, as they are remote from par- 
 ticipation in its dangers and difficulties, to seize every 
 opportunity of casting firebrands into the midst of our 
 people. 
 
 " If men in Pennsylvania or Vermont choose to form 
 an anti-slavery society, let them proceed according to 
 elevated Christian principles. All rash denunciation, all 
 acrimonious epithets, all disposition to distort single acts 
 of cruelty into a general imputation on holders of slaves, 
 are unwise and unjust. Like the caricatures of English 
 travellers in this country, they provoke resentment without 
 doing any imaginable good. If such societies choose to 
 advocate their own principles through the press, let them 
 keep strictly within the limits of truth and sober argu- 
 ment, and send their publications, not to servants, but in 
 the most honorable and open manner, to their masters. 
 All inflammatory statements, addressed to the former, or 
 tending to excite them to rapine and bloodshed, if they 
 . do not subject their authors to indictment at common law 
 for misdemeanor, certainly deserve the reprobation of an 
 enlightened community. Deeply as I deplore the existence 
 of slavery in my native country, I cannot hope to see its 
 extinction, till the measures requisite for such a result 
 shall be taken by the masters themselves ; and I am 
 certain that this result must be indefinitely retarded, by 
 all rash and violent interference from other quarters. 
 Insubordination in slaves, and of course increased rigor 
 from their masters, will be the natural consequences of 
 such interference. 
 
 " As to your third inquiry, respecting the influence of 
 the American Colonization Society, — I must remark but 
 briefly. In 1815, if I mistake not, the Rev. Samuel J, 
 Mills returned from New Orleans through the southern 
 33* 
 
390 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 Atlantic States, with his far-reaching eye of benevolence 
 fixed on this subject. After consultation with a few- 
 friends, and much prayer to God, his mind became 
 settled; and as I have always understood, by the joint 
 labors of himself and Rev, Dr. Finley, as primary instru- 
 ments, the Colonization Society was established. It is 
 needless and unseasonable here to discuss the principles, 
 or the history of that society. To say that it cannot 
 prove an adequate and immediate remedy fpr slavery, is 
 in my opinion only to say there is no such remedy. It 
 has set in motion a train of causes, that have already 
 produced, and that promise by the blessing of God, still 
 more extensively to produce, important results in behalf 
 of the African race. 
 
 " It is my earnest hope, that in their efforts, as societies 
 or individuals, to promote the welfare of this race, good 
 men, live where they may in our common country, will 
 act with a comprehensive view of all the great interests 
 involved; and will especially avoid such collisions of 
 influence, as will frustrate all the good purposes at which 
 they aim. 
 
 " With best regards to the committee in whose behalf 
 you have written, I am, very affectionately, yours, &c. 
 
 " E. Porter." 
 
 Dr. Porter was preparing to offer the public a new 
 edition of Campbell's Philosophy of Rhetoric, with such 
 additions as its use for a series of years as a text book in 
 his department, had suggested. The sketch of a preface 
 to this work, the week before he died, was the last writing 
 he performed. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Remarks — Views of Dr. Porter's character — Comparative exemp- 
 tion from faults — Remarks — Epitaph. 
 
 In estimating the character of most men who have been 
 distinguished for usefuhiess, it is common to dwell on cer- 
 tain qualities which possess so much prominence, as either 
 to hide defects, or to throw minor excellences into the 
 shade. In forming a just estimate of Dr. Porter, however, 
 it is indispensable that we contemplate his character as a 
 whole. Thus viewed, like a painting duly proportioned 
 and colored, it appears more interesting and instructive, 
 the more protracted and minute the scrutiny of the 
 observer. Whether we contemplate him as a student 
 acquiring an academic or professional education ; as a 
 Christian amid the trials and conflicts of the people of 
 God ; as a minister of the gospel ; as a teacher or pre- 
 siding officer of a theological seminary ; as a friend or the 
 head of a family ; or as the advocate of good morals, phi- 
 lanthropy, and piety, there are distinct exhibitions of those 
 elements of character which ensure distinguished useful- 
 ness, united in unusually just and harmonious proportions. 
 
 Two or three brief views of Dr. Porter s general char- 
 acter, sketched by men who speak from intimate personal 
 acquaintance, it would be injustice to withhold from the 
 reader. Says one of his pupils, now a professor in a theo- 
 logical seminary : — " My recollections of him are all 
 
392 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 delightful ; in part perhaps, because he honored me in an 
 unusual degree with his confidence. But certainly, this 
 alone could not have commanded my esteem, had he not 
 possessed excellencies of mind and heart, which claimed 
 my respect and won me to him. 
 
 *' He was a consistent and enlightened Christian. He 
 was the courteous and polished gentleman, unaffectedly 
 simple in his manners, and kind and amiable in his feel- 
 ings. He was active in doing good, and fruitful in good 
 devices. He was the father of his pupils, and was relied on 
 greatly for advice in seasons of difficulty, by all who knew 
 him. He had much practical wisdom and good sense, 
 and the church is not a little indebted to him for the influ- 
 ence he exerted in preserving her purity, in fostering her 
 institutions, and in building up her fortresses of strength. 
 The good man, the kind friend, the polished and wise 
 teacher, the prudent counsellor, has passed away from us, 
 and found his eternal home. But on how many minds 
 has his unobtrusive influence been exerted, minds which 
 are employed in the cause of God in every part of this 
 continent and on heathen shores. And this influence will 
 be perpetuated in future ages." 
 
 Says one of his earliest and most constant friends, the 
 president of a college in New England : — " The nicely 
 balanced pi-oportion by which the various excellencies of 
 his character were so remarkably adjusted to each other, 
 though it perhaps made each one separately a less con- 
 spicuous object of admiration, yet gave to the whole 
 assemblage a far higher value than it would have possessed, 
 without this symmetry. I recollect no instance of a more 
 happy combination of firmness, and decision, and inde- 
 pendence of spirit, with that unaffected gentleness and 
 kindness which gained the hearts of those with whom he 
 had intercourse." 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 393 
 
 Another of his friends, occupying a similar station with 
 the writer last quoted, remarks : — " Dr. Porter was too 
 extensively known and revered and beloved, to need the 
 slightest tribute of my humble pen ; and yet, I may per- 
 haps be allowed very briefly to express my high estimation 
 of his great intellectual and moral worth. His death was 
 a great loss to the church, for she has but few such men 
 to lose. No one could know him intimately, without 
 greatly esteeming him as a man, loving him as a friend, 
 and confiding in him as a counsellor. Without being 
 remarkably brilliant, either in conversation or in his public 
 performances, he was always interesting and instructive. 
 Undoubtedly he had more judgment than imagination — 
 more strength than versatility. But if in its ordinary move- 
 ments, his mind was neither rapid nor sparkling, it was 
 eminently sagacious, patient, and sure. The first thoughts 
 of some men are the best — but it was not so with Dr. Porter. 
 He wanted to look at a subject on all sides, and to con- 
 sider its remote, as well as its more immediate bearings 
 and relations, before he gave his opinion or advice. What- 
 ever he saw, he saw clearly, in its just proportions, and in 
 its own proper place. The solidity of his understanding 
 admitted of a high polish, and his taste was remarkably 
 correct. He had strength to climb, where many who 
 trusted to their slender and glossy pinions could never 
 soar ; and his pearls were of more intrinsic value than 
 those of many others, which may have been brought up 
 from greater depths. 
 
 *' As a writer, Dr. Porter was always perspicuous, and 
 generally nervous and concise. His thoughts on subjects 
 which he had thoroughly investigated, were ' like apples 
 of gold in pictures of silver.' As a preacher, he was dig- 
 nified, earnest, instructive, and persuasive. He never 
 drew a bow at a venture, and his aim was uncommonly 
 steady and effective. The mere tinsel of rhetoric and 
 
394 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 oratory he could not away with; but if genuine pulpit 
 eloquence consists in the most important scriptural 
 thoughts, well arranged, happily expressed, clearly enun- 
 ciated, and solemnly applied, then was Dr. Porter an elo- 
 quent preacher. 
 
 " But it was the remarkable symmetry of his character, 
 after all, which I most admired. Single prominent and 
 striking features are not at all uncommon. But that exact 
 and delicate harmony of proportions, which constitutes 
 beauty and elegance of the highest order, is rarely to be 
 met with. So in the far higher and nobler endowments 
 of the intellect and the heart, it is much less difficult to 
 find very great superiority over most men in some one 
 thing, than to find the most desirable and useful talents 
 symmetrically combined in the same individual. Perhaps 
 there was no one faculty in the original structure of Dr. 
 Porter's mind, which taken by itself, would have been 
 considered extraordinary. It was something like what we 
 call effect in architecture, that made him what he was in 
 the eyes of the public. It was the existence, union, and 
 happy development of excellent natural powers of mind, 
 under the controlling and sanctifying influence of religion, 
 whicii made him so eminently useful while he lived, and 
 which have so preciously embalmed his memory." 
 
 There are few men in any department of action, a por- 
 traiture of whose character is not rendered more attractive 
 by the omission of certain defects which appeared in real 
 life. How few even among the wisest and the best, in 
 whom, if contemplated in the family circle, among confi- 
 dential friends, or in the various circumstances of their 
 intercourse with others, failings are not discernible from 
 which we could wish them exempt. That so little has 
 been said in the Memoir of the defects of Dr. Porter, is 
 not to be attributed to a belief on the part of the writer, 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 395 
 
 that he was not the subject of them, or to intentional con- 
 ceahnent ; but to the fact that, whatever those defects 
 may have been, they were not so marked that they can be 
 distinctly delineated, or they were so blended with various 
 excellencies as to render their delineation a work of ex- 
 treme delicacy and difficulty. Whenever the writer has 
 attempted to exhibit the blemishes of the character pre- 
 sented on the preceding pages, he has uniformly met the 
 obstacle to which one of Dr. Porter's colleagues alludes in 
 the following sentences : — " Faults as a Christian and a 
 man he doubtlessly had. But they were not of so specific 
 a nature, nor so habitual, that I can distinctly portray 
 them. I have tried to make out a description, but cannot 
 make out one that has shade enough to be seen in the 
 picture." 
 
 Would the reader, who was not acquainted with Dr, 
 Porter, form a correct idea of the man ; let him imagine 
 a well proportioned, manly, but emaciated form, of about 
 six feet in height, and with a countenance like that pre- 
 fixed to the Memoir : — let him imagine that form endued 
 with native independence, firmness, energy, candor, frank- 
 ness, simplicity, and benevolence, united with an enlarge- 
 ment of mental vision, which intuitively perceived the 
 relations and bearings of objects ; regulated and con- 
 trolled by that sound common sense which rightly appre- 
 hends circumstances, and adapts means to ends ; the 
 whole assemblage of attributes chastened and invigorated 
 by Christian piety, sanctifying, ennobling, and giving 
 impulse to the natural man, — let him contemplate this 
 individual daily struggling with disease and suffering, in 
 active, persevering, disinterested, holy effort; renouncing 
 lawful indulgences ; enduring incessant toil and weariness 
 for others' good ; living, in a word, ' not unto himself but 
 unto God,' and he has the likeness of Dr. Porter. 
 
396 
 
 MEMOIR OF DR. PORTER. 
 
 The following appropriate epitaph is inscribed on the 
 monument erected to his memory by the American Edu- 
 cation Society, in the cemetery of the theological institu- 
 tion over which he presided. 
 
 On the west or front side : 
 
 Sacred 
 to the memory of 
 EBENEZER PORTER, D. D. 
 who died 1834, aged sixty-two years, 
 was graduated at Dartmouth College, 1792, 
 ordained as Pastor at Washington, Conn., 1796, 
 inaugurated as Professor of Sacred Rhetoric in the Theological 
 Seminary at Andover 1812, 
 appointed President of the same 1827. 
 
 On the right siJe ; 
 
 Of cultivated understanding, refined taste, solid judgment, sound 
 
 faith, and ardent piety ; 
 Distinguished for strict integrity and uprightness, kind and gentle 
 deportment, simplicity and godly sincerity ; 
 A Father to the Institution with which he was connected, 
 A highly useful Instructor, 
 A zealous Patron of the benevolent Societies of the times in which 
 he lived, 
 
 A true Friend to the temporal and eternal interests of his fellow 
 beings ; 
 
 Living, he was peculiarly loved and revered ; 
 Dying, he was universally lamented. 
 
 On the left side : 
 
 The 
 
 American Education Society, 
 to whose use he bequeathed the greater part of his property, 
 in token of their high esteem and grateful 
 remembrance of his services and 
 bounties, have caused this 
 monument to be 
 erected. 
 
2501YR 
 
 LBC 
 
 03-17-05 32188 
 
1012 01041 2056